Trolley poles are usually tapered cylindrical poles of wood or metal, used to transfer electricity from a "live" overhead wire to the control and propulsion equipment of a trolley car, tram or trolley bus. This system of current collection was an 1880 [1] invention of Frank J. Sprague. A tree trunk as found at the Veluwe, The Netherlands Wood derives from woody plants, notably trees but also shrubs. ... Hot metal work from a blacksmith Look up Metal in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Lightning strikes during a night-time thunderstorm. ... This article refers to the mass transit vehicle. ... A Philadelphia PCC trolley car in 1965 Volkswagen Cargo-Tram in Dresden on a section of grassed track. ... A trolleybus in Arnhem An electric trolleybus (also known as trolley bus or trackless trolley or simply trolley) is a bus powered by two overhead electric wires, from which the bus draws electricity using two trolley poles. ... Frank Julian Sprague (1857-1934) American inventor, Father of Electric Traction Frank Julian Sprague (1857–1934) was an American naval officer and inventor who contributed to the development of the electric motor, electric railways, and electric elevators. ...

Origin of the term

The term trolley to describe the pole or the passenger car using the trolley pole is derived from the grooved conductive wheel (trolley or troller) attached to the end of the pole that "trolls" the overhead wire. It was first used by an experimental tramway in Toronto, Ontario in 1880. Modern "trolley cars" usually don't use the trolley wheel at all, but use a grooved sliding "shoe" containing a carbon insert. This article refers to the mass transit vehicle running on rails. ... Welcome! Hello, Ontario, and welcome to Wikipedia! Thank you for your contributions. ...

Description of the device

Modern trolley poles as installed on Vancouver's low floor electric trolley buses.

The trolley pole sits atop a sprung base on the roof of the trolley vehicle, the springs maintaining the tension to keep the trolley wheel or shoe in contact with the wire. If the pole is made of wood, a cable brings the electrical current down to the vehicle. A metal pole may use such a cable, or may itself be electrically "live," requiring the base to be insulated from the vehicle body. Image File history File links WP_trolleypoles_vancouver_600. ... Image File history File links WP_trolleypoles_vancouver_600. ...

On systems with double ended railway cars capable of running in both directions, the trolley pole must always be pulled behind the car and not pushed, or dewiring is very likely, and it can also cause damage to the overhead wires. At terminus points therefore, the conductor must turn the trolley pole around to face the correct direction, pulling it off the wire either with a rope or a pole and walking it around to the other end. In some cases, two trolley poles are provided, one for each direction, so in this case it is just a matter of raising one and lowering the other. Since the operator could raise the pole at one end whilst the conductor lowered the other, this saved time and was much easier for the conductor.

Trolley poles are usually raised and lowered manually by a rope from the back of the vehicle. The rope feeds into a spring reel mechanism, called a trolley catcher. The trolley catcher contains a detent, like that in an automotive shoulder safety belt, which "catches" the rope to prevent the trolley pole from flying upward if the pole is dewired. A three-point seat belt. ...

On some older systems, the poles were raised and lowered using a long pole with a metal hook. Where available, these may have been made of bamboo due to it's length, natural straightness and strength, combined with it's relative lightweight, as well as the fact that it is an insulator. Trolleybuses usually carried one with the vehicle, for use in the event of dewirement, but trams systems usually had them placed along the route at locations where the trolley pole would need reversing. Diversity Around 91 genera and 1,000 species Subtribes Arthrostylidiinae Arundinariinae Bambusinae Chusqueinae Guaduinae Melocanninae Nastinae Racemobambodinae Shibataeinae See the full Taxonomy of the Bambuseae. ...

Single and double pole usage

When used on a trolley car or tram, i.e., a railway vehicle, a single trolley pole collects current from the overhead wire, and the steel rails on the tracks act as the electrical return. Trolleybuses, on the other hand, must use two trolley poles and dual overhead wires, one pole and wire for the negative "live" current, the other for the positive or neutral return. Ground symbols The term ground or earth usually means a common return path in electrical circuits. ... Trolleybus public transfer in Bratislava, Slovakia A trolleybus (also known as electric bus, trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tram or simply trolley) is a bus powered by two overhead electric wires, from which it draws electricity using two trolley poles. ...

Decline in usage

Trolley poles are still common on trolley buses, because they provide the most straightforward means of keeping separate the electrically live and ground contacts. A few locations, such as Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Toronto Ontario., continue to use trolley poles, even on new street railway vehicles, because of the difficulty and expense of modifiying long stretches of existing overhead to prevent other types of current collectors from fouling wire hanging hardware. Philadelphia is a village located in Jefferson County, New York. ... Official language(s) None Capital Largest city Harrisburg Philadelphia Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 33rd 119,283 km² 255 km 455 km 2. ... Welcome! Hello, Ontario, and welcome to Wikipedia! Thank you for your contributions. ...

On most railway vehicles using overhead wire, however, the trolley pole has given way to the bow collector or the pantograph, a folding construction of metal that presses a wide contact pan against the overhead wire. While more complex than the trolley pole, the pantograph has the advantage of being almost free from dewiring, being more stable at high speed, and being easier to raise and lower automatically. Also, on double ended trams, they eliminate the need to manually turn the trolley pole when changing direction, and eliminate the need for switches on the overhead to make sure the pole goes in the correct direction at junctions. An old tram with a bow collector built in 1907 still running in Oberbozen, South Tyrol, Italy A bow collector is one of the three main devices used on tramcars to transfer electric current from the wires above to the tram below, the other devices being the pantograph and trolley... The Z-shaped pantograph of the electrical pickup on German light railway. ...

See also

• Bow collector
• Pantograph
• Third rail
• Overhead lines
• conduit current collection