Don,
The color in your picture matches what I saw. It could be that the towers are painted or they could be galvanized with the galvanizing not worn off. My recollection is that the painted or galvanized towers began after Bridgeport but if the ones you show are in Cos Cob I no doubt missed them.
The towers pictured appear to me to stand straight up in the air. I did see some like that. All of the towers were not identical. In some places there were a lot of wires, more so than in most places and then there were towers to handle the extra load. The cross braces are like the cross braces in all of the towers.
The towers that impressed me were shaped like a long narrow square vase. At the top they had a small but definite spire. A few had a wire running along the top but most did not. On the left side of your picture the towers in the distance may have been vase shaped but I cannot see them clearly.
John
Cos Cob 1988
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=356241&nseq=1
This would be south of Bridgeport.
Is this what you saw?
On the other side of NH - 1985, pre-electrification, but post-concrete ties. 100 mph service, but it took an F40PH a looooong time to get there.
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=9268&nseq=2
-Don (Random stuff, mostly about trains - what else? http://blerfblog.blogspot.com/)
John WR Henry, Of course I rode by on a train so I might have missed some important details. Yet I was deliberately observing them to see what I could see. It looked to me like all of the original towers are in place although some are painted and some are not. However, it is possible that those north of Bridgeport are new and still galvanized so that what looks like pint is really the zinc coating. What impressed me the most is the graceful design of the towers; I can easily imagine one in a sculpture park. I understand that Amtrak owns the tracks between New Haven and Providence so I assume Amtrak has installed the I beam posts along that section of track. This trip ended at Kingston, Rhode Island which is south of Providence so I don't know how the supports are constructed where the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority owns the tracks.
Henry,
Of course I rode by on a train so I might have missed some important details. Yet I was deliberately observing them to see what I could see.
It looked to me like all of the original towers are in place although some are painted and some are not. However, it is possible that those north of Bridgeport are new and still galvanized so that what looks like pint is really the zinc coating. What impressed me the most is the graceful design of the towers; I can easily imagine one in a sculpture park.
I understand that Amtrak owns the tracks between New Haven and Providence so I assume Amtrak has installed the I beam posts along that section of track. This trip ended at Kingston, Rhode Island which is south of Providence so I don't know how the supports are constructed where the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority owns the tracks.
The MBTA end of the NEC was electrified as part of the same project that covered the New Haven to Providence section and uses the same design for Catenary. Amtrak (i.e the Federal Gov't) covered the cost of the project and I doubt MBTA would have had much input as none of their "heavy rail" commuter lines use electric motive power (unlike their subway/light rail lines,OC).
"I Often Dream of Trains"-From the Album of the Same Name by Robyn Hitchcock
oltmanndMost likely MNRR hasn't gotten around to painting them yet.
That occurred to me too, Don, as the best explanation of why the towers are unpainted. And the truth is that I simply don't know why.
However, if you look at the concrete foundations the unpainted ones have a lot of rust staining as you would expect. The painted ones have very little rust staining despite the fact that they have been there for many years. And there is no sign of any current painting going on. Not only are there no painters in sight; also I didn't see any place where it looks like supplies might be stored, especially vehicles equipped with cherry pickers that would reach the top of the towers. So while there could be a painting project in progress I did not see any sign of one.
I think we can put catanary structures into three catagories along this line at the moment: 1) what is left of the original NY,NH, & H installation; 2) what MNRR/ConDot are doing in replacing the original, and 3) The High Speed Shore Line Acela era. All in various stages of fix, paint, replacing.
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John WRWhy they should be unpainted before Bridgeport and painted after is a puzzle. But they are painted up to New Haven.
Most likely MNRR hasn't gotten around to painting them yet.
While there are many draw bridges along the Shore Line, Hell Gate is not one of them. It's a high fixed bridge.
http://www.nyc-architecture.com/BRI/BRI005-HellGate.htm
Riding on the Shore Line last Saturday the supports for the catenary caught my eye. Early on they seem like sculptural objects. Four angle irons slowly flare upward to form a narrow tower. They are connected by flat straps in a criss cross pattern. At the cross arm a short spire sits on top with the angle irons coming together and fastened to flat straps in the same criss cross pattern. They look like they are intended to be an aesthetic part of track side scenery as well as to perform a utilitarian function.
Coming out of the tunnels the towers are covered with rust. Then, at Bridgeport, there is a change. The towers are painted light gray. Why they should be unpainted before Bridgeport and painted after is a puzzle. But they are painted up to New Haven.
After New Haven the supports are simple I beams that stick up in the air like the poles that they are. They look to be galvanized and rust has not yet begun. This seems to be a less expensive and less interesting way to support the catenary than the earlier supports. Also, beginning at New Haven the weights and pulleys to hold the wires in tension are quite visible. The weights and pulleys are 20 poles apart.
Seeing the Hell Gate Bridge is always a treat. Fortunately it was down as we approached so the train ran across it with no interruption.
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