One thing that's struck me sometimes looking at pictures of well-done trolley layouts is that the overhead, no matter how realistically built, it's always unrealistically shiny. It looks cool, and makes all that hard work much more visible, but copper or phosphor bronze overhead doesn't look like the grimy black of every real life trolley wire I've ever seen--until today.

As I've mentioned, the VTA it's double-tracking their Mtn View line, and has gotten to the point of hanging wire over the new track; and this brand new cemetery is shiny copper (I think actually a braid of copper and steel strands).

Probably the black we're used to seeing is from grease applied to make pans and poles slide more easily. Or maybe it's just weathering.