Buxton Waterswallows

[yv47r]

Ok following on from the other thread on on the L3/L3C D route that runs from Buxton to New Mills, here is the start of the route at Buxton. I had planned to walk from Buxton over the top and down to Chapel-en-le-Frith on Sunday but the weather turned and apart from the towers near the substation the others were all ordinary L3 D10/D30 and D60 towers and L3C D towers mostly fitted with red ceramic insulators, some with glass insulators and single conductors.

Ok we start with some lovely pre-grid 33kV mini PL1B S design of towers that run from the Waterswallows sub station and down towards Ashwood Dale (east of Buxton) where they terminate. These towers are the remains of the original line which ran I believe down from Stalybridge to Buxton and were replaced by the L3/L3C route in the 1970s I think.

S10 and S30 style of towers marching off towards Ashwood Dale
i195.photobucket.com/albums/z231/paulsrailphotos/UK%20Pylons/2010%2007%20Waterswallows/DSCF2230.jpg
i195.photobucket.com/albums/z231/paulsrailphotos/UK%20Pylons/2010%2007%20Waterswallows/DSCF2231.jpg

D style of tower AD 5 on its way towards the substation
i195.photobucket.com/albums/z231/paulsrailphotos/UK%20Pylons/2010%2007%20Waterswallows/DSCF2232.jpg

Looking from the road across the fields towards the substation at Waterswallows just to the north of Buxton and to the east of the A6 road
i195.photobucket.com/albums/z231/paulsrailphotos/UK%20Pylons/2010%2007%20Waterswallows/DSCF2238.jpg

So what are these then?? L3 STs?? They look identical to the L2 ST towers I saw at Carrington substation back in Feb 2009.
i195.photobucket.com/albums/z231/paulsrailphotos/UK%20Pylons/2010%2007%20Waterswallows/DSCF2240.jpg
i195.photobucket.com/albums/z231/paulsrailphotos/UK%20Pylons/2010%2007%20Waterswallows/DSCF2242.jpg
i195.photobucket.com/albums/z231/paulsrailphotos/UK%20Pylons/2010%2007%20Waterswallows/DSCF2243.jpg
i195.photobucket.com/albums/z231/paulsrailphotos/UK%20Pylons/2010%2007%20Waterswallows/DSCF2244.jpg
i195.photobucket.com/albums/z231/paulsrailphotos/UK%20Pylons/2010%2007%20Waterswallows/DSCF2245.jpg
i195.photobucket.com/albums/z231/paulsrailphotos/UK%20Pylons/2010%2007%20Waterswallows/DSCF2247.jpg

And now for something completely different.....
Well I thought I had seen most of the L3 tower types and I have passed this millions of times going to and from Buxton. At first glance it looks like a D10 or D30 tower but the tower profile is wider than that of a D10 or D30 and more like that of the D60. So is this then an L3 D40?? Both sides of the tower have pointed tip crossarms and the two circuits diverge away towards the L2 ST terminal towers.
i195.photobucket.com/albums/z231/paulsrailphotos/UK%20Pylons/2010%2007%20Waterswallows/DSCF2246.jpg
i195.photobucket.com/albums/z231/paulsrailphotos/UK%20Pylons/2010%2007%20Waterswallows/DSCF2248.jpg
i195.photobucket.com/albums/z231/paulsrailphotos/UK%20Pylons/2010%2007%20Waterswallows/DSCF2249.jpg

View from near the A6 road junction towards the substation
i195.photobucket.com/albums/z231/paulsrailphotos/UK%20Pylons/2010%2007%20Waterswallows/DSCF2250.jpg

Standard L3C D tower WB 4 with red ceramic insulators and single conductors
i195.photobucket.com/albums/z231/paulsrailphotos/UK%20Pylons/2010%2007%20Waterswallows/DSCF2251.jpg

And then marching off towards Chapel-en-le-Frith and New Mills along the slopes of Black Edge L3C D and L3 D30 towers
i195.photobucket.com/albums/z231/paulsrailphotos/UK%20Pylons/2010%2007%20Waterswallows/DSCF2254.jpg

Cheers Paul

[blueshift]

Excellent photos.
I've often stolen glances at this substation when driving from Manchester to Nottingham but never yet stopped to take pictures.

Nick

[lesc]

Neat pictures! Here we go...

'D style of tower AD 5' looks very like an unmodified pregrid JL Eve D3.

So what are these then?? L3 STs?? They look identical to the L2 ST towers I saw at Carrington substation back in Feb 2009.
i195.photobucket.com/albums/z231/....ws/DSCF2240.jpg
i195.photobucket.com/albums/z231/....ws/DSCF2242.jpg
i195.photobucket.com/albums/z231/....ws/DSCF2243.jpg
=etc=

are L2ST 90 ED51184???

... having seen this type before on various trips.

The L3 D40 looks much the same as the D60 type.

Standard L3C D tower WB 4 with red ceramic insulators and single conductors
i195.photobucket.com/albums/z231/....ws/DSCF2251.jpg


Nice pic. Don't these L3CDS look weird on 132.

Les

[caldridge]

Aren't those the same L3C pylons from Chapel-en-le-Frith to New Mills?

pylons.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=pix&action=display&thread=327

[yv47r]

Jul 28, 2010 16:48:41 GMT -5 lesc said:

Neat pictures! Here we go...

'D style of tower AD 5' looks very like an unmodified pregrid JL Eve D3.

