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Old 9th Dec 2016, 5:33 pm   #41
Euros1951
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Default Re: Telegraph poles: historical data?

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'...the wires soldered under the cap and the recess filled with melted wax.'
This may be so, but the No:16 pot-heads I have seen have a brass connector block under the cap rather than a soldered joint, then wax-filled. The ones with the taller caps have fuses fitted in them.
The 16's with the smaller caps usually had brass connectors so that you could test the line and disconnect and test forward to the telephone. Though, rarely they were soldered (Brittania) joints.
The 16's with the larger caps were used for lightning protection and used protectors ( black) , and there would be an earth strap run down the pole to the ground.
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Old 9th Dec 2016, 10:37 pm   #42
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Default Re: Telegraph poles: historical data?

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At least you may see some pictures from Norway here, end we did not invent the telephone line

What actually are of extreme interst are the way of relvolving (twisting) the pairs after well documented (at least in Norwegian) schemes.

The twisting reduced the noise and over-hearing (??) considerably.
dag- known as transpositions, there were several maps of designs on major trunk routes . From my rememberance of the topic, done to reduce overhearing, on long trunk audio routes. In the early days, ex armp kit ( 1+3/4 etc) was used to provide junction capacity on medium roures ( circa 50 miles). No problem on the carrier (=+3/4) , but overhearing could be a problem on the 1+ (i.e Audio) portions.
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Old 16th Dec 2016, 3:36 pm   #43
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Default Re: Telegraph poles: historical data?

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GPO domestic telephone service. They often had turned finials when I was a lad. I used to wonder how big the lathe was to turn them!
Well, here's one today in inner-city Manchester. But no date code, pole strength code, height code. Thanks so much, whoever it was on this thread who turned me on to this. My neighbours will have me arrested...unless I wear my hi-vis coat and pretend to be working for BT!
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Old 16th Dec 2016, 4:13 pm   #44
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Default Re: Telegraph poles: historical data?

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I was a Clerk in the Post Office Supplies Department, Boyle Street, Cheetham Hill, Manchester in 1969....It's still there as a Transport Museum...
That's interesting Dave. I wonder when the GPO moved in - I was under the impression it had been built at the same time as the adjoining and very large bus garage, which is the surviving tram terminus for the Manchester system (the one at the other end, Princess Rd, was recently demolished).

Off-topic (unless you count trolley busses as general vintage electrical technology) - but it's an excellent low-key museum led by volunteers.
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Old 16th Dec 2016, 8:44 pm   #45
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Default Re: Telegraph poles: historical data?

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Well, here's one today in inner-city Manchester. But no date code, pole strength code, height code. Thanks so much, whoever it was on this thread who turned me on to this. My neighbours will have me arrested...unless I wear my hi-vis coat and pretend to be working for BT!
If you keep your eyes open in the heavenly direction, you'd be surprised how many survivors there are. Here is one survivor on the road between Crewe and Nantwich.http://tinyurl.com/pole-finial-Crewe It is a surviving pole from an old junction route as were most poles along this road. But as junctions 'went underground' and houses were built along the road, they were all converted to 'ring' type DPs and finials fitted. Most finials were wooden but I have seen a cast alloy one years ago. They came in three sizes, No 1 was 18" x 9.5" for stout poles, No 2 was 16" x 8.5" for medium poles and the No 3 was 14" x 7.25" for light poles. They were fitted using a 12" mild steel screwed dowel 7/8" I diameter. They were painted grey when issued from the stores.

Somewhere I've got one I recovered from the top of a pole in a local 'recycling' place which sold pole to farmer - surprising what I recovered from poles there over the years. Even found a complete 'Line Connector No 1' in excellent condition - I wonder how many of those have survived?

Mentioning bare wire junction routes above - does anyone know when the last bare wire junction routes were last in use?
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Old 17th Dec 2016, 11:12 pm   #46
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Default Re: Telegraph poles: historical data?

This fine specimen is still doing good service in the Wakefield area with a similar companion further up the street.
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Old 18th Dec 2016, 9:04 am   #47
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Default Re: Telegraph poles: historical data?

Should we conclude that a proper finial does a better job of protecting the pole than a bit of bent tin, and is therefore worth the investment?
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Old 18th Dec 2016, 10:04 am   #48
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Default Re: Telegraph poles: historical data?

