Telegraph lines

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jim s-w
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Telegraph lines

Postby jim s-w » Fri Aug 27, 2021 7:23 pm

Hi all

Quick question as I’ve struggled to find an answer to this.

If telegraph lines need to cross from one side of running lines to the other side was there any particular way this was done? I’m thinking of potentially crossing them over under a bridge but would this be prototypical?

Cheers

Jim
Jim Smith-Wright

http://www.p4newstreet.com

Over thinking often leads to under doing!

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jon price
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Re: Telegraph lines

Postby jon price » Fri Aug 27, 2021 8:31 pm

LNER Railway "Signalling and Communications" says wires should be at least 17ft above tracks where they cross, (also 16ft above a road at an occupational crossing and 20ft when crossing a main road). Poles should be 65ft apart and should be on the inside of curves where possible, so obviously needing to cross tracks at some point. At main road level crossings apparently unground conduits were preferred. I think there is a piece in BRM September or October 2006 about it.

Photos are difficult to find but this is apparently on the Settle Carlisle, and logic dictates that wires crossing would take the shortest route, ie at right angles to the track, for simplicity of maintenance. Note also that the posts will require stays (visible here), and also on curves
wires.jpg
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John Palmer
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Re: Telegraph lines

Postby John Palmer » Fri Aug 27, 2021 10:37 pm

More telegraph pole pictures than you could ever possibly want here: https://www.myinsulators.com/ukinsulators/pole.htm. For a detailed description of line construction practice I doubt you will do better than Chapter XII of "Railway Signalling and Communications" published by the St Margaret's Technical Press Ltd. Michael Clark's Masokits range includes a telegraph poles set (8.07) with what is required to construct a good range of pole route components, and his instructions cover quite a bit of the same ground as appears in "Railway Signalling and Communications" if a copy of that work isn't available to you. The Masokits etch doesn't cover the full range of insulator mounts, so some species you may have to devise for yourself.

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grovenor-2685
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Re: Telegraph lines

Postby grovenor-2685 » Fri Aug 27, 2021 10:39 pm

Apart from crossing the track there is also the issue of the bridge. First preference was to keep the wires in the standard arrangement and there was rarely room for them under a bridge so if possible the wires would be taken up over the road. A small route with few wires would sometimes be able to pass under a bridge using brackets on the abutments to take the insulators. When you couldn't manage either of these then the pole route could be terminated either side of the bridge and cabled through, in which case it could change sides as well. Cabling was not a problem with block circuits or short distance phones but could have a detrimental effect on trunk and carrier circuits so would be a last resort if any of those were in the route.
PS. All three ways of passing overbridges are illustrated in the link John gave above.
Regards
Keith
Grovenor Sidings

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Rod Cameron
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Re: Telegraph lines

Postby Rod Cameron » Sat Aug 28, 2021 10:49 am

Some magazine articles on poles and lines which may or may not assist:

BRM November 2006, MORILL 3/11, both by Mick Nicholson and I think cover similar ground

MRJ 43 by Paul Karau, essentially about modelling specific poles

Rail Model Digest 6 by Graham Warburton, probably the most comprehensive
Rod

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jim s-w
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Re: Telegraph lines

Postby jim s-w » Sat Aug 28, 2021 4:21 pm

Thanks all. Plenty to get my teeth into
Jim Smith-Wright

http://www.p4newstreet.com

Over thinking often leads to under doing!


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