Design of Catenary System for Cleveland Union Terminal

The article presents a brief description of the new electrification at Cleveland, Ohio, and the methods used in designing the overhead catenary system. The tangent chord compound catenary is used, the system being quite heavy. The main line construction weighs 3.855 and the yard construction 2.321 lb. per ft. dead load. The main line system is composed of a main messenger, an auxiliary messenger, and two contact wires hanging side by side. The yard system has a main messenger, and two contact wires, one above the other. The parabola formulas were used for the calculations, and where feasible, were made up in the form of charts, illustrations of which appear in the text.