Purely a curiosity question -- Why has NORM not yet put up any trolley wire? Is there a local third-party problem or legal issue, or just a matter of priorities?

Thank you for your interest in NORM. I can assure you that overhead is a part of our development and something we all want to see happen sooner rather than later. The short answer is this; it is a matter of priorities. Where overhead lies in our priorities list can to some extent can be moved or at minimum accelerated with more volunteers and $$$ or lots of $$$$$$! Of course that is true for any museum. So we’ll be happy to see you or others ready to volunteer at NORM and remember to bring lots and lots of money along!!!. All kidding aside, we like any other museum is always in need of those resources. My personal preference is that you donate to us, but I would be happy to see people continue to support any rail museum. Remember in these tough times, museums are being strapped for resources too.

On the matter of overhead at NORM, just because there is not a web of wires being strung over our track and ROW does not mean there is no activity underway. A couple of years ago our quest for overhead made major leaps forward. In 2006 many items needed for overhead arrived at the museum. First we acquired in a trade with PTM a quantity of decorative steel poles. These poles will support the overhead in the vicinity of our future visitors center. We also have bracket arm mounting hardware from former Cleveland Railway concrete octagonal poles that fit these poles.

That same year we acquired many decorative bracket arms from the former Trolleyville museum as well as some overhead hardware. NORM’s volunteer crews spent many hours pulling down this hardware and these bracket arms. Our bucket truck and stake bed truck got a work out that year. Our thanks to the Brookins family for this donation.

Finally we obtained from New Orleans all the overhead hardware from the shuttered St. Charles Ave streetcar line. It was taken down by the contractor that did the lines reconstruction and donated to us by the transit authority in that city. We sent two volunteers to New Orleans by Amtrak. Then in 100 degree heat and humidity and they loaded a large rental truck up with several track miles of overhead hardware and drove it back to Ohio. The size of the pile of this material is staggering. At present a volunteer is working on this material. When the contractor in New Orleans took down the overhead they cut the bracket arms on either side of the bracket that drops the span wire and overhead hardware below the bracket arm. So what we have is a pair of these brackets with a section of bracket arm still in it. Between them is some twisted span wire with hangers, ears and insulators all still attached. The volunteer is untangling this web into discrete components and sorting them. Next this material needs to be evaluated and viable material renewed and prepped for reuse.

So you may not see poles being set or wire strung, but work is underway in this area. I hope this answers your question.

Steve Heister
Northern Ohio Railway Museum
http://www.northernohio.railway.museum

steve,

I too have wondered about not having any wire up at your museum.

But you have built not one but two Car barns in recent years and that too is an accomplishment.

Also I do not know if you have any operational cars that use trolley current, so maybe not putting it up has some good reasons.

Ted miles

We have erected two carbarns and as well as another smaller building to house our fleet of rubber tired maintenace equipment. One carbarn is strictly for storage of cars and car parts. The other barn, The Anson W. Bennett carhouse is for our active cars as well as restoration and maintenance. We do have one electric car that runs. It is 0711, a 1925 built Differential Car co. street railway crane. We use it as the museum switcher. With a lack of overhead lines to get its power from, we have a generator that powers it. It is mounted on the cars deck and is a vintage 1958 katolight industrial power generator. This unit consissts of a Chryler industrial HEMI V-8 turning an AC generator. The three phase 416 volts that comes from this unit feeds a rectifier designed and built by the museum. After that the 600 volts (actually about 590) is fed into the cars cab ceiling mounted line breaker. It works out very nicely. I do look forward to the day that when running the car I won't be listening to the throaty sounds eminating from the Hemi.

Steve Heister
Northern Ohio Railway Museum

http://www.northernohio.railway.museum