MTH canetary system

alextwister posted:

Does any one know what the pole spacing is for the MTH  canetary  system. I see some extra pack kits available on ebay .Do they come with over head wires and mounting hardware?I am using 072 MTH real track. What is the general opinion of this system.I can not find any information on the MTH website.Thank you

The length of a "wire" stringer is 20-1/8 inches. The MTH cat was recently discussed on another thread. One individual incorrectly stated that each pole attaches to Realtrax. That is not true. Only the pole that supplies power to the over head wire and track attach to the track like a regular MTH track lock on. I suppose you could buy a bunch of these, if you could find them, and attach them. I'd think it would be an expensive undertaking. I've not installed mine yet. The poles seem robust but the stringer seems like it would flex to much. To answer your other question, yes it comes with overhead wire and mounting hardware.

Steve

Thanks Steve for the information.I was also wondering if the catenary poles would interfere with large  locomotives like Big boys, Challengers ect. with large overhang.

The poles have fastener holes in the bases to attach them to the table or scenery.  You can put the poles on either side of the track (switching from inside to outside for clearance purposes or vice versa.)  The catenary wires are more than stiff enough to interface with the pantographs of any loco.  I have about 200 feet of this system installed on my layout and love it.  The kits also come with a variable length section to allow you to close the loop.

Rolland

Almost finished installing MTH catenary on my 072 loop.  I had it installed about 2 years ago but had to take it down when we moved.  I have 2 scale MTH GG 1s, a postwar GG 1 and a VL GG 1.  I also have a VL Bigboy.  I use Fastrack and have the poles mounted about 3" - 3 1/4" from the center rail.  There is no clearance problem.  A little tip: if you mount the poles inside the loop there is much less chance of clearance issues.  The pole and crossmember is quite strong.  The weak link is the little plastic mounting tabs.