Pantograph protocol

[NW Mailing List]

One thing to consider about the number of pantographs up or down should be
the amount of current that one pantograph could handle without excessive
burning of the contact surfaces and the resulting (rapid)wear due to current
arcing.  Since the horsepower required is volts times amps, the current flow
will be higher for heavy trains.  Presumably, the engineer had to correlate
the weight of the train and loco sets' power requirements to determine if he
needed to raise an additional pantograph or not.

Gary Rolih
Cincinnati