The One Long Wire Ruining America’s Most Important Train

[@AceP219]

I’m a “catenary” engineer (technically it’s called the overhead contact system), and there’s a lot more to designing the OCS than you think. Most of the NEC is a fixed tension system designed to have an allowable amount of sag, referred to as droop in the video, at different temperatures. The alternative is an auto-tension system. However, track geometry also affects the relative profile of the OCS, which affects overall performance. Typical HSR uses a three wire system, from bottom to top they’re called the contact wire, auxiliary wire, and messenger wire. Wires are usually only a couple miles long, and the contact wire is replaced every 5-10 years.

[@gabe8976]

You make it sound like the current system works with its "allowable amount of sag" but it's constantly in the news for shutting down service. Hell like a month ago it was literally every day for a week or two. We need a constant tension system

[@jamesb4789]

@@gabe8976 That will help, but you need to replace the power grid feeding he at to really get summer and winter reliability. Most of he major transformers are actually 1920's era vintage. They are fed by a series of transformers installed in the 1980's when the dedicated generating plants were shut down so they could buy 60 hz power off the grid. These are overloaded at peak service and have been shutdown for overheating regularly.

[@elia_berti]

Actually it's only Japanese HSR which uses the three wire system. European HSR systems use two wires. That's because when engineers had to face the issues of pantograph-wire interaction at high speed, the french decided to go with complex pantographs (the first TGV pantograph was a normal sized one with a tiny one added on top! Now they're more simple but they have an advanced control system) and simple catenary, the Japanese with the opposite (if you see shinkansen pantograph they are as simple as they can get. An advantage is that they generate very little wind noise this way)

[@AceP219]

@@elia_berti hm that’s interesting! Perhaps I was speaking too generally. I know at least in the United States Amtrak uses a three wire system, whereas SEPTA for example uses a two wire system.

[@jeremybarker7577]

@@elia_berti The 3-wire system (usually called compound catenary) was used in the UK on higher speed (I think the crossover point was 60 mph) lines electrified before the late 1960s. It was thought that the contact wire needed to be as level as possible but research proved that wasn't actually necessary and the middle wire wasn't needed. All more recent installations and upgrades of older ones only use two wires.

[@Marconius6]

American rail having multiple incompatible electrification methods is the most European thing I've heard all week.

[@imveryangryitsnotbutter]

Why can't America copy something good from Europe for once?

[@antoniobarry1486]

We love copying Europe’s goofiest nonsense while refusing to copy the good stuff.

[@JohnnyWednesday]

​@@meiko_kaji - What if we all agree to pretend their trains are superior in order to help the American people?

[@JohnnyWednesday]

@@meiko_kaji - US steam trains are loved around the world and towards the end of steam they were as influential as any British engine - I really hope things improve! yes it's a big investment but it pays off immensely. With an improved system the US could greatly reduce their reliance on the Panama Canal

[@kjrehberg]

Wait until you see how many frequencies and voltages are used by the Channel Tunnel and HS1.

[@Antimatter1207]

Great video as always, but there are two slightly incorrect things I should point out. 1. Amtrak only took over the Pennsylvania Railroad's passenger services. Freight services were taken over by the Consolidated Railroad Corporation, or Conrail. 2. The Pennsylvania Railroad completed the electrification in the 1930s, specifically 1934.

[@owenstockwood5040]

And for a couple more: 3. Amtrak took over the trains in 1971, not 1976, although that is the year that they took over the tracks. 4. The Pennsylvania Railroad no longer existed by 1971, having been merged, along with the New Haven and New York Central railroads, into Penn Central in 1968.

[@Antimatter1207]

@@owenstockwood5040 For all intents and purposes, Penn Central was the Pennsylvania Railroad. It was less a merger and more a buyout. The PRR bought out the other two and rebranded.

[@thekidfromcleveland3944]

Eh 1920s 1930s it was in the black and white times. Close enough

[@yaush_]

your first correction isn't a correction. Nobody said that Amtrak took over freight service. Amtrak doesn't even have freight service

[@Antimatter1207]

@@yaush_ The specific line I'm referring to is, quote, "When Amtrak absorbed the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1976", at timestamp 4:40

[@Gamer3427]

- Given $450 million to fix a part of the line. - Only does about 1/3 Sounds about right.

[@thekidfromcleveland3944]

CoNsTrUcTiOn

[@JohnnyWednesday]

All systems are broken - including Capitalism. 'Better' doesn't automatically mean 'good'

[@TheObsesedAnimeFreaks]

450m for 7 miles,is even more laughable, who squandered that?

[@thekidfromcleveland3944]

@@TheObsesedAnimeFreaks Bob probably knows where the money went

[@thetrainguy1]

Actually it was done. There was a trains magazine article that came out that described why constant tension Catenary was done on the entire section they were fixing. But power and signal systems were upgraded.

[@SebiSuper9mil]

If I don't hear Sam say "Hey, look! A catenary!" next season of Jet Lag if he goes on a train with one I will become very sad.

[@mustang8206]

🤓☝️

[@Planes_Games]

Fr

[@Nooticus]

the catenary* ... thats the correct way to use the word

[@mustang8206]

@@Nooticus ☝️🤓. Also wrong

[@SebiSuper9mil]

@@Nooticus watch the video thats is legit what Sam says

[@magical_coww8866]

I like playing this guessing game with every HAI title to guess if it's written by Ben Doyle or not. And I can say that I knew this was Ben classic before even scrolling down.

[@deniskhaidarov9166]

Wow! What are the cues?

[@magical_coww8866]

@@deniskhaidarov9166 in most cases I've noticed that videos written by Ben are something super niche yet they still somehow connect to a broader topic. Like this video about a single wire or the north Korean smartphone one.

