Can someone tell me what type of wire would be prototypical for telephone poles? I have used some thin copper wire from a coil in the ringer circuit of a telephone. The wire is thin enough, almost too thin, as you can’t hardly see it from one foot away. Regular hookup wire is too large, and so is stranded 5 conductor telephone hook up cable.
Thanks,
Bob Meeks
Here’s a link to a thread elsewhere that I just saw today. The modeler used Rayon Embroidery Thread. He noted that dark wires blended too well with the scenery as to not be visible.
http://www.the-gauge.com/showthread.php?t=13878&highlight=wires
Wayne
I have used this rubber wire that I received from someone a year ago and it looks great. You can find it at the hobby shop or Train show
See my photos at my Webshots site in my signature.
I used Rayon Embroidery Thread. (make sure you run it thru some beeswax to take the curl out if it before gluing in place.)
See thread in post above.
I use that craft artificial flower wire…it bends very easily…I only do telephone poles where there isn’t a high traffic area…the wires are elbow catchers and you’ll have to hire a full time telephone lineman to keep them up…Chuck
I’ve always just used real fine black sewing thread due to the fact that it’s readily available and easy to replace if broken - though I can appreciate and respect someone going to all the trouble and work for the sake of realism. Like cwclark said though, all it’s really good for is getting hung up or snagged in. A lot of your professional layout builders don’t wire their poles for this reason.
I saw some of that stretchy telephone wire at a train show this past weekend. For the life of me, I can’t remember the name of it. I’ve heard of it before but had never seen it until the train show. They had a device that brought a mechanical arm down about every 10 seconds or so. The wire deflected then returned to it’s original shape immediiately. I was impressed.
Tom
The product is called E-Z Line. It’s excellent, I’ve used it for some time now with great results. For details, go to:
http://www.berkshirejunction.com
CNJ831
Do you have long term experience with EZ line? I’d like to use it for biplane rigging, but I am worried the stretched line will lose elasticity and sag or tear withing a year.
Radek
Know any violin bow repairers? Used horsehair works, too!
Just as a quick add on regarding the telegraph wires I added to my layout.
My layout is rather low, for easy viewing from my desk chair. About 30 inches.
This way in my limited room space I can reach over most of it when standing.
Things I learned about stringing the wires:
Also, after all I learned on this experiment, I am anxious to try the EZ Line on the next layout.
On my now dismantled first layout, I used a heavy black thread. It looked really good, but It always seemed to be in the way. A little advice… If you are going to
string lines, do it LAST[8D]. Good luck, Dave
In addition to being a model railroader, I also tie my own fishing flies. You can get thread in any color that you want a good fly fishing store. You can also buy an inexpensive bobbin that holds the spool and allows you to feed it out an an even pace. Some of the threads are even wax coated which makes them just a little stiffer.
I have tried a number of thing down through the years, and I prefer EZ Line.
http://www.railimages.com/albums/kennethanthony/aac.jpg
http://www.railimages.com/albums/kennethanthony/abj.jpg
EZ Line on the United States Naval Air Station Tidelands (Lighter Than Air) Railroad.
EZ Line worked perfectly, but plastic insulators are a must. Use crazy glue for the perfect bond. It never breaks!
I had telephone wires on a test track diorama years back and the strings eventually sagged. Was a bit frustrating. So afterwards I wondered if to avoid the problems from sagging if solid, very thin, metal rods would work as well.
Good links on the EZ Lines products. Looks like a decent solution worth checking out.
Count me among the supporters of EZ Line. I have used the product extensively on my MA&G to make not only power lines, but also guy wires and barbed wire with excellent results. I have had the product in place on my layout for over a year with no problems, breaks, or splits - the elasticity of the material is quite remarkable! I prefer the “heavy” thickness because it is more visible. I use the black for power lines, rust for guy wires and barbed wire, and green (heavily weathered with an India ink wash) for phone lines. There are many photos on my website in which these details are visible. Here is one such photo…
By the way, Sharon Serre of Berkshire Junction is one of the nicest people in the world to deal with and they offer excellent cutomer service and lightning fast shipping. I absolutely swear by EZ Line!!! [tup][tup]
I have walked a lot of ROWs and I have never seen black telephone wires. Maybe they are insulated nowadays but in the old days, when the railroads still used them, they were bare copper wire, hence the insulators, and aged to the copper patina color which is a bluish green. It also shows up better that way. I also use a clear acqua insulator color as most of the eastern railroads used that color a lot.
Prop: you may have hit it right on the head when you said you cannot see the wire from one foot away, doesn’t that tell you something? that the wires will be invisible on that scale , and if you can see them from 5 feet away the wire is too big? if the wire is anywhere near scale, it will so small as to be almost invisible and impossible to work with.
I have thought about using the strands of WIRE rather than thread or any other material.
The reason? Why not send the engery to illuminate stuctures the same way that the energy comes into many homes?
A stranded wire will have enough individual strands to make use of all the cross bars and insulator points on each bar. A bus wire under the layout becomes the “ground” for the system.
When discussing the sag of prototype hydro lines, make sure you get a perspective from a hydro company. Some of the pictures in my son’s science text book show the effect of heat and humidity on the wires. The high tension wires pictured are almost touching the ground. Same hydro line, now in winter, and the wires have almost no sag.
Drawbacks?
Like the prototype, any long runs will need transformers to boost the wattage along the lines and more to reduce the wattage going into structures.
Any heavy handed visitors will be reminded that you have a “LIVE” railway, complete with ways to dissuade tresspassers. Signs, that no one reads until it is too late, can warn that any lawsuits arising from singed clothing will NOT be entertained.