i have seen some pictures of some awesome layouts in all the magazines i get every month.however, why do the great layouts take so much attention to detail and i never see any wires on the utility (telephone) poles?and another thing all these layouts have the telephone poles and nobody makes a utility truck (bucket, cherry picker) to service the poles. what’s up with that?
For the most part it is impractical to wire the poles. One wrong move reaching for a train and there go the wires and the poles. Another problem is dust. If you use thread eventually your wires will get furry. Of course there is always the occasional spider who might decide to move in.
As for service vehicles, I haven’t gone looking for any, but I’ll bet that someone here will give you a link. Are you looking for HO?
Heck, a cherry-picker truck might make a really fun and easy kitbashing project! Start with a light truck, break out some styrene scrap and a few pieces of thin brass rod, slap on some hazard-orange paint and add a couple guys in hard hats.
Related but not exactly the same are platform cars for trolley wire–my prototype had a pickup truck with an elevated platform for trolley-wire maintenance that they used in Sacramento because the streetcars ran so often that the regular MOW motor they used elsewhere got constantly chased off the line to make way for them. That would make a fun project too–all I’d need is a 1940’s pickup and some scrap lumber!
I’ve always liked the look of strung wires on utility and telegraph poles, but probably won’t do it on my current layout. They take forever to add, and usually get in the way. I might string some in the background where they won’t get knocked around, but lineside poles won’t be installed, ecpecially if they’re in front of the tracks.
As long as we are on the subject of telephone poles, 10 years ago when I had the public display layout at the mall (see my profile for more info), I actually used telephone polls like an invisable fence.
There were many places around the layout where the trains were just a few inches from the visitors. I never put up a plexiglass barrier to keep people from touching the trains, the line of poles formed enough of a “mental block” to keep all but the most excited small children back.
If you get a chance to check out the articles, you can see the poles in almost every photo, but the best shot can be found on page 88 of Classic Toy Trains September '93.
I have used a 12 inch spike that my utility pole slips over to keep it secure, I have then used thin copper wire to got from pole to pole…when the copper weathers, it looks realistic…with the height of the pole, my 2 cats go right under them…have had a few issues with breakage, but nothing major…
Joe
Willy,
If you do decide to model the utility poles, you may want to consider “EZ Line” an elastic polymer with 700% stretch offered by Berkshire Junction. They offer both in its “natural” color and dyed, in case you want to emulate copper verdigris. The URL is:
http://www.berkshirejunction.com/
If you can, download the video clip of their train show demo. As they note, it can also be used to model ship rigging and crane rigging. They also offer working traffic lights, crossbucks and a turntable drive, among other things.
When we took VIA rail from Toronto to Vancouver in 2000, I noted that the lines had fallen into disuse in many locations, but the copper wire hadn’t been salvaged. So, if your lines do get snagged by the family cat, you do have a ready excuse from the prototype for not fixing them.
If you use thread instead, run it over beeswax to “de-fuzz” it.
Bob
A few years back, Matchbox made a Utility Truck w/ a bucket and pole drill combo. I’ll look through my son’s cars tonight and try and get back tomorrow with the year it was made. I can say it was in the past 2-3 yrs.
Willy,
Along the lines of Jetrock’s suggestion, go to the 1/87 Vehicle Club site at:
http://www.1-87vehicles.org
Type the search term “bucket” in the Google search and you’ll find photos of several bucket truck kit-bashes. Hope this helps.
Bob
Sound fun jetrock.