DIY Catenary?

[MichaelE]

Has anyone here fabricated their own RhB catenary?

 

I'm giving some thought to making my own from 3mm brass rod for the masts and 1mm brass wire for the support arms. I would probably buy the bases from Sommerfeldt since they are available and would be a good time saver rather than cutting small cubes of basswood. Brass cuts and solders easily, and it's cheap to purchase.

 

I thought about threading the bottom of the rod to accept a wingnut, or just drilling the holes in the sub-roadbed to friction fit the masts in place. 

 

I think I could save a bit of money by building these masts myself. Probably around a buck a piece.

 

Has anyone here done this?

 

 

 

 

[JimFin]

Not done it - went for Sommerfeldt as it offers reasonable accurate models at a price. Cheaper than many specialist manufacturers but not cheap.

 

 Depends how prototypical you want to be. RhB masts are H section rather than rod and there is a lot more to them than just the masts. It also depends how far you intend to take the overhead system as your dual gauge may complicate the overhead wires. The power cables (whether live or not) do not run straight down the centre line of the track but zig zag so that it does not act like a cheese wire on the pantograph. Not sure how that would work for dual gauge as it would be either off centre for standard gauge if you ran it to the 12mm and vice versa.S

 

pending a bit and buying the Sommerfeldt guide book would probably be worthwhile as it shows clearly how it would all have to be laid out and also has a lot of the dimensions you would need.

[Salmotrutta]

Interesting question about dual-gauge catenary. I don't think that there was much dual gauge on the RhB, the only bit I know of was at Untervaz serving the BCU cement works and a recycling centre. The standard gauge was served by a Gm 3/3 diesel and a RhB Tm 2/2 on the metre gauge. 

 

Looking at the photo on the front of my copy of "Die Bahnhofsspurpläne der Rhätischen Bahn by Henning Wall" of that exact site there is no catenary over the dual gauge. I think that this dual gauge track may have been removed recently.  

 

If you are looking for ideas about separate supplies for different trains then the catenary at places like Basel where Swiss meets French and Germany OH might be an example. I recall French trains running into Basel - but I'm not sure whether they was multi-voltage OH. I'm sure there are others who are much better versed in trans-border electrics on the forum!

 

[Salmotrutta]

To answer your original question I have heard of people building catenary from scratch; especially where there isn't a good commercial solution like on the Landwasser viaduct. 

 

Good luck!

[JimFin]

Looks like the power is centred on the meter gauge on the run from Chur to the EMS plant 

[MichaelE]

That's what I was told at another forum; that the wire is centered on the narrow gauge track.

 

I run the zig-zag pattern on my small length of DB cat, but because the Swiss pans are so narrow I can't really see how it would matter.

 

The pans will likely be in a fixed position below the wire just to give the illusion of contact. Most of my locomotives have the pans tied at a fixed height, at least until I can finish it so the pans don't catch the end of the run.

 

Thanks for the tip about the phosphor bronze wire.

[MichaelE]

I was studying the photos of the RhB catenary masts at Modellbahnshoppe-Lippe, and at first because of the lighting and angle of the photo I thought these were hex shaped masts. Upon further examination I find that they really are I-beam masts. I can't find a hobby supply shop that carries this structural shape in the size I need.

 

I guess I may be buying the Sommerfeldt masts after all.

[JimFin]

7 hours ago, MichaelE said:

I was studying the photos of the RhB catenary masts at Modellbahnshoppe-Lippe,

Good way to study RhB infrastructure is via Google Street View as they ran a flat car with the camera mounted on it round a lot of the network. Gives 360 views and works same as street view to move forward and back. https://www.google.com/maps/@46.6746968,9.6787909,2a,75y,98.92h,83.42t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s-pJzY68yQhaR6sYJuh9ipQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

[Re6/6]

8 hours ago, MichaelE said:

I was studying the photos of the RhB catenary masts at Modellbahnshoppe-Lippe, and at first because of the lighting and angle of the photo I thought these were hex shaped masts. Upon further examination I find that they really are I-beam masts. I can't find a hobby supply shop that carries this structural shape in the size I need.

 

I guess I may be buying the Sommerfeldt masts after all.

Micheal, if you do want to build some of your own catenary, these might be useful to you.  https://www.modellbahnshop-lippe.com/Accessories/Catenary/Sommerfeldt-081/gb/modell_83723.html

They don't stock them but do order from the factory. Their orders usually take about 10 days to get to the shop and then probably the same to us, but who knows with the current situation.

 

Modelmasters of Weston-Super-Mare do sell them but they're a third more expensive than from MSL.

 

On my Swiss effort, I'll be doing some minor scratchbuilding making up what I need from Sommerfeldt brackets etc. I works out a good bit cheaper that buying the made up ones.

Edited May 10, 2020 by Re6/6