Yes another question from Candy. I want to put telephone poles on my street. I have them ready to go in but I don't know how far apart they should go. Does anyone know if there is some kind of standard distance between poles? I'd like to do this right. Also does any modeler put wires on the poles or is that a problem? Just to remind you, I'm doing HO Candy
Telephone pole spacing varies a lot depending on the utility. An average might be about 40 poles per mile, or 132 feet between poles. In HO that would come out to about 18 inches, but I think most modelers put their poles closer together. For wire, use EZ Line by Berkshire Junction. It looks real and stretches rather than breaks when snagged.
Hi Candy, I was thinking 120 to 150 so the 132 sounds good. You may want to alter the spacing to break up the pattern. EZ Line is available from Fifer Hobby one of the Trainboard advertisers. Gary
Ok, When they put in my electric in they put them 300 ft. apart. I know this for sure because I had to pay for each and every pole to the tune of $1700/pole. This was because I did not have a permanent residence on site. This would put your poles about 4 inches apart for HO.:tb-biggrin:
Thanks everyone! I'm gunna try that EZ wire and space my poles just a bit closer because I don't have much space.
I blew that one big time I got my ft and inches mixed up. It would be just over 3.5 ft. And to me that would be a long ways between poles on a setup. 1 ft = 87 ft. I was making 1 inch =87ft. Meo copa:tb-biggrin::tb-biggrin:
Model Railroader has a good article too about detailing, wiring, and I think spacing as well in the June '10 issue.
I like EZ-Line. This is a VERY small diorama, say 15 inches wide in N scale, a little closer than oughta be. I had problem with superglue making the EZ Line hold a shape near the superglue blob, shouldve gone easier on it. Woodland Scenics "prairie grass"
It depends upon the situation. Tangent versus the line being turned in a different direction. Terrain underneath. Other utilities or obstacles. How much sag. In the past, spans could vary. This might be worthy of a field trip during the coming weekend. See what you can find. Take some photos. Pace off some distances. Just for fun. Boxcab E50
In the old days before radio comms, railroad telegraph/signal poles were spaced 100' apart so the rear and front end brakemen would know when they had run a quarter or half mile (132 or 264 poles respectively) to place fuzees and torpedos to protect a stopped train. These poles started to disappear in the 60's and probably were all gone by the 80's. As said by others, urban utility poles were placed according to city codes, utility company practices, and the number and weight of the wires hung. Perhaps the best thing is to look for old photos of cities in the northeast, then make your best guess of what looks right. The Library of Congress has an enormous archive of photos. It may take you some time to search through, but I'm sure you'll find something useful. http://www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/
Great city scene! It's a bit like mine. Your poles are 58 feet apart. They look good! I'm going to take boxcab's advice and see if I can go out to a city street that's similar to mine and pace out the distance between poles. I will be back to my thread with my findings. First I have to measure my petite stride.
Bell Common Practices City poles telephone: 75 ft on street 40' poles 6' in ground. Tel cable 18' off ground additional 40 inch minimum clearance to electric lines. Rear yards: 30ft light duty poles. Usually every other yard. Cable height varies 12-18ft depending on power share requirements. Rural: 75-100 feet. Tel cable 18' off ground 40" clearance to electric lines.
