I wonder how Lionel came up with he conical pickup on the end of the pole ? Surely someone saw a prototype somewhere. M4 seems to have a rotating wheel on it's pole. If the catenary existed why use another form of power for propulsion ? Old street cars that I have seen also had pole hooks on each end of the roof. Whenever parked for any time they would lower the pole for safety sake. You can see this on the trolleys in New Orleans the ones parked at the terminal all have their pole down in the hook. However if such a conical pickup like on Lionel's model exists that would support your theory.
I remember as a child here in Birmingham they tore the trolley tracks up and replaced them with electric buses that drew power from a parallel dual wire catenary and every time the bus turned a corner the driver would have to get out and get the pole back on the wires. I don't think the system lasted ten years before they ditched it if favor of diesel buses. I was only about seven but I missed the trolley the first time I rode on one of the electric buses. The trolleys were much faster ! j
dkdkrd posted:Apparently these are used for welding rails together, a common practice for today's railroads. The pole was not used for transporting, if I recall. It was only raised while stationary to pick up the electrical power to achieve the rail weld.
Others may clarify, correct, or amend. I'm certainly not the expert!