Ok thought they looked a bit JL Eve ish!

So what are these then?? L3 STs?? They look identical to the L2 ST towers I saw at Carrington substation back in Feb 2009.
i195.photobucket.com/albums/z231/....ws/DSCF2240.jpg
i195.photobucket.com/albums/z231/....ws/DSCF2242.jpg
i195.photobucket.com/albums/z231/....ws/DSCF2243.jpg
=etc=

are L2ST 90 ED51184???

... having seen this type before on various trips.

Ok so L2 ST 90 they are then

The L3 D40 looks much the same as the D60 type.

Ah yes but this tower has angled tower arms on both sides whereas a true D60 would have short angled arms on the inside and the longer square ended arms on the outside of the deviation turn of course. The main tower looks the same its just the arms that differ comparing the towers. Maybe its a one off special. There could also be another variant on this with squared off crossarms on both sides of the tower.

Standard L3C D tower WB 4 with red ceramic insulators and single conductors
i195.photobucket.com/albums/z231/....ws/DSCF2251.jpg

Nice pic. Don't these L3CDS look weird on 132.

Les

Yep they are way to big for 132kV really. I guess in time the line from Chapel upto Buxton will be reinsulated and reconductored.

Cheers Paul

[Dr Fortran]

I've come across a tower type D40EC in the L2 series, which looked like that - D60 tower body with a pointy earth peak and symmetrical pointed-end crossarms. The situation was at either end of a diamond crossing in Northern Ireland.

Anyone know what EC stands for?

Ian

[lesc]

Jul 29, 2010 6:25:45 GMT -5 Dr Fortran said:

I've come across a tower type D40EC in the L2 series, which looked like that - D60 tower body with a pointy earth peak and symmetrical pointed-end crossarms. The situation was at either end of a diamond crossing in Northern Ireland.

Anyone know what EC stands for?

Ian

Earthwire Changeover (=EWCO) in the Naughtyhorse bible as ED51192.

There's an L2D40EC on the north side of the Tyne Crossing as reported by your good self in one of Les's early skirmishes with the PAS note the earthwire doesn't join up on the top of the pylon in the pic below ;D

llandru.servehttp.com/pylons060209/P2060512.JPG

That pic of YV47R's my money's on L3D40 or something special, said pylon has an L3D60 'body'.

[offtopic] at home nursing a broken right arm after my server fell over onto it once out of plaster I'll get the vid done as daytime teevee is driving me mental, thank gawd i'm left-handed [\offtopic].





Les

[yv47r]

Jul 29, 2010 9:34:12 GMT -5 lesc said:

Jul 29, 2010 6:25:45 GMT -5 Dr Fortran said:

I've come across a tower type D40EC in the L2 series, which looked like that - D60 tower body with a pointy earth peak and symmetrical pointed-end crossarms. The situation was at either end of a diamond crossing in Northern Ireland.

Anyone know what EC stands for?

Ian

Earthwire Changeover (=EWCO) in the Naughtyhorse bible as ED51192.

There's an L2D40EC on the north side of the Tyne Crossing as reported by your good self in one of Les's early skirmishes with the PAS note the earthwire doesn't join up on the top of the pylon in the pic below ;D

llandru.servehttp.com/pylons060209/P2060512.JPG

That pic of YV47R's my money's on L3D40 or something special, said pylon has an L3D60 'body'.

Les

And is that also one on the south side of the Tyne too?? Looks very similar??

And there is another example of one of these L2 D40EC towers on the approach to Daines 400kV substation on the incoming ZO line from Connah's Quay i195.photobucket.com/albums/z231/paulsrailphotos/UK%20Pylons/2009%2002%20Carrington%20and%20Daines/DSC03275.jpg

Cheers Paul

[yv47r]

Updated link to Buxton Waterswallows set
s195.photobucket.com/albums/z231/paulsrailphotos/UK%20Pylons/2010%2007%20Waterswallows/

[caldridge]

I would like to photograph some L3C pylons, but there doesn't seem to be any near me, just standard L3 pylons.

Can we not get L3C deviation towers?

[rillington]

The L3C route I'm familiar with - Poppleton to Moor Monkton - has standard L3 deviation towers throughout, as well as one L3 tower mid-route. It appears to be the same for the Buxton to New Mills route - L3C towers for the suspension tower and L3 towers for the deviation pylons although the deviation towers on the Buxton to New Mills route do appeart to be different from the standard L3 towers seen on the Poppleton to MM route.

[yv47r]

Do you mean the insulators on the L3 towers? They do look rather weedy compared to those on the Poppleton to MM route. I can't say that I have ever come across an L3C deviation tower but that isn't to say they don't exist.

Cheers Paul

[rillington]

It looks like the Buxton route is strung for 132 rather than 275 so I can see why you suggest that the insulations look "rather weedy" compared to the MM to Poppleton route.

[rillington]

Back to the Buxton route, from what I can see, the pre-grid 'baby' towers suddenly stop rather than having a termination tower. Bit of a shame if you ask me.

[yv47r]

I meant that the insulators on these L3C D2 towers look rather small against the towers when you consider that it they could be wired for 275.

I think the pre-grid towers originally ran all the way from Stalybridge and up over the hills to Buxton and were joined by two other lines according to a 1950s era OS Map. The L3/C line replaced these between Buxton and New Mills and a PL line replaced them from New Mills towards Stalybridge.

Cheers Paul