Pylons .

[L2's are great!]

14 hours ago, Daniel Beardsmore said:

This is a clearer view:

 

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@58.5596734,-3.6069703,3a,20.8y,109.74h,96.18t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1smZ1Ow5Ei7aHsxxJ7ZuqCag!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

 

It’s like a cross between L12 and L2 (I thought it transitioned to L4 from that last photo).

 

Google Street View from 2009 shows just 132 kV PL16, while Open Infrastructure Map shows 132 kV and 275 kV side by side between Dounreay and Thurso. Street View now shows only the baby L12s, so this suggests that the 132 kV line was replaced by 275 kV and that Open Infrastructure Map was drawn during the interim period with both there, before the PL16s were dismantled. (Between Redbourn and Luton there is a de-energised line that has been left unused for years!)

 

This in turn implies these are baby L12s, i.e. a new(er) 275 kV type based on L12, possibly as there was insufficient justification for larger, heavier 400 kV towers. Essentially a redesigned L3 I suppose.

 

Designation: unknown. Nice find!

Ahh yes the Dounreay - Thurso Line , It makes sense that they're of L8 variant although strangely at Saltend they link to an L12 DJT. Seeing as L8 and L12 were designed at the same time, it would not surprise me if this was almost a smaller cross design between the both of them.

[Elaine]

Following the thread of loosing pylons, an interesting sight greeted us at Dunford Bridge on the Woodhead Line in late July, National Grid are decommissioning 7 pylons, and putting all lines underground on the approach to the tunnels, they call it "restoring the landscape". the Trans Pennine trail has a temporary footpath, hope to return later in the year and do some more photos.

[Daniel Beardsmore]

What a fascinating sight — they have turned a transmission line into an art installation, even if only temporarily! It’s like one of those beach sculpture sets, and you had the perfect weather to offset the towers in the photos.

 

You out pylon spotting or, like me, just a photo opportunist? A lot of the photos I’m putting together now were just taken as a matter of fascination with no intention to do with them what I am doing now.

 

I assume these are Blaw Knox L6. I am just going by these diagrams, but the bracing does not entirely match:

 

https://twitter.com/PaulRee36122250/status/1447170086784094208/photo/2

 

Each side of the centre crossarm¹ has four bracing triangles, but only three in the diagram. Errors in these details are confusing, but enough of the details match that it seems correct. The deviation tower does not match; the diagram has a PL7-like inverted triangle in the peak.

¹ I am guessing that each pair of arms forms one crossarm, based on existing wording in various material, but what does that give you for PL1 single circuit towers? Three arms instead of three crossarms?

[pharrc20]

11 hours ago, L2's are great! said:

Ahh yes the Dounreay - Thurso Line , It makes sense that they're of L8 variant although strangely at Saltend they link to an L12 DJT. Seeing as L8 and L12 were designed at the same time, it would not surprise me if this was almost a smaller cross design between the both of them.

I think that L12 DJT is a recent addition, according to Open Infra Maps it is Hedon 275kV but no other links unless it is intended as a future link to one of the offshore windfarms or interconnectors? The L8s continue south for a few more towers until terminating on familar L8 DT towers at Saltend North and South substations.

 

I haven't come across any other diagrams for these L8RD towers other than what Daniel has posted.

 

Cheers Paul

[pharrc20]

11 hours ago, Elaine said:

Following the thread of loosing pylons, an interesting sight greeted us at Dunford Bridge on the Woodhead Line in late July, National Grid are decommissioning 7 pylons, and putting all lines underground on the approach to the tunnels, they call it "restoring the landscape". the Trans Pennine trail has a temporary footpath, hope to return later in the year and do some more photos.

Thanks Elaine, one place I had planned to visit but alas not going to get there in time. Interesting fact is that when this line was first erected back in the 1960s they put up a temporary line of these L6 towers up over the moors between Dunford Bridge and Woodhead and strung the towers with single insulator strings and twin conductors instead of the usual twin insulators and quad conductor bundles. This remained so until the old railway tunnel bores had been converted one for the 400kV cables, the other as a service access tunnel. Then the towers up on the moors were gradually taken down. Prior to this an L132/L55 towered 132kV ran over the moors from West Melton to Hartshead power station, near Stalybridge. 

 

Cheers Paul

[Daniel Beardsmore]

53 minutes ago, pharrc20 said:

Prior to this an L132/L55 towered 132kV ran over the moors from West Melton to Hartshead power station, near Stalybridge.

 

 

What do you know of L55? All that I know is that L16 is shown with mirrored crossarms, while L55 D2° is only drawn with one side of each crossam, allowing for the rotationally symmetrical crossarm types that you see in Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire. (I have never seen the mirrored crossarms like the tower bible shows for L16.)

[Elaine]

Just having a few days in the Peak District and wanted to be able to say I had walked a small bit of Woodhead as it closed as I was just getting my first train set, not expecting to be greeted with National Grid taking the place apart, I agree, looks like an art installation, pleased with how the photos came out considering only taken on my 4 year old Apple phone.

