Catenary modelers- How high is YOUR cat?

[u18b]

EDITED:  Maybe I should ask-  those of you that run electrics-- how high is the cat wire on YOUR layout?
(from the top of the rail to the wire)

Inquiring minds want to know!



You may now ignore this

I'm working on the springs on my EP-2, and need to know how high an average overhead wire is.

I'm thinking somewhere around 20' over the railhead.

Anyone know?


edited:  Right now, the top of the pantograph sits about 21 feet off the rail.

[peteski]

I think the answer is buried in your original EP-2 thread.  I even recall a photo of the EP-2 with a section of catenary sitting at some show or exhibition.

[Spikre]

 
  in the 80s Mainline had an article by CC Crow on modeling
 the Milwaukee wire sections .
  don't recall the issue,or the height,but 20' seems reasonable,
  as does 22' or 24'.
  will look for the article later,or at least which issue it ran in.
     Spikre
     

[u18b]

Pete,  I thought that was where I saw it.
I looked and looked around the pantograph section.
Got tired of looking.

But I just went back and found it on page 50.

Nick Kalanaga posted:

If your pans won't reach a standard wire height, here are some numbers from "The Milwaukee Electrics" by Noel Holley. 

Standard wire height    24 ft 2 in
Minimum height             18 ft 9 in
Operating range            17 to 26 ft

The pantographs would work as little as 3 inches above the locked down position, and could actually go above 26 ft if there was no wire to hold them down, but contact would be poor.

Slack wire on sidings could rise to as high as 26 ft due to the pantograph spring pressure, which is the reason for the long "horns" on the shoes, and the anti-snagger bars.  The GN and Virginian used similar anti-snaggers, while the PRR, NH, and other Northeastern roads seemed to keep their wires tight enough they didn't need them.

So, if you have to, you can put your wire just about anywhere you have to.  The Overland Little Joes have trouble with wires anywhere above standard height, because the pans won't go higher than that.  Another flaw, and not an easy one to fix.  I'm NOT going to rebuild one of those things!

[u18b]

Maybe I should ask-  those of you that run electrics-- how high is the cat wire on YOUR layout?

Inquiring minds want to know!

[up1950s]

[Missaberoad]

A good discussion on wire height.
http://cs.trains.com/trn/f/111/t/22066.aspx?page=4

[u18b]

Richie, there's one in every crowd.

[peteski]

Richie, there's one in every crowd.

You know Ron, after you revised your thread and the subject line last nigth, I missed a golden opportunity.

I should have said "it depends on how fresh the catnip is"   

[sd45elect2000]

Mine is all 22 ft... give or take

[nkalanaga]

Mine is supposed to be 24' 2", MILW standard.  As the track isn't perfectly flat, and the poles aren't perfectly straight, it varies a bit.  As I said in the post Ron quoted, the Overland pans, properly mounted, won't reach higher than 24' 2", so I had to go back and lower a few places, and it was installed lower to fit through a Kato through truss bridge.

The GN used the same wire height, but I have no idea what the Virginian or N&W used.  The PRR standard seems to have been considerably lower.

[Spades]

Ron

Did you checkout Lance Mindhiem's Shelf Layout Company?  Go to photo gallery and check out his Northeast Corridor Theme (N).  He is very generous in answering any questions.  I know you are asking for people with actual catenary exp

G

[u18b]

I went searching the net for NCat specs.

I found a site that said:

NCat has developed highly recommended n-scale traction standards...
NCat Catenary Standards: [1] height above railhead must fall within the limits of 19-22 scale feet;

NCat Pantograph/Trolley Pole Standards: [1] so designed and mounted as to not snap shut above 17 scale feet and shall reach at least 23 scale feet above the railhead, and [2] upward force to be between 5-7 grams.

So it would appear that my model worked out perfectly.
Wow.  I'm thankful.

So I think it turned out exactly where it needed to be.   Prototype Milw Rd is higher, but the model falls within NCat specs.