Having lived as a small boy in a country town with trams I wished to recreate such a system in miniature. The intriguing thing abouit these trams was the trolley pole. They were forever coming off the overhead wire and having to be re-set and at the end of the line they would have to be swung round and set to return back down the line. I wanted a quick and easy overhead system to allow the use of trolley poles. The photos say it all. Simply a small brass tube was inserted horizontally through a vertical wooden rod and the end of the tube was bent downwards at right angles, reaching out to be halfway over the track underneath. Two lengths of piano wire, were bent back at an angle and forced into the tube - these formed the overhead wire - each going into opposite directions. The tram's trolley "skid" or contact - what are they called? was filed into a deep groove and the spring forced it upwards onto the wire.
Supporting brackets could be made to hold up the brass tube but are not necessary if the tube is tight enough. Paint the whole system green. Grease the wires and contact. It can all be pretty rough and ready, if the pole flies off occasionally, that's OK, the real ones did so also. In the left photo of the two trams they are going away from the camera, that is the conductor looking back down the track, not the driver, so the trolley pole is leaning back. You could electrify it all I guess but that would be another story.
