Electric Insulators
Many collectors of electric insulators were pleased to see the internet
become so widespread. Now they can track down the specific type insulator they
need for their collection. Here are details about this interesting hobby.
There is a guy named Mike Parker who just has to have the best article about
electrical insulators and collecting on the internet. Here is some of his
detail.
Mike Parker's Insulator Page
I was born in Portland, Oregon in Feb., 1941. I grew up in the far south
suburbs of Portland. I collected my first insulator in 1948. It was an aqua
Hemingray CD-164. I would set it on the nightstand by the bed and the morning
light from the window would shine through it. I marveled at the year written on
it, "1893". I did not know what a patent date was. I liked the way the
light would show the bubbles and flaws in the glass. I tried to understand what
it was used for.
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Portland General Electric Co. power pole
across from my house where I found my first insulator in 1948.
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West Coast Telephone Co, pole with 16
pin crossarm in 1956.
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Portland Traction Co.
Inter-Urban Trolley at stop near my grade school. Tall cedar
poles at left had 57,000, 11,000, 2,400 and 120/240 volt lines.
Poles on right had 600 volt D.C. trolley feeder and signal and
phone lines. Nothing remains today except for the two buildings
on the right.
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Mountain States Power Co. pole in Bay
City, Oregon using M-2430 multiparts. The line crew there would give me
all the multipart insulators that we could haul away. This pole was a
grown locally cedar and full of knots.
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Old line in Oregon using scarce
gray Thomas M-3158 multiparts. Photo taken
by me in 1953 at age 12.
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At this point, I would like to describe the scene at that time in my
neighborhood and how the insulator was associated with it. We lived in what now
is a well developed suburban area of Portland. But, in 1948, we were far enough
out on the edge of town to be "in the sticks". With the exception of
one or two main streets, the roads were gravel. The power poles were loaded with
aqua glass insulators. In terms of what we know now, there were CD-162 and
CD-164 aquas in use everywhere on the power poles. The primary distribution
voltage was 2400 and used those insulators on both the 2400 and the 120/ 240
volt crossarms. The power pole that served our house was across the street and
visible from our front window. The pole had 5 crossarms on it and every
insulator was an aqua Hemingray except for 2 porcelain dead end spools on the
2400 V. top crossarm. The 2 crossarms in the middle supported an ancient black
transformer. It was cast iron with fluted sides. Two lower crossarms each had 3
aqua CD-164 insulators, one crossarm was parallel to the street and the wires to
our houses came from it. We had 3 individual wires to our house. There was no
heavy, ugly twisted service drops in use yet. I found my first insulator under
this pole, when some were removed by PGE.
On most of the power poles, below the power lines were 16 pin telephone
crossarms, with a single crossarm on each pole. The open wire lines used what I
remember now as CD-106 and CD-115 and CD-121 aqua, green and some clear single
petticoat insulators. Further out in the country from us the West Coast
Telephone Co. had open wire poles of their own, on the opposite side of the road
from the power poles. They had miles and miles of 10 and 16 pin crossarms,
loaded with glass. The side roads had wooden bracket lines with 3 or four pairs
on each pole. Near my house the railroad crossed the river on a huge trestle,
CD-145's galore! My uncle, worked for Pacific Telephone & Telegraph after
coming home from WW 2 and I would pester him constantly with questions about the
insulators and poles. I was a child obsessed with electrical and mechanical
things and was not shy about asking a deluge of questions of anybody associated
with the subject. Linemen, railroad and utility workers were all fair game.
After my dad showed me a 3 wire wood bracket power line he built on trees from a
previous house along a long driveway to the power pole, ( they let you do that
in those days!) using aqua Hemingray CD-134 types, I would not leave him alone
either! All those people would usually give me insulators and suddenly, I was a
smart, but wacky kid that collected ... insulators ... not baseball cards or
frogs! Eventually, my dad ended up with some of the glass from his power line to
the old house and I still have 2 of those today, a Hemingray Standard and a
Dec., 1871. It got so the local linemen from Portland General Electric Co. knew
this inquisitive kid so well that they would give me insulators off the poles
they were working on just to get rid of me and get on with the job. By this
time, I had my own 16 pin crossarms up in a tree in the yard, loaded with glass.
