Electrolier Electrical Grounding Test

 Question: May AC and DC share a Ground?

Specifically, may the 3 volt DC from the LED lamps ground to the same post that is powering the 15 volt AC trolley trolley overhead?

These Electroliers were a lot of work to construct. I really don't want to blow out the bulbs. But they perform two duties. One, they are street lamps that illuminate. Second, they provide support to the overhead trolley wires. And that's where the AC+DC concern comes in. 

    There wasn't a concern when the layout was a DC layout. 3 volt DC and 15 volt DC grounding together is fine. But now that the layout is DCC, the overhead is AC.  So the DC LED's in the lamp are grounding to the AC pole.

So before I install the trolley span wires between the Electroliers, I'm going to perform a little test first to make sure this AC/DC mixture doesn't blow the LEDs:

Here is the set up:

1. Clamped a brass pole the the layout.

2. Installed the 3 volt DC circuit:

    a. Soldered the negative lead of a LED to the pole.

    b. The positive lead of LED with resistor is connected to a battery.

    c. The negative lead of the battery connected to the pole.

3 Installed the 15 volt AC circuit:

    a. Soldered a wire from DCC command station to the bottom of the pole.

    b. Soldered a wire from top of the pole to the overhead.

    c. Connected a return wire from the track to the command station.

    Then I powered everything up. The LED lit. A trolley was placed on the track. Turning its headlight on and off as well as starting and stopping the car seems to have had no effect on the brightness of the bulb. Which means both AC and DC was flowing through the brass pole with no visible effects to the LED. So I think we are all good for safely installing span wires between the Electroliers.

Yes sir! All good to safely install span wires!

Dandy

Boulevard of Electric Dreams

Finally!  All 12 Electroliers are placed and wired.

After pouring a new rubber mold I concentrated on casting the remaining lamps once and for all.

Electrolier combination streetlamp/trolley line poles stand sentry on Grand Ave.

This whole scene is lit entirely by the Electroliers.

The remaining 8 Electroliers freshly cast and receiving their silver paint.

    For power supply I ordered this regulated 3 volt 2 amp transformer from Evan Designs. Its regulated so as to prevent voltage surges blowing out the LEDs (the LEDs are cast into the lamp, there is no changing them out!). The output voltage is exactly 3 volts and the 2 amps mean I can power up to 100 LEDs. That should be enough power for the streetlamps on all the streets. It also included a wired socket that I mounted underneath the layout for the power supply to plug into.

 

    All that remains to do now is install the span wires between the Electroliers to support the trolley wires. But the fact that the 3 volt dc lamps and 13.8 volts ac DCC both ground to the poles is of great concern for me. It would have worked fine when track power was DC. But since I switched to DCC which is AC, I'm not so sure. The last thing I want is a Boulevard of Broken Bulbs! So i'm going to rig up a test lamp/pole situation to try it out first so as to try to preserve this Boulevard of Electric Dreams.

Yes sir! This Boulevard of Electric Dreams!

Dandy

Dirty Poles

Painting and Weathering Line Poles

I didn't get anything done on the layout this week :-( . So since I frequently come across photos I took but never shared, I thought I would share one with you.

 I take photos like these so I can remember how I did things. In this case the poles were painted with Floquil Light Green and weathered with Bragdon Rust and Weathering powders. So should I ever lengthen the boulevard and need to match to poles, well, here you go.

I was afraid I might have overdone the weathering on the poles, but recently I came across this picture of Broadway in San Diego and just look how dirty those line poles are!

 Looks like I nailed it after all! Yes sir! I nailed it after all!

Dandy

Boulevard Streetlamp / Line Poles

Attempting To Build A Working Combination Streetlamp / Linepole!

 Well here it is, a fresh 3D print from i.Materialize. But this is only the beginning. This print can't be used on the layout because one: I believe the "Prime Gray" material would be too brittle for the tensions of the overhead, and two: I want these lamps to light up. So this fella will be the "master". A rubber mold will be made from this print that all the other lamps will be cast from. But I digress...

As detailed in a previous post, each of the 6 streets feature distinct line poles. The 1920s era street pictured above is to have Boulevard streetlamps that double as line poles. Right now I have temporary wooden poles that are planted beyond the sidewalks until the streetlamp locations and hole size to be drilled in the sidewalks are determined. But for now, the temp poles are fouling where the building are going to be placed. So these lamps have become the priority project.

 San Diego didn't have these kind of poles but our neighbor to the North was kind of fond of them. The Pacific Electric sported these kind of poles in a few cities. This one was in Long Beach.

The San Diego Electric Railway attached their overhead directly to the adjacent buildings, thus clearing the streets of unsightly linepoles. But I don't want to attempt to deal with attaching the overhead of my layout to model buildings. So I thought I would try modeling these Boulevard Lamp Post / Line Poles (I really wish I knew what these were called!) instead. Besides, they look cool! 

