There is a live catenary trolley layout operating

at the ETMRC in Commerce,Texas.  They have a website and Rob, I’m sure, will answer questions.

https://forum.mrhmag.com/post/the-club-blog-12197430

Nick

nice

Nice...I would love to learn... converting old engines that actually have pantographs..to actually working pantographs..

Quote from Wiki:

In physics and geometry, a catenary ( US: /ˈkætənˌɛri/, UK: /kəˈtiːnəri/) is the curve that an idealized hanging chain or cable assumes under its own weight when supported only at its ends.

East Penn

These guys do overhead live lines.

http://www.eastpenn.org/

Trolley wire vs. Catenary

Having grown up in the Philadelphia area and ridden beneath trolley wire and catenary, there is a big diference between "catenary" and trolley wire.

Catenary is much more complicated, it has multiple wires, a contact wire, plus supporting wires above it,   It is built like a suspension bridge in order to reduce the 'sag' in the contact wire and to keep the wire more consistently positioned above the rail, not only in height but in horizontal position relative to the center of the track. 

Trolley wire is generally a single contact wire.

Catenary

I can't tell if these guys have powered overhead or it is just for looks.

http://www.modelmemories.com/heavyelect.htm, modelmemories sell cantenary items as well as signals, the funny thing is I could not find this page off their home page, got to it by a search.

Doing all that work to install cantenary just for the senic effect is not something I would do. Although having installed and maintained live trolley wire can see it being a headache to make it live. Of course the advantage of the heavy electrics is they use pantagraphs that rub the wire rather than a wheel at the end of a pole that has to track on the wire.

With new models coming out...

I’ve thought about this a lot, and with another electric model coming out (rapido ep-5) with non conducive pantographs, I’ve decided against it. Catenary alone as a scenic element will satisfy my needs in the realism continuum. Plus, if you’re running diesel also, it prooves to be a moot effort. Plus, it technically is “functional” as it gives a place for a pantograph to slide along. As a heavy traction fan, electrics running without wire looks silly to me. Andy Rubbo is a newer precedent for this undertaking, and the rewards of an outstanding outcome.

Live or Not

I don't know if it is live or not, but Bill Kachel has to have the mother of all PRR electrified layouts. The catenary is all hand built and beautiful! (The video starts out on the non-electirfied part of the layout but soon you're under wire!)

-George

"Do any of you model live

  Many years ago I built an O scale layout with trolley wire overhead. I liked the separation of ground on the rails and hot wire overhead but didn't like the obstruction the over head causes when working on the scenery or uncoupling cars so I never built another overhead wire layout.....DaveB 

cat

Bill's catenary is not live. The pans do hit the wire but no electrical contact is made. If you have DCC then I would reccomend not using cat wire as a electrical path. Much easier to have power drop outs and only one sliding source of power contact versus multiple rolling wheels. If you have a display type layout then full catenary is fine but trying to operate trains under wire can be a pain. Coupling,uncoupling and derailments are a pain to deal with. Trackage must be perfect and also any loco's /cars operating under wire. ---  Ken 

Modeling Catenary

If you are interested in modeling the catenary there is an article in the Winter 2018 issue of the Keystone Modeler by Ed Swain on how he built it for his PRR railroad.  It is not live and the pantograph is just below the wire, not on it.  Go to http://www.prrths.com then to TKM  and then to Winter2018 to view the article.  There are some great pictures of his layout in the article.

Bill

Not familar with the

Not familar with the Riverossi GG1, but check for this

Does the loco have metal pantographs?   If it does setting it to run on overhead might be a simple as flipping a switch located  either nder the chassis or accessable by removing the body..

I have seen this on some oher models of electric locos. 

The comments really have me

The comments really have me thinking. 

To know you have power from overhead and the guest could care less. 

"Zoo.. we just hit the ground..."   Derailments under a spiderweb.

Thanks for some very interesting points of view.

@highway70  I have 2 Rivarossi GG1s that were manufactured in the 1970's. Both run like they just got assembled yesterday.  They can take 18" curves at high speed and atlas #5s are no issue.          (DC..considered DCC boards but changed my mind.)

  Never had an issue with them over 40 years to open them up.  I dont know if there is a switch/connection to pantographs.

http://www.rivarossi-memory.it/ENGLISH_VERSION/Riva_American_Locos/Riva_GG1.htm

Rivarossi GG-1

Given the age of the model and all the instructions I could find: ( http://hoseeker.net/ahminstructions.html), I would say there is no switch nor is it connected. The site hoseeker doesn't allow linking into their pics, so you'll have to go there to look, scroll down and on the left column find GG-1, select the page you want to view.

I don't think this would really be an issue, if the wire is installed properly. The DC trolley guys have that single point of contact and the only issue I have seen is when the shoe gets dirty, not the wire. I think the pantographs have actually more contact area than the shoe on the end of the trolley pole.

Operating overhead

20 plus years ago I helped an out of state friend with his Milwaukee Road layout in HO scale. He sent me one of the two jigs that he had made and over a period of six months we each built arounf 200 poles for the catenary. Finally the wife and I took a road trip to his home and went to work installing catenary. He had all of the holes pre drilled for the poles and the overhead wire was all ready to go. After a couple of days, we had all of the catemary in and had trains operating off of the catenary. He had a couple of brass Little Joes and scratch built three box cabs which were beautiful.

RE GG-1 by IHM / AHC the instructions are incomplete...

It's mostly  a parts list  and assembly drawing... there is NO reference to wiring, just wire.

I'd open it and see... but first... is that still with the oversize wheel flanges?  they run very badly on anything But code 100 rails.  If wheels are a consideration, that's another point against.

cat

One other thing to remember. If you convert your electrics to run on the cat and not two rail pickup if you reverse the locomotive on the track physically  unless you have both rails as the other power pickup your electrics won't operate. As long as you only have electrics using both rails as a common will work until you decide to run a diesel or steam loco then you will have power issues. ---  Ken 

Wiring

I knew a couple trolley modelers that had the trolley wire common and each rail a different cab, so they could run two trolley's on the same track at the same time with DC power packs.

Re: GG-1 by IHM / AHC the instructions

Yes, but there is no indication in the removal of the shell that there is any wiring to worry about. The instructions state "Force slight outwards the two body sides in order to disengage them from the lateral locating pegs (1); lift the body from frame (2)." And on page 2 of the instructions you can clearly see in the picture only wires from the truck to the motor. This is from the first "set" of instructions; page 2 is the picture, GG-1 2. Judging from the other instructions they did not change the manufacture over the years.

@peter-f,keystonefarms and dave1905

I am focused on doing the least internal damage to the original model. Going to overhead Cat will change things but I'm ok with trying it. I always had this thought that going DCC with these old dinosaurs would ruin them.

I am now considering having them operate on a DC track in the background seperate/isolated from everything else....model the High Line and have them run point to point.  Depending on how it's wired, I think I could live with manually picking them up and turning them around.       

And thank you to all for the advice and web links.