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| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| desertdrover |
Posted - 06/01/2012 : 10:09:12 PM
I’m hoping that some of you have figured this system out, or some High Power Line Workers are out there to answer this question.
I’ve got the Cornerstone HO Transmission Towers 933-3121, and the Cornerstone HO Scale Northern Light & Power Substation 933-3025. My hope is to get a drawing or some guidance on wiring the Substation out to the Towers.
Wiring the inside of the Substation is not the problem. What I need is how the wires leave the Substation and go to the first Tower.
 
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| 15 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| desertdrover |
Posted - 06/06/2012 : 2:03:55 PM
quote:
Originally posted by BBLmber
Yeh Louis that's the one. Our power company also used old military trucks, 6x6 and 44x4 GMC's and power wagons with the same type of body.
Mark
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| BBLmber |
Posted - 06/06/2012 : 1:55:15 PM
Yeh Louis that's the one. Our power company also used old military trucks, 6x6 and 44x4 GMC's and power wagons with the same type of body.
Mark |
| desertdrover |
Posted - 06/06/2012 : 10:27:32 AM
quote:
Originally posted by slimjerkins
Louis
I wired up a sim board to a cool-white mini (0603-size) LED. Here's a video of it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LFu3uXpwtA&feature=g-upl
I have a new one unopened and the one in the video. PM me if you're interested in either.
-slim
quote:
Originally posted by BBLmber
Louis, that sounds like damage fro a lifhtening strike. If you are modeling an older era, the Classic Metal Works trlephone repair body truck is a dead ringer for an electrical repair truck that a transmission service tech would have.
A tech with a hot stick getting ready to pull the breakers, which are on the rack right above that peice of equiptment. And may be a flat truck with a replacement part on it.
Mark
Thanks Slim, PM sent to you.
Hi Mark, you have as well a great idea, as Slim started me off with. The two types of trucks and repair personnel sound great to me.
I'm in the 50's era, is this the truck you speak of? This one is a Power & Light company truck.
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| BBLmber |
Posted - 06/05/2012 : 10:02:27 PM
Louis, that sounds like damage fro a lifhtening strike. If you are modeling an older era, the Classic Metal Works trlephone repair body truck is a dead ringer for an electrical repair truck that a transmission service tech would have.
A tech with a hot stick getting ready to pull the breakers, which are on the rack right above that peice of equiptment. And may be a flat truck with a replacement part on it.
Mark |
| slimjerkins |
Posted - 06/05/2012 : 9:33:21 PM
Louis
I wired up a sim board to a cool-white mini (0603-size) LED. Here's a video of it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LFu3uXpwtA&feature=g-upl
I have a new one unopened and the one in the video. PM me if you're interested in either.
-slim |
| desertdrover |
Posted - 06/05/2012 : 6:24:56 PM
quote:
Originally posted by slimjerkins
I agree with you Louis. Sometimes prototype stuff just looks weird. I remember seeing how some moss grew on a roof in a perfectly straight diagonal line on a rooftop. Would I ever model it? Nope! If you know that visitors are gonna ask when you're going to finish the other side of the tower wiring...might aw well beat 'em to the punch and fudge it in.
BTW - I've got a catenary spark simulator board that could be wired up to a little nano LED that you could stick onto the end of one of those insulators. That and a couple of repair guys could make a neat little scene.
-slim
Thanks Slim on two counts, one for your comment and, two for the fantastic idea. I've never heard of the catenary spark simulator.
Where I am into lighting and animation on the layout, this is a plus for me. That is an idea I will run with.
Here are my first thoughts Slim. What do you think?
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| slimjerkins |
Posted - 06/05/2012 : 2:14:44 PM
quote:
Originally posted by desertdrover
Thank you Tyler and Batey for your comments and suggestions. Although wiring just one side proves to be proto, I just like wiring both sides, to my eye it looks better and more balanced. Sometimes in modeling, the proto way isn't always the best looking way.
I think I'm going to go with wiring both sides as (cp6027) and (adrian batey) had posted, and then go with the running a "T" off from one set of the conductors down to the station.
