Catenary query?

[OldandRambling]

I have been asked by some American rail chums about our UK catenary performance.

Does anyone know if the overhead wires tend to cause problems due to high wind situations here in the UK? Loss of contact or structural damage?

Thanks in advance!

 

[jfollows]

https://ocs4rail.com/ is a good reference, and certainly “headspan” implementations are susceptible to damage more easily than other sorts.

 

[12LDA28C]

I have been asked by some American rail chums about our UK catenary performance.

Does anyone know if the overhead wires tend to cause problems due to high wind situations here in the UK? Loss of contact or structural damage?

Thanks in advance!

I would say catenary is rarely brought down directly by high winds but more often by trees felled by high winds landing on the OHLE. This is a fairly regular occurrence.

 

[Tetragon213]

https://ocs4rail.com/ is a good reference, and certainly “headspan” implementations are susceptible to damage more easily than other sorts.

Iirc headspans tend to require the whole thing to be reworked if there's an issue, while portals you can just rework the affected wires without needing to shut the whole thing down.

 

[edwin_m]

I would say catenary is rarely brought down directly by high winds but more often by trees felled by high winds landing on the OHLE. This is a fairly regular occurrence.

The original 1970s overhead on the WCML through the Lake District suffered from dewirements in crosswinds, particularly on embankments which tend to funnel the wind so its speed is increased just above the track. Intermediate supports were added later for this reason.