Pylon King Posted February 14, 2020 Author Share Posted February 14, 2020 (edited) Western Power Distribution reminder. Edited February 14, 2020 by Pylon King 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pylon King Posted February 16, 2020 Author Share Posted February 16, 2020 (edited) A couple of PL1 blueprints. Edited February 16, 2020 by Pylon King 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
7APT7 Posted February 17, 2020 Share Posted February 17, 2020 1 hour ago, Pylon King said: A couple of PL1 blueprints. Hi Pylon King Those are great mate, do you have any more of other types, in this kind of format...? Regards Jamie Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jukebox Posted February 17, 2020 Share Posted February 17, 2020 (edited) On 10/02/2020 at 03:51, 7APT7 said: So do some of you RMWeber's actually work in this field lol having to climb them... (out of Interest) or is it knowledge you all picked up and like Paul said the more you read in to anything the more you notice the changes... Paul, I only know you, who can real off just about any 3 Letter wagon Acronyms, I guess publishing Books helps that lol, you should release on Pylons... Is there such a publication on Pylons... !?! Hmmm Regards Jamie Apologies for the delay in adding to this thread - and if anyone has responded in the meantime (I did scan the pages, but not forensically... Jamie - I used to work in this field, 1990-2000, as a young Site Engineer. Building transmission lines here in Australia. Surprisingly, many of the design here are/were variations on Balfour Beatty ones... although our industry here has a strong Italian/Portuguese/Spanish influence from the migrants who built our first HV lines for our Snowy Mountains Hydro scheme in the 1950's... On 07/02/2020 at 06:20, pharrc20 said: I suppose a string of pylons sounds about right I've not come across an official phrase for this. Yes the maximum cable length would dictate the distance between the deviation towers in effect. Cheers Paul Paul - not sure about the UK, but here in Oz we certain use MSJ's - mid span joints. These are two parts a steel inner, that if for the strengths, and an aluminium out, for conducting the electricity. MSJ's as a rule couldn't be installed over roads, railways or other critical areas. The length of cable on each drum was dependent on the diameter of the cable, but was, I recall, between 1000m and 3500m? Joins done as the cable is strung allowed runs of 10km or more between Strainer (Tension Towers). On long flat runs, our authorities introduced Tension towers at intervals for safety - if a line were to get pulled over, the idea being the tension tower would limit the destruction.... Cheers Scott Edited February 17, 2020 by jukebox 3 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
7APT7 Posted February 17, 2020 Share Posted February 17, 2020 (edited) 14 minutes ago, jukebox said: Apologies for the delay in adding to this thread - and if anyone has responded in the meantime (I did scan the pages, but not forensically... Jamie - I used to work in this field, 1990-2000, as a young Site Engineer. Building transmission lines here in Australia. Surprisingly, many of the design here are/were variations on Balfour Beatty ones... although our industry here has a strong Italian/Portuguese/Spanish influence from the migrants who built our first HV lines for our Snowy Mountains Hydro scheme in the 1950's... Paul - not sure about the UK, but here in Oz we certain use MSJ's - mid span joints. These are two parts a steel inner, that if for the strengths, and an aluminium out, for conducting the electricity. MSJ's as a rule couldn't be installed over roads, railways or other critical areas. The length of cable on each drum was dependent on the diameter of the cable, but was, I recall, between 1000m and 3500m? Joins done as the cable is strung allowed runs of 10km or more between Strainer (Tension Towers). On long flat runs, our authorities introduced Tension towers at intervals for safety - if a line were to get pulled over, the idea being the tension tower would limit the destruction.... Cheers Scott Hi Scott aka jukebox Thank you for that input, and I was like, tilting my head to try and work out what the Pylon was but now I realise they have folded over in high winds I guess, and a bit further down, how did that happen, a weakness in the structure of the Pylon, and would we ever see that happen today... but it's a great photo Scott, appropriate that mate. Regards Jamie Edited February 17, 2020 by 7APT7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jukebox Posted February 17, 2020 Share Posted February 17, 2020 (edited) Happens more often than it should.... Note the date on this one: https://defrock.org/2020/02/16/power-towers-crash-to-the-ground/ Edited February 17, 2020 by jukebox 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
