Proposal:Catenary mast details
| detailed catenary mast | |
|---|---|
| Proposal status: | Draft (under way) |
| Proposed by: | reDoubleYou |
| Tagging: | catenary_mast:*=* |
| Applies to: | 
|
| Definition: | Catenary masts support the system of overhead wires used to supply electricity to electrically powered vehicles equipped with a pantograph, such as trams, streetcars, light rail, and trains. |
| Statistics: |
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| Rendered as: | hidden, maybe OpenRailwaymap or similar |
| Draft started: | 2024-12-21 |
Proposal
Since around 9 years the tag power=catenary_mast exists with status "de facto". But it is just a node with this tag and without any further informations about the catenary mast. This proposal provides a scheme to add further specifications.
Rationale
Catenary masts are an important element in the area of railway energy supply. Opensteetmap has not yet been able to record any details about these. This is data that is easy to record (on site or by street level imagery) and can enable valuable analyses.
Tagging
Apart from the mandatory and existing tagging of catenary masts by power=catenary_mast, the following tags are proposed for recording details:
type of catenary mast
| Feature | Key | Value | Description | Photos |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| construction | catenary_mast:construction | lattice | lattice, based on tagging tower:construction | 
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| frame | flat frame masts consist of two U-profiles that are connected with flat steels | 
| ||
| h_profile | catenary masts made of H-profiles or double T-beams (also known as Peiner-masts) | .jpg)
| ||
| rectangular | solid steel wall masts with 4 angles | hier Foto | ||
| pipe | round solid steel wall masts, also angular masts with more than 4 angles | 
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| wall_mount | catenary mounted directly on a house wall or wall, e. g. usual for tram electrification | 
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| vibrated_concrete | vibrated concrete masts are manufactured by being inserted into a rectangular mould, which is then filled with concrete | _Bahnhof_St._Valentin.jpg)
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| spun_concrete | spun concrete poles have a round cross-section, are tapered and hollow on the inside | 
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| other | if none of the above values fits, it is recommended to add material for conretisation | |||
| catenary_mast:guyed | yes | only added, if the catenary mast is guyed | 
|
Suspension of the overhead line
Catenary masts can hold the overhead line in various ways. This is to be recorded with the following tags:
| Feature | Key | Value | Description | Photos |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type of suspension of the overhead line | catenary_mast:suspension | cantilever | suspension of the overhead line by cantilever(s) | 
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| head_span | head spans, often in railway stations for spanning several tracks | 
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| portal | portals | 
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| end | the last mast at the end of a electrified track, which takes the tension from the overhead line directly, there is no tensioning, the mast is sometimes also located directly behind the buffer stop in the track centre line, often catenary_mast:tensioning=fix is to be tagged as well | 
| ||
| tensioning_only | exclusively for tensioning the overhead line; in this case it is recommended to specify the type of tensioning by catenary_mast:tensioning=* | hier Foto | ||
| lateral | catenary mast that does not hold the overhead line at the correct height, but only in the correct lateral position | 
|
tensioning the overhead line and midpoint anchor
The overhead line does not consist of a single contact wire that runs from the start to the end of the line, but is divided into sections that are approx. 1.5 kilometres long. This is for static reasons, as the overhead line should always have the same tension, but the length of the overhead line (material: copper) changes with the temperature. In addition to their function of holding the overhead line, some catenary masts have additional tasks. Some have the task of tensioning a overhead line section that is coming to an end. There are different ways of maintaining tension as seen in the table. As well, the midpoint anchor has to be formed by extending ropes starting from the two neighbouring catenary masts as seen in the table.
| Feature | Key | Value | Description | Photos |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| type of tensioning of the overhead line | catenary_mast:tensioning | weights | Tensioning the overhead line with weights |
|
| hydraulic | Hydraulic assemblies | |||
| spring | spring | 
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| coil | coiled leaf spring | 
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| fixed | no tensioning, overhead line is firmly attached to the catenary mast |
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| yes | if unclear which type of tensioning present or nothing else fits | |||
| midpoint anchor | catenary_mast:midpoint | yes | added, if a rope extends from the mast to form the midpoint anchor | hier Foto |
electrical equipment
Catenary masts are also used to attach switches for supply lines, couplings or transformers or similar items. As well, insulators between catenary and mast are used to separate the potentials. These are usually made of the same material within a catenary mast. This can be recorded with the following tags:
| Feature | Key | Value | Description | Photos |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| details concerning switches on the catenary mast | catenary_mast:disconnector | integer values, e. g. 1 |
number of disconnectors on the mast | hier Foto |
| catenary_mast:disconnector:drive | manual | Possibility to flip the switch manually, e.g. using poles on the overhead line mast | hier Foto | |
| motor | switch can be flipped by motor | hier Foto | ||
| catenary_mast:disconnector:jumpering | jumpered/possible | normal switching state | ||
| transformers on the catenary mast | transformer | * | the tagging isn't new, but the combination of the both tags ist new power=catenary_mast transformer=* this is intended to map transformers on catenary masts, the usual tagging of power=transformer could be used to tag details |
hier Foto |
| insulators (between overhead line and grounded catenary mast) | catenary_mast:insulator | glass | glass insulators | .jpg)
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| ceramics | ceramics insulators | 
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| porcelain | porcelain insulators | 
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| composite | composite material insulators | 
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| composite_sling | composite sling insulators (used for tram or trolleybus) | hier Foto | ||
| grp_sling | glass reinforced plastic sling insulators | hier Foto |
further tags (not new, but proposed to be used)
- as well the tag ref can be used to map the number of the catenary mast (e. g. in the image on the right)
Examples
| Photo | Tagging |
|---|---|
| Foto 1 | Tags |
| Foto 2 | Tags |
Rendering
No changes at OSM carto rendering.
Demarcations
- Tagging is not intended to capture the support of 3rd rail systems (see image on the right), but only overhead line masts and their details.
- I thought about tagging the milestone position railway=milestone to the mast as well (as the milestone plates can be attached to the mast on long-distance railways). But I don't think it makes sense to do this, as the information as to whether the milestone plate is attached to the mast is already captured by the tag railway:milestone:catenary_mast=yes at the milestone point.
Features/Pages affected
- Page of power=catenary_mast must be adapted.
- A notice could be placed on the page of power=transformer.
- Page of Openrailwaymap/Tagging could be completed.
Comments
Please comment on the Proposal_talk:Catenary_mast_details.