Strange pylon (pre-grid) - and more pre-grids!

[robin]

I've been trying to upload the rest of this year's pictures from Cumbria, but the computer is having none of it. However, I did manage to upload these pictures taken of a pre-grid pylon across the motorway from Penrith. It's a short line which comes from the substation that the single circuit line from Lancashire also runs in to. From what I could tell, it exists simply to turn the line through 90 degrees-
s1286.photobucket.com/user/batman19711/media/123_zpsezyzkmaz.jpg.html?sort=3&o=15

At the border between the fields there is a stile and a wooden sign saying "Public Footpath To Penrith", so I climbed over and waded through the undergrowth-
s1286.photobucket.com/user/batman19711/media/126_zpshjbh8a63.jpg.html?sort=3&o=14
s1286.photobucket.com/user/batman19711/media/130_zpsiubgqzxd.jpg.html?sort=3&o=13
s1286.photobucket.com/user/batman19711/media/132_zpsstsftjmm.jpg.html?sort=3&o=12

then I legged it down the road to try to get it from the other side-
s1286.photobucket.com/user/batman19711/media/145_zpsg2vs2lnm.jpg.html?sort=3&o=11

The line reverts to two rows of wooden poles which run down towards the A66. I'll try to get the other pictures done this week sometime.

[yv47r]

Interesting tower. It is hard to say whether it started life like that to act as a D90 tower or it was originally a DT90 tee tower. The outward projection of the cross arm framework pushes the conductor turn away from the tower. I have often wondered why they never seemed to develop a true tee style tower for the PL series lines by possibily adapting the DT90. Of the few PL tee towers I have seen they tend to be based around the D60 shape and cross arms.

Keep them coming Robin
Cheers Paul

[robin]

Sorry, not been on for a while. Here are the rest of the pictures I was trying to upload.

Here are a couple of terminal towers at the local substation. The PL16 line goes round Penrith and becomes the single circuit PL1 line down to Lancaster. The newer line runs north to Harker-
s1286.photobucket.com/user/batman19711/media/179_zpspkl2s7g8.jpg.html?sort=3&o=9

Marching away from the substation-
s1286.photobucket.com/user/batman19711/media/167_zpstq7vhdiq.jpg.html?sort=3&o=11 , that's the M6 in the background.

These strange pre-grids with extended arms run a short distance south and end with the D90 tower in the previous post-
s1286.photobucket.com/user/batman19711/media/177_zpsuculkkwm.jpg.html?sort=3&o=10 , complete with bird's nest.

Big and small suspension towers, these are the circuits you can see at the side of the M6 heading up towards Southwaite-
s1286.photobucket.com/user/batman19711/media/184_zpsiofwy6av.jpg.html?sort=3&o=8

Like the electric railway pylons, someone had been here before me trampling the weeds at the same points I took my photos from-
s1286.photobucket.com/user/batman19711/media/193_zpsrth8ccdn.jpg.html?sort=3&o=7
s1286.photobucket.com/user/batman19711/media/201_zpswrvotcoz.jpg.html?sort=3&o=6
s1286.photobucket.com/user/batman19711/media/209_zpsm4yy0yrj.jpg.html?sort=3&o=5
s1286.photobucket.com/user/batman19711/media/213_zpsp0neodjd.jpg.html?sort=3&o=3
s1286.photobucket.com/user/batman19711/media/210_zps7mupowu2.jpg.html?sort=3&o=4
In that last picture, the pre-grid is actually closer to the camera. They really are that small and cute.

The pre-grids run for a fairly short distance, maybe a couple of miles. They revert to two rows of wooden poles (boo!) just before the circuits enter a small substation-
s1286.photobucket.com/user/batman19711/media/219_zpsa61r7zhl.jpg.html?sort=3&o=2
I'm sure that last tower is actually a suspension tower that's been converted to an angle tower to divert the lines onto the wooden poles.

That's some bad news I'm reading in the other post about all the lines in this area that are marked for the chop. I'd better get back there some time with my new camera...

[robin]

Just found some more pictures that I'd forgotten I had already uploaded. The pylons with the extended arms run from the substation southwards and end at the D90. The next one down is a "normal" angle tower-
s1286.photobucket.com/user/batman19711/media/118_zpsegenmmvg.jpg.html?sort=3&o=21
s1286.photobucket.com/user/batman19711/media/116_zpsyiserj3l.jpg.html?sort=3&o=22
although it is very thin, I wonder if it was once a suspension tower.

Running south, there are more of the towers with extended arms where they cross the road out of Penrith-
s1286.photobucket.com/user/batman19711/media/110_zpshl2npthr.jpg.html?sort=3&o=24
s1286.photobucket.com/user/batman19711/media/111_zpskcoablmp.jpg.html?sort=3&o=23
You can see in the background there are a couple of angle towers before the D90, but I couldn't get any better pictures of them.

[albell1970]

I remember one of my parent's friends worked for the National Grid at Penwortham up until his death in 1985. He told me about the steel shortage following WWII that resulted in many 66kV & 33kV pre-grid lines having their steel towers requisitioned, replaced with the now familiar paired wood poles (one three phase circuit per pole.) He used the 33kV double circuit line running south east of Penrith substation, that crosses the M6, as an example. Apparently, steel towers were usually retained up to a mile from a substation due to their superior earthing and conductor spacing,plus the added height advantages over built up and urban districts.

I'm not sure if it survives, but the 33kV wood pole route from Penrith substation to Keswick,that runs alongside the A66, dates from the late 1920's. Very unusual, since most of the UK's wood pole routes were replaced from the mid 1960's - late 1970's.

[robin]

It does still survive. I have a picture of one of the poles that I walked past getting up close to the D90. I'll post it next time I have the good laptop on.

[caldridge]

It is common for pre grid routes to revert to wooden poles, the nearest pre grid route to me starts off with about three wooden poles and converts to pylons at Countrywide Stores on the B3107 just outside Melksham, then the route heads to Shaw substation and reverts back to wooden poles to the west of Broughton Gifford. I'll have to see if I can photograph them.

Christopher

[robin]

Are these the poles? I know I've seen the same design just north of Keswick-
s1286.photobucket.com/user/batman19711/media/135_zpsk6izkfkq.jpg.html
and a close up, sorry it's at a funny angle-
s1286.photobucket.com/user/batman19711/media/136_zpsryovbdlw.jpg.html

[yv47r]

There are some three-arm pre-grid towers near Ashley and Mobberley in Cheshire that I must go and take some close-ups of soon as they have in large been replaced by poles and I think it used to be a line that ran from Altrincham maybe even Partington power station down towards Knutsford and Northwich. Likewise some in the Tame Valley in Stockport that I think still exist and need photographing too.

Cheers Paul

[robin]

I don't think I've ever seen three arm pre-grid pylons. That would be very interesting indeed.

[caldridge]

I've seen some three arm pre grid pylons there's some in Devon.

Here's one on the A381 near Halwell, I think it kind of looks like a PL1S.

i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd486/cmaldridge/DSCF6348.jpg

The line heads from Kingsbridge starting off as poles and they change to poles just north of Harbentonford.

Christopher

[robin]

That's pretty cool. I've never seen anything like it before.

[caldridge]

There's also some at Charfield in South Gloucestershire I'll have to see if I can photograph them.

[albell1970]

Hi Robin, that's part of the Keswick line. At some point south of there, the line crosses the A66 and you can see some ancient poles with bird deterrent, ornate caps atop each pole. Looks like a cast iron ball with a spike protruding upward. All the metal work is rusted and the insulators are the chunky, ceramic type.