User:Joecbaltohioelecloco

Historical Significance:

The Baltimore & Ohio Belt Railway electrification marked the first time that electric propulsion was applied to mainline freight and passenger operation. Smoke free propulsion was mandated by local ordinance which forbade smoke flues or vents in the Howard Street Tunnel that passed under a fashionable area of Baltimore. An electric locomotive provided the sole propulsion to a train that consisted of standard passenger and freight rail cars plus an idle steam locomotive.

Features that set it apart

All prior application of electric power to rail operation involved the use of street railways or was limited to the movement of freight cars at slow speeds over street trackage to industrial plants located thereon.

Technical Obstacles:

The technical challenges were two fold. First, movement of mainline trains at normal speeds required the design and construction of a locomotive with 1000% greater power than any constructed previously. Second, the provision of adequate propulsion power required concentrated power generation that exceeded the total capacity of utilities such as the Edison Electric Illuminating Co. of NY which comprised five stations.

The required locomotive performance was achieved with a scheme that coupled large motors to the wheels by a steel "spider," the arms of which were fitted with rubber blocks that engaged the spokes of the driving wheels. Power was provided by large (for that time) 500kW compound dynamos connected to permit a voltage increase of as much as 25% to meet peak demand. In view of the unprecedented high current involved, power distribution used initially a steel overhead contact system. Likewise, integrity of return current conduction was assured as the usual running rail path was supplemented with a bonded cable to mitigate possible stray current issues.