in the Kalmbach book HOW TO BUILD AND DETAIL MODEL RAILROAD SCENES the author (Lou Sassi) tells, in one chapter, how to detail telephone poles, and what to use for wire, in HO scale. Any suggestions on what you can use for N scale?
I use a very fine polyester monofilament thread made by Sulky. It's .004" in diameter, smoke colored, and has a little shine to it so it looks like real wire. It's called Invisible Thread.
The only way to go is Berkshire Junction EZ Line. It is streachy and very thin and comes in 4 colors. http://www.fiferhobby.com/html/scenery_details_n_scale.html Mike
EZ Line Here is EZ line on my MOW crane control lines. I think Vern Niner used EZ Line on his telephone poles. It does stretch tight and does not sag like a real line might do. There was a thread on this before, but I can't find it now. You can get six feet of EZ Line for 2 US$ (including shipping) from Bobe's Hobby House in Florida. A spool costs a lot more. Bobe's Hobby House.
Jerry- I would hesitate to use the stuff that does NOT sag. I have seen to many pictures of poles slightly askew in MR layout shots.
You can, of course, let the stretchy stuff sag. One doesn't use this material to resist sagging, one uses it to stretch when you reach across and snag the wires. The stretchy thread will return to it's original position, which may be saggy or tight. My problem with wires is spiderwebs!
I visited an HO layout once, and somehow the wires had sagged and were picked up on a passing train, which went pretty far before the gracious and gabby host noticed it. It was hard to keep from laughing, but it made me wonder if that level of detail is really worth it on a running layout.
Is part of you is saying "maybe I should skip the wire and work on something more enjoyable?" If so, you may want to listen. If you're anything like me, you would just spend the upcoming months (/years) nitpicking yourself on why those dang wires just never seem to hang right.
I think you'll find it nearly impossible to reproduce consistent sag with multiple wires. In real life they are by design made to sag the same amount from pole to pole. Maybe hiring a few of Tony Burzio's spiders would do the trick . And if you mean trackside poles, I think many of those lines are signal lines run to switches, signals, etc.: http://www.railsaroundthebay.net/history/commutes/sp/0050/4.html You can see the heavy cables of multistrand wire running to the interlocking tower and how they likely replaced many lighter wires formerly carried on the three arms of each pole. It's not cable TV, at least. Does anyone use GREEN EZ line? It is meant to imitate bare copper wire that's oxidized, once considered okay for low voltage use and where wires wouldn't touch each other.
Steamghost , yes the green is a perfect match for old solid copper open wire. Copper open wire was then replaced with copper steel wire to be strung longer distance. Then came lead sheathed copper conductor cables with paper insulation, then lead with poly insulation, then poly sheath with poly insulation , and now poly covered fiber optics. Choose your colors! Mike
