When is Enough, Enough?

Model Railroader Layouts and layout building
1

I spent some time last weekend working on telegraph poles.

One might ask, "Aren’t they good enough right out of the box? "

One would get the answer, “Maybe for some. But not for me.”

How to detail a telegraph pole.

Materials required:
Telegraph poles
Xacto knife with fresh No.11 blade(s) - depending on how many poles you have.
Razor Saw
Polly Scale paints: Weathered (or grimy) Black, Rail Tie Brown , Some form of Bright Blue, and New Gravel Gray are what I used.
Maybe a fine Jeweller’s file.
2 Paint brushes - one needs to be a 15/00 or better. About 7 hairs will do.
Pin Vise and a No. 57 Drill or whatever works for you.
Floral Wire or straight pins.
ACC cement.

Steps

  1. Remove one set of cross arms - I usually take out the middle one. There are exceptions. Use the exacto knife or a pair of nippers. Option: The little “V” supports can usually be excised as well. Note: I haven’t done this step yet.
  2. Score the “pole” part with the razor saw by running it straight up and down the pole, all the way around the pole. Be careful not to exert to much pressure on the pole because it will snap!
  3. Get out your trusty paintbrush and the rail tie brown (or weathered or grimy black for variety) paint and give the entire pole a coat. Set aside and do the next one.
  4. Once the paint dries, get out your seven hair brush and your bright blue paint and paint the insulators Blue.
  5. Clean the brush and get out the new gravel gray paint and paint the cylindrical transformers that are on some of the poles and set aside to dry.

Now you can be finished at this point. But I went a step or two further.

  1. Snap off the flat
2

This is a traick question, right?

Nice work.

3

Tamiya makes a clear green acrylic enamel that’s great for painting insulators. You’ll need to prime the part with either light grey or white first though.

4

Enough is when She tells me it darned well is.

I paint my insulators white so that they stand out better. No wires, and I painted the poles acrylic “burnt umber”. They look great, each of them very slightly askew from vertical for maximum reality.

5

Texas,

They look super!!! Thanks for sharing!

6

Thanx for the comments and tips, all!

7

HMmmmm, Where`s the Bird Dung, Huh, huh, not really prototypical otherwise.
{“quickly ducks to dodge the rotten fruit thrown”};-}

Oh alright, they do look good.

regards,

8

Nice work Tom. It helps when someone provides good photos and step-by-step directions. Thanks.

By the way, good to see you posting over here on the MR forums too.

Best regards

Ed

9

Great looking telephone poles. Telephone ploles are something I need to get busy doing on my own layout.

Lane

10

My God man, what is wrong with you! Under the bench work you go.

You should know better than to ask that question… When is enough .e…

… I can even type it.

Oh, the horror of it. I feel dirty for even reading the subject line

Other than that, they do look great. In fact, I guess I got to redo mine now since they look pretty crappy after seeing those… [:D]

11

I don’t think you’re quite done with those poles, Texas. In any part of the country I’m familiar with, as well as for most eras, those V-shaped braces used to stabilize the crossarms are not wooden but rather, metallic, and typically of a dark color (usually black). I don’t think wooden crossarm braces have been used since the 1930’s or earlier. Likewise, the stepdown transformers on your poles look to be of the modern era, so those would almost surely have metal bracing…its back to that 7-hair paint brush for you!

CNJ831

12

centauri - no fruit! Guess I could drybrush some weathered white on them (hee hee)
Ed - good to “see” you too! Comin’ to H town anytime soon? WGH show is next weekend…
Lane - thanx!
Big John - Reckon I had that coming! Thanx!
CNJ831 - well…suppose yer right! Dang! What if I’m not doing the modern era though…Color suggestions?