[@holographictheory1501]

Also he hates Boston

[@JohnnyWednesday]

@@holographictheory1501 - The Bostonians are easily startled, but they will soon be back. And in greater numbers.

[@ATM648]

@@JohnnyWednesday You called?

[@JoyClinton-i8g]

To be more precise, the solution to droop is "constant tension" catenary. Amtrak and NJ Transit don't have constant tension catenary across-the-board, rather, only in select locations.

[@marco23p]

But the catenary wire itself is always tensioned, right? And the "messenger" wire is sometimes tensioned, sometimes not? In the Netherlands, the majority of the network has a tensioned catenary but fixed messenger wire. It works fine, but the speed limit is 140 km/h (around 90 mph).

[@lovenaturalnumbers355]

@@marco23pno. It’s all variable tension (no counterweight). That’s the problem with the “south end” electrification.

[@namibjDerEchte]

Wow, stupid, just put in the foundations needed (if even) and put in tension poles of the general style shown in the video (looks very German)... Prepare the plans and bring the parts to a warehouse near the build site, and arrange for some suited local construction crew to be mildly on-call (say, max a week long stretch, and at least 5 times as long break/gap time so they can catch up their normal stuff after the interruption). And then just wait for track downtime long enough to get the unit of work done, and move along the track until it's converted.

[@PascalGienger]

For high speed you need highly tensioned catenaries. Why? The higher the tension (the "pull") is, the higher is the velocity of an "error" spreading forward. This "error" is the slight lift of the catenary by the pantograph. If your train runs faster than this speed the pantograph will have air between it and the catenary. It is like a singleton wave moving forward. For slower running trains you do not need those high tensions.

[@Eden21425]

As a train nerd that is currently working on miniature catenary on my model train layout, i can only imagine what a pain it is to build reliable real one.

[@Edgemaster72]

Sorry about America hating you

[@jamesphillips2285]

2:30 It is actually the "support" wire that is in the catenary shape. Laws of physics prevent holding the bottom wire perfectly straight otherwise.

[@dang3304]

Thank you! This was driving me crazy. The wire he's talking about is called the "contact wire". The catenary wire is a different wire, the one the supports the contact wire from above.

[@RexPerfection]

absolutely in love with seeing this video while waiting for my delayed amtrak train to minneapolis

[@BlackMesa322]

I didn't realize I was statistically older than I am.

[@EvilGav]

You also, statistically, have an above average number of arms.

[@Jehty_]

@@EvilGav But probably a below average amount of intelligence..... Wait, what??😂

[@BariumCobaltNitrog3n]

@@EvilGav and legs

[@MarcusH...]

@@BariumCobaltNitrog3n i can finally sell an arm and a leg for that one expensive thing i wanted!

[@strandedtimetraveler8435]

Purple bar represent ✌️

[@A_Canadian_In_Poland]

The video omits the fact that the frequency of 25 Hz was chosen because that was the highest frequency upon which single-phase AC motors of the day could operate. Also, the New York to New Haven originally used 25 Hz, and was actually the first section electrified; only around 1990 was the frequency changed due to failures of the then-80 year old equipment. 25 Hz was also commonly used in industrial plants and in the entire Niagara region of southern Ontario at the time (with some equipment used until 2009). Same reason why many railways across Europe chose 16 2/3 Hz, which is still the standard in the German-speaking countries due to legacy installations.

[@PaulCashman]

But it's FAR more edgy to blame the mysterious "train-haters," which also generates more likes and subs.

[@vincentdow5899]

@@PaulCashmanthat was really low intelligence. This video creator had shallow knowledge, immature delivery. Trying to be clever and catchy I guess

[@elia_berti]

Yeah and once you have an extensive railway frequency single phase system comprising generation and transmission lines as it's in Germany/Austria/Switzerland it actually still has some advantages even over modern mains frequency AC electrification systems! That's why the 15 kV 16⅔ Hz countries in Europe build high speed lines with that voltage, while 1.5 and 3 kV DC countries like Spain, France, Italy and the Netherlands use 25 kV 50 Hz for HSR

[@hipsnowsis7374]

Just to make things a little clearer, the wire has to have at least *some* droop. 'Catenary' is literally the name of the curve formed by any hanging wire (it's equivalent to the cosh function on your scientific calculator, which is a function that you probably never used. not cos, cosh.). The tension is just minimising this droop, to a given value.

[@kkobayashi1]

Actually no. There are two wires. The catenary is the upper wire and has the catenary curve. A second wire (contact wire) is suspended from the catenary wire. If properly designed and maintained, the contact wire does not droop down at all.

[@JuneNafziger]

@@kkobayashi1I mean theoretically there’s still a very small amount of droop, between the points the two wires are connected, but the tension plus frequency of points means it’s negligible right?

[@to_loww]

The bottom wire is more like a rod. It's as thick as a finger.

[@zadams5596]

A train, car or bicycle with properly sized square wheels will roll smoothly on a series of inverted catenary arches.

[@vinnysworkshop]

For those who don't know, cosh is almost the same as cos, except that they are for two different types of trigonometry. cos is for standard Euclidean, but cosh is a hyperbolic trig function.

[@ccityplanner1217]

I love American catenary support structures with their high-voltage transmission cables suspended dozens of feet above the line (when a road goes over the tracks, the cables go over the road). The different companies supported their transmission cables differently: the Pennsy's look like a second set of catenary wires but higher, the Reading built these huge towers so it's like the train is driving under an electricity pylon, & the NYNHH's are offset to one side. The double-H's are actually the oldest, but the wire was replaced more recently (I think they changed the cross-sectional shape of the wire or something very technical like that). The way the old ones were arranged looked really bizarre: three wires arranged in a triangular prism, with the train touching the bottom edge. I hope that they replace the Pennsy's catenary, but keep the superstructure, like replacing a lightbulb in the same chandelier. The sheer grandeur of it lends a real sense of occasion to intercity travel. The United States was the world leader in electrical technology in the early 20th century, sort of like how it was the world leader in electronics in the late 20th century. London's Underground was electrified with technology imported from America and funded by American investment.