[L2's are great!]

20 hours ago, Daniel Beardsmore said:

What a fascinating sight — they have turned a transmission line into an art installation, even if only temporarily! It’s like one of those beach sculpture sets, and you had the perfect weather to offset the towers in the photos.

 

You out pylon spotting or, like me, just a photo opportunist? A lot of the photos I’m putting together now were just taken as a matter of fascination with no intention to do with them what I am doing now.

 

I assume these are Blaw Knox L6. I am just going by these diagrams, but the bracing does not entirely match:

 

https://twitter.com/PaulRee36122250/status/1447170086784094208/photo/2

 

Each side of the centre crossarm¹ has four bracing triangles, but only three in the diagram. Errors in these details are confusing, but enough of the details match that it seems correct. The deviation tower does not match; the diagram has a PL7-like inverted triangle in the peak.

¹ I am guessing that each pair of arms forms one crossarm, based on existing wording in various material, but what does that give you for PL1 single circuit towers? Three arms instead of three crossarms?

These are indeed Blaw Knox L6s

[L2's are great!]

Just now, L2's are great! said:

These are indeed Blaw Knox L6s

However the DT tower is of JL Eve design

[Daniel Beardsmore]

4 hours ago, Elaine said:

… pleased with how the photos came out considering only taken on my 4 year old Apple phone.

 

I am not sure I would be satisfied with the focal lengths. My busted old relic is said to have 35.6–107 mm range, although EXIF shows it capped at 105 mm (3× optical). Fine for many occasions but it’s not uncommon to find an interesting sight that is just too far away. For example, the L4 DJT I found that I just can’t get near! I can zoom in enough to demonstrate what it is (matches the diagram nicely) but far from a clear and detailed photo. (The other problem is when you can’t far enough away, but that is less common.)

 

What surprised me is just how noisy a 1/2.3″ sensor still is: even a dazzling blue sky is still beset by noise, and I came to realise that the noise removal algorithm is why my camera’s photos lack sharpness (mine is a smaller 1/2.5″). That and the Bayer interpolation of course — all makes a difference when you only have 5 MP to play with. (You seem to have a choice: noise or blur. Some things have stopped improving — like how my new IPS display has the same 8 ms response time as the I one I bought 12 years prior! Or per-thread CPU speed …)

 

Depending on the make, a larger 1″ sensor (not 1″ diagonal or even close, of course, that would be too obvious) seems to be able to lower the noise level, but then you’re looking at a level of expense far in excess of what is justifiable for some poxy pylon galleries … (and I have no smartphone at all — hate the things — no mobile phone at all).

[L2's are great!]

One of my photos of the 4TE line, which still has its original bracings

Edited September 9, 2022 by L2's are great!

[pharrc20]

2 hours ago, L2's are great! said:

However the DT tower is of JL Eve design

I am guessing as time went by in the 1960s the CEGB picked the best of the tower designs from J.L. Eve, B.I.C.C., Balfour Beatty and Blaw Knox and on some lines used them together. A shame they can't be saved but hopefully they might be reused if they are dismantled section by section and taken down rather than just being cut and pulled over to collapse onto the ground.

[pharrc20]

20 hours ago, Daniel Beardsmore said:

 

What do you know of L55? All that I know is that L16 is shown with mirrored crossarms, while L55 D2° is only drawn with one side of each crossam, allowing for the rotationally symmetrical crossarm types that you see in Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire. (I have never seen the mirrored crossarms like the tower bible shows for L16.)

I am not certain of where the L55 designation originated but will look throigh my info or phone a friend who might just know

[Daniel Beardsmore]

5 minutes ago, pharrc20 said:

I am not certain of where the L55 designation originated but will look throigh my info or phone a friend who might just know

 

I have a low-resolution photo of a copy of a fax of the GEN OHL 132/L55 D2° general arrangement diagram, and it seems to be the same as the “J. L. EVE” type in the tower bible that was manually annotated “[illegible]/L16”. Either there are two designations, or there is some kind of difference. The designations are obscure, but there are loads of them in Herts and Beds.

[SHMD]

Does anyone remember a piece by either Look-Northwest or Granada-Reports, from a quarry near Buxton, where the tested Tower Designs to destruction?

I'm guessing this would have been in the 1980's, but could have been slightly earlier.

Might be on YouTube now I guess.

 

 

Kev.

 

[pharrc20]

1 hour ago, SHMD said:

Does anyone remember a piece by either Look-Northwest or Granada-Reports, from a quarry near Buxton, where the tested Tower Designs to destruction?

I'm guessing this would have been in the 1980's, but could have been slightly earlier.

Might be on YouTube now I guess.

 

 

Kev.

