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How can I make real looking telephone poles?

After 35yrs with the telco co I believe I can anwser your questiond. Most RR poles were 100 to 125 ft apart, usally a scale 24 ft high and any where from one to 8 crossarms depending on wether they were main line or branch service. Crossarms were usually 3 ft apart. If you are interested in only 2 insulators on either side of the pole they
can generally be placed either close to the pole or at the extreme end of the crossarms. The first crossarm was located 11/2ft down from the top of the pole and the crossarm supports were attached just above the next crossarm.

Mike Stewart
September 9, 1998

If you know any guitar players, ask them to save their old strings for you. Each string has a "barrel" on the end that is brass, or brass plated steel. The hole in these barrels is the perfect size for round headed brass plated brads (available at hardware stores). You can attach these barrels w/brads to wooden poles. The reason for this? You can solder copper wire from stranded electrical wire to these brass barrels and actually run power to your models! Painted gloss green, they look exactly like early glass insulators. Cool trick that works....

Jim Wells
August 16, 1998