[@mrvwbug4423]

US Catenary isn't too different from how it's done in Europe, the main difference is US Catenary wires are 23.3ft in the air to accommodate the large loading gauge of US rail lines, except on lines with restricted loading gauge like the NEC (trains running on the NEC have to be able to fit into Penn Station in NY). This large loading gauge is actually great because US trains can be much taller, making it easy for US to use double decker passenger trains, or double stack containers on intermodal freight trains.

[@ccityplanner1217]

@@mrvwbug4423 : Doesn't the NEC account for the majority of the US's electrified track miles, though? Other than it, there's the PRR Mainline from Philadelphia to Harrisburg, SEPTA Regional Rail, NJ Transit, Metra 'Lectra in the northeast corner of Illinois and Caltrain along the eastern shore of the San Francisco peninsula.

[@Tarkov.]

I'm 33.1 years old? Oh hell yeah I just got 2 years knocked off, that's an upgrade I think?

[@theenzoferrari458]

It's average age of viewers demographics. I'm 29. That means we are averaging out.

[@na195097]

Awesome. I'm 15 years younger than I thought. Maybe I'll have enough in my 401(k) to retire at new-80, instead of never.

[@sayorancode]

i got upgraded enough to exist

[@brynbloom5993]

My 33rd birthday was 3 weeks ago, my partner's was 5 weeks ago 😂

[@bazis98]

I lost 8 years 😬

[@joecummings1260]

Back in about 2006 to 2008 I worked on a project from Hellgate going north to reduce catenary sag. We installed new support structures. It was a Kiewit/ Mass Electric job. I loved it

[@dock_yard1149]

The vast majority of the Amtrak-owned catenary support bridges between Sunnyside Queens to New Rochelle junction are still the original NYNH&H ones, now around 110 years old! You folks added new modern ones in critical places and replaced some NYNH&H ones that were too far gone or non-adaptable for modern uses. The Metro North lines from Woodlawn Bronx to New Haven also retained most of these classic supports. All these lines was converted to new wire with constant tension segments implemented in phases over the last 15 years, so most of the iconic NYNH&H towers have been given an extended life. Metro North voltage is 12.5KV, Amtrak’s is 25KV, both 60Hz.

[@joecummings1260]

@@dock_yard1149 Yeah some were replaced, some got saved, and in some areas we added additional so the spans were shorter

[@stevenwilliams5714]

The catenary wire is the top wire with the droop. The bottom wire is the contact wire where the pantograph from the train gets the power from. The two wires are joined by dropper wires and dropper feeder wires.

[@nunocspinto]

That's not only a America problem. Here in Portugal, we have one of the most used passenger suburban train line powered by 25kW, Linha de Cascais, in Lisbon. It's terrible... But finally, the funding came. But the works are slow, so people have little perturbation.

[@scbtripwire]

God I'd give anything to be 33.1 years old again.

[@ossieostrich69]

Be nice….

[@jbird4478]

I don't know if it helps but, statistically, you are.

[@counterfit5]

​@@jbird4478but only when watching HAI

[@sayorancode]

@@jbird4478 well yes but ...

[@somethinglikethat2176]

​@@jbird4478 oh good. Does that mean I can tell my everything to stop hurting?

[@gnomusgang8658]

If I had a nickel for every time Sam made a video about a long wire, I’d have two nickels, which isn’t a lot but it’s weird that it happened twice

[@Ging-Freecs]

Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated!

[@nickmcgookin247]

The wires under the sea not counted

[@joshuablount]

The first being the Jewish one in New York?

[@InternetKilledTV21]

@@nickmcgookin247 I believe this is about the Eruv in NYC

[@monterraythehomeless]

I saw the thumbnail and thought it was a reupload

[@twitch1965]

I grew up literally right next to the old Pennsylvania Broadway with GG1 flying by before PennCentral, Contrail or Amtrak. The Cantellary near my boyhood house is truly an engineering marvel, and four mainline track stacked all the way from DC to NY, mind blowing! I love the ad at the end, now living in the southeast, the bread hear sucks! Can;t wait to get back home to Philadelphia, for for no reason other than the food and the bread in perticular!

[@j.k4825]

They need a lineman for the countys...

[@theenzoferrari458]

What?

[@hisownfool1]

It’s a line from one of the greatest songs of all time: Wichita Lineman

[@voltare2amstereo]

Zoomer ​@@theenzoferrari458

[@JohnWilson-wg4gk]

He's kinda busy right now, what with driving the main road, in the sun, searching for another overload...

[@thepenguin9]

Damn I managed to catch this train with 3 minutes to spare!

[@ccityplanner1217]

I watched this right before leaving to take a rail replacement bus.

[@elicarlson7682]

@@ccityplanner1217Chicago/Quincy line??

[@elicarlson7682]

@@ccityplanner1217never mind I’ve just clicked on you’re channel and turns out, you are the most British person to ever grace this earth.

[@ccityplanner1217]

@@elicarlson7682 : Thank-you for the compliment.

[@Hahlen]

2:26 The stock footage is shot on board a Renfe Cercanías in Spain, probably Barcelona or Valencia because there’s ocean in the background (yes I know the Cercanías in Barcelona are called Rodalies because Catalonia has to be special)

[@mbathroom1]

last time I was this early, we had no trains

[@-divinetragedy]

>talks shit abt boston >proceeds to plug bostonian sponsor

[@thekidfromcleveland3944]

Like Jason Tatum

[@therwfer]

he's complex

[@GeneralLiuofBoston1911]

Wild indeed

[@mirzaahmed6589]

People already in Boston do not need a delivery service of Boston goods. They can just pick it up at the store themselves.

