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 Post subject: Power for DCA Red Cars
PostPosted: Thu May 10, 2012 6:32 pm 
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I recall reading somewhere on here that the DCA Red Cars will be powered by battery, yet I confused as this article says that they will be electrically powered from catenary.

Disneyland News Today Photo Report
http://www.disneylandnewstoday.com/?p=8279

Could someone clear this up?

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 Post subject: Re: Power for DCA Red Cars
PostPosted: Thu May 10, 2012 6:39 pm 
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The catenary wires are all for show. The Red Cars are battery powered and have inductive charging loops embedded in the track.


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 Post subject: Re: Power for DCA Red Cars
PostPosted: Thu May 10, 2012 7:28 pm 
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It's actually kind of funny: there's no power whatsoever to the catenary system. It has become one of the biggest "props" in Disney theme park history. It serves no purpose at all, other than to dress the set.


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 Post subject: Re: Power for DCA Red Cars
PostPosted: Fri May 11, 2012 9:33 am 
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That's what I originally thought until that post was made on DLNT. It makes more sense for them to get batteries rather than try to rig an operating catenary system.

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 Post subject: Re: Power for DCA Red Cars
PostPosted: Sat May 12, 2012 11:44 am 
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What has been strung on Buena Vista St. is not catenary, it's trolley line. There is a difference in the way it's hung and how it interfaces with the pickup. Modern light rail systems do use catenary as most if not all of these systems use rolling stock designed in Europe (Germany mostly) and they have used catenary since the early twentieth century. North American transit properties had stuck with the trolley pole (which has either a grooved wheel or a shoe on the end) since the beginning of electric traction here. The wheel nests around the wire, thereby necessitating a supsension system that is different than catenary where the pantagraph slides on along the wire. Also catenary is strung in a zig zag pattern so as to even the wear on the pan's contact area, whereas trolley line is centered on the track.
Pantagraphs are better suited to high speed operation compared to a trolley pole, the latter can lose contact with the wire if there is a severe enough discrepancy in the line while the broader pick up area on a pantagraph precludes this from happening. There were high speed interurban lines in the midwest that used trolley poles that in their heyday regularly ran in excess of 70 mph with few problems, which is a testament to their skill of their linemen.


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 Post subject: Re: Power for DCA Red Cars
PostPosted: Sat May 12, 2012 8:34 pm 
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Bruce R Pier wrote:
...There were high speed interurban lines in the midwest that used trolley poles that in their heyday regularly ran in excess of 70 mph...
Pacific Electric's earliest interurbans, from 1902, had a balancing speed of 65 mph.


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 Post subject: Re: Power for DCA Red Cars
PostPosted: Sun May 13, 2012 11:04 am 
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At least they are putting up fake trolly lines. The Trolley that ran between states at Carowinds Park was battery operated and had a fake trolley pole but no overhead lines at all!! In fact the Trolley was built by park employees from the guts of a battery powered fork lift! They replaced the tires with flanged wheels, made the wheelbase about 12 ft. The controls were left as is so running the trolley was like running a fork lift!!!

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