Years ago I fabricated a couple of these lampposts out of brass. But they were very difficult to build and highly time consuming. There are so many small parts that trying to solder one part melts the joints of the other parts. Frustrating. So the project languished until either my soldering skills improved, or I thought of a better way of building these, or some sort of miracle happened.

Well wouldn't you know? A miracle happened! In the form of 3D Printing! Building this lamp with a 3D program is WAY easier than building it with brass. And a lot faster. I modeled this with 3DS Max.

My lamp design is a hybrid of San Diego style Boulevard steetlamps and the Los Angeles linepole streetlamps.

I'm pleased with how the print turned out. The lamp had to be designed with the 1mm minimum thicknesses required for 3D Printing. But I believe the level of detail is just right for HO scale.

Now comes making a silicone mold from this lamp. This will be a new adventure for me. Yes sir! This will be a new adventure!

Dandy

Three Steps Forward, Two steps back.

Despite my determination to keep pushing the mainline overhead construction moving forward, pesky little problems keep popping up.

Just like nickel silver rail, nickle silver wire transfers power really well. So its being used for the contact wire.

Phosphor Bronze wire transmits electricity very well. So this is what I'm using for span wires and pull offs.

 

But as mentioned in previous post, the tension is mounting! And I'm finding out where the weak spots are. Above, apparently this pin wasn't soldered into the pole well enough and pulled out. Not an easy fix. But I'm trying to fix this stuff as quickly as possible so as not to get discouraged. Nothing will bring progress to a halt faster than getting discouraged. Yes sir! Can't get discouraged!

Dandy

The Tension is Mounting!

Apparently as the overhead is constructed the tension is building, as is evident in the corner poles which seem to be taking the brunt of it all:

I was excited with how quickly the overhead was going up, allowing my cars to progress further down the line. But this development has brought all that to a screeching halt.

So this is what I'm faced with:

A Guy wire is out of the question, the poles are right on the corner.

Swapping out the poles is no easy matter. The wires would have to be cut, the poles removed,  beefier poles constructed, the holes enlarged to accept the larger poles,  new wires spliced in to replace the cut wires, and then all tied together.

There is no easy way of doing this. So I just jumped right in and fabricated new, beefier poles from solid, hard 5/32" brass rod, painted to look like wood.

The eye bolt was carefully removed from the old pole with the backbone and pulloff wires still attached. The old 1/8"diameter pole was removed and the new one installed. A new wire was wrapped around the new pole and attached to the old eye-bolt, maintaining the original tension. And were back in business. Yes sir! We're back in business!

Dandy

The Line Pole Polka

Helping to give each street its own personality by using different styles of line poles.

This layout is very rotationally symmetrical (to the order of four!) and features six streets. In an attempt to prevent every street from looking the same so as to give the impression that the street cars are actually going somewhere, each streets "hardware", such as street lamps, telephone poles (or lack of), greenery (or lack of), signage, building architecture, and this case, line poles, are going to be of a different design.

The biggest factor in deciding the style of a pole is the era that its street represents. Refresher: each street represents a different decade, from the 1890s to the 1940s. So here are the styles I have selected for each of the six streets.

1890's

Studying old time photos reveal that the earliest line poles were of square milled lumber construction. A lot of times telephone poles doubled as line poles. These poles feature fancy iron work so as to illustrate to the citizens that this is a first class trolley operation that is here to stay and is worthy of your investment and patronage.

But because of the regular spacing of telephone poles and my need for more poles to support the overhead, I added some bracket poles to this street. All the poles on my layout are of brass construction, distressed and painted to look like wood or steel.

1900's

By the ragtime naughty "aughts", ornate was on its way out and simpler geometric forms were becoming vogue. This pole reflects that style.

1910's

Traction companies started switching to steel poles for the same reason rolling stock construction utilized less and less wood and more and more steel, it was more durable and lasted longer. These poles take advantage of K&S Engineering's telescoping ability of their brass tubes. Just don't get the soft stuff! Painted with (the now defunct) Floquil Light Green and weathered with Bragdon Weathering powders.

1920's

 Cities reacted to the fact that the new century turned their streets into a jumble of power, telephone, and trolley wires. Downtown San Diego eliminated telephone and line poles and attached the span wires directly onto the adjacent buildings. Telephone and power lines were buried in the streets, thus clearing the streets and giving a cleaner look. Attaching span wires to my model buildings presents some challenges I'd rather not delve into. So...

 A rather nifty alternative are these double arm boulevard lamps with a trolley linepole extension as seen here in Long Beach, CA. Streetlamps in HO scale have a big problem with being way overscale in order to get them to light. So it looks like I'm going to have to build these myself. A project all in itself!
 

After fabricating this one from brass, it has become clear that to build the 12 required for the layout would be way too time consuming. 3D printing is an option but the poles would need to be durable enough to stand up to the constant tension of the span wire. Right now I'm favoring the idea of doing a 3D print of a master, and make a rubber mold from it. Then during the casting process, place a brass rod in the mold, add the LED lights, tucking in the wires, and then pour the resin around it all. That might work, right? Yes sir! That might work! Until then, temporary wood dowels are being used as place holders for these lamps on the layout.