[@MonkeyJedi99]

I live in Massachusetts. Even people who say they love living in Boston can easily find things to hate about Boston. The one best thing said about Boston? "It's not New York City."

[@tayloraldridge3063]

Today i learned that i am statistically the perfect age for watching half as interesting…

[@kevinrichard1020]

I have one remark as an infrastructure engineer for Amtrak, the line is actually tension from nyc to about Princeton NJ . Not just the 7 miles you speak of. Otherwise pretty spot on 😅

[@oliverbrown1419]

Wire you making this video

[@drishaanpaliwal]

LMFAO 😂

[@sayorancode]

because it is ~half a wire (length)

[@JohnWilson-wg4gk]

That question really hertz my intelligence...

[@dappergenesis822]

5:48 There are two (three) different catenary systems on the NEC. Above New York I’m not exactly sure where, is the constant tension system. Which you describe as the weights creating the tension. While from New York to DC. It is a Fixed Tension. The tension comes directly from the cat-poles placed roughly around 300 feet apart from each other. Then there’s the third rail system, but it’s not over head. It’s on the ground. Also there are things called Phase Breaks that separate two power sources running in the system. A “gap” in the wire.

[@mrvwbug4423]

There are no sections of NEC that operate exclusively on 3rd rail, only the section from NY Penn Station to where the NEC and LIRR main line split at Sunnyside Yard has 3rd rail since LIRR also operates on that section with 3rd rail trains. The New Haven line's 3rd rail section ends where it merges with the NEC just before the CT state line (that's where Metro North switches power modes). Amtrak's only 3rd rail rolling stock are their dual mode diesel/3rd rail locomotives that operate the Empire Corridor, and they only use the 3rd rail mode to get out of Penn station, as soon as they're in the exit tunnel they start the diesel.

[@daanwilmer]

33.1 years old? Hah, joke's on you! I'm 33.3 years old!

[@jacksonjohnson4182]

I died at the "Technically that's a happy ending" comment.

[@giuseppenaylor]

3:50 Why would anyone want to go to Boston? Such an accurate statement.

[@urfavpooks.daniii]

Fr it took me 17 mins to go 1.7 miles

[@absolute_koko]

I literally went through one of these recently (July 6). Was in NYC and was heading home to RI with a scheduled train at 7pm. At 9am that day a single power line failure caused ALL trains between NY and Boston to be cut. It was out the whole day…

[@PrometheusGhostRider]

Unrelated but man I wish the US had a dedicated sole passenger train system. Imagine taking a train from Boston to local smaller towns

[@domtweed7323]

You could just nationalise the network and do a priority system: Passenger rail gets automatic priority over freight. It would be much cheaper than building a whole new one.

[@OpoOnTheGo]

You had me sold at leaving Boston

[@OmniGundam777]

We can do that. The commuter rail. I can take a train to Boston from my town. I get your point though.

[@scienceguy8]

@@domtweed7323 Technically, Amtrak, a half privatized, half nationalized passenger rail company, does have priority by law. Problem is nobody really enforces it.

[@domtweed7323]

@@scienceguy8 But, if you nationalised all the tracks, the government wouldn't be constantly fighting with the freight companies over priority.

[@REDACTED4503]

4:40 here’s something for the mistakes video: Amtrak did not directly absorb the Pennsylvania Railroad, because it merged with the New York Central and New Haven railroads to form Penn Central in 1968. PC was a disaster, filing for bankruptcy a mere two years after it started in 1970, and was given federal aid. In 1971, PC’s passenger services were transferred to Amtrak, which is what you mistake for the Pennsylvania Railroad. PC’s freight division continued to operate until 1976, when it was combined with several other failing Northeastern freight railroads to form the Consolidated Rail Corporation, or Conrail. Conrail was then split up in 1998 between Norfolk Southern and CSX.

[@OceanStateRail]

The Boston to New Haven stretch which I am along does not suffer these issues as like you said it was built correctly. Now the rest of the NEC is playing catch up installing new mast,substations, etc. In Attleboro Massachusetts they are adding a 4th wire over the 4th track at that station for increased capacity. I hope the rest of the NEC can upgrade to modern catenary (counter balances, k-brackets, etc).

[@kjrehberg]

Good news! This modern catenary has been installed in two ten-mile segments in New Jersey and is a model of what is to come for the rest of the NEC south of New Haven.

[@OceanStateRail]

@@kjrehberg I’m aware, Princeton Junction has some nice new mast up now.

[@cloudkitt]

Also, in a rare win, SEPTA's wires around Philadelphia have a lot more modern tensioning than Amtrak. So really it's the Trenton-NYC stretch that has had the problems.

[@OceanStateRail]

@@cloudkitt Interesting, SEPTA still uses the PRR poles right?

[@Me_Weetodd]

Despite the Boston to New Haven section being the most modern, it is the slowest section of the NEC because of all the fucking NIMBY Connecticunts

[@destelpa]

This explains why my train from Philly to DC was going so slow and delayed so badly at the beginning of August. The elderly woman next to me was not happy but I made it to my destination in time

[@Sabagegah]

2:17 joke’s on you. I, and all my friends, have The Autism.