Even though the roads were bad, about a half a mile away was an interurban
trolley line, which we rode regularly. It ran right past my grade school, which
was very distracting. Along the track were very tall cedar power poles. They
were old and some leaned precariously. On the top was a 57,000 volt line with
big multipart insulators. The next crossarm was 11,000 volts and used big aqua
glass CD-289 Fred Locke and CD-282 Hemingray Provo insulators. I would have done
almost anything to get one of those and I let the linemen know that. They would
tell me hair-raising (literally) stories about how the hair on your arm would
stand up when put near those 57,000 volt wires and about the poor lineman who
got wrapped up in a live wire that fell during a storm and fried to death as a
human coil. They taught me respect for power lines and that I could not just
shinny up a pole and grab any jewel that I wanted. Across the track were more
poles that held up the trolley wire and carried telephone and signal lines with
some glass mixed with mud and best of all, the 600 volt trolley feeder line,
supported on various types of Mickey Mouse ears and bat wing glass insulators,
many of them CD-257. Of course, in addition to pestering the linemen, I homed in
on every streetcar conductor and worker with a barrage of questions, often
resulting in free rides. I knew every car by paint job and number and most of
the operators. My neighbors, friends and people in the area, by now, regarded me
as sort of a "different" kid.
PROGRESS CAUSES CHANGES
Some years went by and now it is the early '50's. Progress was coming. Most
of the stuff I described in previous paragraphs was being replaced. The
telephone company took down most of the open wire crossarms and replaced them
with cable. They would leave the job for the day with the crossarms and
insulators just laying under the poles, sometimes for a week on people's front
lawns. By now I had found a couple of friends with similar interests and we
formed an ... Insulator Club! Our sole purpose was to enjoy collecting the
different jewels and carry away as much discarded insulators, crossarms and
hardware as we could pack away. I remember a whole street with glass on the
ground, left for the day, SF and Star ponies galore. By, the next day, we had it
all cleaned up for them! One of the power linemen suggested that we go the
company warehouse in Portland and talk to them. He was sure that they would give
us all of the insulators we wanted. Since we were too young to drive, we would
get one of our dads to drive us there. I remember filling the trunk with so many
insulators that the tires looked flat. The streetcars were going away and now we
could pick up those Mickey Mouse insulators and the big aqua Converse jobs. Our
collections were growing into the hundreds. I took many pole photos with my
trusty Brownie.
My grandparents had a big beach house and motel at the Oregon coast near
Rockaway Beach and my sister and I would stay there most of every summer while
our parents were relieved to be rid of us for a while. The insulators there were
very interesting and once again, I was out pestering the lineworkers. The
telephone lines were mostly open wire with a lot of purple Whitall Tatum
CD-154's and the Coast Guard had their own crossarm of open wire above the
telephone wires along Highway 101. The power company was in poor shape and
replacing many storm ravaged poles. I got to know the line crew and foreman and
they would give me the big multiparts they were replacing. My grandmother was
just learning to drive, in her old age and a good excuse to get her out to
practice was when I would guide her to the spot where the Mountain States Power
Co. crew was working. They would fill up the trunk of her little '51 Chevy with
multiparts and we would be on our way! I got to know the power serviceman very
well. One day he drove up in a brand new '52 Ford service truck, olive green
with Reddy Kilowatt signs on both doors.
He let me ride with him all day on his service calls, answering my barrage
of questions. What company would do that today? What with insurance,
regulations, etc. But nobody seemed to worry, back then. During those days, I
found my first gray M-3158 multipart insulator, in the brush under a pole. This
find is now documented in Elton Gish's new book, "Multipart Porcelain
Insulators 2nd Edition". I now have the only insulator of this type
reported, but hope to find more for other collectors.