Most visitors I will be getting won't know the first thing about power station wiring anyway.
I agree with you Louis. Sometimes prototype stuff just looks weird. I remember seeing how some moss grew on a roof in a perfectly straight diagonal line on a rooftop. Would I ever model it? Nope! If you know that visitors are gonna ask when you're going to finish the other side of the tower wiring...might aw well beat 'em to the punch and fudge it in.
BTW - I've got a catenary spark simulator board that could be wired up to a little nano LED that you could stick onto the end of one of those insulators. That and a couple of repair guys could make a neat little scene.
-slim |
| desertdrover |
Posted - 06/05/2012 : 10:22:00 AM
Thank you Tyler and Batey for your comments and suggestions. Although wiring just one side proves to be proto, I just like wiring both sides, to my eye it looks better and more balanced. Sometimes in modeling, the proto way isn't always the best looking way.
I think I'm going to go with wiring both sides as (cp6027) and (adrian batey) had posted, and then go with the running a "T" off from one set of the conductors down to the station.
Most visitors I will be getting won't know the first thing about power station wiring anyway. |
| adrian_batey |
Posted - 06/04/2012 : 7:47:42 PM
quote:
Originally posted by cp6027
It is very prototypical to build "double circuit towers" like the Cornerstone high voltage transmission towers and only string them on one side with the other side open for future use. Just be sure to trim the insulators from the side that isn't strung.
It would also be very prototypical to string both sides (two circuits) and only have the substation tapped off of one circuit. One side would drop down into the substation while the other three lines would continue on somewhere else. The side serving the substation could either terminate there or continue (but the position of the high voltage insulators at the model substation looks like it is meant for a line to terminate there).
Regarding the first thing about having one side of the tower future. We had a case a few years ago where one side was being upgraded with new conductors. When they began to remove them from the tower it bent over and crumpled bringing down 2 other towers bet you the guys were doing this  .
I would do something simmilar to the 2nd parragraph.
use 3 or 4 towers running across the loyout. String both sides of the towers across the layout.
Run a "T" off of one set of the conductors down to your substation.
So your substation will basically be on a 3 eneded feeder if that makes sense. |
| adrian_batey |
Posted - 06/04/2012 : 7:41:52 PM
quote:
What I'm curious about is whether the Walthers substation components represent older versions of this equipment that would look out of place or "dated" on my 1998-era layout. It looks to me like the equipment closest to the tracks is arranged in a more "open" layout than what I've seen in a typical smaller substation. Are the Walthers components appropriate to use for the equipment visible in this photo, or would I be better off using parts from other kits out there? I'd appreciate any advice that your "trained eyes" can offer. Thanks, and my apologies for jumping on this thread!
Dave
Ill jump in here and try answer a few of the questions one by one.
I have been working for a power company in australia for about 7 years now. I actually work in a substation design but not so much in the Layout of the equipment.
To answer your question reagarding the photo there is no reason the kit components cant be used. We have some equipment in service from the 50's still on our network today and soime even o;der then that. |
| BBLmber |
Posted - 06/04/2012 : 4:24:01 PM
Hey Al, I worked with the power companies in Northewern Va., Maryland, and WVa. I worked in moving utilities for highway projects.
Mark |
| desertdrover |
Posted - 06/04/2012 : 3:56:47 PM
Thanks for all your help Al. |
| Tabooma County Rwy |
Posted - 06/04/2012 : 2:43:33 PM
Louis (and all),
One other modeling tip I'd offer is the wiring material(s) I used. I used Berkshire Junction's EZ Line for my distribution wiring. I really liked its forgiveness, due to it's super elasticity. I "strung" it by using either ACC or Alene's super tacky glue on the insulators. I made sure the wires were pulled up relatively level, but not stretched. I tried to leave just a tiny bit of slack in them, as seen in the real world.
My only comment on that product is that I chose the black color; if (when?) I do it again, I'd use the green color, for a bit more visibility. The black sort of disappeared, and it was easy to snag it, forgetting it was there. That's where it's stretchy-ness comes in handy!