Finials were introduced in the 1930's with the introduction of 'ring type DP's and the PBJ dropwire' (the type on eccentric pulleys) for use in residential areas. The galvanised roof gave just as good protection but was used on pole routes.
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Old 18th Dec 2016, 2:01 pm   #49
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Should we conclude that a proper finial does a better job of protecting the pole than a bit of bent tin, and is therefore worth the investment?
Well I would say so BUT, as 'short-termism' is in favour I assume the modern practice would conclude that saving say, £5 a pole, would over rule shortening the life of the pole by half. I can hear the accountants now "it may be £5 a pole to you but 200,000 poles - that's a million quid!"
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Old 18th Dec 2016, 4:40 pm   #50
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Default Re: Telegraph poles: historical data?

I have a 16" cast aluminium finial (9" base diameter) which I saved from a 1951 dated pole which was changed a few years ago. The BT man who recovered it for me explained that there was a surplus of aluminium after the war and this presumably caused the switch from turned wood to cast metal.

Ron
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Old 18th Dec 2016, 8:43 pm   #51
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Default Re: Telegraph poles: historical data?

That's crying out for pole in your garden to top out. You could mount an outside light on it to add a function
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Old 19th Dec 2016, 12:31 am   #52
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Default Re: Telegraph poles: historical data?

You've got me at it now. There are three just like that Wakefield one in the street behind us. Never noticed before.

When I was quite young I remember a GPO training place in Otley where they presumably trained linesmen. There were poles of varying height in a field ranging from full height to just the top bit. I was convinced for quite a few years that this was where they grew telephone poles!
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Old 19th Dec 2016, 1:28 pm   #53
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Default Re: Telegraph poles: historical data?

Is anyone able to help with this, the reason the thread was reopoened

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Originally Posted by upthepole View Post
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Originally Posted by echelon View Post
Does anyone on this excellent forum have awareness of any website with indexed pictures and technical details of telegraph/telephone poles?

I am thinking in particular of UK historical types, from their inception right up to the present day.

I'm also looking to learn more about the differing historical types of insulators, metalwork, foot-stands, multiple cross-spars, wood dimensions etc.

Does such an information resource exist? Or do I detect 'number unobtainable'?
As a, belated, follow on I wonder if you can help date these two images from the poles [see file captions for location, © source, etc]. Everything else tells me they are between about 1875 and 1915 as a guess. I'm not sure if the TPAS is a relaiable source of infor or not!
The two files are at
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5...jZVNWdqaGEwaVE
and at
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5...GVTWG5SSDB0MDA
where I shall leave them for a time.
Thanks, Colin
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Old 19th Dec 2016, 9:51 pm   #54
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Default Re: Telegraph poles: historical data?

the bicycles in the pictures appear to be fairly modern ie 1940s on .the poles appear to have been stripped and may be just serving a few local subs. you would expect to see some wires between the two poles.
regards pierce ei7ka
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Old 20th Dec 2016, 12:26 am   #55
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Default Re: Telegraph poles: historical data?

Well I don't know but looking at the poles, the number of circuits on them, the dress of the people, the fact the road has a kerb - then my estimate would be inter-war years. If I had to put money on it 1920-25.
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Old 20th Dec 2016, 7:23 pm   #56
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Default Re: Telegraph poles: historical data?

The pub on the left had been demolished by 1939 and its replacement built further back from the road as it now is - according to the 1939 edition (probably surveyed earlier) large scale OS 1:2500 map if that helps?
See https://www.old-maps.co.uk/#/Map/555...1516/12/101224 you'll probably have to zoom out.
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Old 20th Dec 2016, 11:07 pm   #57
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Default Re: Telegraph poles: historical data?

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Originally Posted by valvecollector View Post
When I was quite young I remember a GPO training place in Otley where they presumably trained linesmen. There were poles of varying height in a field ranging from full height to just the top bit. I was convinced for quite a few years that this was where they grew telephone poles!
Bit O/T, but most TTA/YIT (as I believe they later became known), will remember these short poles in GPO Training schools.
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Old 21st Dec 2016, 12:54 am   #58
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Default Re: Telegraph poles: historical data?

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GPO domestic telephone service. They often had turned finials when I was a lad. I used to wonder how big the lathe was to turn them!
At training school we were always told not to grab hold of the finial to pull ones self up, (prior to belting on) as it was likely to come off in your hand!
They are quite big things to come crashing down which is why most of them have now been removed. After being exposed to British weather for 60-70 years most of them are/were quite rotten. One can sometimes see the iron spike that used to support the finial on the top of some very old poles.

Incidentally all telecoms poles SHOULD have a date of preservation. I was up a 1952 one today, still perfectly fine, with two, four insulator arms . There was also a 1938 pole in the route, but I couldn't get up that one as it's test date had expired.
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