Jake Rideout can be considered a true connoisseur of the telegraph pole. If this were a learned establishment then he would surely be revered as a professor. Alas, whilst we are just as esteemed as the highest academic institution, we have no sort of hierarchy whatsoever. So hard luck there Jake. Anyway, I have sat on these photos of his in my publication queue for long enough. It’s a rare thing for me to receive photos of interesting poles and then also to get such high quality information about them too. Please read all about Jake’s insulator collecting exploits by visiting his website jajainsulators.com.
1: Small crossarm pole near the A362 at Frome. Has still in place two porcelain No.1 ‘cordeaux’ and a saltglazed No.3 insulator. The bracing span on the right have came loose as it is supposed to be supporting the top crossarm on the left hand side. The pole as been replaced.
2: ‘Ring’ pole in Frome next to a low voltage power pole with ABC cabling. The ring pole has 8 (One behind the pole) No.16 ‘screwtop’ insulators, one missing it’s lid. This pole has also been replaced and the telephone cables tied onto the power pole.
3: High voltage (33kv) electricity pole with six powerlines and a total of 38 insulators. This is a pole on one of two high voltage routes which terminate at the small sub station in Frome. (Extra info: On the right hand side, the top two cables are supported by brown multipart insulators after connecting to the suspension insulators. This is done so that the lines don’t hang down onto the guy wire which can be seen. This is standard action on all poles which change direction.)
4: Ring pole on Locks Hill (Frome) with composite No.16 screwtop insulators, the two on the left in use with the original bare cables.
5: Abandoned pole next to the original trackbed of the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway (S&D) just outside of Bath. This pole contains a small variety of insulators including some rarer Midland Railway ‘corrugated’ insulators.
6: Low voltage electricity pole near Radstock. This shows what would have been an older installation. The ABC cable on the right has replaced 5 un-insulated cables which would have been tied to the horizontal row of insulators, and then continue as 5 un-insulated cables tied to vertical insulators like on the left side. I don’t know whether this is correct, but the horizontal cables are not so common and I believe are used over main roads. I had a week’s work experience with an electrical engineering company and was told that the cables have to be over 5 meters above the road as not to foul high vehicles. I believe this set-up was used to raise the height of the lines.