For the transmission lines, I found some stretch silver thread, which I used, again, trying to leave a little slack in each span. Remember, I was using it on "highline" transmission poles (wood), with side mount post insulators.
Unfortunately, I don't have any photos to illustrate this. I think power poles without wires look naked, but then, considering my career at the power company, I guess that figures...
Al |
| Tabooma County Rwy |
Posted - 06/04/2012 : 2:31:24 PM
Louis,
To answer your question, "getaways" is a term applied to the conductors leaving the substation, usually at the distribution level. This is on the "low" side of the distribution circuit breaker. Back before underground utilities became common, most distribution circuits were "overhead"; that is, they left the station from insulators and were attached to power poles that went down streets and alleys (and other right of ways) to serve customers, both residential and commercial.
After undergrounding utilities became popular, newer construction usually (but not always) had the getaways going underground from the insulators on the substation buswork, and often remained underground their entire circuit distance (underground, or "padmount" transformers and switchgear), although sometimes, the underground cables went back overhead (up a pole, usually in conduit) to become an overhead circuit.
Remember, these distribution circuits carried a voltage (out here, often 12.5kV, sometimes 4kV or 34kV, all measured phase to phase) that had to be further transformed down to use by the customer (what you plug into in your wall sockets). This is where the pole mounted (or padmounted, or underground) transformers come into use.
A word about poles... People commonly refer to power poles as "telephone poles", which is far from the truth. Power poles are taller than telephone poles, to keep the electrical circuits farther away from the public (per local and state codes). Often, though, the telephone (and television) lines are on the power poles (the "rent" space from the power company) at a lower height. In today's modern world, you might also find fiber optic cables being strung on power poles, too.
As far as the Walther's substation goes, you can arrange it any way you want and don't have to stick with the base. You need to run buswork from the "low" side of the power transformer to the distribution buswork. You can carry the detail further by adding "drops" from the buswork down to the circuit breakers, then more "drops" back to the getaway points, as I did. I used, if I remember correctly, one strand of some stranded copper wire that I straightened, then bent to shape, and secured with ACC. Not a fun task, to say the least.
A closer look at your substation model reminds me that the model is made to have three overhead getaways, and I had to modify mine to convert two circuits to underground getaways.
Here is a photo of the substation that I built,but I doubt that you can see that much detail. You can, however, see that I moved the transformer over to one end of the distribution buswork.
I'd post more photos of it, but is is packed away, waiting space to be assigned to it on my new layout (and, I think I saw it sustained some damage during the move).
Dave (cp6026) has made some excellent points. It is very true that utilities stretch the use of their equipment as long as possible, and a mixture of older and newer equipment in the same substation is quite common. The utility I worked for still has power transformers in use that date back to the early part of the last century. Power transformers haven't really changed that much, at least in general outward appearance - a big oil filled box that has three high voltage insulators (high side), and 3 or four lower voltage (low side) insulators.
Dave, what part of the country (or which utility) did you do your intern duty in/with?
Al Carter |
| drolsen |
Posted - 06/04/2012 : 2:06:16 PM
Thanks for the feedback, everyone. I think I'll order one each of the Walthers and Atlas substation kits and see what parts from each could be used where for my prototype. It looks like the Atlas set includes some different components that could be useful. FYI, a quick web search says that the Doubs substation is a 500/230/138 kV electrical substation owned by Allegheny Power.
If you haven't seen them, Train Cat offers several types of electrical towers in various scales made from etched brass. They certainly aren't cheap, but several of them are larger than other kits out there (one is 13" tall in HO and another is 18" tall) that might look good if you had just one on the layout.
One last thing - I took another look at the substation from a slightly different angle on Bing and found the image below of a heavy-duty TTX flat car sitting empty just outside the fenceline. This is exactly what I was looking for as an example of how this industry could be served on my future layout - dropping off a transformer load or picking up an empty flat after a delivery.
Thanks again!
Dave
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