Mercury Arc Rectifier Video

This video was filmed at Fort Edmonton Park in September 2012, a month before the rectifier was permanently shut down and replaced with a solid state rectifier. The four bulb Hewittic Mercury Arc Rectifier supplied 600 volt DC to power the street cars at the park. Mercury Arc Rectifiers were used to convert AC current to DC to drive electric motors used in street cars, mine equipment, and elevators. The city of Edmonton Alberta, Canada, powered the street railway system first with DC generators driven by steam engines or AC motors. Mercury Arc Rectifiers were installed in 1929 to power the street cars and trollies until the 1990s. www.ephf.ca