Copperhead busbar
VAHLE

The "VAHLE rail" was invented in 1912 by the engineer, Paul Vahle. For typical traveling wires at this time, the flexibility and expansion of the wire frequently led to problems in forming a contact and to considerable spark generation, but also to breaks in the wire. Paul Vahle drew a copper profiled section onto a T-shaped steel section and thus achieved greater strength and a reliable contact, so that the transmission resistance between the copper conductor and the carbon brush of the current collector was reduced significantly. In this way, stops in operation and a long service life of the power supply were achieved.
Conductor rail systems are a safe source of power for current capacities up to 3000 A for many power loads that are predominantly subjected to rough operation, e.g., traveling cranes, loading bridges, container handling equipment, monorail systems, coking machinery, electric hoists, etc.