Utility poles

[chinbeard]

I have several packs of Tomytec utility poles, all have a 'flag' , do these flags indicate the district or block ? Just wondered if I needed to use the stickers to make them match over my layout .

Many thanx, John

 

https://japantoday-asset.scdn3.secure.raxcdn.com/img/store/15/6f/9ee21fac6cfbefdaffa8c9b8c683db5ca179/powerlines/_w850.png

 

from: https://japantoday.com/category/features/lifestyle/why-does-japan-have-so-many-overhead-power-lines

 

[bill937ca]

Got a feeling its advertising. 

 

Red fire hydrant signs have advertisements.  Why do you need fire hydrant signs? Because most fire hydrants are under the pavement.

 

With the advertisement the cost of the pole is self-liquidating and there is no cost to the taxpayer.

 

http://www.syokasen.co.jp/syoukasen/

 

Using the cistern in Ginza at a garbage truck fire.  Video by Better With  A Drone

 

 

 

 

Edited June 3, 2018 by bill937ca

[railsquid]

It's advertising.

 

In Tokyo at least, many poles have advertising lower down, with the district shown at the bottom on a dark-green background at around head height, though that'd too small to be visible.

 

https://goo.gl/maps/CZhxN9Fczot

[railsquid]

Though I have a sneaky feeling the Tomytec poles have stickers similar to the one in the Google street view link about, which actually include a (fictional) address, albeit only visible with the aid of a magnifying glass.

[railsquid]

My sneaky feeling was correct:

 

Tomix utility pole stickers by Rail Squid, on Flickr

 

Addresses are 粕谷 (Kasuya) and 三井 (Mitsui). "Kasuya" is an interesting choice because it's an unusual name (I had to look it up), not the usual generic ones Tomytec likes to use (such as "Mitsui", and it turns out to be part of Setagaya Ward in Tokyo.

[ben_issacs]

Folks, 

From my viewing of the layouts on this forum, very few of them seem to have utility (Electric) poles on them

Observing urban Japan in real life, I get the impression that on many streets these poles seem to be not much further apart than 50 or 60m, with every second one having a little tranny attached to it.

The problem with these on a model layout is that they would be something else to knock over.

Regards, 

Bill, 

Melbourne.

 

 

[kami_illy]

2 hours ago, ben_issacs said:

From my viewing of the layouts on this forum, very few of them seem to have utility (Electric) poles on them

Observing urban Japan in real life, I get the impression that on many streets these poles seem to be not much further apart than 50 or 60m, with every second one having a little tranny attached to it.

 

You are right, it would make a layout / scenery a lot more realistic when you install the poles. Also street lights, mail boxes, installation boxes, and so on. But i guess it's a pain to model it like that. Also cleaning and dusting will be harder... But the scenes would look great (or better) with all the little critters and stuff!

I think it is these things that make the difference between "i can see that this is Japan" and "it really FEELS like Japan".

[railsquid]

street-overview by Rail Squid, on Flickr

 

😎

[bill937ca]

I think the poles just need to be there for the effect. Prototypical distance would probably just make things cluttered. 

[railsquid]

Surely making things cluttered is the whole point of a Japanese layout? 😉

 

I've seen at least one layout where someone has gone to the trouble of stringing wires between the utility poles, which is taking things to extremes.

[bill937ca]

🙂 I don't see your photo above as cluttered.

Edited August 16, 2019 by bill937ca

[railsquid]

Well the poles are at reasonably realistic intervals...

 

The scene is missing a couple of vending machines and on -pavement signage, but alas that section is long gone.

[Bob_NZ]

What can be a good balance is to choose small areas, say a street corner, then create a 'mini-scene' by super detailing it - posts, poles, rubbish bins, signs, people, dog etc.  Visitors will be most impressed with your level of detail and don't seem to notice that the rest of street area is barren.

[railsquid]

7 hours ago, railsquid said:

I've seen at least one layout where someone has gone to the trouble of stringing wires between the utility poles, which is taking things to extremes.

