TTC: Other Items (catch all)

[EastYorkTTCFan]

I think there is a difference between streetcars and trolley buses. See: "A trolley bus uses two overhead wires to draw power with two trolley poles, while a streetcar (or tram) only needs one overhead wire as it uses the rails as the return path, meaning it only needs one trolley pole to collect electricity; essentially, a trolley bus is a bus that runs on rubber tires powered by overhead wires, while a streetcar runs on rails and is also powered by overhead wires but only needs one wire due to the track acting as the return path." As long as the streetcar is on the tracks, it is grounded.

I looked it up and apparently trolley poles in general are either wood or metal. The pole itself doesn't conduct electricity it's the shoe or trolly that makes contact with the wire. The shoe has a pice of carbon in it that is used to conduct the power down a wire on the trolly pole. From what I found other than trolly buses having two poles there isn't any difference between the two types of poles.

 

[smallspy]

I think there is a difference between streetcars and trolley buses. See: "A trolley bus uses two overhead wires to draw power with two trolley poles, while a streetcar (or tram) only needs one overhead wire as it uses the rails as the return path, meaning it only needs one trolley pole to collect electricity; essentially, a trolley bus is a bus that runs on rubber tires powered by overhead wires, while a streetcar runs on rails and is also powered by overhead wires but only needs one wire due to the track acting as the return path." As long as the streetcar is on the tracks, it is grounded.

Absolutely correct.

I looked it up and apparently trolley poles in general are either wood or metal. The pole itself doesn't conduct electricity it's the shoe or trolly that makes contact with the wire. The shoe has a pice of carbon in it that is used to conduct the power down a wire on the trolly pole. From what I found other than trolly buses having two poles there isn't any difference between the two types of poles.

On a streetcar the pole itself does absolutely conduct power - it is the base that is insulated. That's why in an emergency they can hold the pole up against the wire instead of just the shoe. It's not ideal, but it can get a car off of an insulator if it becomes stuck.

There is a substantial difference between the poles of streetcars and buses. The poles for buses must be non-conductive. The ones for streetcars aren't.

Dan