# First phase of catenary installation begins



## MichaelE (Mar 7, 2018)

I placed an order on Friday with EuroRail Hobbies for catenary parts that included 15 single masts for the three curves coming out of the mountain and three suspended box girder masts that cover all three tracks once out of the curve.

The box girder masts are huge at 170mm tall and they are really going to be an attention getter for first time visitors. I'm not really certain I wanted masts to be that tall, but I cannot use individual masts on any of this straight track because of spacing issues I didn't anticipate. In addition, there is not much room on the outside main line for a row of separate masts. I don't believe I can place the mast at the correct distance away from the roadbed without falling off the edge of the table.

On the plus side, these box girder masts are commonly used in a station area with multiple tracks, so they will look right at home passing Oberrittersgrün down to the next tunnel entrance.

I purchased enough wire sections to get around all three curves but only enough straight sections for the two box girder masts. I will still need three more of the box girder masts to get down to the next tunnel entrance, but finances didn't afford them at this time so I will have to piece-meal this catenary up around the layout a little at a time.

This should be enough for now to keep me busy and by the time I get to the point when I'll need the rest of the masts the money should be available.

I am estimating around $800-$1000 for enough catenary to complete the layout. The back side of the layout will not have wire, only masts placed appropriately.

I also purchased a mast placement jig and a height gauge also by Viessman and a few other scenery odds and ends.

This is where the cat will start:


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## tommy24a (Mar 4, 2016)

Very nice!

Sent from my LGL84VL using Tapatalk


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Can't wait to see this, will it be live catenary?


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## MichaelE (Mar 7, 2018)

No, not live, though I do have one locomotive that could use it if it were.

I'm not even certain I will run the pans all the way up. I may restrict them a few millimeters below the wire. The effect will still be there, but mishaps will be eliminated.

I'm going to do the best job I can on this installation, but accidents happen.


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Catenary is very difficult to do if it's live, so you're probably smart in being a bit more conservative.


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## Gramps (Feb 28, 2016)

I think you could do very well realistically with just the masts and not the wiring. Many modelers do this with their telephone poles. Of course if you do the catenary it will look fantastic. I think what you are doing is outstanding.


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## PoppetFlatsRR (Jul 29, 2018)

MichaelE,

All of you guys never cease to amaze me. I am worried about running one set of wires up and over my mountains for the power lines, and you are going to put all those little wires all the way around your fantastic layout. I would rip those suckers down in a heart beat, the wife would have to come out and rescue me wrapped in a ball squirming on the ground. I am excited to see your progress. I am sure that it will turn out just as amazing as the rest of the work you do. 

Lots of pictures please!!!!!!!


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## Lemonhawk (Sep 24, 2013)

But then again, your doing most of the work just to make it not live, to make actually live, just needs to be a little lower! A fascinating project, that I'm really interested in for my next layout. Keep us unformed!


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## MichaelE (Mar 7, 2018)

What I find strange is that every European layout I have seen on You Tube with catenary all run the locomotives with the pans fully down. They don't even run them up, but restrict the height to just below the cat. 

I don't know why anyone would go to the trouble and effort of installing a realistic catenary system and then run with pans in the parked position. ???

All it takes is just a strand of wire from a 22 gauge cutting and carefully and gently wrap a small length around the main arm and wrap the other end around the base of the pan.

I am running two of mine like that now to clear the tunnel portals because they are too tall in the full-up position. I'll be tying the other one down as well as soon as I know how low to tie it down.

Catenary has a standard NEM height for which a gauge is used to check installation. If at a later date I wished to electrify this cat, it would be a small matter to attach the correct feed wire to the catenary wire. There is actually a specialized mast for feeding the catenary and can be swapped out with one of the dead masts. Running a mutiple pick-up configuration is no trouble for the other locomotives. The single BR.111 locomotive (see the Gray Monday thread) that is catenary ready will draw power from the overhead and one of the rails for the return. There are DIP switches on the locomotive circuit board to set the pickup configuration.


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## MichaelE (Mar 7, 2018)

This is not nearly as difficult to install as I believed it would be.

The three wires going into the tunnels are secured to the portal opening with a very tacky gaffer's tape which will not be permanent, but allowed me to space out the first three masts to get the installation moving along. Fortunately, the track is descending here and the tunnel portal with the wire attached is higher than the pans in the full upright position so when the pan makes contact with the wire it is gradually brought down to operating height on the rest of the following catenary as the locomotive is coming up the grade. The same thing happens when a locomotive is traveling down the grade and the wire stops.

One of the masts on the inside track had to be located on the inside of the curve because the spot needed by the mast was already taken by a block signal. The center track has all of the masts on the inside of the curve because of spacing issues between the outside and middle tracks. Passenger carriages would wipe out any masts placed between these two tracks as there is a minimal amount of clearance between coaches as the trains meet on the curves.

I have a few more masts to place on the outside track and then where the track straightens the two box girder masts will be installed. I'll need three more to get down to the next tunnel portal.

