If anybody is looking for model wire between telephone poles on your layout, use black, braided fishing line. Then, tie it around a point on your pole. You can buy it at your local tackle shop or sporting goods store for next to nothing. I hope this tip helped people.
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i use EZ line which is particularly good as it stretches. so, for the hundredth time or more that i lean over the layout to fix or install something and forget the wires are there, they stretch without breaking and don’t pull out the poles. great product 👍
I've been considering both the braided fishing line and the EZ wire for the cables on centerbeam flatcars. One potentially ideal thing about the fishing line (specifically Fireline, it's what I fish with), is that the black coating wears off after some use, leaving a medium gray color, which seems to match the prototype cable color fairly well.
can you get a prototypical sag between poles with a braided fishing line?
Good question. The only way to tell for sure is to string some of it up. It's not supposed to have any memory, although I don't 100% believe that claim. But generally it doesn't kink unless you purposely fold it, nor wind into big spirals when it's not stretched taut. It's also not supposed to stretch, which may not be the best characteristic.
4# test Fireline has a diameter of of .005", so roughly ¼" at scale. 8# or 10# would be pretty close for the centerbeam flats. The only issue is that the largest common diameter is .015", which would be only about ¾" in O scale. It might not be large enough. The beauty of the braided line is that it's very strong for it's diameter, which makes it good for fishing, but maybe not so good for some model applications.
Edit: Got curious, so I went and pulled out some of my gear. Fresh off the spool, the line does spiral a bit when not pulled taut. However, it does tend to relax after some use. I think the real test will be to unwind some of the used line off one of my reels, and let it sit for a while to see if it will straighten out. Fortunately for me, the application on the centerbeam car would require the line to be pulled taut, so it may work better for that than for the line wires.
I'm a big fan of EZ line myself. I just last week strung several poles and it looks great. I love too that it stretches.
Spandex thread has a prototypical sag to it vs other threads. Likely what the EZ line is.
The thread here mentioning it (spandex) was ..."utlizing?...some street running" (i forget exactly..2015-17?).... a point to point modular layout, American Industrial/Housing/town, being done by one one our Euro friends (German if I recall right) Often running a UP switcher I think..... "wires to die for" anyhow
try searching spandex wires poles sag etc.