Tag: pole

April 22nd – An electrical mystery I really have no clue about. An overhead three-phase line runs across the Carterfield Lane junction at the bottom of Sandhills, Shire Oak, supplying farms and homes with electricity. Recently, secondary poles have been installed at seemingly random intervals, actually between the conductors, and a little higher then them, whit a protruding object from the top. 

The tops of the poles are sheathed in plastic, and they support nothing.

The only thing I can think is they’re lightning conductors. Does anyone know what they are for? Installing them between the lines like that must have been a very tricky job.

A real head-scratcher.

March 8th – It’s been a varied week; today I found myself visiting Great Bridge. I was in a hurry to get there, and went straight through Walsall and Wednesbury along the main roads. On my return, it seemed like a decent afternoon, so with time to spare I hopped on the canal at Brickhouse Lane and headed along the Tame Valley Canal. At Toll End, I passed the rear of the old MEB headquarters – now owned, I believe, by Central Networks. One of the many things they do here is train overhead linesmen, and to do that you need a forest of poles with an assortment of equipment. I’ve passed this spot when there have been ten or so trainee engineers working up in the air. An odd spectacle.