Seminar on the Use of Composite Third Rail in Electrified Urban and Commuter Rail Systems
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A. 3 18.5 MTA-M A-06-0025-78-1 .A3 7 ! no UOT- PROCEEDINGS T8C- UMTA- 78 - SEMINAR ON THE 3 1 USE OF COMPOSITE THIRD RAIL IN ELECTRIFIED TRANSIT AND COMMUTER RAIL SYSTEM Presented at the U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH AND SPECIAL PROGRAMS ADMINISTRATION TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS CENTER CAMBRIDGE. MA 02142 SEPTEMBER 14-15, 1977 ^ OF TR4a, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION JAN 2 3 1979 LIBRARY November 1978 DOCUMENT IS AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC THROUGH THE NATIONAL TECHNICAL INFORMATION SE R VICE, SPR I NGF I E LD, VIRGINIA 22161 Sponsored and Funded by U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION URBAN MASS TRANSPORTATION ADMINISTRATION OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT AND DEPLOYMENT OFFICE OF RAIL AND CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY WASHINGTON, D.C. 20590 NOTICE This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The United States Govern- ment assumes no liability for its contents or use thereof. NOTICE The United States Government does not endorse pro- ducts or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturers' names appear herein solely because they are con- sidered essential to the object of this report. £ Technical Report Documentation Page 1 . Report No. 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient's Catalog No. f 06- 0025- 78- o' / UMTA-MA- 13 4. Title and Subtitle . 5. Report Date Proceedings: Seminar on the use of Composite November t/ Third Rail in Electrified Transit and Commu- 1978 6. Performing Organization Code Tpt Rail c i m — TSC/DTS - 741 Cambridge, MA Sep| ,Ofr 9 ^7 Performing Organization Report No. l 7. Authors) transportation Harold D. Decker, Edil .or l DOT-TSC-UMTA - 78-31 9. Performing Organization Name and Addres 10. W->rk Unit No. (TRAIS) 3 B/y * Ahmed Associates JAN 2 UM804/R8723 (Now Pacific Consultanl s) 11. Contract or Grant No. 575 Boylston Street LIBRARY DOT-TSC- 1289 Boston, MA 02116 13. Type of Report and Period Covered 1 2 Soonsoring Agencv Name and Address Seminar proceedings U.S. Department of Transportation September 14-15, 1977 Urban Mass Transportation Administration Office of Technology Development and Deploy. 14 . Sponsoring Agency Code of Rail and Construction Technology Office UMTA - UTD-30 — DC 20590 Washi ngton . SuDolementarv Notes U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION *Under Contract to RESEARCH AND SPECIAL PROGRAMS ADMINISTRATION TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS CENTER CAMBRIDGE. MASSACHUSETTS 02142 16. Abstract The seminar on "The Use of Composite Third Rail in Electri- fied Transit and Commuter Rail Systems", held at the Transporta- tion Systems Center (TSC) in Cambridge, MA, on September 14 and 15, 1977, was organized to disseminate accurate information on, and experience with, composite (aluminum and steel) third, or contact rail, in wayside power distribution systems of electrified urban rail properties. The seminar provided the opportunity for the exchange of pertinent information among the suppliers, using properties, consultants and designers, potential users, and government agencies. This document contains the transcripts of the presentations made to the seminar participants, as well as the ques t ion- and- answer sessions which followed each presentation and the round table discussion of Thursday, September 15, 1977. Information pertinent to the seminar, but not available in detail at the time of the conference, is presented in a series of four appendices. The document also contains a list of the participants in the seminar and their addresses as of September, 1977. 17 e¥£c 18. Distribution Statemsnt rif ication , Third Rail Co ntact Rail, Composite Rail, Aluminum- DOCUMENT IS AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC Steel Rail, Wayside Power THROUGH THE NATIONAL TECHNICAL Distribution INFORMATION SE R V ICE, SPR I NGF I E LD, VIRGINIA 22161 19. Security Clattll. (of this report) 20. Security Classif. (of this page) 21* No. of Pages 22. Pri< UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED 240 (8-72) Form DOT F 1700.7 Reproduction of completed page authorized FACTORS FACTORS CONVERSION CONVERSION METRIC METRIC 11 PREFACE One of the goals of the Urban Mass Transportation Administra- tion (UMTA) is the improvement of urban transit and commuter rail systems through the evolutionary development and application of new technologies to such systems. A major portion of this effort has been assigned to the Transportation Systems Center (TSC) in Cam- bridge, Massachusetts under the Urban Rail Supporting Technology Program. Included in this assignment is the dissemination of per- tinent technological information to all persons concerned with the design, operation and maintenance of