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Woodland Scenics Utility System

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  • Member since
    January 2019
  • 2,572 posts
Woodland Scenics Utility System
Posted by John-NYBW on Tuesday, February 23, 2021 9:01 AM

Does anyone have information on when these products are going to be available to purchase. I first saw these "Coming Soon" items being advertised last summer. I've come to realize that in the model railroad world, "coming soon" usually means sometime in the next two years. They don't always meet that mark, but two years seems to be the industry average between announcement and delivery.

  • Member since
    May 2010
  • From: SE. WI.
  • 8,253 posts
Posted by mbinsewi on Tuesday, February 23, 2021 11:03 AM

I just checked their web site, "coming soon".

There are phone numbers at the bottom of the page, maybe give a call.

Mike.

  • Member since
    January 2004
  • From: Canada, eh?
  • 13,375 posts
Posted by doctorwayne on Tuesday, February 23, 2021 1:59 PM

I originally used Atlas telegraph poles, which are adequate with a little paint, and managed to pick up a fairly good-sized group of Walthers electrical poles and pole transformers off the "used" table at a now long-gone hobbyshop.
I'll be using the Rix telegraph poles on the upper level of my layout, and should have enough of the Walthers utility poles, too....if not, I can make my own.

Wayne

  • Member since
    May 2010
  • From: SE. WI.
  • 8,253 posts
Posted by mbinsewi on Tuesday, February 23, 2021 2:16 PM

Well, when my layout was built, I had everything put underground  Whistling

All that remains are a few old out of service communication wires and poles from the past:

Mike.

  • Member since
    February 2008
  • 2,360 posts
Posted by kasskaboose on Tuesday, February 23, 2021 2:45 PM

doctorwayne


I'll be using the Rix telegraph poles on the upper level of my layout, and should have enough of the Walthers utility poles, too....if not, I can make my own.

Wayne

I like the Rix products. They are quite easy to build and inexpensive.  I used sandpaper on the poles to make them look more realistic. 

  • Member since
    January 2004
  • From: Canada, eh?
  • 13,375 posts
Posted by doctorwayne on Tuesday, February 23, 2021 3:20 PM

kasskaboose
I used sandpaper on the poles to make them look more realistic.

Yeah, using the sandpaper is a good way to make the poles look like they've been around for a while. 
You could also paint a few with a dry-brushed grey paint to represent even older ones, or perhaps the odd one with a dark brown/almost black appearance to be a recently creosoted replacement for one damaged in a storm or accident.

I especially like the Rix poles with the crossarms done in clear green plastic.  Simply paint the crossarms to match the poles, and you've got traditional green glass insulators that were once so common.

Wayne

  • Member since
    August 2003
  • From: Collinwood, Ohio, USA
  • 16,367 posts
Posted by gmpullman on Tuesday, February 23, 2021 4:16 PM

Rapido tried these "pre-strung" utulity poles maybe ten or twelve years ago. Sometimes they still pop up on eBay.

https://www.hobbylinc.com/htm/rap/rap300001.htm

I like Mike's idea of showing the lines in a state of disrepair, as so many were in the '60s and into the 1970s. I remember seeing them like this all the time. Plus it makes trying to reach into the layout much easier without tangling into strung wires.

Good Luck, Ed

  • Member since
    January 2019
  • 2,572 posts
Posted by John-NYBW on Tuesday, February 23, 2021 5:03 PM

gmpullman

Rapido tried these "pre-strung" utulity poles maybe ten or twelve years ago. Sometimes they still pop up on eBay.

https://www.hobbylinc.com/htm/rap/rap300001.htm

I like Mike's idea of showing the lines in a state of disrepair, as so many were in the '60s and into the 1970s. I remember seeing them like this all the time. Plus it makes trying to reach into the layout much easier without tangling into strung wires.

Good Luck, Ed

 

I have that Rapido set and used it on one section of the layout. They are quite a bit taller than the unstrung poles I have used elsewhere and which are awaiting E-Z line installation. I have two other areas of the layout I am completing now and if the WS system is reasonably priced, I would prefer that to stringing my own lines. If they really aren't "coming soon" they will lose this customer because I'm not going to wait indefinitely for their product. I'll go with the unstrung poles and string them myself. 

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