Re: [TramsDownUnder] Thinking laterally

On 12/12/24 09:28, Geoffrey Hansen wrote:
> Doesn't the Newcastle Light Rail run off batteries?

Super-Capacitors mostly. There is a battery they call a 'range extender'
that can get the tram back to the depot from the furthest end of the
line.  The battery pack on a CAF is modular, and they can mix-n-match
capacitor and battery modules - the NCL trams are mostly capacitor.

They have had a number of issues. The pantographs and the charge bars
get arc pitting. They had to replace the carbons with copper strips. The
trams used to be able to move with the pantograph raised, but after
changing the rubbing strips (and in incident where a raised pantograph
hit the shed) they can no longer move if the pantograph is raised.

How they would extend the system with overhead is unknown, some of these
changes would have to be reversed.

The charging current was found to be causing magnetic fields in excess
of Australian standards for magnetic radiation - so the charging current
was halved.

The trams have suffered from overheating of their capacitor packs and
other roof equipment as the average speed is so low they don't get
proper airflow over the roof. The drivers AC unit was blasting hot air
at the first capacitor bank too.

The NCL track has more of one direction curve than the other, and there
is no facility to turn the trams so the bogies are being swapped more
often than would otherwise be required to deal with asymmetric wear of
the wheel sets.


The Sydney Tramway Museum at Loftus has more track than the NLC tram and
can turn trams around to even out the wheel wear.

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