RideTheRails posted:Dan, I have the MTH cat system but have not installed it yet. I have some concerns about it. The cat pole seem to be substantially made. However, the plastic base is a concern, especially the two small ears/tabs that are for attaching the pole to the layout. It seems that they will break easy if flexed to much. My other concern is with the messenger/carrier set up, seems to flimsy. It is easily bendable and therefore, IMO, will flex under to much pressure, i.e. the upward force of the pressure from the engine pickup. This is no slight against MTH (shipping schedules on the other hand . . . but I digress). I should install it and see what happens. I did look at the article on tcaetrain and I think the writer used a novel approach for hanging the wire from the pole arm. If anyone has comments regarding MTH's one piece carrier/messenger wire, I'd like to hear them.
Steve
Many years ago, I made a scratch built catenary system for my GG1 to run under. It was simple but still had a catenary support wire, droppers and a contact wire. I used wood dowels for the masts. Getting the wire positioned over curved track was the hardest part of the build.
In actual practice, the contact wire on curved track is a series of tangents or straights. This is what I hope to accomplish with the MTH supports. I have a bunch of 1/16" diameter brass rod. I was planning to use it with the MTH masts. Once I receive the masts, I'll have a better idea of how that attachment will work. I may have to modify the masts where they carry the wires.
In the simplest form, a single wire can be hung from the masts. Of course, this looks more like a streetcar system. But as I am building an accessory packed layout, it may be my best choice. The only drawback would be upward pressure on a single wire by the pantograph. There are ways around the issue however. I'll do some imagineering over the next few days.
