Tag:power=catenary_mast

The tag power=catenary_mast is used to map a catenary mast which supports 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.

How to map

Place a at the location of the mast, and add the tag power=catenary_mast.

Advanced mapping

Construction of the catenary mast

There are several designs that can be described directly (tags given in the upper part of the following table). But for other masts, that doesn't fit that tags, there is an generic tagging (tags given in the lower part of the table) to describe the shape and the material with the known and used tag material.

Feature	Key	Value	Description	Photos
construction	structure	mapping by specific design of construction
		lattice	lattice, based on tagging structure
		frame	flat frame masts consist of two U-profiles that are connected with flat steels
		h-beam	catenary masts made of H-profiles or double T-beams (also known as Peiner-masts)
		trunk	mast made from a tree trunk (means both simply debarked tree trunks and cylindrically milled tree trunks)
		spun	spun poles have a round cross-section, are tapered and hollow on the inside; the production takes place by filling a round mould with a liquid/viscous material (often concrete is used - material can be defined by the tag material=*) while it is being spun and the material hardens
		pipe	round solid steel wall masts
		wall_mount	house wall or wall is used for supporting the overhead contact line, e. g. usual for tram electrification; a point is to map in the edge of the area marking the house (=wall of the house), cantilever or overhead span starts from the wall
		mapping by description of design of construction, specification via mapping of material is recommended - the following tags should only be used if none of the above mentioned tags describing a specific design fit
		cylindrical	solid masts wit cylindrical or (slightly) conical shape that are not hollow (catenary masts made of a trunk are mapped with the tag structure=trunk described above)
		polygonal	solid masts with more than 4, but less than infinit (then they would be cylindrical) edges
		rectangular	solid masts with 4 edges, rectangular cross-section
	guyed	yes	only added, if the catenary mast is guyed, default is guyed=no and is not tagged separately
	catenary_mast:portable	yes	only added, if the catenary mast has no foundation in the ground but is stabilised by huge (concrete) blocks and is thereby portable, often used during time of construction of another infrastruction while the main catenary mast isn't availiable, default is portable=no and is not tagged separately	no picture yet - if available, please add it

Function of the catenary mast

Catenary masts can take the forces of the i. e. overhead contact line in various ways. Mostly, catenary masts support a structure, to that the over head contact line is bound. For this catenary_mast:supporting=* is used. Rarer, the over head contact line is directly attached to the catenary mast itself. For this catenary_mast:attachment=* is used. Two functions can be mapped in the OSM-way using semicolons to separate both values.

Feature	Key	Value	Description	Photos
Function of the catenary mast	catenary_mast:supporting (if catenary mast supports a structure to that the i. e. over head contact line is bound)	cantilever	catenary mast supports a cantilever to that the i. e. over head contact line is bound
		head_span	head spans formed between two catenary masts, often in railway stations or in urban areas used for spanning several tracks
		portal	a portal is formed between two catenary masts to which the cantilevers are attached
		lateral	catenary mast takes almost only lateral forces to fix the over head contact line in correct lateral psoition, also called pull-off arrangement
	catenary_mast:attachment (if the over head contact line is attached directily to the catenary mast)	anchor	the last mast at the end of a electrified track, which takes the tension from the overhead contact line directly in the position of the overhead line, there is no tensioning device, the mast is sometimes also located directly behind the buffer stop in the track axis, often tensioning=fixed is to be tagged as well
		tensioning_only	exclusively for tensioning the overhead contact line; in this case it is recommended to specify the type of tensioning by tensioning=*

Tensioning the overhead contact line

The overhead contact 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 up to approx. 1.5 kilometres long. This is for static reasons, as the overhead contact line should always have the same tension, but the length of the overhead contact line (material: copper) changes with the temperature. In addition to their function of holding the overhead contact line, some catenary masts have additional tasks. Some have the task of tensioning a overhead contact line section that is coming to an end. There are different ways of maintaining tension as seen in the table.

Feature	Key	Value	Description	Photos
type of tensioning of the overhead contact line	tensioning	weights	Tensioning the overhead contact line with weights
		hydraulic	Hydraulic assemblies
		spring	spring
		coil	coiled leaf spring
		fixed	no tensioning device, overhead contact line is firmly attached to the catenary mast
		yes	if unclear which type of tensioning present or nothing else fits

Electrical equipment

Catenary masts are also used to attach switches for supply lines, couplings 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.

Feature	Key	Value	Description	Photos
details concerning switches on the catenary mast (power=switch is not used as the key power is already used for power=catenary_mast)	switch	values of switch or switch=yes if unknown	to map a disconnector on the mast and if know the type
	actuator	manual	Possibility to flip the switch manually, e.g. using rods on the overhead contact line mast and a lever at the lower end of the mast to flip the disconnector. The device is usually secured against movement with a padlock. Use handle=* to give more details about the manual actuator.
		electric_motor	switch can be flipped by an electric motor, at the lower end of the catenary mast is a box with the motor attached, the motor drives the switch via a system of rods
	switch:ref (do not confuse with the tag ref=* that describes the number of the catenary mast!)	<number>	reference number of the catenary mast
insulator structure	insulator	loop	sling insulators, no shields at the surface, often used for light rail systems and grp as material
		shielded_loop	sling insulators, with shields at the surface, often used for light rail systems and composite as material
		post	mostly used for heavy rail systems
		cantilever	the cantilever itself takes the role of insulation too by consisting of an insulating material
insulator material	insulation:material	glass	for insulators made of glass
		ceramic	for insulators made of ceramic
		porcelain	for insulators made of porcelain
		silicon	for insulators made of silicon material
		grp	for insulators made of glass fibre reinforced plastic

Further tags

Tag	Description	Photo
ref=*	reference-number of the catenary mast
railway:position:exact=*	used to record the position of the catenary mast
life-cycle-prefixes	for disuesed catenary masts
location:transition=yes	at the catenary mast feeding cables are led from the ground to the top to feed the over head contact line
highway=street_lamp	In urban areas in particular, catenary masts are often used for the installation of street lamps.
line_management=*	for cables mounted on top of the catenary mast leading from the substation (or something similar) to the feeding point or feeder lines. Do not use it to describe the attachment of the over head contact line at the catenary mast because it is not mounted directly at the catenary mast but at the cantilever, head-span, ...

Examples

Photo	Tagging
	structure=h-beam guyed=yes catenary_mast:supporting=cantilever tensioning=weights insulator=post insulation:material=ceramic railway:position:exact=0.798
	structure=lattice catenary_mast:supporting=head_span tensioning=weights insulator=post insulation:material=ceramic

See also

• power=pole - A single pole supporting power lines, often a wood, steel, or concrete mast designed to carry minor power lines.
• power=tower - A tower or pylon carrying high voltage electricity cables. Often constructed from steel latticework but tubular or solid pylons are also used.
• power=portal - A supporting structure for power lines, composed of vertical legs with cables between them attached to a horizontal crossarm.
• man_made=utility_pole - A single pole supporting elevation of any of various and unspecified public utilities, such as power transmission, lighting or telephony.
• Proposal:Catenary mast details - A proposal to extend the tagging of catenary masts.