Tramway Catenary

[themole]

Jim welcome, the UK board of trade as it was, stipulated a height of around 17 feet off the road surface, dipping to allow passage through bridges tunnels etc, for running with LGB or Bachmann, the height the wire should be same as LGB. Alyn

 

[themole]

Here are some present day examples in Koln / Cologne, note the size of the traction poles, also use of span wires, and power feeds.

 

[sleepyrider]

Thanks for the reply - more great photos too! Can I ask what the height above the railhead is of the LGB overhead please?

Jim
Leicestershire

 

[tramcar trev]

In my Tramway I have arbitarily set the trolley wire height at 270mm..... The trolley wire was/is differing heights from 17' to 22' in different systems...

I set my height by the "what looks good" system, I'm using poles at this stage....

 

[Madman]

In my Tramway I have arbitarily set the trolley wire height at 270mm..... The trolley wire was/is differing heights from 17' to 22' in different systems...

I set my height by the "what looks good" system, I'm using poles at this stage....

That's my favorite system ! There are some really great photos in this thread too:love:

 

[sleepyrider]

Sounds a good plan - thanks!

Jim
Leicestershire

 

[themole]

The height above rail of the LGB catenary is 23 cms. The above picture / sketch are for home-brew masts and wire for bow or pantograph use.

 

[tramcar trev]

When I said I'm using POLES I meant Trolley poles as opposed to pantographs...

 

[themole]

I know u're using trolley poles. Some of my cars use trolley poles, you saw the modified New Orleans car with working poles, didn't you Trev? Alyn

 

[sleepyrider]

Thanks, I'll work on 23cm then, just in case I ever acquire any LGB masts. Homemade is the way to go at the moment though. It'll need to be quite rugged since it's outdoors, with kids and a dog. I like the idea of using a smaller section of rail as the wire. Presumably tensioning it is less crucial, plus I've got a fair bit of used code 100 in the loft.

Jim
Leicestershire

 

[tramcar trev]

Would 23cms be high enough if you ever built a double decker?

 

[trammayo]

Would 23cms be high enough if you ever built a double decker?

In short - no! It depends, I suppose, on what scale you use - closed top DD cars in the UK measured 16'6" overall height and overhead varied between 19' and 21'. If you model at 1:20 you'd be looking at 285mm for the overhead.

 

[sleepyrider]

Fair point, but no plans for double deckers at the moment - the list of European prototypes I'd like to build is growing by the day!
Jim
Leicestershire

 

[tramcar trev]

Would 23cms be high enough if you ever built a double decker?

In short - no! It depends, I suppose, on what scale you use - closed top DD cars in the UK measured 16'6" overall height and overhead varied between 19' and 21'. If you model at 1:20 you'd be looking at 285mm for the overhead.

And one wonders in the open top deckers what was to stop one touching the trolley wire, some pics show the pole almost horizontal with about 6' clearance to the deck of the car.... I suspect that unless the floor was metal and you had shoes on sufficient insulation would have been present, after all wet retrieving ropes dont seem to conduct... See I've answered my own question.... It must have been an interesting era to have lived in I guess you would call it the latter part of the mechanical revolution, when a minor cut could easily prove fatal...

 

[trammayo]

Must admit I've never noticed it so low (above open toppers) but it was general practise, under low bridges, to slew the wires towards the kerbside where the wire could actually be level or lower than the top of the car. Trolley poles might also be externally insulated (but not always). There were also safety notices (well little warning signs).

 

[Dtsteam]

Open toppers are fun - when the Hill of Howth car was at Blackpool I was definitely closer to the wire than I expected. Mind you that could have been to ensure everyone stayed sat down when they passed the convent wall.
Blackpools own 1930's stock all had a long bamboo pole concealed in the chassis for trolley turning.

285mm dosent sound too bad by the way - if you were modelling 3'6" double deckers at 1:24 scale, then it would give you a 22' wire height.

 

[themole]

There was an accident under the bridge leading to Roath Park in Cardiff, in the 1920's where a passenger got up as the double deck, but open topped car, went under the bridge;- the man was decapitated. Alyn

 

[tramcar trev]

Ears......

Trolley Ears, these are the gadgets that hold the trolley wire up to the span wires. I have to be very careful to get my nomenclature correct lest the rivet counters descend on me with a vengeance.

These ones as the pictures show are etched from brass sheet using double sided negatives, aligned with incredible accuracy and held in place with a drop of special Eastman Kodak film cement (a few bits of sellotape would have done but I had the Eastman stuff unused in a bottle that has to be 30 years old and its still good - waste not want not) then the whole is sandwiched between 2 pieces of clean glass and held together with dog clips exposed 5 mins each side, developed and etched and as the etching has now developed into an obsession I can get quite reasonable results so I have a slab of 4 dozen potential single Trolley Ears.

Once etched thru the little bits are cut away, the tangs are bent using 2 pairs of small flat pliers to 45 deg and then slipped into the insulator and a small drop of solder paste applied and melted holding the thing together???

Ok that?s the first one, now its time for a stiff drink?. Then I will tackle the artwork for the double Ears. Then there will also be single ears with only one hole that is attached to the pull off wires which gives corners in tramway overhead that unique spider web appearance??.

These are so much more realistic than the wire and bead ones I started making until I discovered how many of these I will actually need.

Hang on I put the little bugger down to type this and I can?t find it?.. I?ll be back?.

 

[trammayo]

Re:Ears......

Neat Trev - where did you get the beads from (presumably ceramic)?

 

[tramcar trev]

Re:Ears......

These are glass.... "Seed Beads" described as "#8 white".... I got them at a "Bead Superstore" near me but eBay has a few for sale; http://www.ebay.com.au/sch/i.html?_...ss+seed+beads+white&_sacat=See-All-Categories