Dear David and Brian:
Iowa was wonderful. A full report will follow either late in
the week or next week.
Traction in S is currently a challenge. Mostly due to the lack of
models without scratch building.
Iowa Traction Railroad is a modern shortline. 85% of their business is
moving jumbo hoppers full of soybeans. Each of the four Baldwin
Westinghouse steeplecabs have a capacity of four cars. I played
conductor on former CNS&M 727 (now IATR 727) on May 21st. (Three days
ago.) We were moving attendees of the CNW HS meeting held in Mason
City, Iowa in the rain and thunder. You can't get any more 'today' than
that.
I strongly recommend pantographs over poles. Overhead for pantographs
is significantly easier to erect than for poles as you don't have any
trolley frogs. (This is where the wires diverge for a switch.) Instead
the wires just cross. Pantographs also do not have a front or a back.
Every time they reversed direction, I watched Iowa Traction put up the
pole on the other end and then pull down the first pole. Every time.
This is unnecessary with pantographs and why the Iowa Transfer in Des
Moines switched to a pantograph -- to eliminate all this pole-up,
pole-down.
Catenary is very easy to erect. I build my own pantographs but many HO,
O, and the American Models pantograph all work. Below are the two
articles my overhead and such are based on. I build beefier stuff than
the late Robert Hegge did as my railroad's biggest enemy is my own hand.
"Pantographs that work smoothly" by Robert Hegge. May 1974 Model
Railroader, pages 37 through 39.
"Hanging catenary for pantograph and bow collectors" by Robert Hegge.
October 1973 Model Railroader, pages 56-60.
I use phosphor bronze wire for my overhead. I purchase it from Clover
House. When I bother, I use beads for insulators. I either erect my
overhead in place (direct suspension and often catenary) or on a
workbench. (My bench catenary does not dip between poles. It is flat.)
Spacing of the drop hangers is 3 1/2 inches with the two wires about 1/2
an inch apart. I space the poles 125 scale feet or less. Prototypical
is 300 feet but we get a telescoped perspective when viewing a real
train. So 125 feet looks right. I use solid rods of plastic as my
poles. Solid plastic rods bend easy so I use real guy wires soldered to
nails. I use copper wire as my bracket arm. The guy wires grab the
poles above the bracket arm. (By soldering the guy wire to the bracket
arm, I can solder a feeder to the nail at the base of the guy wire. The
feeder then ducks under the layout to a 12 or 14 gauge bus wire.) Some
people use a screw for the base of the guy wire arguing you can adjust
better. I just use a 1/2 inch nail driven 3/8 of an inch into plywood.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Models in S Scale. Hoquat Hobbies used to offer an excellent CNS&M
steeplecab shell. It was an accurate model of CNS&M 450 or 451.
However it is sold out and getting hard to find.
There are a number of much, much cruder interurbans available
but you will also have to hunt the used market. All of these utilize AF
cabeese doors for all the doors. Scale modelers avoid these.
Model RailRoad Warehouse claims it is close on S Scale Class B
Steeplecabs. Also in the works are Class D Steeplecabs, P&N boxcabs,
WCF&N 100 - 102, and SN 1005.
I have been trying to talk Billy Wade into making resistor
grids, air compressors, etc. for S Traction for years so trolley parts
are mostly 'do it yourself'.
I hope this answers your questions. I welcome you to the S Scale
Traction Fraternity! The golden age of S Traction is dawning.
Thorin
-----Original Message-----
From: Marty.Thorin
Sent: Tuesday, May 17, 2005 10:31 PM
To: '[EMAIL PROTECTED]'; s-scale yahoo
Subject: RE: [S-Scale Modeling] Starting out in S-scale, but I need some
research help.
Dear David and Brian:
No, I had not seen this. I'm on vacation this week visiting Mason City
and Clear Lake (Iowa Traction) and will be back next week. A real
answer needs to wait until then.
Thanks,
Thorin
-----Original Message-----
From: David Engle [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Monday, May 16, 2005 2:16 PM
To: Marty.Thorin
Subject: FW: [S-Scale Modeling] Starting out in S-scale, but I need some
research help.
Did you see this? DJE
-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf
Of
pflarrian1
Sent: Saturday, May 14, 2005 7:26 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [S-Scale Modeling] Starting out in S-scale, but I need some
research help.
Hello, my name is Brian. Before anyone asks, I have modeled in HO-gauge
for quite some time, and am switching to S-gauge in part because S-gauge
is almost the exact same size as the miniatures I use for my historical
wargaming, and in part because I have trouble working in the smaller
scales. O is a little *too* big for my limited space.
Here's the problem. I already know that I'm going to freelance a
railroad, that I want to work in scale, and where to get most of the
supplies I will need. I'm going to start a traction railroad, along the
lines of the Iowa Terminal. It'll be traction, but set in the modern
era. I realize this is kind of odd, but that's what freelancing is for,
right?
However, I have a couple of questions I cannot find answers for. Does
anyone know what the benefits of using trolley poles versus pantographs
would be, and if you can use pantographs with trolley wire, or if I
would have to use catenary instead? Likewise, are there any good
resources to show me how to install catenary? I have found a great deal
of information for standard trolley wire, but almost nothing for
catenary, save where I can get the supplies...
- Brian Empanger
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