Power, Poles and Isolators

A little over a year ago I received some excellent 3D printed porcelain isolators for my little 1/19 scale layout. I have now fitted a few isolators to poles made earlier. The poles are first stage in the electricity and lighting installation on the layout.

Finished pole top with isolators and protective sheet metal cover.

In Denmark wires hung from steel or wooden poles are fast disappearing completely as most wires and cables are being buried. Some may appreciate the improved view from their house, but I've always liked the nice and orderly impression of  power or telephone wires on a wooden pole. But while poles are becoming abscent from the Danish landscape new ones are now being erected on the Nystrup Gravel layout.

The fate of many Danish poles: stacked waiting for a new owner or the chipping machine.

My work began with separating the isolators from the small print support sprue and file away the tiny attachment stub. The 1/19 scale isolators are designed with a small hole in the bottom to accept a 1 mm wire for mounting. I had planned to make a small jig for bending the isolators' mounting bracket, but I soon realised that making a jig would consume more time than hand bending double the number of brackets freehand and binning the worst. I bent the brackets from 1 mm nickle silver wire and having selected the best, they were trimmed and isolators test fitted. Each bracket was then adjusted to ensure a minimum of similarity of the isolators' position on them.

Once I was satisfied with the isolators' fit on the brackets I painted the isolators with a light sand colour and the brackets a light grey. When dry I mounted the isolators in pairs on the poles in predrilled holes. My model poles correspond to a prototype height of 6.5 m and I fitted the isolators with a distance of 2 cm on the poles with reference from prototype poles. Once the AC glued had dried I weathered the isolators lightly with a wash of black oil paint while the brackets received a burnt sienna wash for imitation of rust.

Fresh from the 3D printer: A 20 piece double row of Danish pattern porcelain isolators in 1/19 scale from Per Møller Nielsen of Epokemodeller.

Four isolators fitted to nickle silver 1 mm wire. Final adjustment still to be done to ensure a minimum of similarity of the isolators' position on their wire brackets.

The previously made wooden poles had been fabricated from round wooden sticks that I sanded with a file to obtain a slightly tapering shape. I smoothed the surface somewhat with finer modelling files before I treated the pole with dark grey wood staining fluid and an assortment of thinned acrylic colours. Each pole took no more than 10 minutes to make. Before I mounted the isolators I fitted the poles with the usual top protection to avoid the rotting from the top in the humid Danish atmosphere. I made two types from cut-up soda can metal: the simple bent pointed plate and the flat topped round version. 

Close up af a pair of isolators on a pole.

I have yet to find permanent locations for the poles as I'm still looking for an ideal balance between what will look good and at the same time put the poles least in risc of damage during traffic on the layout. Once the poles have found their final upright positions I'll show them in their full height and glory!