1930's

Economic Depression. Automobiles taking an awful toll on ridership. An inexpensive, standard wooden bracket pole will suffice.

1940's

These poles are patterned after a double bracket pole that was common when linepoles were placed down the center of the street. San Diego favored these kind of poles outside of Downtown. Since the other side of my street isn't there, the other bracket is only present in the abyss!

 So there you have it! I hope you like. I've tried making these linepoles every bit of an interesting model as the streetcars. Yes sir! Every bit of an interesting model as the streetcars!

Dandy

Can't See the Layout for the Poles!

Line poles have been procured and planted perfectly in their proper positions permanently ready to provide proper support for the overhead as per the Proclamation :P .

1890's street runs from the lower left along the edge of the layout, intersecting with 1910s street in the center. This photo only reveals just half the poles on the layout! Its a forest of poles!

I thought I was done constructing poles until I saw this photo. Photos reveal a lot more than I would see with just me nekkid eye. The bracket arms were too long on those telephone poles, so I trimmed them down to a more reasonable length.

So now, finally, we are ready for overhead. Yes sir! Ready to string that overhead!

Dandy

Wrappers Delight

Wire wrapping - got to love it!

This cross span on 1890s street consists of four wire wrappings. One at each pole and two more at the hanger. The wheelsets with the pointer help me locate the hanger position to the correct height and centering over the track.

The technique I'm using to install the overhead for my layout pretty much follows the technique detailed at the Trolleyville site: Hanging Simple Overhead Wire For Trolley Pole Use. I deviated a bit with the type of wire though:

.010" Diameter Phosphor Bronze

Phosphor Bronze is a very good conductor of electrisicles, but there are some drawbacks with using this wire. Its more difficult to work with compared to magnet wire. Magnet wire is more flexible while the Phosphor Bronze is pretty stiff and easily penetrates the skin (my layout has literally been built with my sweat and blood!). Its tiny diameter looks real good, but hopefully this won't be an issue with carrying the DCC signals.

Nickel silver wire will be used for the contact wire since nickel silver is a very good material for transferring the electrisicles (just like nickel silver rails!).

I have also foregone the insulators for now, I have an innovative idea that I want to try out for that in the near future.

Alright, well... that's enough bloggerin' for now, I have a lot of wire wrapping to do. Yes sir! I have a LOT of wire wrapping to do.

Dandy

One Down! 999 to go!

The installation of the overhead has begun and shall proceed in earnest!

The first of many, many wire wraps.

Now that all the line poles are placed (which, by the way, fulfills one of the parameters of my New Years Resolution) the stringing of the overhead wires may commence. Yes sir! The stringing has commenced!

Dandy

I Thought Brass was Brass

But there is such a thing as "Soft Brass".

As it turns out, soft brass is totally unacceptable for use as line poles. 

And that's all I have to say about that. Yes sir. That is all I have to say about that!

Dandy

Simple, Stately, Line Poles

Getting very anxious to get the layout running again, I have fabricated a whole new batch of line poles.

Having the streets right on the edge of the layout means that the other sidewalk isn't there to plant the second span pole.  So my poles were originally built with these bracket arms:

But the tension of the overhead proved to be too great for the poles on the street corners and these bracket arms had a tendency to suddenly bend 90 degrees, ruining the pole. So I have decided to bite the bullet and add span poles along the edge of the layout.

These square milled line poles were very common pre-20th century.  Eventually they figured out that milled poles were more expensive to build and that un-milled poles are actually much stronger. So they fell out of favor fast and seem to be all but completely gone by the 1920s. I think that these square poles are actually quite handsome, you know, for a pole. So my 1890s and 1900s streets will sport these nifty poles.

 I fabricated my poles from solid 1/8" square brass stock. After I had painted and weathered them, I was won over by the Southern California Traction clubs practice of adding "eye-bolts" to their poles. Should my permanently attached span wire bend or break, I would be faced with some major repair. But seeing the ease at which the SCTC could swap out their span wire with this "eye bolt" method, well its obvious which method is superior. Yes sir, its obvious.

SCTC member, John McWhirter, posted a sketch on a Yahoo traction modeling group that depicts an effective method of adding "eye bolts" to line poles that I followed to fabricate my own. Basically its looping span wire around a track nail and then threading the ends thru a hole drilled thru the pole. The ends are bent to hold it in place for soldering. Then trimmed flush.

Here are my poles with their new eye-bolts installed. The soldering ruined the paint job near the bolts so I have some touching up to do before the poles can be installed on the layout.

Here is the first pole to be installed on the layout. Notice that the new eye-bolt isn't overly huge and helps the pole maintain its simple, stately elegance, you know, for a line pole. Yes sir! Simple, stately elegance, for a line pole!

Dandy