Creating catenary for Interurbans

Can you post photos? I would love to see your work on this.

I agree, we need photos. 1 picture is worth a 1000 words.

Yep Ken...what Spence said!!  If you have any problems with posting pictures, just let us know and we can help...

 

Alan

Thanks for your responses.  I don't have current photos of what I stated, however, I have attached five photos which are about forty years old to give you an "idea" ...

Photo 1 is a young "KRK" working with a car and the overhead.  Photo 2 is young wife Suzie (she hates this photo) with a long Sacramento Northern train at the Oakland Yard.

Please note the "even" parallel spacing between the messenger and contact wires. This is simple, 'home-brew' catenary..  It is not the so-called "Inclined"-type...

Photo 3 is ME again at the opposite end of the layout-- note my FIVE pound spool of 24-gauge phosphor bronze wire.  I still have it and can probably 'wire' several hundred trolley layouts. (grin)  Have a one-pound spool of nickel silver wire too.

Photo 4.  Antioch Yard..  Photo 5.  Concord Loop in Meade Canyon.

I hope you can make out the staples between the top and bottom wires.  One time, we made about a 130-foot piece of catenary by assembly line.  You should have seen us!

We stretched two horizontal, parallel runs of wire along the front railing of the layout. One just above the other.  Then the "staple/ soldering gurus" came along and tacked everything together!  Then, about fifteen guys helped to snake the completed catenary on the old SN line from Oakland Yard to Westgate Junction via the Conaway Wye near Woodland.  Hung it in place from existing poles, including thru a "CUT".  You should have seen us.  But it SAVED a LOT of time and re-opened a long closed branch line!

Questions ??

KRK

How about taking some photos of your current layout...good close ones that we can see details as I know a lot of folks would be interested...

 

Alan

Neat!!

Thanks for sharing

I second that...

You don't usually 3rd anything, but I do on this one. I would love to add over head wiring for GG1's on our club layout!

 

I had read many days gone by, that a lot of folks use Markland "HO" Catenary for "O" Gauge set ups. Someone said earlier in the post 1 picture is worth a "thousand words". Appreciate anything that anyone in our hobby would bring and post on this Catenary Subject...........Thanks in Advance.........................Brandy!

Hi Everyone--  I apologize for the 'old' photos..  Give me a couple of days with my old camera and we'll see if something better develops.  In the meantime, the type of STAPLES you need to get are:   Duo-Fast # 308-D originally made by the Fastener Corporation in Franklin Park, Illinois.  They are a 1/4-inch staple made of bronze.

Duo-Fast Corporation

 

Ken...if you have a cell phone, just take some pictures with it and then download those to your computer with a USB cable.  If you don't have a USB, then you can email them to yourself.  From there, you should be able to post them here since it you did an excellent job of posting photos above...

 

Thanks,

Alan

I just sent off an email to Duo-Fast to see if this product is still being manufactured!

Cheers.

KRK

Hi Brandy--  If you're speaking of operating GG1's on your layout, these are classified as "heavy mainline electric locomotives" and the trolley contact wire should be a minimum of 22-scale feet above the centerline of the track.  (5 1/2-inches)... This is specified by the NMRA.  Some RR's, such as PRR or New Haven, may have had their wire as high as 24-feet.  Check out those old photos of mine carefully, specifically noting how the messenger and contact wire are equally spaced using the Staples. I'll be back to all you nice folks soon.

KRK

Thanks Ken for sharing your info on this forum ............................Brandy

 

P.S. corrected spelling on Catenary!

Here are a couple of other photos showing the staples keeping the top and bottom wires equally spaced !

Check out a web site called Model Memories. they have all the supplies needed to create a catenary system for heavy electrics. Here are some pictures from their gallery.

 

Great stuff on Model Memories site but I wish they had more O Scale stuff.

Sent from my T-Mobile 4G LTE Device

<div>-------- Original message --------</div><div>From: O Gauge Railroading On Line Forum <alerts@hoop.la> </div><div>Date:12/25/2014 11:41 AM (GMT-06:00) </div><div>To: Trainman 5 <michaelemellon@gmail.com> </div><div>Cc: </div><div>Subject: Reply By Paul Finn: Creating catenary for Interurbans </div><div>