Electrical Engineering Stack Exchange
Electrical Engineering Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [train]

8 questions
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Electrification of the London Underground

There are two contact rails in the London Underground: one with 420 V DC and one with -210 V DC. Why not use 630 V and 0 V? Wouldn't it make one of the rails safe for people?
Дмитрий Воронецкий
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Network magnetics: Getting information past a "dead" wagon in a tunnel

I'm actually a mechanical engineer, so I'm not very versed in electronic design, here goes: I want to design an inductively-coupled network connector for the rail industry. The goal is to have a data link along the whole train. Some key points to…
SWKRail
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1 answer

What are these loops above the tracks at each AirTrain station for?

They seem to be made of plastic conduit. Maybe some sort of inductive sensor that makes 100% sure there is actually a big metal car present before allowing the doors to open?
bigjosh
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Solenoid Train - Best approach for magnetically guiding an object along a path?

My project is to pull an object along a path with solenoids, by cycling their on/off state. I don't know if ferrous core solenoids pulling steel would be more efficient than pulling a neodymium magnet with air-core solenoids. Simple diagram is…
Scott
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I built a locomotive and I want to connect a TSU-2200 sound card to it which operates on 3.7 v to 22 v. my system operates on 24 volts

I have built a locomotive, which operates from a 24-volt alternator through a 300 amp controller then to 6, 350-watt 24-volt motors. I have a TSU-2200 digital sound decoder that operates on a voltage between 3.7-volts-22-volts, the problem is that…
George
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2 answers

Model train incandescent (wheat grain) bulb to LED

I watched and was inspired by the following video. Add Directional Lighting to a Bachmann BIG Hauler using Diodes and 1.5V Grain of Wheat Bulbs I have a Bachmann 49 Santa Fe locomotive. It's older yet is largely the same as the 4-6-0 models. I am…
Twisty
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Can a railway system reasonably use both normal rails as power rails?

I have a question about electrified railways that seems obviously unsafe, but first you have to know how the "normal" third rail works. Third rail power comes in over a middle rail and is returned via the other normal rails. That sounds plenty…
DrZ214
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Why can't we use DC lines close to ground instead of overhanging AC lines for powering trains?

Wouldn't it be easier to have DC lines running along side the tracks and have some sort of roller contacts (if the lines are flat and the rollers are spring loaded) or brushes connect to those DC lines instead of overhanging lines (AC or DC) for…
Doctor Pinocchio
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