My fellow members ideas on roadways worked great..thank you. Now I have to find some super realistic looking telephone poles. I don't have time to make any so I need a source to purchase from.

P.S......I should be posting photos of my Texas layout sometime this month.

Steve

Texas on the West Coast........

Does your layout have that MKT train on it: the TS? Love the paint on the original two trainsets.

Dominic....

No other..I have about 7 variations of the Texas Special engines and run MKT, Santa Fe and Frisco on my layout.

Steve

Texas on the West Coast........

Go here.

I have as my TS:

Power: Either the 2245 Lionel F3AB (1954) or
Williams UP Heritage Katy

Cars: Williams LL1007 Texas Special set. (Think Lionel Congo cars painted TS!)

The SD powered train is my version of a Lionel set made a few years ago: A Lionel SD90 and Superliners for the NYC. The passenger red on the SD matches the passenger cars exactly!

Tex,

I bought some of Dave's telephone poles a while back-- they are quite good.

Hi all,

Dave's poles get a big thumbs up from me. I've used quite a few of his poles. Some of the customer photos on his website are from my installations. They're realistic, well built, and very reasonably priced for what you get.

For stringing the poles I recommend elastic "beading string" available at most craft stores. The .5mm size is a good scale equivalent for telephone trunk lines and building service lines. For finer wires the EZ-Line products (available through Scenic Express) are excellent.

Steve,
Here's another vote for Dave's DM&M products through the link above.

You can't beat them for detail and variety at a good price.

Jim

Steve,

Another good source is Weaver models. They have very nice plastic poles and you can get them assembled and painted.

http://www.weavermodels.com/page102.html

-Glenn

Weavers were top of the line until Daves came out. There is no comparison, simply the best and that's why we are a dealer.

A friend of my who also reads the OGR Forum pointed out this thread to me as I am the individual who concieved, designed, and paid for the tooling for the Weaver line poles. I wanted to point out a few things about them:

1. They are designed from the AT&T practices manual.
2. The dimensions of the crossarms are prototypical.
3. The angle and size of the crossarm bracing is prototypical.
4. The poles are prototypically tapered.
5. The top of the pole is prototypically angled.
6. The insulators are accurate models of a Hemingray-42 insulator. An actual insulator was sent to the tool and die maker to assure it was accurately reproduced.
7. The crossarms have ten insulators which far and away was the most common insulator arrangement. A "Type A" crossarm was used for the model.
8. They are manufactured and assembled in the United States.

I sold the tooling to Weaver and no longer have a financial interest in the line poles. My goal then was to bring the product to market, and my goal here is to make sure that everyone reading this thread is aware of the facts.

Here are a few photos of both prototype and Weaver line poles. The Weaver line poles are extremely accurate models of the prototype. Look at the photos and judge for yourself.














Respectfully,

Thanks Neal for all your hard work in making the excellent Weaver poles. They are the best and most realistic ones ever done in O scale.

I don't even have a place for telephone poles and I want some

Rand

I know that I am impressed with them! The only thing that would have been nicer is if the crossarms and insulators were done in either clear or green tinted plastic like some HO gauge poles so after painting the crossarms, the insulators look like glass. That is nit-picking though, because the design is spot on.

-Glenn

Norm, Glenn, thanks for your comments.

As to doing them in clear or green tinted clear plastic...I actually wanted to do this, but the injection molder told me with the type of plastic that they would need to use, the insulators would appear to have a frosted look to them. Alas, look at the HO Rix poles to which you are undoubtedly referring. Indeed, the clear green insulators do appear to be frosted. So that is why the Weaver line poles did not get molded that way.

Great work on the poles, Neal! I can't even imagine the hard work that must have gone into the whole process, from design to manufacture, especially with YOUR money on the line!!!

As with many things in model railroading, to each his own. Some love the plastic ones, some love the wood ones. Buy the one you feel "fits" what you are trying to accomplish with your railroad.

How much better can it get when you have a choice which line poles to buy! At least there's not just the hideous Lionel ones anymore!!!

[QUOTE] I don't have time to make any so I need a source to purchase from.[QUOTE]

Steve: Here's a quick, cheap, and fast way to make telephone poles:
buy some dowel rods, cut to length, stain, and attatch crossbars.

sorry i think i quoted wrong my bad

I was so busy working on my layout, I plum forgot I asked this question. The info in super. I have choices and will order some of each to see how they conform to my scenery. Thank you everyone.....


Steve

Texas on the West Coast........