How do you place your catenaries and pylons?

[belgian46]

Hello,

I need a little bit of help.

Currently I am trying to find a method to place catenaries and pylons in a simple way. However, it is very difficult to find such an easy method.

My route is not flat ( there are no mountains in it ) and not linear, so it is not easy to find a smooth way.

I even had a try with the catenary tip ( http://forums.auran.com/trainz/showthread.php?87180-Catenary-Tip&highlight=catenaries ) from NJCurmudgeon.

So, do you have some suggestion?

Thank you.

Best regards

Kurt :wave:

 

[mezzoprezzo]

~snip~ So, do you have some suggestion? ~snip~

Hello Kurt.

It depends on the type of catenary you choose.

I’ve used assets modelled on prototypical Trenitalia hardware on my Italian routes.

There are two types which I use.

The first is a spline type which has the pylons, arms, insulators and completed catenary wires all included, waiting to be stretched out over the rails. These I place in open areas which don’t get too much scrutiny from trackside cameras. However, I still take great care in placing them making sure the view when working in Surveyor is directly overhead.

As the wires are stretched out, the spline automatically places the poles at set intervals. These don’t always allow for rail curves and can cause the wires to run outside of the contact area of the loco pantograph. Some of the poles can also fall too close into the track ballast area. I’ve found that the remedy for this is to insert catenary spline points wherever necessary. This allows the pole spacings to be reduced as required and allow you to make corrections to the zig-zag path of the wires so that they touch within the pantograph limits.

The second method comprises a kit of parts. Some are objects, some splines, some I found under tracks (and those used trackside parts which had to be connected!) There is a variety of pole types, tension wheel assemblies, weight and pulleys, cross bars, cross bar supports, insulated contact arms and catenary wires of various types. Not for the faint hearted, but pretty well essential if creating a prototypical area.

I managed to copy one station’s catenary pretty well exactly using clear Google Earth imagery. It took two days, but was well worth the effort. I’d never do the whole route that way though. The readymade splines were more than adequate for the majority of the map.

Cheers
Casper

 

[stagecoach]

When you use the spline versions place the spline point on top of the track spline point. If you have the double track ones place the spline between the two track spline points so they overlap or touch both spline points.

 

[belgian46]

Hello Casper and stagecoach,

Thank you for your answer and advice.

As my route consist of a combination of tram and train, I first checked out the train and tram models that I would like to use.

First obstacle was the height of the Pantograph ( position up ) - For the tram models the height was 5,15m ( measured from ground level up to heighest point of the pantograph ). For the train models, I had several variations in heights, going from 5,5m up to 6,1 m ( again measured from ground level up to heighest point of the pantograph ) . So, I have to eliminate some train models, otherwise I will have some trains with the pantograph going above the wires and models with the pantograph below the wires.

Then I started using serveral catenaries with pylons included ( Belgian origin ). In an other thread ( can pantograph be raised in surveyor - started by OBO ) I asked if there was a train/tram model with the pantograph up in surveyor mode.
Unfortunately, there was not such a train/tram model. I think, this would make the placing of the catenary with pylons much easier ( nevertheless, I could be wrong )

Then I considered starting the tutorials for Gmax and Google Sketchup. Due to the fact that my drawing skills are rather moderate ( very optimistically said ), I prefer working with Google Sketchup. Presently, I'm trying to build some houses and station buildings, but all at a very slow speed.

Will I be able to build my own train/tram model with pantograph up? I realy don't know. I even wondered if it would be possible to create an automatic adjustable pantograph ( to the catenary ).

I also tried using the UK catenary height tool ( by Ben Dorsey ), placing the tool in the position before and after the train/tram model. I tried the Uk catenaries, but unfortunately the height was a problem ( ref heights of my train models ( pantograph up ).

I still have to try some Dutch,French, German and yes I will have a try at the Italian version of catenaries/pylons.

It is just a way of finding an easy method, otherwise I would take me years before I got the caternary with pylons placed.

Best regards

Kurt :wave:

 

[stagecoach]

If they are splines and are to high then there is no problem. All you need do is drop the spline point by that small amount to get correct height.

 

[belgian46]

Hello stagecoach,

I will try to figure it out in the next coming days.

Best regards

Kurt :wave: