15 May 2025

Eigg Nog

posted in: Country poles, Gorgeousness, History, Photos, Telegraph Poles |

The entire staff of TPAS Towers recently undertook a telegraph pole expedition to the wee small isles in the inner Hebrides. Starting on the Isle of Eigg – an island entirely comfortable with rabbits, sheep and generating it’s own electricity – we settled in to our shed-esque accommodation and plotted the week’s hiking. Day one we discovered the bizarre bed-spring Heath-Robinson effort you see below. This seemed to be collecting the output from a small stream driven hydro-scheme just up from Galmisdale. Nothing but a climb up Eigg’s wonderful “An Sgùrr” mountain (393m) on day #2 and a trip to the telegraph pole free island of Muck on day 3.

Then day #4 we were walking the island’s only real road towards Laig Bay in the north and my internal telegraph pole detector started to ping. Peeping between the leaves of some birch trees was the tip of a redundant five-armed telegraph pole. I had just, that very morning, been reading about an old telegraph system that ran from Eigg, under the sea and across to Rum and then over again to Canna further north. This must be a remnant from those days. Now lost, forgotten and unnoticed. Until now, that is. I had to clamber down a steep hill and hack my way through some severe brambles to get to it but what is a few slashes, infected wounds and dislocated knees in pursuit of such beautiful telegraphic history?

Day #5 took us to Rum and, whilst there was nothing much there to telegraph to, it did at least allow us to join up the terms “Eigg” and “Rum” and make Eigg Nog. Thanks to poet Simon Cockle for the punny title to this post.

Our final evening saw us back at Laig bay, only a different route off the beach and my internal pole alarm started going bezerk. I looked about to see what could be causing this mental commotion when we spotted the rest of the redundant pole run coming down the distant hillside. Seven poles in all. We had a ferry to catch so only had time to squeeze some distant shots with phone camera held up to my binoculars and avow to come back possibly next year for a closer look. We did find a dead one however being consumed by the grass and so liberated a small part of that as a souvenir before it’s lost forever.

That wasn’t the end of our telegraph pole adventures though. On the way up I’d spotted a handful of neat four-armers roadside near Corpach, Fort William. As if that wasn’t enough already – further investigation and a nip up a side road revealed a stunning run of six-armers at Fassfern, also near Fort Bill. One final treat at Ballachulish – 3 armer with all it’s insulators missing (is that you Jake?) but a stunning backdrop of Sgorr Dheearg & Sgorr Dhonuill and also the road bridge itself. Well, well well as we say now back in Wales.

  • A very old pole on Eigg with 3 cross arms but one at right angles to the others. no insulators but a wire connected to a big spring attachrd to a shackle. Believed to be the output from a small hydro scheme.
  • The mountain An Sgurr on the isle of Eigg with Galmisdale Farmhouse in foreground.
  • A low, upward looking photo of the newly discovered 5 armed pole on Eigg against a blue sky.
  • A redundant 5 armed telegraph pole protruding above the trees on Eigg with the Isle of Rum in the background.
  • A run of 5 fully visible 5 armed poles and 2 partially visible in undrgrowth at Laig Bay on isle of Eigg. all are redundant.
  • A line of redundant 5 armed poles in overgrown hillside on isle of Eigg but as viewed through a single lens of binoculars.
  • 2 distnat telegraph poles as viewed through the lens of a set of binoculars.
  • The remains of the top of a telegraph pole with 5 arms and insulators lying on a field on Eigg and is now slowly being consumed by the soil.
  • A white GPO insulator still attached via its rusted bolt to a fragment of cross arm wood.
  • The silhouette of the isle of Rum as seen from Laig Bay, Isle of Eigg at sunset. The sun has gone over the horizon but a sun dog phenomena is visible just above Rum.
  • A 4 armed roadside pole in front of hedge row and trees near Fort William
  • A six armed pole replte with insulators on a quiet lane at Fassfern near Fort William.
  • A 3 armed telegraph pole at Ballachulish in the Scottish highlands with Munro mountains Sgorr Dheearg & Sgorr Dhonuill in the background and also the iron road bridge itself.
20 Sep 2024

Telegraph Pole Appreciation Day

posted in: Appreciating, Appreciation Day, History, Telegraph Poles, Things on poles, Vintage |

21st September is the day to celebrate the glorious everyday mundanitude of these simple silent sentinels the world over.  So why not get out there and really appreciate something tall, wooden, sticky-uppy with wires all coming out the top.

Meanwhile here is a photo that member #666 Dave Bennett took of pole revellers down at Pelehenge in Ceredigion a couple of years ago. With some cross pollination going on here it’s also mini golf appreciation day.

A cartoon of polehenge - a henge made out of telegraph poles
The scene at Polehenge on Telegraph Pole on Appreciation Day sunrise Dave Bennett

And because it’s such a special day here’s a very recent photo of the Fabled Lost Pole of Bala Leisure Centre.

the fabled lost pole of bala leisure centre. An old road side pole with 5 cross arms and plenty of wiry dead ivy hanging off
3 Nov 2023

More from the Cuckoo Line

posted in: Country poles, Found Poles, GPO, Hardware, History, Railway poles |

Albert Einstein’s Special relativity indicates that a correspondent may experience relativistic time dilation when expecting the email and photographs they sent to be published within the same inertial frame of reference from the recipient’s standpoint. Or something.

This is the only way to explain the near three years that have elapsed since Matt Brown’s email(s) and photographs were transmitted to the TPAS HQ inbox. And, hand on heart, I’m not sure I even understood that first paragraph.

Matt and his family are regulars exploring ye Olde Cuckoo Line (click to see previous article on subject). Matt is also a car restorer and is rebuilding a GPO Morris van. Now, the photographs you see below are from a series of emails and so I will summarise them here. Most are serendipitous finds along said disused railway line and nearby woods down there in East Sussex. They are hunting for telegraphic artefacts for the making of their very own pre-1960’s garden pole. The yellow truck you see is a forest find GPO truck as once used by TV detectors et al. Other gems in these pics: An undated pole with a star shaped cut out where the date might be, A GPO crown transfer (presumably for the van restoration), a selection of spooky tunnels, culverts and iron railings and a couple of restored Morris van panels.

Not the best photographs in the world., arguably. And camera not in the steadiest hand in the world. With Dutch angles particularly on the tunnel shots. And arguably, not the highest resolution camera in the world. But we enthusiasts can find interest in pretty much anything. Thank you Matt. I imagine you must have finished that van by now.

7 Sep 2023

A Nude Linesman in Oz

posted in: Adornments, Country poles, Foreign ones, Found Poles, Hardware, History, Insulators, Oddities, Photos, Telegraph Poles, Vintage |

 I can’t believe how long it’s taken me to get this post up on to the website. Jerry Deacon, who sent this to me, can’t believe how long it’s taken either. And Jerry, I’ve just realised is none other than (previously plugged on here) Kilgraney Sleepers (now railwaysleepers.com) – the place to go for old railway sleepers (the clue is in the name) but also old and new telegraph poles for ornamental and nerdic use. Nice plug for you there Jerry; I trust that this is adequate recompense for my tardiness.

Anyway, back in March. Jerry wrote to tell us that as an intrepid explorer he came across Hamelin Pool Telegraph Station (1884) near Shark Bay in Western Australia. There is a definite passion for telegraph poles in Oz. In October 1872 the Overland Telegraph line between Darwin and Adelaide was completed, and the Australian telegraph network became linked directly to Europe (termite attacks notwithstanding). Hamelin station was established as a repeater station that linked Western Australia into this same network. And this is the last of these stations still extant. Now, for some reason, it features, quite prominently, a nude linesman attending to the pole top apparatus. Why this should be is anyone’s guess and Jerry offers no explanation, nor does anything at the station itself. Though he did suggest Nude Pole of the Month as a possible new feature for these very pages. I’m going to pretend he never said that.

A placard at Hamelin Pool Telegraph Station describing it's history.
Exterior view of Hamelin Telegraph Station, showing weather checking apparatus.
A selection of telegraph insulators of many different sizes and types on display.
A selection of telegraph insulators of many different sizes and types on display as well as some antique electrical apparatus.
Another interior photo of Hamelin station.
The interior of Hamelin Telegraph Station with many displays pertaining to its history. There is a large photo of a nude man working up a pole.
A close up photo of a nude linesman working atop a telegraph pole.
Telegraph Insulators and apparatus
22 Jan 2023

N&NB Newsletter, January 2023

posted in: Appreciating, History, Membership, Telegraph Poles, The Telegraph Pole Appreciation Society |

Norwich & Norfolk branch of The Telegraph Pole Appreciation Society have been quiet for some considerable time. Our fear was that they had diverted their appreciative energy towards canine waste repositories (doggy-poo bins); which abound over on the east coast. A letter from Doreen Bracegirdle (Mrs), Branch chair set our hearts at rest. Their newsletter is reproduced below:

13 Nov 2021

Navigation The TElegraph Pole Way

posted in: fabled poles, History, Literature, Oddities |

Member #1030 John Causer wrote to let us know of:
(a) His complete suffusion with pride at having obtained entry into our most august of societies, and
(b) A genuine telegraph pole related anecdote which we reproduce below. It came from from “Surely You’re Joking Mr Feynman” the autobiography of Richard P Feynman (1918-1988), the American Nobel laureate theoretical physicist.

Oh, Feynman – quantum electrodynamics, superfluidity, path-integral-formulation – that Richard Feynman. Yes him.

Thank you John #1030, a small red star has been placed next to your name in the TPAS register of members, which I keep in a little box in the third drawer down in my desk. Keep up the good work.

PS. John also added: “The first sentence needs some parsing.  Read as ‘I entered MIT and was accepted for  the Pi Lambda Delta fraternity, which had various initiation tests’ “. What?