7APT7 Posted February 17, 2020 Share Posted February 17, 2020 1 minute ago, jukebox said: Happens more often than it should.... https://defrock.org/2020/02/16/power-towers-crash-to-the-ground/ Wow, really, now I wouldn't have thought it would have in today's industries. When this type of think ever happens, is the power pulled or switch off instantly... I was just thinking, if you went in to attend to a crash down like that, how do you know the power is off, do you have equipment on you that picks up some kind of electrical field or force in some way as you approach the Pylon Cables...? it's interesting I must say... Regard Jamie Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jukebox Posted February 17, 2020 Share Posted February 17, 2020 (edited) From memory... They have a system where if the line "earth's out" - say a tree branch blows too close and it flashes over - the circuit breakers trip. Normally, after a few seconds it tries to open the circuit again (it was called "automatic re-close?); if it trips again, it then stays closed and alarms go off. In my job, I had to take possession of a vicinity permit, and they would turn the auto re-close off. At the end of the shift, I'd phone the control centre, and notify them we were clear of the area. Once or twice, I got the call that the line had tripped... and were our guys okay? They were. In that job, you always treat all lines as live, unless you had signed on to a permit that told you otherwise. Edited February 17, 2020 by jukebox 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMS_LNER_SR_GWR_fan2004 Posted February 18, 2020 Share Posted February 18, 2020 A recent find: A JL EVE L6 D90 on the Nursling-Fawley power line. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMS_LNER_SR_GWR_fan2004 Posted February 19, 2020 Share Posted February 19, 2020 Also I found this nicely hidden Balfour Beatty L6 D40EC while on the train to Birmingham. I took a couple of pictures off my phone but they aren’t great. It’s near Stamford 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
7APT7 Posted February 19, 2020 Share Posted February 19, 2020 On 17/02/2020 at 07:58, jukebox said: In that job, you always treat all lines as live, unless you had signed on to a permit that told you otherwise. That makes sense... I thought you were going to say, whoever drew smallest straw, go in to touch it first... of Rock, Paper, Scissors, or who just draw a pack of cards and whoever is the lowest goes to the line and beyond... (like Buzz Light year...lol) Jamie Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jukebox Posted February 20, 2020 Share Posted February 20, 2020 Curious Transmission Line Trivia: 1/. One of the biggest dangers for electric shock was when we built lines parallel to existing ones. Even though they were a good distance away, the induced current was significant, and additional earthing precautions were needed when we strung the conductors. 2/. The other big danger was storms. Not the ones we could see and feel, but ones 10's of km away that could drop a lightning strike on the line. This is also a very real issue for rail workers in remote areas here in Australia: https://thewest.com.au/news/regional/lightning-strike-hits-11-men-in-the-northern-goldfields-ng-b88629156z 2 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshB Posted February 23, 2020 Share Posted February 23, 2020 Morning all, I just googled “model pylons” and ended up spending 2 hours skimming over this post! I work in the electricity industry and was looking to build a small working model of transmission circuit and am now totally inspired! Firstly, we call them “Towers” in the industry. I have it on good authority that the term Pylon was coined from the structures used to climb aboard Airships, when the lattice towers were built for electricity transmission, they looked the same, so people called them Pylons. I can help with some detail if anyone needs sizes/etc... 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold SHMD Posted February 23, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 23, 2020 Hi Josh and welcome. When you say "a small working model of transmission circuit", what do you mean - (baseboard) size, scale, number of Towers, and (most importantly) voltage being carried(!) ? As for being able to supply "some detail", I'm sure all info supplied will be greatly appreciated. Once again, welcome to the forum and, in particular, the Pylons Towers thread. Kev. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
7APT7 Posted February 23, 2020 Share Posted February 23, 2020 (edited) On 19/02/2020 at 21:23, LMS_LNER_SR_GWR_fan2004 said: Also I found this nicely hidden Balfour Beatty L6 D40EC while on the train to Birmingham. I took a couple of pictures off my phone but they aren’t great. It’s near Stamford Hi LMS_LNER_SR_GWR_fan2004 What are the Identifying marks that you can point out straight away to say it's Balfour Beatty L6 D40EC as I'm still learning my Pylon from a Pylon my bum TMI... Doh lol Jamie Edited February 23, 2020 by 7APT7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMS_LNER_SR_GWR_fan2004 Posted February 24, 2020 Share Posted February 24, 2020 Hi Jamie, There are 2 main identifying marks which point out that this is a Balfour Beatty D40EC. The first one is location, they are commonly found on the approach to substations, however the one i saw the other day is a bit odd because it isn't, however very close to it is a D90/DT tower that seems to be at a very odd angle, so there may have been a plan for a substation but it wasn't built. I will list the other examples with pictures as well for reference. The other indication is the top of the tower. It shares the same body and structure as a D60 but the top of a D60 is a triangluar prism shape whereas the D40EC top is a pyramid, like the D30. I will also attach some pics for reference as well. Here's one at Burwell substation, there's 2 here. There is also another one at the former Hams Hall power station: Another