
A Look At – Making Catenary Hanger Style Masts

Catenary OLHE Hangers
In this article we take a look at making some hanger style type catenary masts to go with the Scale Model Scenery OHLE gantries. For this you’ll need the Dapol OO-Cat1 catenary single mast pack (this pack contains 10 OO scale OHLE masts), Loctite 60 Second Super Glue or similar, pair of cutters, file or sanding stick. You also need some form of a jig tool & in our case the one supplied with the LX050-OO Lattice Head Span kit.
Lets get started….
So as regular readers know by know here’s the tools & glue that you need:
- Cutting mat
- Jig tool from the Scale Model Scenery LX050-OO head span kit
- Roket card glue by Deluxe Materials or similar
- Pair of cutters (we’re using a pair of Xuron Track Cutters)
- Sanding stick or file
- Old cloth for wiping away excess glue
Cut the mast just below the lower registration arm as marked with the orange arrow on the right.
With the lower section of mast cut square across the top of it & sand / file to remove any flash from cutting.
Using the side of the Lxo50-OO Catenary Jig, place the top section containing the registration arms square up against jig side. With the section of mast that you’ve applied the glue on to place it so that the glued end joins up with what was the top of the mast. Make sure all sides are square true & flush. Hold mast parts together against the jig whilst the glue starts to rapidly set.
To further strengthen the joint either add another layer of glue around the joint or cut & insert a small piece of plasticard within the recess of the girder. Allow time for the glue to fully set.
On the side of the jig mark a cutting guide line. This is for length of the hanger mast. For my layout about 39mm is about right. It will depend if your track is mounted on cork sheet underlay, foam ballast roll etc as to what height works best for your layout.
Place the hanger mast on the jig as shown on the right. Mark on the mast the cut line level with the marker line on the jig.
Now attach the hanger by gluing on to the OHLE gantry span either on the outside edge or within the gantry head span as shown on the right. Once glue has fully set then attach the catenary wires to the registration arms using Dapol wire packs, Peco wire packs or similar. Other option would be make to make your own wires.
Happy modelling.
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