[@Buc_Stops_Here]

The scary thing about this is not only the wires are a problem, the tunnel between NJ and NY is a worse problem. Back in 2012, Hurricane Sandy threw thousands of gallons of salt water into those tunnels which ever since then despite the clean up the salt continues to harm the concreate, steel, tracks and third rail. The tunnel has been going down more and more often the last couple of years as a decade later the tunnel is falling into complete disrepair. The new tunnel being built next to it won't be ready for a few more years so the chances it fails completely are increasing every year and in the past 6 months it has failed three times knocking out power on one track at least one day each time. Thank the cancelation of the original ARC project for this problem.

[@tubanbodyslammer9125]

Any dangling wire is a catanary, it means chain in Greek, because the curve of a rope/wire/chain is a catanary

[@Davids_Hobbies]

As a railfan in New Jersey, this whole situation SUCKS. I really hope that Once while I was railfanning, on June 26th of this year (6/26/2024) I got a video on a super hot day on the Morris & Essex Line of a set of Arrow IIIs leaving my local station (Short Hills), but it reversed back into the station about a minute later due to the catenary wire drooping just outside of the next station (Summit.) It caused delays for hours before they could get a Maintenance of Way (MOW) crew out there to fix the wire.

[@johnnaughton2364]

Too bad the infrastructure bill didn't introduce $16.4bn to improve the NEC.... Oh, that's right, it did....

[@ginamariemiele6950]

This explanation of the Northeast Corrider electrical system is very informative and interesting, since I was recently stranded on the Amtrak Acela from Washington DC to NYC which lost its electric in 95 degree heat for 3 hours and they sent a diesel train to rescue us, we had to walk to plank from train to train and were taken to and stranded in Newark Penn

[@Blauefrucht]

I hope you have learned from your research, that the maximum length of a single overhead line is around half a mile. It is therefore not "The One Long Wire" from the title.

[@mrvwbug4423]

Yup it's a bunch of not quite so long wires strung together. Then you have the "neutral sections" where they transition between power substations.

[@williammalley8618]

An old quote from a book I read back in the late 1970’s “ We are trying to run Buck Roger’s trains on Casey Jones track” Politicians like to stand in front of shiny new trains and slap their names on new stations but totally disregard the infrastructure that is needed to run trains.

[@coolboss999]

So wait, has Amtrak been given money to possibly replace this 80 year old wire so they can finally bring that section to 60 Hz?

[@kjrehberg]

The frequency has nothing to do with the wires. It has to do with the power supply. There are many power converters generating 25 Hz power all along the NEC, and a good portion of the NEC is powered by a 25 Hz water turbine on the Susquehanna River that was so over-engineered it will last practically forever.

[@coreyhipps7483]

​@@kjrehbergThis made me laugh. And of course no one will want to modify or replace it.

[@coolboss999]

@@kjrehberg So it's just the wire they need to replace. Gotchh

[@kjrehberg]

@@coreyhipps7483 If you're referring to the water turbine, it has been refurbished many times and there is a backup 25 Hz motor-converter that converts 60 Hz to 25 Hz when the native 25 Hz turbine is out of service. Why be so cynical?

[@packr72]

The wires have been replaced many times but the actual structures holding the wires haven’t.

[@bailsafe2017]

Watching this while riding the NEC (and as somebody that frequently gets caught in delays caused by "Amtrak overhead wire issues")

[@queennsydney]

No disrespect to your sponsor but don’t most places have bakeries? I personally have access to like half a dozen just that I know of that I would consider “local”. I would highly suggest people check out if there are local bakeries in their area. Buying locally reduces your carbon footprint immensely and it will definitely be cheaper.

[@bablela26]

Finally a end of video ad that is different! And pretty good too.

[@Cptn.Viridian]

Quite infuriating that in the 7 minutes of this video that isnt an ad, the core of the issue was never mentioned, the cronic underfunding/underinvestment in Amtrak and our American Infrastructure as a whole. Also the whole explaination of the problem was needlessly long and poorly written. The issue is not the single wire, but the catenary system as a whole. It is also extremely intensive and expensive to replace because 1: You need to replace both the powered wire, supporting catenary wire, and phsyical support, as well as 2: It is appove the busiest and most imporatant passanger rail corridor in the US, so any work has to contend with constant traffic during the day, and a decent amount of night services limiting the amount of time and space the work can be performed in. Of course all these problems would be solvable if we as a country would invest in fixing the problem, but rather than pointing that out, Journalist and whatever this channel is seem to only be able to point at poor service and delayed/cancelled trains, and not the actual root cause or potential solutions.

[@johnchambers8528]

Not mentioned is there are several major replacement projects scheduled over the next few years. At that point both the track and overhead catenary system will be replaced. Here are just a few: the bridges and a new tunnel between New Jersey and Penn Station, a new tunnel through Baltimore and some bridges in Maryland. While none of these projects will be completed soon they are in the process of getting done.

[@kay1229]

Make no mistake though, those infrastructure improvements **HAVE** to happen. It is the one of the most difficult investments a country can make but one with THE Biggest rewards

[@terencewinters2154]

We can go to the moon but we can't spend money to fix the gentle rocking travel of a train . Why cars and oil convenience yet when we look at these point to point conveniences we realize we are missing something - community.

[@dang3304]

He didn't even get the names of the wires correct. What he's referring to as the catenary wire is actually the contact wire. The catenary wire is the support wire that holds up the contact wire. This is the problem with these edu-tainment channels. They rarely understand the topics they are covering in enough depth to do it correctly.

[@johnchambers8528]

@@dang3304 If you are describing the whole system of supporting the contact wire there is nothing wrong as referring to it as the catenary wire. Let’s face it if any part of the system fails you can not run the trains. As noted in the video it is not jut the catenary wire that is the problem. It also includes the old electrical supporting systems like the transformers and in the case of the old Pennsylvania Railroad system even the use of 25 hertz instead of commercial 60 hertz AC power cycle service.

