Pete in Kansas posted:You inspired me to make a telltale also. How tall is you make your's? On mine the arm is at 10 inches and the top of the post is about 12 1/2. My finial is also rather tall but I couldn't find a shorter one in the local Menards. I'll keep looking for something shorter. My chains may be a little short and the arm may be high but it's only for looks and I didn't want it to get caught on any cars. I've got a 219 crane that I was afraid it might catch.
Hi Pete. Sorry for the delay in answering your question . I kind of put my train projects on hold for a while and never checked my post. So from the table top, my cross arm is 9 & 3/4 inches high , and the bottom of my chains are 6& 1/2 inches from table top to the bottom of them . Once this tell tail gets placed on a layout I can shorten the chains as needed . I only have 500 series freight cars and a set of Stephen Girard passenger cars so my clearance is limited to those sets . I'm pretty lucky to have an old school hardware store between where I live and my shop. They have been a great place to find all my nuts and bolts , brass tubing and finials for my projects . Glad they are surviving with two huge box lumber/home stores less than 4 miles away.