one at Sundon substation by the M1: And here is the difference in tower peaks (tops) between the D60 and the D40EC. Picture 1 is the D60 and picture 2 is the D40EC: I hope this helps, All the best, Matthew 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LMS_LNER_SR_GWR_fan2004 Posted February 25, 2020 Share Posted February 25, 2020 Hi all, I have modified some Balfour Beatty L6 plans to suit the two D40EC types. Number 1 is for the Burwell towers and number 2 is for the Hams Hall and Sundon towers. All the best, Matthew 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshB Posted February 25, 2020 Share Posted February 25, 2020 On 23/02/2020 at 09:12, SHMD said: Hi Josh and welcome. When you say "a small working model of transmission circuit", what do you mean - (baseboard) size, scale, number of Towers, and (most importantly) voltage being carried(!) ? As for being able to supply "some detail", I'm sure all info supplied will be greatly appreciated. Once again, welcome to the forum and, in particular, the Pylons Towers thread. Kev. Hello, When we test control equipment, we obviously can’t switch the real switchgear. So we have to simulate it, usually by sticking a beeping meter across a contact! Some more elaborate setups have a series of difficult to interpret LED’s. So I want to build a little model of two substations with a connecting overhead line and bunch of actuators so engineers that come to witness tests can get a proper feel for what’s happening. I can get access to “Tower” drawings and schematics if anybody wants any specific dimensions. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold SHMD Posted February 25, 2020 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 25, 2020 Hi Josh, An interesting project. Earth faults, phase faults, open circuits, high voltage breakdown, high leakage currents, load losses (voltage drops), unbalanced loads, fault currents, lightening strikes... Any more? I only work from a single electron/second (at up to 2984.3eV) up to 24kV dc (at up to 40mA). Nasty stuff! (I once measured an unbalanced 3-Phase (star point) Neutral current of ~2100 Amps - the 1x6cm buzz bar was glowing red!) I use the "beeping meter" method quite a lot and own 3 insulation "meggers" (250V, 500V, 1000V and 2500V ranges between them) and have access to two more (5000V and 30kV ranges -programable). No I'm not a Transmission Engineer, I'm an Instrumentation Engineer. Kev. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pharrc20 Posted February 25, 2020 Share Posted February 25, 2020 1 hour ago, JoshB said: Hello, When we test control equipment, we obviously can’t switch the real switchgear. So we have to simulate it, usually by sticking a beeping meter across a contact! Some more elaborate setups have a series of difficult to interpret LED’s. So I want to build a little model of two substations with a connecting overhead line and bunch of actuators so engineers that come to witness tests can get a proper feel for what’s happening. I can get access to “Tower” drawings and schematics if anybody wants any specific dimensions. Hello Josh, welcome to the Tower thread. I am guilty as anyone calling them pylons I guess but that is what I grew up knowing them and joe public would probably call them the same. Many years ago I acquired an incomplete copy of the 132kV PL Power Line towers diagrams in the 511xx range of numbered diagrams. The index sheet does refer to other tower designs like the L2 and L3s along with many non-standard or specialist towers like river crossings plus the PL1a S single circuit towers none of which were included in the PDF file sadly. So any PL1a S tower diagrams would be useful especially the later ones. Pylon King Paul did post some on here a while ago. Cheers thanks Paul 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
7APT7 Posted February 26, 2020 Share Posted February 26, 2020 22 hours ago, pharrc20 said: Hello Josh, welcome to the Tower thread. I am guilty as anyone calling them pylons I guess but that is what I grew up knowing them and joe public would probably call them the same. Hi Josh and welcome, Yes, I like Paul aka pharrc20, I find the Pylons very interesting, and it's all I have ever known them as to, is Pylons to honest, Josh... (Sorry, if that offends you when you are in this field of work and know them by Name...lol) I am no expert in this field but learning from the experts certainty helps from ones on this thread, when we have a few on here who work in this field, I guess that is quiet literately... haha... Doh! Regards Jamie 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pylon King Posted February 27, 2020 Author Share Posted February 27, 2020 Another PL1S blueprint. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pylon King Posted March 3, 2020 Author Share Posted March 3, 2020 (edited) Just completed - 1:76 scale PL1 132kV pylon, design dates back to the late 1920’s. Edited March 5, 2020 by Pylon King 3 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pylon King Posted March 3, 2020 Author Share Posted March 3, 2020 (edited) PL1 model construction.const Edited March 5, 2020 by Pylon King 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pylon King Posted March 9, 2020 Author Share Posted March 9, 2020 (edited) PL16 plans/blueprints. Edited March 9, 2020 by Pylon King 2 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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