The pan on the cat is fairly loud. Louder than I imagined. I don't know if I will want to listen to that noise from three locomotives at once. Think O scale on tubular rail and you'll get a quieter version of a pan on the wire. At least I know it works on this short stretch without malfunctioning.

First three installed:


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## Magic (Jan 28, 2014)

It sure looks good and it's good to hear that it is working so far.

Magic


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

Looks neat, not something you see on every layout.


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## MichaelE (Mar 7, 2018)

On this side of the Pond anyway.

I got the catenary on the outside track as far as I can go without a longer wire. The 144mm wire I'm using for the curves will place the next mast in the middle of the road crossing.

I can go as long as 220mm and still be within the limits of the pan according to the gauge, but I'm going to order a 200mm+/- wire to get across the road.

The longer wires don't have the hooks pre-bent on the ends to go around the insulators on the cat arms so I'll have to bend those myself.

So I'm now at a standstill until I get different lengths of wire coming out of the curve to attach to the box girder masts.


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## Lemonhawk (Sep 24, 2013)

Looked like the pantograph was actually ridding the wire as it sprung all the way up when it ran out of wire. I was thinking you were going to have to scratch build all that stuff. This really looks nice!


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## MichaelE (Mar 7, 2018)

Yes, the Br.111 had the pan on the wire until it ran out. It picked up the wire in the tunnel as the top of the wire is attached to the underside of the tunnel portal and it angles up slightly to allow the pan to gradually lower to the height of the rest of the catenary.

I think this will work out fine for trains going in the opposite direction too as soon as the rest is installed over the coming months.


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## PoppetFlatsRR (Jul 29, 2018)

Fantastic sir.


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## Chops (Dec 6, 2018)

Magnificent. There is a certain aura of electrified trains, and 
you have certainly captured it well. You belong to a rather 
small cadre of modelers to have attempted this, and succeeded.


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## Gramps (Feb 28, 2016)

Great work. I always liked catenary, watching PRR & NH locos running under wire.:appl:


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## Stumpy (Mar 19, 2013)

That looks awesome!


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## MichaelE (Mar 7, 2018)

The box girder three-track masts were installed yesterday. I was waiting on the arrival of a package of 240mm wires to get the last single mast to the other side of the road before I could begin the box mast installation.

This was very straightforward and less time consuming than installing the individual masts. I had to bend my own ends on the wires but with a pair of needle nose pliers this was very easy.

I bend one of the ends so sharply that the wire split on me and I ended up having to solder that wire end to the previous wire to maintain integrity of the connection. I used a fine sanding wheel on a Dremel to flatten and smooth the bottom of the solder joint where the wires joined the arm insulator.

There was another spot where the wire was crimped to the insulator that hung down below the contact point and Br.111 got hung up on it during the first pass. I forgot to trim that small end off of the wire. It's good now, but that was the first time I'd ever seen a locomotive literally jerked off of the track from above. It's a wonder it didn't destroy the pantograph but they seem to be tough little buggers.


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## Gramps (Feb 28, 2016)

Fantastic!


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## PoppetFlatsRR (Jul 29, 2018)

MichaelE,

Where do you buy the wiring kits for this. I think I could use them in my power plant, not for the long wires, but in the grid its self. Appears I could cut and bend them to look closer to real than what I have.


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## MichaelE (Mar 7, 2018)

I purchase the Viessmann catenary from EuroRail Hobbies. The wire starts at the bottom of the first page of the link and continues on the next page or two.

Short wire such as the 144mm cat used on the curves was pre-bent hooks on the ends whereas the longer wires are straight because they can be cut to length within about 30mm's or so.

Shorter wires are in 5-packs, and longer wires are in 3-packs. This is a tempered wire like guitar strings but it has some sort of oxide coating or galvanizing applied. I can't really tell what it is but it looks very realistic though slightly out of scale.

https://www.eurorailhobbies.com/products.asp?ca=32&sc=HO&mn=11


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## PoppetFlatsRR (Jul 29, 2018)

Thank you sir, I am going to order a set of the longer set ups and and see if I can make them work. 

Again fantastic work on this project!!!!!!


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## wvgca (Jan 21, 2013)

it's a lot of work ..
but the finished product looks real good


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## Magic (Jan 28, 2014)

wvgca had the same though I did about it being a lot of work.
And it dose look very good.

Magic


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## tankist (Jun 11, 2009)

That catenary sure adds to the eye candy. More details to look at. 

And you sure going for the European look of the layout there. The bright shade of green grass is unmistakable )


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## Guest (Jun 3, 2019)

The catenary looks fabulous, Michael. It makes a big difference visually. :smilie_daumenpos:


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## Lemonhawk (Sep 24, 2013)

It looks like it could "easily" be powered. Truly amazing, especially how nice it integrated at the tunnel portal!


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## MichaelE (Mar 7, 2018)

Yes, it could be easily powered, but since it is not going to be a complete circuit around the main lines it's pointless to power it.

It begins and ends at the tunnel entrances/exits.


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