Rotary Converter, IRT Subway, Substation 13, Midtown Manhattan, NYC, 2017.
All the pixels, none of the voltage, at https://www.flickr.com/photos/mattblaze/32992380451
#photography
@mattblaze@federate.social That’s a gorgeous picture of an impressive piece of machinery.
@mattblaze@federate.social @wordshaper@weatherishappening.network
For an even bigger MG set, see SAQ, the Alexanderson Alternator, that delivers 200kW at 17.2 kHz as a long wave radio transmitter! (Preserved, still operational, and fired up a few times per year.) 3:O)>
NYC’s IRT subway, opened in 1904, is powered by a 600 volt DC third rail running alongside the tracks. Power is fed to the system via a number of substations throughout the city, where high voltage AC is converted to the lower voltage DC used by trains.
Until recently, this was done with electromechanical rotary converters (essentially a combination AC motor and DC generator). They are now supplanted by solid state rectifiers, but a few of the original rotary converters remain operational.
If you like this stuff, there’s a sadly out of print book, “New York’s Forgotten Substations”, with some excellent photos.
