Editing Overhead line (section)

== History ==
The first tram with overhead lines was presented by [[Werner von Siemens]] at the [[International Exposition of Electricity|1881 International Exposition of Electricity]] in [[Paris]]: the installation was removed after that event. In October 1883, the first permanent tram service with overhead lines was on the [[Mödling and Hinterbrühl Tram]] in Austria. The trams had bipolar overhead lines, consisting of two U-pipes, in which the pantographs hung and ran like shuttles. From April to June 1882, Siemens had tested a similar system on his [[Electromote]], an early precursor of the [[trolleybus]].

Much simpler and more functional was an overhead wire in combination with a pantograph borne by the vehicle and pressed at the line from below. This system, for rail traffic with a unipolar line, was invented by [[Frank J. Sprague]] in 1888. From 1889 it was used at the [[Richmond Union Passenger Railway]] in [[Richmond, Virginia]], pioneering electric traction.