COLLECTION GROWS AND WE ARE FAMOUS
(also see my photo
scrap book page 2)
By 1954, our collections grew to phenomenal proportions. We were finding
spots where old power insulators were replaced and having our mothers drive us
50 miles from town to be in the right spot at the right time. We now named the
club the lofty title: Pacific Northwest Power Co. We had our own 40 foot power
pole, erected in one member's back yard. We talked my dad into loading the pole
on his pickup and trailer and hauling it there. We dug the hole, set the pole,
rigged it with pole steps, crossarms and a transformer case, fuses and
insulators. I made many drawings and I was typing letters to all the power
company executives on the West coast, telling them about us and how we wanted
insulators. They would send nice letters back, along with promotional literature
and items and of course, insulators. I remember getting two white Imperial
porcelain U-935-B's, a CD-286 Locke and a gray Victor M-4325 multi, all in one
shipment. In Portland, the folks at the Pacific Power & Light Co.
newsletter, the "Bulletin" found out about us and came to the house,
photographed us and the insulators and published a nice article with photos,
about us in the March, 1954 issue. I remember the neighbors, peering into the
backyard, wondering what those "abnormal boys" were up to, with
photographers and reporters. One gentleman, at Victor Insulators Inc., wrote
asking what kind of Victor insulators we had and if we had any half-glass, half
porcelain insulators. I think they wanted some for the company archives. I
didn't even know there was such a thing! I should have been in northern
California!
WE "GROW UP" AND LOSE IT ALL
In 1957, now in our mid-teens, we started driving and working on our cars.
Girls, beer and parties became more important than insulators, Our collections
pretty much just disappeared, neglected and lost in the woods. Fathers and
mothers just sort of "cleaned that stuff out of the yard". I now have
less than 10 pieces from my "kid collection", lost some I really would
like now and have 1 or 2 that I am glad I hung on to. One member's dad buried
them in an old well. He now swears he is going to go to his dad's and dig them
up someday!
A HOBBY FOR A LIVING
In the early 60's, after I got out of the Air Force, I took all the military
electronic communications knowledge I had and started working for some
independent telephone companies. I started out as a lineman and later graduated
to an installer-repairman. I had my choice of any insulators that I could find
and started collecting again. I also worked for the railroad as a lineman and
worked on many open wire lines. We would clean the poles of 3 or 4 crossarms of
old glass and put up a new single pair open wire line on side brackets. The
foreman didn't care if we re-used old insulators on the new line, as long as
they were good and I remember putting up nice CD-145 beehives and CD-151's on
brand new wood brackets! And yes, even that line is mostly gone now and couldn't
stand the onslaught of microwave communication. But, my collection was growing
again!
SECOND COLLECTION BEGINS
In the 1970's, I worked, traveling on the road in many Western states and
had my climbers and belt in the van at all times, never missing the opportunity
to "rescue" some old power or telephone insulators with no wire
around. I walked local power lines and found multiparts in bushes. My second
collection was growing fast. I patrolled many old power lines in the Northwest
and "let myself in" to many old substations. Insulators and hardware
were filling up my back yard now and inside my own house. Once again, friends
and neighbors wondered what I was doing! It is the same way nowadays only my
neighbors know that I am an electrician and electricians are supposed to have
stuff like that!
In the early 1980's, I had an opportunity to rescue one of the old wooden
streetcars that we rode when I was younger. It was being used as a rental cabin
and scheduled to be destroyed. I joined the Oregon Electric Railway Museum and
we trucked old car 1067 to our "Trolley Park" in the mountains, west
of Portland. Here was a volunteer group with a large property operating trolleys
by overhead electric wire on over a mile of track. The wire was supported on
over a mile of wood poles also. They needed lines built for power, telephone and
signals and I now had a place to put up all of the crossarms and insulators that
I wanted. We built a nice looking open wire line and I had the choice of putting
up jewels in a wide variety of types and colors. I was still climbing poles then
and got plenty of exercise. In 1996, the museum lease was up and the whole
facility was dismantled and moved to it's present location at Brooks, Oregon,
just north of Salem. Once again we are now putting up poles, wire and
insulators. We are building almost a mile of a replica 22,000 volt power line
along the track using mostly donated M-2430 and M-2435 multipart insulators.
This line terminates at a wooden structure outdoor substation that we are also
building. It will not be energized but captures the historic look of an
operating electric railway. We have received material donated by many well known
insulator collectors all over the country. I am really too old to climb poles
safely anymore and we now use a bucket truck for this.
