HO Scale 500kv Power line Path


S

sirfjm

New Member
I've always wanted high voltage transmission lines on my layouts so I decided to scratch build some because there were no models of the design that I wanted. The wires or conductors will be in groups of 3 for each phase. Also in the works are substations, sub transmission and feeder lines.
 
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wheeler1963 said:
Please tell us how you made those. The items required and your tips!!
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Sure. The first thing you need are ordinary wooden dowels. The ones that I bought were 4 to 5/16ths of an inch thick. Next you need some flexible wire for the purpose of tying and securing the screws(insulators) to the tower. Next you need black 3 inch screws. I got the fine thread dry wall 8 x 3 size. You will need hot glue and wire cutters to cut the dowels. I will go into the transmission wire(conductor) wires later. The first step is to cut the dowels and arrange them in sections such as the legs, the 2 shield wire arms and the main crossbar. There are 3 different leg heights for the pylons. I made the regular leg height of the pylons 14 inches. The legs for the strainer (or redirecting) pylons are a little shorter at 10 inches because of the pull of the wires. Also not that on my strainer pylons, one leg is longer than the other (example the back or brace leg is one inch shorter than the leg that anchors down against the pull of the wires. That goes for strainers only. On Anchor pylons, (not pictured in this thread, the legs are shorter at 8 inches. Also note the anchor pylon has 4 legs instead of 2. This is for added strength when wires have to cross vast land distances in between pylons. For the regular pylon, the two top arms are 4 inches long at 120 degrees towards the outside. On the anchor and strainer pylons, I made the arms 4 inches but they are set outward at 130 degrees for that intimidating look. The cross bar on all pylons is 12 inches long. On the regular pylons, the end arm is 3 inches long and about 160 degrees downward on both sides. On the strainer pylon, the end arm is 3 inches and is set straight down to hold the insulators in place. The other arm on the strainer is 2 inches long at a degree of 170 facing slightly higher up than the regular pylons. To put the pylons together, I used hot glue and plastic holders to help the poles stay in place when drying. First glue the legs at an outward angle 4 inches from either side of the 12 inch cross arm. Then glue the 2 shield arms on top of the cross am directly above the 2 legs placed 4 inches apart respectively. Glue the two3 inch arms on the ends of the cross bar at 160 degrees facing down. Spray paint which ever color you like. I painted the towers metalic silver and black at the bottoms. To connect the screws, twist wire around the philips ends of the screws and twist the remaining wire around the pylon arm. Use wire to twist the two insulators together at the center. Use hot glue to hold wire in place on the pylon. For strainers, connect 2 sets of screws together at both ends then connect to another screw at drill end using the wire to secure all ends. Then connect the philps side of both screws to the end arms respectively. For the actual power line wire, I will post an update since I am changing the wires. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Thanks
 
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Very interesting detail to model. Are they going to be installed on your layout soon?
 
PEIR said:
Very interesting detail to model. Are they going to be installed on your layout soon?
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Thanks and yes. I am working on a new interstate highway that they will parallel as well as new traffic lights, shopping centers and gas stations. The railroad tracks will mostly be mainlines and will run by the nuclear power plant from which these high voltage wires come from.
 
sirfjm said:
Thanks and yes. I am working on a new interstate highway that they will parallel as well as new traffic lights, shopping centers and gas stations. The railroad tracks will mostly be mainlines and will run by the nuclear power plant from which these high voltage wires come from.
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Sounds good. Looking forward to seeing the installed pics:D
 
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