Featured How about electric semis that draw power from overhead wires?

How about those things that run on tracks......and can be powered by almost anything......wood, coal, oil, diesel, gas, electric, propane, LNG.....

If the US had not been so stupid as to let it's railroad infrastructure fall into dis-array, there would be about 2/3 less semi's on the highway as there are now. And maybe 20 percent fewer cars too.

 

I can remember in the 40s and 50s we had double-decker electric trolleybuses ran every 5 minutes between Wolverhampton and various other towns. They were Sunbeams with BTH traction equipment and Park Ward Coachwork and even when packed to the gills, they out accelerated most other heavy trucks and buses.

Just in case that didn't look as expected, see below...

https://myntransportblog.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/1935-sunbeam-tb-advert.jpg

 

I know very little, but that has never stopped me before.

AC motors are trickier, they all need to be in phase, so DC motors are more manageable. DC has a short range compared to AC, so you need lots of substations.

Our trucks (see below) had trouble seeing the pantograph contacting the overhead lines, an ex-tank driver retrofitted them with periscopes. In this photo, they are trying to use an upside down bicycle flag to see where the pantograph is, periscopes worked better

Financially, they made the most sense where every truck would use them under full load, not once they had separate destinations or when cruising. (recently there was an article about overhead trolley in the Port of LA, again every truck would be accelerating with a full load and they would all take the same path until they were out of the port)



You can see that the pantograph is mounted forward of the radiator, both to clear the bed of the truck and so the driver can guess if s/he is under the overhead wires. For those of you noticing the built in ladder, the driver is 27 feet above the road. The two big silver cans on each side are air brakes.

 

They give those big trucks a boost and allow faster speeds. Going from 7mph to 11mph has a time advantage.

For on road trucks in the US, I don't see it working for the same reason we don't use it for cross country trains. The cost and upkeep for such large areas starts to become daunting. I think we'll see hybrid trucks, and trains, running efficient turbine engines, and other advances to the ICE first.

 

We used to have fairly long electric train routes way back when. It wasn't totally electric, but where it was did work.

 

My horse is analog, goes anywhere and is friendly, if you don’t want to ride, he can pull a load on wheels, the journey is the destination

 

I can take the Amtrak train from central Virginia to New York City. The train stops in Washington DC to change from a Diesel engine to an electric one. On the return trip there is an engine swap back to diesel.

 

Way back when, the Virginian Railroad had an electric section.

 

You can go from South Bend, IN to Chicago's beautiful Millennium Park, opposite the Art Institute, on the all-electric South Shore Line.

South Shore Train Line Map | Chicago to South Bend

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Now, much of that isn't even railroad at all, but converted to recreational trails. I've walked / pedaled / skied multiple segments between Raymond WA and St. Regis MT.

 

Here is a guide for one of the 2 trains on my route to NYC. It stops at Penn Station, under Madison Square Garden.

Crescent Route Guide

 

These systems can work for trains. I can even see the benefit to having such in place for just segments, like climbing the Rockies for just the boost. But there must be some reason why they aren't used for all trains now.

When it comes to trucks, installing such a system will have a couple little extra problems. Being on rails, you don't have the issue of getting the train to line up right under the wires. Then installing this on existing roadways will cost more because of the issues car traffic brings.

I'd love to see this work though. Like trains, it can help trucks over mountain passes, and allow BEV trucks to carry smaller, lighter batteries. It will surely be more efficient than any wireless based system.

 

Here in Cornwall UK, the track was laid in the 19th century by Isambard Kingdom Brunel ( BBC - History - Isambard Kingdom Brunel ) and had to negotiate steep hills and valleys along a necessarily winding route. (Cornish Main Line - Wikipedia ) In Cornwall, there are original single track sections and high stone viaducts which constrain speeds to 60mph or slower. This has not leant itself to the national railway electrification scheme on a cost/benefit scale. Anecdotally, it takes longer to travel from Penzance to London than to fly there from Eastern Europe - including extensive check-in times.