tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6609536178570975752.post3369224049793813099..comments2024-01-12T00:32:20.149-08:00Comments on The Overhead Wire: Washington DC and WiresPantograph Trolleypolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17833159138533550544noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6609536178570975752.post-38414233797325331992008-11-13T10:48:00.000-08:002008-11-13T10:48:00.000-08:00The issue of "unsightliness" weas not the main rea...The issue of "unsightliness" weas not the main reason to do with the banning of overhead wire in New York and Washington. The reason was the widespread use of gas and the fact that overhead wire and track returns caused rapid deterioration of the gas pipes.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6609536178570975752.post-76561015712019871402007-02-12T17:12:00.000-08:002007-02-12T17:12:00.000-08:00Overhead law notwithstanding, the Washington syste...Overhead law notwithstanding, the Washington system was primarily a cable car system in the decade prior to 1899 and the old cable car slots were modified for underground power. Many cities had cable car systems before more flexible electric systems went into operation. New York and London each had lins with similar converations. <BR/><BR/> I don't recall off hand from the local history how much was converted and how much was built.<BR/><BR/>However, the cost factors are not quite what they seem. The system was already built and the private operator, O. Roy Chalk, was extremely resistant to Congressional pressure to remove the streetcars in favor of more buses. For Chalk, the primary capital cost was already in the ground and maintenance and other costs did not approach those of capitalizing and operating a more extensive bus system. <BR/><BR/>DC was at the mercy of a few people in Congress and bus proponents used the sight of street cars getting backed up in heavy snow to help sell the system. (The "plows" or power connectors would sometimes collect enough ice and snow to cause problems). It was not a popular move when Chalk was forced to eliminate streetcars. The assumption of many was that the GM/Firestone lobby got what it wanted. (The Metro subway system also failed in severe winter storms until it finally fully winterized above ground third rails). Local boosterism has somewhat rewritten history.<BR/><BR/>There were a variety of motives for exaggerating costs, but the operating cost of the DC system was probably not significantly greater than a system with overhead lines. It would hard to find a bigger capital and operating cost disaster than the <BR/>DC Metro systems initial foray into purchasing nearly a thousand AM general buses in the 70s that required nearly total rebuilding and still had short operating lives. <BR/><BR/>I grew up in medium sized cities wih extensive street car and trolley bus lines. No one wanted to see the switch occur and it probably contributed to decline of public transit in those cities. People complained bitterly about the added journey time with buses, compared to his experience from 1920 through the mid 50s when streetcars were eliminated and the partially dedicated trackway abandoned. DC did much the same thing just as it began the growth that required the abandoned facilities -- not unlike LA which cannot cheaply reconstitute what it gave up when it abandoned its LR system. <BR/> <BR/>There were, believe it or not, the complaints that those streetcars with overhead lines were too expensive to operate and and maintain. But no one could ever demonstrate that.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6609536178570975752.post-39538013288754790822007-02-06T06:07:00.000-08:002007-02-06T06:07:00.000-08:00The "no overhead wire" law predated DC's streetcar...The "no overhead wire" law predated DC's streetcars. As a result, the city used conduit streetcars, with the electrical supply buried in a slot in the street (resembling a cable car slot). As proved by more than 70 years of operation, it was a workable systsme, but expensive to build and labor-intensive to maintain. Pictures here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_streetcars<br /><br />If you ever wondered what streamliner cable cars might have looked like:<br />http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/39/Thomas_circle_December_1943.JPGAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com