L66 pylons near Carlisle

[caldridge]

Hi everyone, I've been on a weekend holiday to Cumbria and I've taken some photos of the L66 pylons near Carlisle.

Been waiting a long time to take some photos of these rear pylons, now I finally managed do it.

i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd486/cmaldridge/DSCF7991_zpsjvxp4sb3.jpg

Here's the pylons near Crosby On Eden, just off the A689.

i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd486/cmaldridge/DSCF7990_zpswkhnuiqv.jpg
i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd486/cmaldridge/DSCF7992_zpsfhmcnrmg.jpg
i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd486/cmaldridge/DSCN2618_zpsg67aa4d7.jpg

From the other side.

i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd486/cmaldridge/DSCF7993_zpsrovsa9g3.jpg
i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd486/cmaldridge/DSCF7995_zps8msfx3mp.jpg
i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd486/cmaldridge/DSCN2622_zpsnebh96dj.jpg

Next I went up the side road to High Knells so I could take some photos of them with L2 pylons. Here's the L2 pylons heading up the hill.

i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd486/cmaldridge/DSCF8003_zpsiqcwtnoq.jpg
i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd486/cmaldridge/DSCN2625_zpsfrtsedzo.jpg

And here come the L66 pylons.

i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd486/cmaldridge/DSCF8000_zpsjqmxziop.jpg

The L2 deviation tower with the L66 pylons behind it.

i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd486/cmaldridge/DSCN2626_zpsuofdjxpm.jpg
i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd486/cmaldridge/DSCF8004_zps4yghtlwg.jpg

Looking the other way, I guess they kind of look like the L2 pylons but only a bit smaller and have different bracing.

i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd486/cmaldridge/DSCF7996_zpsctd7dz3o.jpg

Some pictures of the pylons down in the valley.

i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd486/cmaldridge/DSCN2633_zpshrakmj0d.jpg
i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd486/cmaldridge/DSCF8006_zps7dgbzuqx.jpg

An L2 deviation tower on one side of the road and an L66 suspension tower on the other.

i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd486/cmaldridge/DSCN2630_zps7hr9fcf2.jpg

Enjoy!

Christopher

[tiger370]

Great photo's. Was the L66 a later adaptation of the L2 design? And if so for what purpose? I do keep seeing mention of a spotters 'bible', and wonder how / where this can be located online? The summary on The Gorge doesn't go into enough detail as regards all the sub-variants of each type. Thanks in anticipation! Mike

[yv47r]

Hi Christopher nice photos. I was up in Carlisle last week from Wednesday to Friday and saw the L66s from the train to Newcastle and back.

Hi Mike welcome to the PAS forum. The L66s were designed and erected before the L2s and only a handful of L66 lines were built including the Strathaven (South of Glasgow) to Harker (Carlisle), Harker to Stella (West of Newcastle) and Stella to Monk Fryston (Knottingley). Now only this Harker-Stella and the southern end of the Stella-Monk Fryston line from Moor Monkton to the west of York still exist along with some known guest towers in L3 lines. So they are rare beasties.

HTH cheers Paul

[yv47r]

Also re the Spotters Guide I have been toying with the idea of producing some sort of booklet to illustrate as many types of tower as possible. Is that something the members might be interested in?

Cheers Paul

[caldridge]

Here's some pictures I took of the L66 pylons from Birdoswald, they can been seen in the distance from the Roman Fort.

i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd486/cmaldridge/DSCF8015_zpseiioyksl.jpg
i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd486/cmaldridge/DSCF8018_zps5xy77wrr.jpg
i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd486/cmaldridge/DSCF8023_zpsojmkjuls.jpg
i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd486/cmaldridge/DSCF8024_zps4x1earsg.jpg
i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd486/cmaldridge/DSCF8027_zpsitgeujbr.jpg

Also I did see some terminal towers from the Roman Fort at Chesters, maybe there's a substation in the area, also are they both the same route?

Christopher

[robin]

I would be interested in that, Paul. I could even donate some of my pictures (if they were good enough).

[yv47r]

I was thinking something along the lines of a booklet or something that would try and cover different tower designs say all of the 132kV PLxx/L4/L7 designs and then all of the 275kV L66/L1/c/L2/L3 ones then all of the 400kV L6/L9 towers, then one covering the more recent designs like L8/L12/L13 and the new Scottish SSE400. I know that not all towers will have been photographed nor will we have tower diagrams for them. So maybe if any members have access to diagrams not in the tower bible these could also be used. It might well be a work in progress that gets updated as new photos become available. The other option would be to create a members only site where a wiki could be created with photos to illustrate towers and the variations upon the standard tower.

Cheers Paul

[lesc]

It's possible some designs have been lost???

SHETL is well guilty of this.... PL7 istr :/

Ping tiger370 in the UK 275kv supergrid the L66 came first before L2/3!

Nice set, Caldridge. Note there seems to be L66D10/30, D60, D90. The D10/30 shown here looks like a PL16 on Viagra

Les

[revallison]

Sorry...new to thi, so bit of a naive question...what makes it an L66? What do I look out for to identify it?

[lesc]

They look like slightly smaller L2 / 3 - the centre is a braced 'X' and skewed bracing. L2 centre is a 'V' and L3 centre is an X. The L66 cannot run on 400kv and is nearer L3 than L2.

A trawl around in here will find plenty of examples... other L66 sightings are available

pylons.proboards.com/thread/452/ferrybridge-paradise-lane-tadcaster

Les

[gcarty]

I think of L66s as being like a more squat version of L3 -- as a child I lumped them both together as "equal-length arms, cross-cross-up" as opposed to "middle arm longer, cross-cross-up" (L6 -- all the local L6 suspension towers were of the BICC type) or "equal-length arms, up-down-down" (L2).

[caldridge]

Thanks for the replies. I've been waiting a long time to photograph those rare L66 pylons, seeing as there aren't any in the south.

That's one route down and one to go. Now I just need to find and photograph the L66 pylons from Monk Fryston to Moor Monkton.

Christopher

[albell1970]

Not strictly Carlisle, but I've found some photos of the Harker to Strathraven L66 route;

www.flickr.com/photos/tangosierraone/4679321477/

Interesting triangular double insulator on the 275Kv conductors.

www.flickr.com/photos/thedouglascampbellshow/4593826555/sizes/o/

www.flickr.com/photos/thedouglascampbellshow/4596596581/sizes/o/

[yv47r]

Superb photos you don't tend to see many of that line it sometimes crops up in the background of railway photos from that area. Not seen that kind of triangular double insulator before. Was that just to counteract conductor swing or clashing I wonder?
Cheers Paul

[caldridge]

Wasn't that the L66 route on opposite end of Harker substation, that has now been replaced with L8 pylons? Looks like those pictures were taken in the 1960s. I might have to see if i can revisit Cumbria one day and take some photos of the L8 pylons.

Christopher