Slideshow

27 Jun 2022

A Road Trip to 612Khz Medium Wave

posted in: Appreciating, Country poles, Electricity Poles, Foreign ones, Found Poles, Photos, Slideshow, Telegraph Poles |

VIntage radio dial showing Athlone radio station

I have a lifelong fascination with radio. You know: vintage stuff, crystal sets, valves, aerials strung like washing lines and all that. And romantic sounding radio stations. Earlier this month Mrs TPAS and I took a different route home from visiting dislocated family in the top left hand corner of Ireland and drove all the way down the west coast, cutting across the middle to catch our ferry from Rosslare back to Fishguard. I ensured that our journey took in the town of Athlone smack bang in the middle of Ireland and at the extreme right hand edge of the MW dial on my old Roberts R500. Athlone the town has much going for it but alas Athlone 612Khz no longer transmits. Those of a nerdic disposition may like to check out the Radio Telefis Eireann 100kw broadcasting equipment page I found in the silt at the bottom of the internet.

Meanwhile sit back and enjoy the rest of our telegraphic journey south and eastwards, Rosslare bound.

Next year we plan to visit Hilversum I and also try to take in Hilversum II (which must surely be nearby).

10 Mar 2021

An Exhibition of Pole Photos by Member #0985H

posted in: Big Poles, Broken Poles, dropwires, Found Poles, Oddities, Slideshow, Submissions, Telegraph Poles |

Welcome to the TPAS virtual gallery. Wayne Firth is an honorary member of this society. He didn’t become such via the usual vulgarity of a cash donation delivered personally to my doorstep. Nor did he offer me a non-executive seat at some dubious investment company. And he didn’t marry my sister either.*¹ Whilst these are all perfectly valid means of suffixing your membership with the esteemed “H”, Wayne went one better and used his position within the echelons of Openreach to access photos of poles of great interest. These he then sent to us under plain cover.

I’ve been hanging on to these for a while with the intention of spreading them out over a year. Truth is, my email inbox stretches off for over a mile now and so if I left it any longer then they may be lost to the silt at the bottom. (Apologies to those still waiting a reply from me for anything at all – don’t lose hope).

Anyway, thanks to Wayne #0985H for all these fabulous pole pics. Click a pic for full sized gallery.

*¹ All are also valid, and oft used, means of acquiring peerage and/or PPE contracts.

_{PS the descriptive captions whilst seemingly blooming obvious… to the sighted, are from the alt text which we include with each image so as not to exclude so to speak…}

The view from the top of a BT pole. A suburban street. Plus some bird poo very much in evidence.

A telegraph pole burning from top to bottom in a suburban street.

19 May 2019

TPAS Annual Telegraph Pole Expedition

posted in: Country poles, Gorgeousness, GPO, Slideshow, Telegraph Poles, Vintage |

Yes, you all missed the chance to burgle my house while I was away. And the key was under the mat the whole time. Not just me but the entirety of Telegraph Pole Towers took the high road to the top left hand corner of Great Britain. In order to avoid the M6, we drove first overnight to Holyhead for an early ferry to Dublin. Drove to Donegal just for a laugh and because I was promised a pint of something special. Then caught a ferry Larne to Cairnryan. Drove north to Oban. Camped the night in Taynuilt station car park. 5 hour ferry to Castlebay, Barra for week #1 in a cottage next the airport beach. Then ferry from Northbay, Barra to Eriskay and week #2 cottage on South Uist. Thence ferry from Berneray to Leverburgh (Harris) and drive north for week #3 at Tolstachaolais, Lewis. All finished off with a stinking campervan meander homewards via the B roads of Scotland over 3 days with a dash along the nasty and unavoidable M6 bit.

Herewith telegraph pole encounters of our trip. Click images to enlarge and see captions.

22 Apr 2018

Existential Angst

posted in: Slideshow, Submissions, Vintage |

Until very recently Gary Straiton thought he was alone. Completely alone. But let me assure you of this Gary, you are born alone, and you will die alone but in between there is The Telegraph Pole Appreciation Society. You have found us new member #0829 and you are among friends. Weird friends, but friends nonetheless.

"Anyway," Gary tells us "One of my things is proper railway lines with telegraph poles." (Ours too Gary) He sent us the following photos of the poles remaining on the closed (1967) main line between Perth and Kinnaber Junction. He also told us that when permission was granted to close the line by Barbara Castle one of the conditions was that infrastructure was to remain in case of reopening (insert ho ho ho's here). The line was shut in September 67 but a section remained open for goods only until June 1982. It's important to know this formed part of the West Coast Main Line, hence the pole route wasn’t lightweight.

Gary continued "Probably all the remaining TP’s on the Strathmore line are west of Forfar, the section of the line to Perth remaining open until 1982. It would appear that the poles weren’t part of the deal when the scrap men moved in."

"I have been trying to locate some of the old S&T linesmen who worked the pole routes but finding that difficult. I would really like to know what the wires did at each location and was it by local knowledge or was there are record kept?"

Gary sent us links to his Flickr feeds with some brillilant photo collections that I highly recommend you take a look at. I'm rather pleased with myself that I've worked out this clever way of shortening the links. That's what we're here for. Anyway, the pics are brilliant, thanks Gary.

Kirkinch level crossing

Ardler Station Junction

Mike Mather's Adler Jn pic