[@RideASpaceCowboy]

I got stuck for over three hours on the Northeast Corridor from Manhattan to Trenton on the date mentioned. Eventually I had to Uber home.

[@bcdm999]

1:37 climate "reogranization"

[@dk50b]

3:56 Electrification from New York to Washington was completed in 1935. The first interconnected electrical grid was established in 1927, and grew from there. And it's not a "wire", but countless wires. They are collectively known as catenary, or the catenary system. It's never called "the wire" or "the catenary". Using correct terminology is is critical when spreading knowledge of this subject. The real possibility of its failure risks delivering a negative hit to our GDP.

[@StrangerThanFictionSTF]

The Truth, as they say, is Stranger Than Fiction.

[@codylox41]

I loves Sam's "surly there's a term for that, I'm not a scientist" joke, it was top tier

[@romulusnr]

HAI: disses Boston Also HAI: gets sponsored by a Boston company

[@khalilbehmen439]

Another huge problem is that Amtrak trains don't have their own right of way, they have to share it with commercial rail, which gets priority. This means they often have to stop mid-journey to let freight rail pass (I recently was in a train that was stopped for about 30 min). Nationalizing the rails would solve this easily but obviously that'll never happen. I could put up with all of this if the tickets were reasonably priced, but they're often TWICE as expensive as flight tickets!!! You can fly from NYC to Boston or DC for 70 bucks easy, while Amtrak tix rarely go below $120. I wish the higher-ups would stop treating Amtrak like a business; public transit will NOT turn a profit, it's supposed to be an investment in the public.

[@kjrehberg]

Actually, the Northeast railroads *were* nationalized as Conrail in the 1970s-1990s. It worked and when it was finally broken up and sold to CSX and NS, Conrail made all of its investors massive profits. Sure, they had to wait 20 years, but that's how it went.

[@Chase92488]

the problem is that why would you do something to invest in the public when they wont use it? people are already just fine using cars and taking flights, there just hasnt been a need to use rail

[@therosijedha]

​​​​@@Chase92488There are people that don't want to drive or fly, and flying is really only good for trips over 1 000 km 620 mi AND it's enough people to where the northeast corridor is profitable for amtrak

[@BryanTorok]

@@Chase92488 Great point!

[@EvilGav]

@@Chase92488 I think you mean there hasn't been the *option* to take the train. Do you honestly think people would prefer to sit in a car on a freeway for 4 hours at 75 or relax on a train, reading a book or taking a nap, for 2.5 hours?

[@doublepinger]

A recent article I was reading was we can make carbon fiber electrical cables, which have less sag. Then we can replace existing wires as needed with newer wires and presto, wires that have less sag, and weirdly, we can then run more current through, and they can intentionally sag back to original "spec" but carry more power in the meantime. The key thing was this could allow for greater electricalization (I think electrification isn't a suitable word) of vehicles and such, but it's not sexy because it'd be done as a maintenance project, not as a blockbuster "make it great again, right now". In this context, less-saggy wires would be great for trains! Also, passenger soup is not one of those things you should say in normal conversations. Please be aware of that 😂👌

[@mrvwbug4423]

That sounds ungodly expensive. Carbon Fiber is not cheap, copper and aluminum wire is much less expensive.

[@doublepinger]

@@mrvwbug4423 The article I had read didn't go into enough detail it seems. The proper term is composite Weirdly they use the carbon fiber for the core, and all the useful electrical property is aluminum wiring around it. They can reduce sag, by both reducing weight and increasing tensile strength of the core, while allowing more aluminum in the same volume as the old cable to carry more current before heating unacceptably! Fancy.

[@beanboy89]

I was actually directly effected by the faulty wire on June 21st. My scheduled Amtrak train out of NYP was cancelled that morning, so I just ended up staying an extra day in New York and leaving the next day.

[@willharris-braun4422]

And because of that delay you met the love of your life and lived happily ever after?

[@crowmob-yo6ry]

First you hate Boston's subway, now you hate the NEC? Admit it, you're a car-addicted suburbanite!

[@secretmeister]

3:18 unfortunately, I am a 17 year old in norway.

[@whosjulez1157]

I can't find what's unfortunate about that

[@hunterchichester5720]

​@@whosjulez1157 norway

[@sayorancode]

@@hunterchichester5720 wait until you hear about USA

[@andrewmcalister3462]

Ah, a statistical outlier. 😂

[@KevinT3141]

Thanks for re-explaining the 75% columns of your spreadsheet, I'd totally forgotten what that meant.

[@jangschoen1019]

Wonder if this will ever affect a Jet Lag season.

[@tomgidden]

"The next time you take the train with your friends, you can say, “hey look, a catenary,” and they’ll know not to take the train with you anymore." That's Ben telling Sam to shut up about catenaries next season.

[@kevinmcdowell9074]

Here is the US, we have taken hatred for trains and arguably anything communal and good about living in a society, and turned it into a national pastime.

[@Kevin-wz4rp]

Not an expert but I think there's at least two wires there.

[@skyem5250]

One set of wires, really.

[@alexdyke194]

The tracks act as the ground wire, so you only need one per track

[@Kevin-wz4rp]

@@alexdyke194 I know that, but there's a minimum of two tracks. There's also the support wire, higher voltage wires, and the contact wire is usually made up of many segments of wires.

[@franklapinta1470]

I was at NY Penn when that happened. Fortunately for me and my mom, we were taking the Empire service to Albany that day and was only delayed for an hour. Felt really bad for the hundreds of people who had to deal with this nightmare over that weekend. I hope something is done soon to fix this.