 

And here is one I have literally just photographed (at JAM 2019):

 

Layout with detailed utility poles (01) by Rail Squid, on Flickr

 

Layout with detailed utility poles (02) by Rail Squid, on Flickr

 

(Part of one of the modular layouts one sees regularly on the Tokyo exhibition circuit; I'm sure I've taken pictures of it before).

[marknewton]

My photo plank has one utility pole. No wires yet, though.

 

 

But I do have overhead wires for the trains...

 

Mark.

[ben_issacs]

Folks,

If one runs wires along the streets, pole to pole, then there should also be the individual connection (single wire to junction box) to each building.

I live in a block of five units, with a pole with a three phase line outside, and from this pole there is a connection to each residence, so this is a fan of wires.

But, perhaps this is getting a bit too complicated for modelling work!

Let's just stick to the poles, without any wires.

Regards, 

Bill, 

Melbourne. 

 

[cteno4]

Wires in n scale are really a lot of work to get right. Getting the right droop is tough. I’ve seen folks do nice drooped wires with magnet wire, but one touch it’s screwed up and coloring it is hard. Threads need starching or glue or keep them drooped but the fiber ends tend to attract dust like mad.

 

ez line works well but harder to do droop, but survives the attacks of the giant hands better as well as more aggressive dusting. I’ve wanted to play with it more on some Ttrak modules.

 

You also have telephone and cable lines going to structures as well, so lots going on in many scenes.

 

dusting the lines can be a real chore. I did a bunch when I was a kid with thread and glue to harden into shape but it collected dust like a magnet and damn hard to keep clean and always in the way...

 

We had one micro layout documented here on the layouts that had some great pole wiring on it. I’ll look for it.

 

jeff

[railsquid]

Modellers of reasonably contemporary Japan (after say ca. 2000) can avoid the whole thorny (wiry?) issue altogether and state the street(s) being modelled have benefitted from the ongoing efforts to put utility cabling underground.

 

E.g. street next to Takadanobaba Station in 2018: https://goo.gl/maps/H3EcfgaSJhi3Z25x7

 

Same view in 2009: https://goo.gl/maps/L9LusJdhudrh76j5A

[ben_issacs]

Folks, 

The shot at the beginning of this thread shows the tangle of aerial wires that still can be seen in some parts of Japan.

Regards, 

Bill,

Melbourne.

 

[cteno4]

That’s actually mellow, get in more urban areas where not underground it can be crazy at times. I’ll try to dig thru my photos as I know I have a series of crazy utility wiring in urban Japan.

 

Sounds like slowly things are being undergrounded.

 

jeff

[chadbag]

51 minutes ago, cteno4 said:

That’s actually mellow, get in more urban areas where not underground it can be crazy at times. I’ll try to dig thru my photos as I know I have a series of crazy utility wiring in urban Japan.

 

Stepping out of the Tsukaguchi station on the Hankyu line from Kobe to Umeda, you see this relatively mild street with wires criss crossing above it.  A lot milder than some I have seen from Hong Kong but still evokes that feeling.

 

Edited August 24, 2019 by chadbag

[Das Steinkopf]

These two shots were taken on my first trip when we went to Tenöji. 

 

 

 

Edited August 24, 2019 by Das Steinkopf

[ben_issacs]

Folks, 

I don't think that anyone would go to the level of detail with angle iron brackets, groups of insulators, a tranny, switches, etc.as shown in dassteikopfs shots.

Regards,,

Bill,

Melbourne.

 

[Bob_NZ]

If they did, then it would be a scene very different from the typical layout.   I would not like to be the one trying to keep it free of dust.

[Martijn Meerts]

Depends.. 3D printing is very easy these days, so you can have these poles printed as 1 part so they're not too fiddly to work with, paint them, and add them to the layout. Cleaning them will be a ton of work of course, but so are most details on a layout 🙂