Overhead electric traction system for railways

In an overhead electric traction system in which at least one overhead conductor at longitudinally spaced positions along its length is suspended from cantilever structural assemblies and in which sections of one flexible member of the system, selected from the group of flexible members consisting of said overhead conductor of the system and a catenary, twin catenaries, and a main catenary by which the conductor is supported, are each maintained under tension by balance weights supported by upstanding supports of cantilever structural assemblies at the ends of said section, a mid-point anchor which is positioned at approximately the mid-point of at least one section of the system and which comprises an upstanding support positioned alongside the route of the system and, mounted on an upper part of the upstanding support, a cantilever structure comprising a pair of substantially rigid elongate members which lie in a substantially common plane and extend transversely with respect to and are spaced apart in a direction lengthwise of the route, which at their ends nearer the route are connected to said upstanding support by a third transversely extending elongate member inclined at an acute angle to said common plane, and which at their ends remote from the route are connected to opposite ends of a fourth substantially rigid elongate member which extends lengthwise of the route and which, at each of its end portions, is connected to said upstanding support by an elongate element, the arrangement being such that, in the event of an unbalanced load on said flexible member pivotal movement of the cantilever structure about a substantially vertical axis is prevented by one of the elongate elements and the unbalanced load is transferred to the upstanding support as a torsional load.