[@georgewendell]

3:17 I am almost exactly 33.1 years old rn lol

[@danedawg100]

I had a trip two weeks ago (also during the massive crowd strike outage) I was planning on traveling from Trenton NJ to penn station. The week and 3 days before the trip I got a total of 75 emails from them for Various issues, either heat, electrical, or elevators. It was insane. I ended up just canceling the JFK flight and flying out of Philly

[@smalltime0]

I presume Amtrak was unaffected by the crowdstrike outage. Not because of fantastic foresight, just that they've never had the budget to upgrade from 3.1

[@amelie3036]

I love learning about Amtrak because it makes me feel so much better about Deutsche Bahn

[@mrvwbug4423]

DB: we're always late Amtrak: Hold my Beer. 😂

[@liamfoxy]

The bread ad really got my attention as an expat Canadian living in TN lol. Where I'm from we have something called Winnipeg style rye, and since moving I've found nothing that compares. Bread in the US really is horrible.

[@queennsydney]

This is wild to me. I live in the NE of the US and we have incredible bread in our local bakeries. I’m sorry the TN bakeries you’ve tried aren’t to your liking but I bet you could find good bread if you tried! Or maybe your area of TN isn’t very densely populated or maybe they hate bread lol. I promise it’s not indicative of the state of US bread as a whole.

[@ShouPow]

Yeah breads in NJ and in/around NYC are alright... But literally nowhere near the consistency of France, Japan, or Korea. It's a tragedy everytime I return home 🥲

[@ryanroberts1104]

I don't understand. This is America, why wouldn't you just drive your pickup truck?

[@walter6574]

Reflecting on American bread, I’ve always found it peculiar how European bread stands out with its superior taste, texture, and truly crusty crusts (which, in my opinion, is the best part of bread). I remember living on Long Island and frequently visiting an Italian deli for roast beef sandwiches. Those foot-long loaves were a delight, matching the quality of European breads-no surprise, considering it was an Italian deli. I'll make the effort to find a European bakery before opting for supermarket bread for my roast beef. It's definitely worth it. I also plan to give Wildgrain a try. My comment is genuine, I am not getting any sort of remuneration for it.

[@ChrisHowe-Smith]

Hi Sam

[@noavic_]

Speaking of this, I was actually riding a SEPTA home from Jefferson station in Philly on May 26 when the lines lost power. It’s interesting to hear more info into what happened as at the time it was very confusing.

[@Mladjasmilic]

If the system was designed to run at 25Hz, as far as transformers go, it would work at 30 or 60Hz. German speaking countries use 17Hz, which is 1/3 of 50Hz, for rail, and they supply it by conversion stations from the main grid. I see no reason why they could not do it. But the best solution would be to bring it all to 25kV 60Hz AC. 25kV AC is the world standard for high speed rail.

[@kjrehberg]

The problem is money and legacy technology. Indeed, south of New York City, when they replaced motor-generator converts with solid state converters they chose to keep the 25 Hz standard. Plus there's that 25 Hz water turbine that powers two huge sections of the NEC south of New York.

[@grandinosour]

Cheaper to just put diesel generators on the train...just like freight rail does.

[@willferrigno1]

Hey just a quick clarification, the first thing mentioned in the video happened on July 21th, not June (unless a near identical situation happened a month later). I myself was on a train headed back to DC from New London, CT. We got stopped right after getting to NYC, and about 1.5 hours in, after getting updates from Amtrak that the train was supposedly "canceled," took an uber all the way to Metropark, NJ which was past the problem zone. On the way though, the train status updated that it would be running again, so at that point it was a race to get there first, and inevitably we ended up getting back on the same train we left on. It was pretty hectic but kind of a fun little adventure.

[@chrisgeorge74]

These issues have been happening multiple times a week the whole summer, you could probably pick a random date in the past 2 months and there would've been an overhead wire issue

[@cs8712]

wire you reading this

[@extrabfbmm]

wire did you make this?

[@Agvazela_Vega]

@@extrabfbmmwhy are did you make this? Yeah no that one doesn’t track.

[@gouravmoondra9451]

Just trying to stay current

[@extrabfbmm]

@@Agvazela_Vega my joke was stupid and I don't know wire you are so serious

[@Agvazela_Vega]

@@extrabfbmm Ah, I’m sorry if watt I said came across as sparking a conflict.

[@demekagamine]

3:47 I'll have you know I went to Boston by train for a concert! I immediately left the next morning and haven't gone back

[@JonathanTrevatt]

As an Australian who visited the US, I can confirm that your bread is basically inedible.

[@LewisTL95]

I am glad I am not the only Australian who thinks this. American bread has so much added sugar, it is actually terrible - both in taste and diet. No wonder ya’ll have an obesity problem (coming from a nation with an obesity problem which is almost as bad…)

[@mustang8206]

An American who lives in the US I can confirm our bread is delicious. Stick to your nasty vegemite

[@yukko_parra]

As an Australian living in the AU, i can assure you that bread tastes like bread here and fresh bread exists everywhere.

[@GeorgeLiquor]

I hope it keeps you from visiting again

[@JonathanTrevatt]

@yukko_parra It depends on where. Most of the bread and cheese I found in San Hose California was disgusting and the eggs were flavourless with pale yolks. But New York had much better, tastier options. The coffee wasn't really amazing anywhere, but Australia has some of the best availability of high quality coffee in the world. So it's a high bar to jump. I had my first clam chowder in San Fran, and that was awesome.

[@lkj974]

Here in Portland (Oregon) the light rail brakes start losing efficiency on days when the temperature exceeds 90 degrees. When the system was designed, those days were rare indeed.

[@mat3j218]

6:54 *laughs in European*

[@to_loww]

When it comes to standardised voltages though ...

[@zachmitchell8422]

Excellent video team, I learned a lot!

[@seesaw41]

One single wire for the entire NY-DC route? I... what? You don't even make smaller pieces/sections? I must have underestimated how much the US hates trains...