these rail facilities. The seminar on "The Use of Composite Third Rail in Electrified Transit and Commuter Rail Systems", held at TSC on September 14 and 15, 1977, was organized at the request of UMTA to disseminate to those associated with the transit industry accurate and current information concerning the advantages and disadvantages of com- posite (aluminum and steel) third, or contact, rails for electri- fied systems. Composite rail, properly used, offers a potential for reducing significantly overall construction costs of the electrification system, improved system performance, and some re- duction in operating energy costs. Disadvantages include, among other things, possible increases in stray voltages and stray cur- rents, or electrolysis effects. It was also known that much information circulating within the transit industry was based on erroneous or misleading information and hearsay. It is hoped that the seminar dispelled the misconceptions surrounding the use of composite rail. The seminar comprised a day of presentations by representa- tives of industry suppliers, a consultant, and using transit prop- erties. On the following morning an inspection was made of the Haymarket North Extension of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, a system extension which uses a composite third rail and has been in revenue service and trouble free for approximately two years. In the afternoon there followed a round table dis- cussion during which all the seminar participants were encouraged to ask questions concerning the use of composite third rail. Answers were furnished by representatives of industry suppliers and the three transit systems that have both had significant op- erating experience with composite rail. The seminar was attended by approximately 70 persons who represented actual and potential industry suppliers, consultants and des igners, properties using or thinking of using composite rail, and government agencies. Although the subject is of interest to a relatively small technical community, that interest was in- tense, as demonstrated by the level of discussion and the comments received subsequent to the seminar. Written papers were not submitted for the meeting, primarily because of the short time allotted for preparation and the heavy demands on the time of those who made the presentations. However, i i i the proceedings of the entire seminar were recorded on tape, and the transcript of the tapes form the basis of this document. In- evitably, a few short portions of the tapes were undecipherable; these are denoted by (unclear) or (inaudible) . In several other instances, explanatory words have been added in parentheses to facilitate comprehension by the reader. In the discussion periods, names of participants who spoke have been identified to the extent practicable. The transcripts have been edited only to the extent necessary to remove extraneous material, eliminate unnecessary repetition, and ensure clarity of the material presented. Though necessarily imperfect, the transcripts are believed to reflect quite accurately the tenor of the seminar. At a few points in the meeting, questions were raised which could not be answered completely, primarily because of the un- availability at the seminar of the specific information requested. Since some of this information was considered to be of interest to many participants, that data was subsequently collected and appears in a series of four appendices. A list of all participants in the seminar, together with titles, organizational affiliations, and addresses as of September 14, 1977 is also provided. It is hoped that this listing will permit the subsequent interchange of information among the seminar participants. The seminar was funded by UMTA through TSC under the Urban Rail Supporting Technology Program. These proceedings have been compiled by Ahmed Associates (now Pacific Consultants) under con- tract to TSC. The Urban Mass Transportation Administration and the Trans- portation Systems Center wish to acknowledge the contributions of the several people who made the seminar an interesting and highly informative meeting. Particular thanks is due the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority for making possible the field inspec- tion trip to their Haymarket North Extension to see at first hand an application of composite third rail in revenue service. IV CONTENTS Section Page Opening Remarks Dr. R. K. Whitford 1 Introduction to Seminar Harold D. Decker 7 Technical and Economic Dr. Alexander Kusko 15 Considerations on the Use of Composite Third Rail TRANSDUCTOR™ - A Composite Richard E. Lillard 27 Contact Rail Insul-8 Composite Rails James Corl 43 MBTA Experience with Composite Edward J. Rowe 55 Rail CTA Experience with Composite Ronald 0. Swindell 67 Rail BART Experience with Composite V.P. Mahon 85 Rail H. Fleige General Question and Answer 119 Session Inspection Trip Haymarket North 133 Extension Round Table Discussion Harold D. Decker