Pantograph (rail)

A pantograph is a device that collects electric current from overhead lines for electric trains or trams. The term stems from the resemblance to pantograph devices for copying writing and drawings.

Early 1895 flat pantograph on a Baltimore & Ohio Railroad electric engine

The diamond-shaped pantograph of the Swiss cogwheel loco in Schynige Platte, built in 1911.

The (asymmetrical) 'Z'-shaped pantograph of the electrical pickup on the Berlin Straßenbahn. This pantograph is single-arm.

Pantographs easily adapt to various heights of the overhead wires by partly folding. The tram line pictured here ran in Vienna.

Symmetrical, diamond shaped pantographs on trams in Prague.

Pantograph (rail) Media

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  Cross-arm pantograph of a Toshiba EMU

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  Early (1895) flat pantograph on a Baltimore & Ohio Railroad electric locomotive. The brass contact ran inside the Π section bar, so both lateral and vertical flexibility was necessary.

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  A Flexity Outlook LRV with its pantograph raised. Note the trolley pole in the rear, which provides compatibility with sections not yet upgraded for pantograph operation.

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  Close-up view of a pantograph on a British Rail Class 333

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  Diagram of parts of a pantograph from ICE S

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  First-generation Faiveley single-arm pantograph on a British Rail Class 85 locomotive, used on early AC electric locomotives from the 1960s

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  Experimental three-phase railcar, Germany, 1901

Related pages

• Bow collector
• Trolley pole
• Third rail
• Overhead lines
• Railway electrification system