mmellor wrote:
Stephen Furley wrote:
Rupert Candy wrote:

and converting
the electrical system from standard 3rd rail to side-contact.

Bottom contact; side contact was Manchester - Bury, and I think after
conversion, Holcombe Brook, which was originally overhead.

The shoegear in New York is interesting; it's a sort of Manchester -
Bury system turned on its side. It's top contact, but the rail is
protceted except for a narrow gap on the inner side, and the shoe is a
flate plate which comes in from the side to contact the top of the
rail.

New York has three separate third-rail systems: Metro-North (ex NYC),
LIRR (ex PRR), & the Subway. The Subway is top-contact; LIRR is
top-contact, with a protective board on top; & Metro-North is
bottom-contact. (I think I've got that right.) I imagine that you're
referring to the LIRR?

Mike, my knowledge of New York is not that great; I should have said
that *some* of the third rail was as I described; I did not intend to
imply that all of it was000. I've certainly seen protected third rail
on both PATH and the Subway. I've only used Metro-North from Harlem
125th Street to GCT, and the LIRR from Jamaica to Penn Station; I can't
remember what system these used. I've used the Metro-North Port
Jervis line, from Hoboken, but only just into New York (Suffern), but
that line is not electrified. I've frequently ridden the NJT service
between Trenton and Newark, aand occasionally through to New York, but
that is overhead.