[@pleasant_asymmetry]

I think it is in sections, the video is just referring to it as a system, since they're able to repair it after these outages, and it would be ridiculous to replace the entire wire every time

[@goosenotmaverick1156]

I mean basically. Some of us love trains but on the whole we weren't accustomed to using them because they didn't exist for passenger service in any meaningful way for so long (outside of major urban centers, passenger rail is useless. I priced taking my family 1800 miles via train. It was cheaper to fly and would take hours instead of days. The price point isn't there to provide any incentive to take it unless you just really like trains. As that trend continues, we just continue to not adopt usage of passenger rail in any meaningful way. And sadly I personally think we could benefit greatly, being such an expansive country. But my opinion seems to be in a small minority of folks. Murica isn't quite anti-train, but we sure aren't pushing FOR it. 😢

[@turun_ambartanen]

Bigger sections are better, not smaller ones. A unified electrical system leads to easier interoperability.

[@Spencergolde]

Rookie mistake. A good benchmark is to divide the number of highway on ramps by the number of passenger rail stations in the country, that equals the percent by which people (cough brided politicians cough) care about rail.

[@mdhazeldine]

Unless the NEC is using some kind of weird system I've never heard of (possibly true), there would be a new section of wire every few miles with short "neutral sections" or breaks in the wire, where the train just coasts through the gap. This means if one section breaks, they don't have to replace the whole thing, and it also makes tensioning easier. I think he was saying one wire more for dramatic effect rather than technical accuracy.

[@CyanideCarrot]

Portland's light rail has the same drooping issue. They didn't give the tension weights enough space to handle the 100+ temps that they're now seeing

[@samholland209]

6:54 Europe would also be winning in healthcare, life expectancy, and safety.

[@Phlickey]

Jesus, I'm currently exactly 33.1 years old watching this. analytics are spot on.

[@volkris]

It's not that we hate trains or train people. It's that, if you love trains so much, chip in the money to upgrade it. Go for it. Sounds like a good idea. Just don't make the rest of us pay for your hobby.

[@sayorancode]

that is a great point , now go back to driving over school children in your ford f150 supermax my d*** is tiny but hey maybe this big dumb children paver will compensate for this edition, while thinking about your imaginary GF bc your real one accidentally got driven over by a car. and go to your city and vote against california high speed rail so you will not have to bear thought to the idea that someone could easily take a train and be there faster and without danger of your drunken a** driving over them. if you ask who hurt me : a e-bike drove into my leg while i was running (and unlike you i will not pretend to be fast so i will tell you that my fastest speed is around a measly 10 mph ) , also had scary encounters with street motor vehicles in general and also lived in germany for a bit so i can tell you the trains there while not perfect are much better than amtrack (especially over long distances ) and it did cost less than 10% of your military budget that you are using to protect your own megacorporations from outside competition bc true capitalism is good until you are the ones with inferior deal . --ok sorry this post is just a shitpost for the memes

[@chrisgeorge74]

I feel this would be a good in depth Wendover video

[@jessetorres8738]

Trivia note: Today is August 1st, which is also know by some as Digimon Day.

[@kaz49]

Well, if it's America's most important train then it can't be that important, right?

[@AnotherPointOfView944]

America has made it so.

[@Kukaak]

Woah, not only do we get a video about the best mode of transportation and a thing I really like but the ad is also about something I like. I don't understand how Americans can eat their bread but I guess the crappy trains make them used to crappy things

[@NeonNijahn]

America does hate me. I knew it!

[@stevenlitvintchouk3131]

I hate anyone who demands that I subordinate my individual wants and needs to their personal values.

[@travelandeats8518]

As someone who takes trains. I support them. Connecticut to nyc grand central or Harlem is so easy for day trips. It is super easy to get to nyc. I like how simple it is not confusing. Boston to nyc!

[@FacterinoCommenterino]

Today's Fact: The smallest country in the world is Vatican City, which has a total area of just 0.17 square miles.

[@jonahplayscello]

Not this shit

[@nottaserialkiller7238]

So that's roughly 5.9 popes per square mile

[@votekyle3000]

Everyone wants to talk about Vatican City, no one ever talks about Seychelles at 176 sq. miles

[@Bluefire397]

I don't care

[@Betweoxwitegan]

​@@votekyle30001. **Vatican City** - 0.19 sq mi 2. **Monaco** - 0.78 sq mi 3. **Nauru** - 8.1 sq mi 4. **Tuvalu** - 10 sq mi 5. **San Marino** - 24 sq mi 6. **Liechtenstein** - 62 sq mi 7. **Marshall Islands** - 70 sq mi 8. **Saint Kitts and Nevis** - 101 sq mi 9. **Maldives** - 115 sq mi 10. **Malta** - 122 sq mi 11. **Grenada** - 133 sq mi 12. **Saint Vincent and the Grenadines** - 150 sq mi 13. **Barbados** - 166 sq mi 14. **Antigua and Barbuda** - 171 sq mi 15. **Seychelles** - 177 sq mi

[@MsLazyllama101]

I rely on the northeast corridor and I've noticed a lot of times this summer that the trains have been going much slower to try to avoid the overheating

[@AlexScott-hu8ey]

2 videos in 2 days is wild for half as interesting

[@PhantomThiefOfSports]

Thank god there weren't many delays during my trip to and from DC this past weekend. I just hope they upgrade the overhead catenery up and down the NEC as well as other infrastructure

[@gottfriedheumesser1994]

The USA should recognize that there are a lot of items where they are 'slightly behind' to say it politely.

[@SaketIyer]

2:32 One correction: The wire you are talking about is called a contact wire. The catenary is the one above it which goes up and down. The contact wire is parallel.