Arcing Gate 1 - Metro Trains, Pakenham Yard.

The gate into the yard was arcing when you opened, it's no real big deal, but probably caused by the overhead earth running via the fence. What occurred that morning was as I went out that gate the arcing occurred that you see in videos 1 & 2, you also see it arcing severly, then die down, this is because as trains were powering out of the platform at Pakenham, it was severe, then the arcing died down the further away the train went. This occurred with Commeng, Hitachi & Siemens trains, and happened also with an arriving train Ex Dandenong/Melbourne. Even when no trains were moving there was a small spark, it stopped altogether after the last 2 trains docked out of the yard via the East End & onto the North Line for the 06.46 & the 07.10 Up City Loop services. A fence fell over a while ago & I believed at the time that it was due electrolysis & while you normally don't see the arcing, it is the reason the gate locks stuffs up as it arcs in the lock & dries up the lubricant and probably burrs the tine tiny pins in the tumbler on both gates as it is usually a very low, unseen, but constant earth feed.

A further example of electrolysis occured with the railway line and the house I was renting for about 15 years at Clayton, in Melbourne. I went to a tap in the very early morning hours and I was very sleepy so instead of getting a glass, I stuck my head under the tap and drank from it, over the years I noticed that I got a tingle of the tap when my mouth touched the spout, a little later it got to the stage that one day I did it and my eye lids started to flicker when I drank from the tap. I contacted the power company and when they came out and tested it, their meter showed 24 volts at the tap, with the power totally diconnected from the house, the brass earth bar you see on fuse boxes arced when he disconnected a wire, when they tested the neutral wire on the power lines out front, it had a reading of 78 volts, it was suppossed to have no voltage. What happened was that at the intersection of Prince Charles Street and Haughton road was where main power lines met and some go under the railway line and due to the earth from the railways overhead power supply feeding down to the Power Companies underground lines and eating into them, called "electrolysis", it caused the neutral and live wires to eventually leak into each other. Electolysis also occures with water pipes, the earth from the railway overhead system leaks down to the metal pipes and eats into them.

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• Arcing
• Gate
• Metro Trainse
• Melbourne
• Pakenham Yard
• Commeng
• Hitachi
• Siemjens
• Trains
• Electolysis.

[muzzavideos]

You'd have to apply on line, but there is a very large number of applicants & I think they want a high education standard. Things are a lot different from when I started on the railways in 1971 & joined the locomotive side of things in 1975. BUT, as with then & NOW, they wont just give you the job, you have to want to drive trains, you have to study hard for the exams, you have to earn the drivers "ticket."

[muzzavideos]

Fault not with gate, faulty earth on the overhead, it was very low amps though, apparently they found out it was coming from a stanchion that also had yard lighting attached to it & it was touching the yard fence, when you opened the gate it was like opening a switch and it started arcing, it only happened when there were trains in 4 road and when a train powered out of the station, you can hear the train & level crossing bells & see the arcing drop off the further away the train got.

[mrbug1100]

Interesting

How do you get the job of driving a train

[mrbug1100]

What was wrong with the gate