Power Lines' most read articles

The end of IPERNITY may be near - I fear the time has come for us to search for a new site to host our photos. www.ipernity.com/blog/team/4642052 Anyone have any ideas? Should we dust off our old FLICKR accounts?

UTILITY REFERENCE DIRECTORY Updated June 29, 2014 Here is a grand list of all the utilities I have photographed over the years. You can reach my photos of each utility by entering their corresponding "search name" into the search box for my photos. Utilities A list of utilities, with the seach name in parantheses: ALABAMA 1. Alabama Power Co. (Alabama Power) 2. Dothan Utilities (Dothan Municipal) (3) CONNECTICUT (Includes "fallen flag" utilities that have…

I have been thinking a bit about doing a big line safari in the Boston area some time this June. Nothing is set in stone, but I'd like to get back up there some time as there are many old 4160V poles with glass insulators in the area. If you all can help me get a list of at least 20 pole destinations together (Street view is a good tool for finding good power poles remotely), I'll do the safari. I'm thinking of structuring it to be similar to my big Pittsburgh and Con-Ed safaris. Any t…

Today's Pole of the Day is an interesting one--it consists of many poles as a matter of fact! Here, you can see two transformer banks mounted on wooden platforms in a very interesting pole structure! I'm thinking these poles and platforms went up in the late 1930's or the 1940's, judging by the solid copper wire, old Westinghouse lightning arresters, and the wooden pins. If you're into old-skool linework, I think this is going to be right up your alley! Chock full of goodies. If you'…

A while ago last summer, I visited Jamestown and Newport in Rhode Island, and was greeted with a power grid full of goodies! Their electric power is provided by National Grid, and they run 34.5kV subtransmission with 2400/4160 multigrounded Y for distribution. A 4.16kV open Y distribution line (likely once 2.4kV ungrounded single-phase) departs from a three-phase trunk line riding under a 34.5kV subtransmission line. While I was there, I took a nice little drive around town to ph…

Here are two amber glass CD-167 insulators, which were made by Armstrong, on a pole in Middlebury carring a 4.8kV single phase distribution line from the Connecticut Light & Power Co: www.ipernity.com/doc/connecticut_power_lines/16107275

I have some unfortunate news regarding HELCO's old Goodwin Lane substation in East Hartford, CT. This sub, which stepped 23 kV down to 4.8 kV delta for local distribution, has been placed out of service and is in the process of being dismantled by EVERSOURCE Energy. All of the old pothead risers from the two-phase era surrounding this substation are now gone: The additional 4.8 kV circuit that left the sub on aerial cable is now gone as well: It appears that EVERSOURCE Energ…

I am planning to embark on a big safari to Norwich, CT later this week or this weekend. Norwich has a municipal utility that features a lot of interesting 4.8 kV construction. If there are any specific poles you would like me to photograph around there, please post their addresses on Street View and I'll add them to my list.

A 12.47 kV distribution line on Robinson Point Road near Bagdad, FL is being rebuilt from the ground up. All new poles, wires, and insulators, with the exception of this voltage regulator bank: It appears that the voltage regulator bank, including its old brown insulators, will be recycled on the new line. What makes this line more significant than others is that it hosts two rare robin's egg blue cutouts. I have only found three of these in service in the past five years! I hav…

UPDATE - The safari is now finished and I will be uploading its photos over the next couple weeks. An opportunity has arisen for me to take a trip to Pittsburgh to help out some friends in a move in the middle of November. This means a safari will be on the way! Priority number 1 will be to get photos of Duquesne Light's wooden 'birdhouse' cutouts. Please feel free to post any Google Street View links to poles that you would like me to photograph. OFFICIAL LIST…

I'm wondering what may constitute the all time worst pole ever photographed by any of us. I'd say that these poles are among the worst ones that I've ever taken pictures of: Anybody have any worse poles in their photostreams?

I just posted up some new photographs I took of some interesting electric distribution poles in the Brewton, Alabama area. Highlights include some extremely short 24.9 kV distribution poles, two blue-bushing transformers, and some very heavy-duty 4.16 kV construction at the T. R. Miller lumber mill. Enjoy!

I have uploaed some photos that I took today in Connecticut. Many of them feature old poles that have been in my photostream for some time, but recent changes from EVERSOURCE Energy are evident in many of them. One interesting example is this pole here, which had a fiberglass arm replaced by a wooden arm: I have also taken and shared what may be the last pictures of this old pole: One of its glass insulators has slipped off of the wooden pin and I fear its days are numb…

This might be interesting: www.ipernity.com/help/faq/album#360

It seems that a deal has been struck with the Ipernity Members' Association for a transfer of ownership of the site. So now, the money raised by the membership association (IMA) can be used to settle the company's debts and keep the site running. We're not quite out of the woods yet, but I think today's developments have been a major turning point.

PRICHARD, AL (Utility: Alabama Power Co.) •399 Diaz St. - 4.16kV substation: goo.gl/maps/mVhJU •1012 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive - 12kV with 4.16kV underbuild: http://goo.gl/maps/thkYF •111 Joffre St. - LM Obround transformer: http://goo.gl/maps/IjEow •1722 North Wilson Ave. - Westy & old GE in service: http://goo.gl/maps/esioa •1506 North Wilson Ave. - Another Westy in service: http://goo.gl/maps/TEKo0 •1162 North Wilson Ave. - Cast iron Westy & early L-M arresters: ht…

I have unfortunately had to add over thirty pictures to the Powerline Graveyard today after seeing some rather extensive pole replacements going on in Oakville, Connecticut. A notable line to bite the dust is this early 13.8 kV substansmission line that featured unusual Westinghouse insulators: Another unfortunate pole that has now gone is this 1920s-vintage CL&P pole with PINCO insulators: The new additions to the group can be viewed here: www.ipernity.com/group/28554…

It appears that a good chunk of people have chipped in to help keep Ipernity afloat into the future, with over $13,000 raised in four days. With that in mind, I have decided to resume posting pictures on Ipernity, but in a slightly different way than I did originally. I will continue to use Flickr for all my new uploads, as it still remains the optimal choice for long-term cloud storage. However, I will post duplicates of each of those photos here onto Ipernity using the Flickr Import…

Connecticut Light & Power will be no more come February 2015, nearly 98 years after its founding in 1917. CL&P, along with all other Northeast Utilities subsidiaries, will be morphed into one utility bearing the name Eversource Energy. www.courant.com/business/hc-northeast-utilities-eversource-energy-20150107-story.html Judging by recent trends, it appears that this new "Eversource Energy" will be using fiberglass arms and 35kV Hendrix visetop insulators on all of their new construction.…

NEWARK: 896 Bergen Street: Three-phase bank of cast iron transformers: goo.gl/LRO56A 208 Johnson Avenue: 4-on-the-arm glass insulators: goo.gl/AqvmQ2 274 West Bigelow Street: Intersection between aerial cable and Hendrix spacer lines: goo.gl/3F1M57 CLARK: 61 Brant Avenue: Old three-phase "all in one" transformer: goo.gl/Pgfaj2 251 Westfield Avenue: Interesting spacer line deadend: goo.gl/QQMF59