VBSLOT88 RTP SLOT Early traction engines were DC motors, and the then-available rectifying equipment was large, expensive and impractical to install onboard trains. The company received the Army-Navy ‘E’ Award for excellence in production in 1945. After the war, they converted the plant back to the production of model railroading equipment. Also, transmission of the relatively high currents required results in higher losses with AC than DC. One method for reducing current losses (and thus increase the spacing of feeder/substations, a major cost in third rail electrification) is to use a composite conductor rail of a hybrid aluminium/steel design. Substations for a DC system will have to be (typically) about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) apart, though the actual spacing depends on the carrying capacity, maximum speed, and service frequency of the line.|Rexall and Coca-Cola Sponsored this Feature