 

There used to be a CEGB tower testing station near to Cheddar Gorge that was used to test existing and new tower designs to destruction. Maybe this is the quarry you are thinking of? Yes there is or was an Open University type film made that I saw once online somewhere... will have to find it.

 

Cheers Paul

[SHMD]

1 minute ago, pharrc20 said:

There used to be a CEGB tower testing station near to Cheddar Gorge that was used to test existing and new tower designs to destruction. Maybe this is the quarry you are thinking of? Yes there is or was an Open University type film made that I saw once online somewhere... will have to find it.

 

Cheers Paul

 

I'm sure it was more local to Manchester - but I might be mistaken.

I will undertake "search" this weekend as it was/is relevant to this thread - where ever it was!

 

 

Kev.

 

[pharrc20]

1 minute ago, SHMD said:

 

I'm sure it was more local to Manchester - but I might be mistaken.

I will undertake "search" this weekend as it was/is relevant to this thread - where ever it was!

 

 

Kev.

 

There is the 'Elf n Safety place up near Harpur Hill on south side of Buxton that is or was used for explosives testing and other such things. 

[SHMD]

1 minute ago, pharrc20 said:

There is the 'Elf n Safety place up near Harpur Hill on south side of Buxton that is or was used for explosives testing and other such things. 

 

Oh yes, I seem to remember that vid too. Maybe, (After 40 years), I am mixing the two!

 

I am looking online now...

 

 

Kev.

[Daniel Beardsmore]

A few photos from pylon hunt 6, Bushey. PL16 D2 (“Scottish” type), D60 and D90:

 

 

PL16 D60:

 

 

L2 DT45 at Elstree Substation (quite a monster!), with PL16 DT and L2 DT on the right:

 

 

L2 D30, E-something:

 

 

L2 D60 M-something — those go-around-the-insulator cables are impressively low — had me worried at first until I remembered that this is only 275 kV:

 

 

The photos today show that the L2 plans found here (not named as such) are drawn a bit coarse and don’t show the crossarm bracing properly. They also don’t show the front-back taper of the DT45 crossarms.

[Daniel Beardsmore]

One for the PL1 fans (something I just stumbled across in Google Images):

 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pylon_near_Hall_i'_th'_Wood_railway_station.JPG

 

Follow this line northwards from Hall i' th' Wood railway station in Street View or in person for anyone in the Greater Manchester area — some interesting PL1 towers there. Some S10° suspension towers (supposedly abbreviated S10S, but not on the erection diagram) although none with any sideways pull on the insulators like the double-circuit ones in the south. Even the tower at the station is interesting — kind of like a PL1 DT90, maybe an ST90.

 

At 53.612497° N 2.40826° W there is a curious tower: the lower two arms are at the same level.

 

Also at that station is an L7 or L7c D90, one of the D90s I have yet to add to my collection. (So far I only have Eve 132 kV, L4 or L4m and PL16. No L2 D90 around here.)

 

[Daniel Beardsmore]

On 04/09/2022 at 20:59, pharrc20 said:

Yes there a few L4 towers that are used in a modified form usually to replace former PL1 S towers where diversion or replacement has been necessary in the past.

 

 

What I depicted was more like an ST, analogous to L2 ST, although the L2 plans shown here are not quite clear.

 

I did find some actual L4 S, S30 and an S60, which I have now diagrammed accordingly. They start here:

 

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@53.7073744,-2.4115037,3a,46.9y,283.2h,94.78t/data=!3m9!1e1!3m7!1s_0JOUNqDk34GU6ZaEG81bw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192!9m2!1b1!2i29

 

In this general area there are two of those towers: D10-like towers being used as DJ or DJT (not sure what the difference is, as I have seen both terms used). Looks a bit like a hybrid between L16/L55 and PL16. Any idea what this should be classified as?

[pharrc20]

Another variation on the S version of the L4M using alternate crossarms on each side to try and mirror the positioning of the original PL1b S towers. England

https://maps.app.goo.gl/6vkQXjpFtDS75AmXA this one is near Wrinehill south of Crewe, one of several replacement towers on this section of the line. I used to live not far from that PL1b ST90? and L7 D90s just to the north of Bolton and did a visit to them one day some years ago. Cheers Paul 

[Daniel Beardsmore]

Thanks. Diagrams added. (There is also an S30 a little further along in Madeley, same deal.)

[Daniel Beardsmore]

15 hours ago, pharrc20 said:

I used to live not far from that PL1b ST90? and L7 D90s just to the north of Bolton and did a visit to them one day some years ago.

 

Idle speculation: there were two PL1 single-circuit types in the tower bible, neither one being included in the circulating copy: EE PL1 and CE PL1. There may also be SS PL1, based on the few plans recovered to date, unless I have misinterpreted that. Possibly PL1b denotes one of the single-circuit types formerly known as PL1 in an attempt to keep the two types separate. I don’t call anything PL1 or PL1b at the moment unless they clearly match the data available, and so far the data is too limited to be able to do in most cases.