Tag: pylon

#365daysofbiking Damper and dampers

November 23rd – Another headache-grey wet day, with a better ride out than expected. I drifted over to Chasewater in the constant drizzle to visit the model shop there, and then went up the causeway to the North Heath.

With barely a soul around, and it actually being quite warm, it gave me chance to take in the misty, grey atmosphere that Chaewater can and does wear so very well.

I studied the power lines with their anti-harmonic and anti-gallop dampers, and wondered at the stress – both mechanical and electrical – they must be under in conditions like these.

And in the scrub and marsh there was muted colour – but colour all the same – in the foliage of the heather and marshgrass, and the marcescent  oaks that pepper the ridge.

The fresh air felt good in my lungs and I’m starting to not mind the rain either – the sort of meteorological Stockholm syndrome one only gets at the end of winter or during very wet summers.

Some cold weather might be nice, though.

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September 28th – Although not as dramatic, the following sunrise was also beautiful as I rode through Mill Green. I love the shape and drama of pylons and radio masts at any time, but against a good sky they always look fabulous,

It was a good ride into a challenging wind, which is developing an all too familiar chill at the moment.

The year really is closing in fast now. 

September 11th – Then there was Staffordshire itself: just trying on it’s autumn coat, it was beautifully languid, with surprisingly vivid colour. The church at Newborough remains stunning, but oh, how red were those apples?

A great 60 miler on quiet roads and backlanes it what must surely be this summer’s last breath.

March 27th – Sunset over the Tame Valley canal, looking from Rushall Junction at Ray Hall, out to Wednesbury, with the twin spires of Wednesbury clear on the skyline.

People say that pylon ruins this view. On the contrary, I think it makes it. What built the Black Country – canals, power and church. All in one shot.

A great ride and beautiful, but chilly evening. 

July 11th – If you fancy a free, breathtaking aerial entertainment display, get your backside down to the Tame Valley Canal, and just look up.

High tension lines run along the canal from a control compound at Ocker Hill to another at Ray Hall, and this interlink is currently undergoing service. Huge scaffold towers and nets span roads, canals and railways, to support lowered lines; engineers scramble and dangle high above from the steel lattice-work, oblivious to the toe-curling peril they appear to be in.

They work quickly and with precision amongst a baffling array of hawsers, catenaries, safety lines and fall arresters, materials and tools being hoisted ip in a sack via a block and tackle hoist. 

And below? I watch, open mouthed at these confident, sure-footed and highly skilled engineers. Whatever they’re paid, it can’t possibly be enough.

June 5th – In virtually the same spot as the deer, I spotted a kestrel hunting. It did that thing they seem to do; floating, almost static in free air, studying it’s prey on the ground with a gimlet eye, before thinking better of it and returning to it’s pylon perch. These are lovely, graceful birds that seem increasingly populous here. Or maybe I’m just noticing them more. Either way, they’re wonderful, and like the deer, I could watch them for hours.

November 17th – An early finish from work, and a spin over from Chasewater to Cannock Chase. As the sun set over Norton, I surveyed the scene from the Cannock Road near Cuckoo Bank. As you may have gathered now, I’m fascinated by the signs of technology that dot the countryside – transmission masts and pylons in particular. A symbol of the modern age, to me they’re awe-inspiring, mysterious and, in their own way, beautifully elegant. Some folk regard them as ugly and a blot on the landscape, but I feel they’re a symbol of our progress. 

September 26th – The crews working on the overhead electricity line running over Mill Green seem to be wrapping up now – the scaffold support towers have been dismantled, and the warning signs have gone from the lanes of the area. There is still the odd vehicle parked near pylons in fields and gateways, however, as stuff is collected and tested. On my way to work this morning I spotted this hank of cable in a field gateway near Little Aston, and resolved to photograph it when I came home. I wondered why such a huge quantity of wire had not been stolen for scrap… then I checked it out. It’s not electrical wire, but multicored fibre optic cable. I hadn’t noticed before, but this seems to be wound around the bonding wires – the very top ones – between towers on the transmission line. Routing such cables in this way must be a good earner for the operators of the National Grid, as they can carry huge amounts of data, and the route is very direct without the hassle of digging. Genius.

July 1st – I see the work to upgrade the electricity transmission line from Ray Hall to Drakelow continues apace – this is the same line that I’ve been watching in South Staffordshire. Here at Great Barr, the line is being rerouted to the south a few hundred yards. A new pylon has been erected, and the lines are being transferred over. Fascinating stuff.