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Otira Tunnel
The Otira Tunnel is a railway tunnel on the Midland Line in the South Island of New Zealand, between Otira and Arthur's Pass. It runs under the Southern Alps from Arthur's Pass to Otira – a length of over . The gradient is mainly 1 in 33, and the Otira end of the tunnel is over lower than the Arthur's Pass end. Construction Construction commenced in 1907 and a "breakthrough" celebration was held on 21 August 1918 by the Minister of Public Works Sir William Fraser. When the tunnel opened on 4 August 1923, it was the seventh longest tunnel in the world and the longest in the British Empire. The Midland Railway Company investigated alternatives to a long tunnel, but a line over the pass with gradients of 1 in 50 on both sides was not practical. Other options for a line over the pass were a cable-hauled system or a line of 1 in 15 gradient using either the Fell system or a rack railway using the Abt system (or even an S-shaped tunnel under Mount Rolleston). However, the g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Midland Line, New Zealand
The Midland line is a 212 km section of railway between Rolleston and Greymouth in the South Island of New Zealand. The line features five major bridges, five viaducts and 17 tunnels, the longest of which is the Otira tunnel. It is the route of the popular TranzAlpine passenger train. History Railway development in the South Island in the 1870s was concentrated on a main line linking the established centres of Christchurch, Timaru, Dunedin and Invercargill and light, easily constructed branch lines serving the arable plains; (see Vogel Era). These later included a branch to Springfield which was reached by January 1880. In 1882 the East and West Coast Railway League was formed and in 1884 a Royal Commission, although fully aware of the construction difficulties of the Waimakariri Valley-Arthurs Pass route, as compared with the somewhat easier but longer Hurunui Valley-Harpers Pass route, chose the more direct route. The construction of the line was rejected in 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
TranzAlpine And Otira Tunnel From Albert's Pass Station
The TranzAlpine is a passenger train operated by The Great Journeys of New Zealand in the South Island of New Zealand over the Midland Line; often regarded to be one of the world's great train journeys for the scenery through which it passes (see famous trains). The journey is one-way, taking almost five hours. There are 16 tunnels and four viaducts, with the Staircase Viaduct elevated as much as . The train has become increasingly popular, and carried 204,000 passengers in the financial year ending 2007. By 2016, passenger numbers were approximately 130,000 a year, but rising again after the setback of the Christchurch earthquake, and were exceeding pre-earthquake levels. The TranzAlpine service was suspended in 2020 and again in 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but resumed on 14 January 2022. History The train was introduced on 22 November 1987 to replace the conventional Christchurch-Greymouth express trains and became one of the New Zealand Railways Corporati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rails (magazine)
''Rails'' was a New Zealand-based monthly periodical covering rail transport in New Zealand published by Rails Publishing Ltd from August 1971, which in 1972 changed its name to Southern Press from August 1971 until December 2003. The company was jointly owned by Bob Stott and Robin Bromby; Bob Stott was Editor and ran the editorial content and Robin Bromby was Managing Editor mainly responsible for the business operation. The editor for the entirety of ''Rails'' existence was Bob Stott QSM. Robin Bromby was managing editor from 1971 to 1975, at which time Bob and Jan Stott become the owners of the magazine. The magazine's existence spanned the final years of central government control of railways in New Zealand (the New Zealand Railways Department), corporatisation in the 1980s (the New Zealand Railways Corporation), privatisation of the railways in 1993 ( New Zealand Rail Limited, renamed Tranz Rail in 1995) and finally the purchase of Tranz Rail by Toll Holdings followed by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Zealand DX Class Locomotive
The New Zealand DX class locomotive is a type of 49 Co-Co diesel-electric locomotives that currently operate on New Zealand's national railway network. All locomotives are owned by KiwiRail. Built by GE Transportation in Erie, Pennsylvania, United States, they were introduced to New Zealand between 1972 and 1976. The class is based on the General Electric U26C model, a narrow-gauge version of the GE U23C model. The locomotives are regarded as one of the most successful purchases in NZR's history. The locomotives have seen several upgrades since their introduction and three sub-classes now exist: the DXB, DXC and DXR. Introduction The DX class was introduced in response to a requirement for a more powerful locomotive to handle traffic on the North Island Main Trunk (NIMT). Before their introduction the heaviest freight and passenger trains on the line required two members of the DA class to haul them. The DX class could haul heavier and faster trains than two DAs, even tho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Zealand EA Class Locomotive
The New Zealand EA class (later reclassified as EO) of electric locomotives were used on the New Zealand rail network between 1968 and 1997 on the OtiraArthur's Pass section of the Midland line in the South Island, through the Otira Tunnel. Following reconditioning, three were used by KiwiRail's Tranz Metro in Wellington from 2008 to 2011 to top and tail Metlink suburban passenger trains as an interim measure before new rolling stock arrived. Four of the five locomotives were scrapped in 2013 with one being set aside for preservation. Introduction The class replaced the EO class of 1923, by then largely worn out, on Otira Tunnel duties in 1968. Like their predecessors, the EA class operated as a group of three, with two on standby at Otira. They were more powerful at 1,290 hp than the original EO class at 680 hp, and so could handle heavier trains. This was to prove useful when West Coast coal exports began in the late 1970s using trains of dedicated LC high side coal wag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
NZR EO Class (1923)
