Pantograph (transport)A pantograph (or "pan" or "panto") is an apparatus mounted on the roof of an electric train, tram or battery electric buses to collect power through contact with an overhead line. The term stems from the resemblance of some styles to the mechanical pantographs used for copying handwriting and drawings. The pantograph is a common type of current collector; typically, a single or double wire is used, with the return current running through the rails.
Trolley poleA trolley pole is a tapered cylindrical pole of wood or metal, used to transfer electricity from a "live" (electrified) overhead wire to the control and the electric traction motors of a tram or trolley bus. It is a type of current collector. The use of overhead wire in a system of current collection is reputed to be the 1880 invention of Frank J. Sprague, but the first working trolley pole was developed and demonstrated by Charles Van Depoele, in autumn 1885.
TramA tram, also known as a tramcar, streetcar or trolley is a form of urban rail transit in which vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks laid on or parallel to public streets, or operate in segregated right-of-ways.
TrolleybusA trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tram (in the 1910s and 1920s), road tram or simply trolley) is an electric bus that draws power from dual overhead lines (generally suspended from roadside posts) using spring-loaded or pneumatically raised trolley poles. Two wires, and two trolley poles, are required to complete the electrical circuit.
Electrical cableAn electrical cable is an assembly of one or more wires running side by side or bundled, which is used as an electrical conductor to carry electric current. Electrical cables are used to connect two or more devices, enabling the transfer of electrical signals, power, or both from one device to the other.Electric multiple unitAn electric multiple unit (EMU) is a multiple-unittrain consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number of the carriages. An EMU is usually formed of two or more semi-permanently coupled carriages. However, electrically powered single-unit railcars are also generally classed as EMUs.
Electric locomotiveAn electric locomotive is a type of locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or on-board energy storage such as a battery or a supercapacitor. Locomotives with on-board fuelled prime movers, such as diesel engines or gas turbines, are classed as diesel–electric or gas turbine–electric and not as electric locomotives, because the electric generator/motor combination serves only as a power transmission system.
LocomotiveA locomotive (also commonly referred to as the engine of a train) is a rail vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. Traditionally, locomotives pulled trains from the front.Electrical energyElectrical energy is the energy transferred as electric charges move between points with different electric potential, that is, as they move across a potential difference. As electric potential is lost or gained, work is done changing the energy of some system. The amount of work in joules is given by the product of the charge that has moved, in coulombs, and the potential difference that has been crossed, in volts.
WireA wire is a flexible, round bar of metal. Wires are commonly formed by drawing the metal through a hole in a die or draw plate. Wire gauges come in various standard sizes, as expressed in terms of a gauge number or cross-sectional area. Wires are used to bear mechanical loads, often in the form of wire rope.
International Union of RailwaysThe International Union of Railways (French: Union internationale des chemins de fer, UIC) is an international rail transport industry body based in Paris. HistoryThe railways of Europe had originated during the nineteenth century as many separate concerns across numerous nations; this led to disparate and conflicting standards emerging and thus onto incompatibility.
High voltageHigh voltage is an electrical potential large enough to cause injury or damage. In certain industries, high voltage refers to voltage above a nominal threshold. Equipment and conductors that carry high voltage warrant special safety requirements and procedures.
Railway trackRailway track (CwthE and UIC terminology) or railroad track (NAmE), also known as permanent way (per way) (CwthE) or "P way" (BrE and Indian English), is the structure on a railway consisting of the rails, fasteners, sleepers (railroad ties in American English) and ballast (or slab track), plus the underlying subgrade. It enables trains to move by providing a dependable, low-friction surface on which steel wheels can roll.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.