Overhead line equipment down at Chelmsford

[NLC1072]

All fun and games today!... anybody have any more insight?

 

[Z12XE]

Suspected Vandalism (Arbour Lane bridge), minor damage due to low speed of train due to slow moving thanks to backlog caused by failed 321s at Ingatestone.

 

[4SRKT]

When did 'Overhead Line Equipment' replace the word 'catenary'. Is OHLE an eejit's term that's totally self-explanatory?

 

[jopsuk]

"Catenary" is only one bit of the OHLE. OHLE is the more "technical" term yet also the easier to understand term...

 

[NLC1072]

"Catenary" is only one bit of the OHLE. OHLE is the more "technical" term yet also the easier to understand term...

Thank you =)

 

[The Barlow Boy]

When did 'Overhead Line Equipment' replace the word 'catenary'. Is OHLE an eejit's term that's totally self-explanatory?

Strictly and accurately speaking, a "catenary" is the description of the arc that is formed by the suspension of a wire or similar from two fixed poles. On the railway it's come to be used to refer to the overhead wire(ing) that the contact wire is suspended from by the droppers.
Overhed Line Equipment is a perfectly accurate description of what self-considered experts refer to as "the knitting".

 

[4SRKT]

Strictly and accurately speaking, a "catenary" is the description of the arc that is formed by the suspension of a wire or similar from two fixed poles. On the railway it's come to be used to refer to the overhead wire(ing) that the contact wire is suspended from by the droppers.
Overhed Line Equipment is a perfectly accurate description of what self-considered experts refer to as "the knitting".

Thanks. I know what a catenary is mathematically, but I'd always heard all the wiring called this in the past. OHLE seems a more recent (although as you say perfectly accurate) term.

 

[O L Leigh]

If we're going to be pedantic (and, as an online community of railway enthusiasts, it seems almost to be a requirement), the correct abbreviation is actually OLE for Overhead Line Equipment and not OHLE.

For those who love such things, the 3rd rail is known as CRE for Conductor Rail Equipment. This covers all types including 4th rail.

O L Leigh

 

[Old Timer]

OHL and OLE are terms which have been used intechangeably for the last 30/40 years that I know of.

OLE is used more frequently by non-OHL personnel, and indeed the term appears in various documents and publications.

OHL and OHLE tends to be used by people who are within the field, for example you have an OHL Engineer, not an OL Engineer.

The term OHL is a generic covering the distribution as well as the fixed equipment, although both elements are actually quite widely separated. A Distribution Engineer must hold an electrical qualification, whereas fixed equipment (i.e. the OHL Equipment) Engineer is more akin to a mechanical than an electrical engineer.

THis is something that is often misunderstood. The OHL Equipment itself is simply an arrangement of equipment which is mechanically connected and which reacts in a mechanical rather than an electrical manner, thus the skills required do not require an electrical background. This is especially so when the design of the equipment is pre-formed and the equipment itself is componentised.

 

[O L Leigh]

OLE is used more frequently by non-OHL personnel, and indeed the term appears in various documents and publications.

Oh well, there we are. As a driver I was quoting from the good book again.

O L Leigh

 

[Old Timer]

Oh well, there we are. As a driver I was quoting from the good book again.

O L Leigh

And absolutely correct you are.