The NZR EO class of 1923 were electric locomotives used on the steep Otira to Arthurs Pass section of the Midland Line in New Zealand. They were primarily needed for pulling trains through the 1 in 33 grade Otira Tunnel which was too long and steep to allow steam locomotives to be used. Introduction When the Otira tunnel was being built, steam locomotives were not considered for use in the tunnel, because smoke would build up in the tunnel and be difficult to clear. The English Electric Company, of London, won the contract to supply six electric locomotives, the installation of overhead contact wires, and the building of a coal-fired electric power station at Otira. On 10 April 1923 six electric locomotives arrived, numbered E 2 to E 6 (1 was the Class E battery electric loco built in 1922). They were later reclassified EO to avoid confusion with the EC class locomotives. Service The locomotives coped well in service, and from 1942 it became standard practice to run thre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Grid (New Zealand)
The National Grid is the nationwide system of electric power transmission in New Zealand. The grid is owned, operated and maintained by Transpower New Zealand, a state-owned enterprise, although some lines are owned by local distribution companies and leased to Transpower. In total, the national grid contains of high-voltage lines and 178 substations. Much of New Zealand’s electricity generation is hydroelectric, the majority of which is from power stations on lakes and rivers in the lower half of the South Island, while most of the electricity demand is in the North Island, in particular, the Auckland region. Consequently, large amounts of electricity need to be transmitted long distances from power stations to electricity users, including transmission across Cook Strait through the HVDC Inter-Island link. Investments in new transmission are regulated by the Electricity Commission and the Commerce Commission. In a news release in January 2012, the Commerce Commission ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Electricity
Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwell's equations. Various common phenomena are related to electricity, including lightning, static electricity, electric heating, electric discharges and many others. The presence of an electric charge, which can be either positive or negative, produces an electric field. The movement of electric charges is an electric current and produces a magnetic field. When a charge is placed in a location with a non-zero electric field, a force will act on it. The magnitude of this force is given by Coulomb's law. If the charge moves, the electric field would be doing work on the electric charge. Thus we can speak of electric potential at a certain point in space, which is equal to the work done by an external agent in carrying a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coal-fired Power Station
A coal-fired power station or coal power plant is a thermal power station which burns coal to generate electricity. Worldwide, there are about 8,500 coal-fired power stations totaling over 2,000 gigawatts Nameplate capacity, capacity. They generate about a third of the Electric energy consumption, world's electricity, but cause many illnesses and early deaths, mainly from air pollution. A coal-fired power station is a type of fossil fuel power station. The coal is usually Pulverizer, pulverized and then burned in a pulverized coal-fired boiler. The furnace heat converts boiler water to steam, which is then used to spin turbines that turn electric generator, generators. Thus chemical energy stored in coal is converted successively into thermal energy, mechanical energy and, finally, electrical energy. Coal-fired power stations emit over 10 gigatonne, Gt of carbon dioxide each year, about one fifth of world greenhouse gas emissions, so are the single largest Attribution of re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Overhead Lines
An overhead line or overhead wire is an electrical cable that is used to transmit electrical energy to electric locomotives, trolleybuses or trams. It is known variously as: * Overhead catenary * Overhead contact system (OCS) * Overhead equipment (OHE) * Overhead line equipment (OLE or OHLE) * Overhead lines (OHL) * Overhead wiring (OHW) * Traction wire * Trolley wire This article follows the International Union of Railways in using the generic term ''overhead line''. An overhead line consists of one or more wires (or rails, particularly in tunnels) situated over rail tracks, raised to a high electrical potential by connection to feeder stations at regular intervals. The feeder stations are usually fed from a high-voltage electrical grid. Overview Electric trains that collect their current from overhead lines use a device such as a pantograph, bow collector or trolley pole. It presses against the underside of the lowest overhead wire, the contact wire. Current collector ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Direct Current
Direct current (DC) is one-directional flow of electric charge. An electrochemical cell is a prime example of DC power. Direct current may flow through a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through semiconductors, insulators, or even through a vacuum as in electron or ion beams. The electric current flows in a constant direction, distinguishing it from alternating current (AC). A term formerly used for this type of current was galvanic current. The abbreviations ''AC'' and ''DC'' are often used to mean simply ''alternating'' and ''direct'', as when they modify ''current'' or '' voltage''. Direct current may be converted from an alternating current supply by use of a rectifier, which contains electronic elements (usually) or electromechanical elements (historically) that allow current to flow only in one direction. Direct current may be converted into alternating current via an inverter. Direct current has many uses, from the charging of batteries to large power ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Volt
The volt (symbol: V) is the unit of electric potential, electric potential difference (voltage), and electromotive force in the International System of Units (SI). It is named after the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta (1745–1827). Definition One volt is defined as the electric potential between two points of a conducting wire when an electric current of one ampere dissipates one watt of power between those points. Equivalently, it is the potential difference between two points that will impart one joule of energy per coulomb of charge that passes through it. It can be expressed in terms of SI base units ( m, kg, s, and A) as : \text = \frac = \frac = \frac. It can also be expressed as amperes times ohms (current times resistance, Ohm's law), webers per second (magnetic flux per time), watts per ampere (power per current), or joules per coulomb (energy per charge), which is also equivalent to electronvolts per elementary charge: : \text = \text\Omega = \fra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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