"Peter Fox" wrote in message
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wrote in message
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http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/article...0&in_page_id=2

ISTR an episode of "Mythbusters" that suggested this wasn't possible
(the stream would probably stops being a continuous one by the time it
hit the live rail and thus wouldn't be able to conduct), although
given the reports say he "walked onto the track" perhaps he
accidentally made contact with the electrified line another way.

I understand that there was a case of someone peeing over a brige
somewhere between Sheffield and Manchester in the days when the Woodhead
line was open.

Peter Fox

Trust me, it wouldn't need to be a continuous stream- it would be a case of
'join the drops'. I heard a (possibly apocryphal) story of a similar event
during the WW2 blackouts, when three electrocuted male bodies were found
next to a live rail.
My boss, who used to be a Tonbridge guard, used to tell of a regular parcels
turn to Bricklayer's Arms. After stabling the train, they would cross the SE
mainline to get a pass back. If it was wet, and especially if it were a fine
drizzle, they would get a mild belt when stepping over the live rail, as
their despatch-riders' leather overcoats (this was before the days of
free-issue Hi-Vis) would pass over it without touching. This was in rain,
which is a relatively poor conductor in comparison with a liquid containing
lots of dissolved salts.
Brian