An extract of text from Richard P Feynman's autobiography pertaining to telegraph poles.
3 Oct 2021

Postcards from Didsbury

posted in: Found Poles, History, Photos, Telegraph Poles, Vintage |

Sarah-Jane Coleby wrote to us:

“In honour of telegraph appreciation day I’ve gone through some old postcards. A couple have stamps and date from 1910, I’m no telegraph pole expert but I hope some of these are of interest 😊 “.

They are indeed Jane. Anything with even a hint of telegraph pole on it piques my interest, girds my loins, stirs my porridge so to speak.

They’re not great resolution so I’ll tell you that they are mostly of a place called Didsbury. Which now, in the present tense, would be called Doesbury and soon it will be called Willbury surely. Did you see what I did there? 😉 Thank you Sarah-Jane.

27 Mar 2021

New Zealand P.O. Marital Aids

posted in: Engineers, Hardware, History, Maintenance, Nothing to do with Telegraph Poles, Oddities, Stuff for Sale, Vintage |

Low productivity levels among telegraph pole linesmen was causing serious concern among New Zealand P.O. bosses as the 1960s came to a close. Research led them to believe this was because of unhappy home lives and if they could somehow spice up marital harmony then this trend could be reversed.

A short-lived experiment ensued in which 120 pairs of No. 1 S&M kits were handed to linesmen across three districts: Rotorua, Auckland and Christchurch. They failed however to provide explicit instructions as to their intended use and the baffled pole engineers took them home to humour their bosses.

However by the end of the six month trial period productivity had actually increased in these key areas. Dramatically so in the case of Rotorua. It turns out that the enterprising linesmen had discovered that these fierce looking devices could be attached to their legs and thus enabled them to climb poles way quicker than they ever could using a ladder. Whilst the love lives of the workers hadn’t changed, their speed up a telegraph pole had accelerated four-fold.

Embarrassed bosses back-tracked and reported that this had been their intention all along and that “leg irons” should thenceforth be issued as standard to the workforce.

The set you see below was bought by Judy Pittman at a car-swap meet in Nelson, S. Island. She was delighted to learn the history of them from me but intimated she would be keen to sell them to any of our readers were interested in adding these fascinating love-aids to their paraphernalia collections. She would be happy to post to the UK but reports that postage would cost £36. If anybody is interested, do drop me a line to martin@telegraphpoleappreciationsociety.org and I will pass on your details.

  • Photo shows the teeth of a telegraph pole linesman's leg iron. Used for climbing poles
  • Part of aluminium leg iron - used by linesmen to climb telegraph pole and trees etc.
  • A set of aluminium leg irons - when strapped to the legs these allow engineers to climb poles.
31 Mar 2020

Telegraph Pole Perambulations in Wooler

posted in: Appreciating, Country poles, History, Things on poles |

Wooler, I just looked it up, is in Northumberland by the Cheviot hills, which have always sounded very enticing.

Anyway, Charlie Brown, member #0920 has been taking great advantage of his membership of this sage and august society by applying telegraphpoleology to his country perambulations.  And whilst walking up to Wooler Common last weekend*1 with his grandchildren - Iris & Otto (now members #0926 & #0927) - they bagged a trio of 24ft light poles from 1935.

"In good shape", he tells us, "but leaning a bit hence the D plate and a legible explanation on the A1024."
"Nonetheless they are still doing their job and one can only admire the preservation process from 85 years ago. It was fun to spot*2 and a nice bit of telecommunication history."

He tells us he's enjoying his membership immensely and his GC's (as he calls them) have really taken to it.  They have soul - our future is bright.

*1 Email dated pre-Corona lock down before any narks decide to call the police.
*2 Luckily, he had his very informative copy of Telegraph Pole Appreciation for Beginners to help him here.

15 Nov 2019

Ye Olde Telegraph Apparatusii

posted in: Hardware, History, Submissions, Vintage |

This website is normally dedicated to telegraph poles with the emphasis on *poles* - tall wooden sticky-uppy things with wires all coming out of the top. But you cannot be  obsessive about these things without at least wondering what it's all for:
Mostly used as a support medium for Slimming World notices these days, telegraph poles once bristled with crossarms which carried sparky wires conveying messages charged with electromagnetic pulses in the form of morse code. And with all that went enormously varied hardware and a long and rich history.
A venn diagram of telegraph pole nuts (ahem!) and and telecommunication historians would surely have considerable overlap.
The photos you see below are from the collection of Marcos Raijer from N. Florida, USA. Now retired, he spent 40 years collecting this stuff and I'm told that his is a live telegraphic post that connects two morse stations. His plans are to demonstrate telegraphs to physics students.  This is a wonderful collection of some gorgeous apparatus.  Well worthy of a bus trip.  Thanks for sharing with fellow enthusiasts Marcos.
For a more fuller story about the history of the telegraph I recommend students of Telegraphpoleology consult my favourite tome on the subject "The Victorian Internet" by Tom Standage or they may also like to read the online book "Distant Writing" or our own rather less well informed wonky-table-leveller "Telegraph Pole Appreciation for Beginners".

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