I model a railroad called the Sacramento Northern, a northern California short line that started out as an electric interurban railroad (actually two electric interurbans--long story) and converted from electric to diesel over a period of nearly 20 years. Staring in 2005 I began a sectional around-the-room layout based on SN operations in Sacramento, building one or two sections at a time.

Up until now, I have modeled only the "diesel" period--roughly 1953-1965. I'm a fan of small switching locomotives, so this suited me fine--my roster includes GE 44 and 70 tonners, a S1 and an SW7, in SN and Western Pacific livery (WP owned the line from the 1920s until its absorption into UP.) The only time electrics made an appearance was as a "deadhead move"--a non-functional steeplecab (which was still operating in Marysville/Yuba City until 1965) is moved to the north end of the layout, and dragged via diesel to the Western Pacific interchange so it can be serviced at the WP Jeffery Shops (who fixed the SN's electrics after the closure of the original Chico shops.) But I had always planned to model the "transition era" between 1946 and 1953, when both electric locomotives and diesels operated on the SN's industrial freight belt in Sacramento, sharing some trackage with another electric-turned-diesel railroad Central California Traction, and doing lots of interchange/bridge traffic with WP and Southern Pacific.

So, at some point, it became time to put up poles. This was a bit daunting to me, and I put it off for years because once poles are up, working on scenery is much more difficult. Generally, articles and books on trolley modeling tell the reader to finish modeling the road surface first! The motivating factor became the purchase of a nice Suydam model of a SN "Niles" combine, and the SN's most beautiful (in my opinion) parlor car, the Bidwell. I also got a Baldwin-Westinghouse steeplecab in the deal: it runs a little roughly but is reliable enough to put into freight service. They are all wired for two-rail operation, so I can certainly run them without poles, but having seen a few streetcar/interurban railroads over the past few years, at least having poles up adds something.

Cost was the other daunting part. Buying pre-made free-standing trolley poles starts at about $5 each, and I would need an average of two poles per linear foot of track. But the poles are basically brass rod, so I built myself a few tools to quickly churn out HO scale poles--at least the simple free-standing ones. (I bought a few poles with hangers for $2 each a few years back and have been waiting to use them for something!)

Parts list:

1/8" brass rod (in 12" or 36" lengths)

Nickel-silver trolley wire (I got mine from George Huckaby of CustomTraxx)

Small red beads (approx. 1/16", reddish-brown with a hole in the middle) from my wife's jewelry-crafts drawer (thanks hon!) for insulators

2 scraps of 2x4 lumber, 6" long

1 piece 1/2" MDF scrap

2 wood screws

 

Here are the tools. First is a chunk of 2x4 cut to the length of one pole (6 inches), with a 1/8" wide channel routed out of it, crossed with index lines at the wire level and ground level. I stick a 12" length of 1/8" brass rod in the jig, cut it in half with razor saw or Dremel, and make a notch at wire level (to give a very secure channel so the wire doesn't wiggle on the pole) and at ground level (for an easy index mark to ensure the pole is at the proper depth.)

Second is a painting jig: the other chunk of 2x4 with a dozen or so 1/8" holes in it, just there to hold the poles while painting and keep them handy during installation. I paint the poles with flat gray primer and then a coat of Roof Brown to model the creosoted poles SN used.

Third is a measuring tool, based on patterns in Kalmbach's Traction Guidebook and Suydam's Interurban Modeling Handbook. Cut out of scrap MDF (my roadbed is MDF so I typically have a bunch of it laying around), this jig helps me position trolley poles and wire height, and while an NMRA measuring tool provides the same dimensions, because the measuring tool is a half-inch thick it is free-standing so I can use both hands to adjust things. The screws provide index points for the span wire (that goes from pole to pole) and trolley wire (which hangs from the span wire on a hanger.)

(Poles ready to be painted)

Once the poles are cut and painted, I drilled 1/8" holes into the MDF layout surface (I started with my yard, since the scenery is already complete) and slide in the poles to the height indicated by the lower notch on the pole. I use the measuring jig to more precisely line up the upper notch with the height where the span wire should be. MDF has enough "grab" to prevent the poles from moving, so I haven't glued them in place.

The span wire is nickel-silver wire, looped around each end of the pole through the pre-cut notches. Prior to looping the wire around the second pole, I add two of the small red beads. The ends of the wire are twisted to keep the wire pretty stable. Some folks solder the wire in place but it's sturdy enough just twisted in place and will be easier to adjust or repair by simply untwisting the wire. Slide one bead to each end, over the excess bit of wire left over to disguise it--the bead resembles the insulator of the prototype's span wire. I also added Rix telephone crossarms to resemble the prototype, based on historic photos of Haggin Yard.

Because I am not planning on providing overhead power (to simplify wiring and operation, and allow use of diesels as well as juice jacks) and because I am a big fan of "giant hand action" in the layout (manual turnout control and uncoupling) I don't plan on hanging overhead wire, especially because the layout is modular and wiring between modules is daunting--but ask me in a few years. I did add a "backbone" wire along the rear of the layout, primarily for appearances, but if I do hang overhead wire it will provide a place to mount pull-offs and provide extra power continuity.

Here are the locomotives that spurred this project, now operating under something that far more closely resembles their natural habitat:

That's one six-foot section done, six more to go, with poles that cost about 75 cents each instead of $5. The second section is just more yard and scenery is complete, so it should be just as simple as the first section (which was completed in a couple of hours, including cutting and painting the poles) but beyond that will require some effort. Below is a shot close to the end of the line, the Sacramento River docks and the M Street freight yard, with the steeplecab to the right:

Getting the wire out that far will take a while...I have a lot of structures to build and then street surface and other landscape to apply. Maybe those will justify their own mini clinics once they are finished...like the interior detail of "Bridge Lunch," the greasy spoon in the picture above (I'm detailing a grill to replace the block of wood on the right, plus a new clock that will be right side up):