AND NOW, THE PRESENT YEARS
Last year, I joined the Jefferson State Insulator Club, the only insulator
club I have ever belonged to besides my own! A great bunch of people that have
made some monumental discoveries. But as you might suspect from the last
paragraph, I am not a full time insulator hobbyist. I am more of a
multi-hobbyist with an interest in antique trolleys and autos, radios,
phonographs, electric organs and telephones as well as any old electrical item
that fascinates me. I still work 8 hours a day and am a homeowner with a 1912
house that needs this and that all the time. I have a very understanding wife
(to a point!) Candice, that puts up with all my weird hobbies. I think that
those are her words! So I don't have time for insulators constantly. I do enjoy
doing research on old local power lines and searching for specific insulators
from those lines. I feel extremely lucky to remember the old lines the way they
were when I was young. Things have sure changed and the jewels that used to
glisten in the sun, supporting important wires, are now glistening in the sun at
swap meets and on the computer screen, supporting important collections.
Thanks for taking a few moments to read this and please, enjoy this hobby.
There are some great (abnormal!) people in it that dare to take an interest in
something different. Some very important and permanent pieces of the insulator
puzzle have been put into place in the last 20 years, all due to dedicated and
constructive research by individuals seeking and documenting the truth.
Mike Parker
Written by Mike Parker,
multipartmike@yahoo.com
This site is made possible by generous donations
from ICON members.
Site Index
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The complete reference site for all aspects of insulator collecting. The
site contains hundreds of photos, book and magazine listings, clubs, shows,
ICON and much more.
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Im working on the set-up of my site right now, it will be ready in a few
weeks. Come visit me then. Thanks.
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This is our family web site, named after the master of our house, Sir
Paws. Insulator stuff can be found in the Litter Box (where some might argue
that it belongs?).
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A collection of photos and miscellaneous items related to collecting
insulators including a large database of orignal insulator patent drawings.
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A fun site that is a travelog of sight seeing and insulator collecting.
Come along and see where I went this month!
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Here is an opportunity to visit the most complete porcelain threadless
collection ever assembled. Every known style is represented, many extremely
rare, even some "one of a kind."
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Still in construction phase, but don't let that stop you. Come on in and
visit. Photos of my Lynchburg collection, Lois' strains and arrestors, shots
of the London/Springfield traveling show and much, much more.
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My online porcelain signal display. Featuring . . .34 manufacturers, 27
pages of No Names signals, 5 pages of pics from fellow collectors, a grand
total of 78 pages with over 560 individual insulator photographs for your
viewing pleasure.
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Site Construction in Progress
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Home of the Unknown Insulator! Can you identify him? We need help! Come
on in.........
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This site was created to share with others some of the things that are
important to me, collecting Insulators, Bottles, Fruit Jars, Date Nails and
Transit Tokens. Take a tour and enjoy. Comments are welcome.
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The place to come for all your insulator download needs. Includes Icons,
wallpapers, cursors, screen savers, and some goodies to insulatorize Windows
XP
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Pictures of my collection plus various poles in service
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Photos and stories about our collection of Insulators, Go-Withs, High
Voltage Signs, Surge stuff and much much more. A little about us, our first
sales table, our first show display and on to a few suggestions for the new
collectors. Come on in and visit, there’s no admission charge, no pop up
banners and no annoying ads.
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Insulator collecting in general, insulator pins for sale, trading
insulators as an alternative to spending money, and more to come soon
(including lots of photos).
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The work is in progress right now, but i should have something a little
better in a few days.
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Carl's insulator page. A bit about me,what I collect, my favorite
insulators, my want list and a link to my forsale's list. Still under
construction.
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Photos of my glass and porcelain insulator collection and local power
lines in service.
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My collection of Glass insulators for the world to see. I also have some
porcelain, rubber and plastic.
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We welcome you to this site to gain knowledge on the fundamentals of
safe pole climbing. (Note: this is presented for information purposes only!)
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Frantisek has the biggest collection in Europe, in Czech Republic. He
has 5000 different Insulators, and old electric things. He collect all type
of Insulators, from the 3 mm long rods to the big 3 metre long strains,
include the pin, rod, suspension, spool, radio, and all of types.
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insulator collecting in southwest Virginia
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My personal insulator collecting homepage. I am currently concentating
on Australian and foreign glass. Lots of reference information and photos
on-line. Now featuring an "Insulator of the Month" page. New
photos and information being added all the time.
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Current projects and insulator info from the Virginia artist Gill
Pollard.
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Insulator collecting in Europe. On this page are lot of photo from my
collection, for the most part European Insulators. On this page are
information of European Insulators and list from the European Insulator
collectors. I hope lot of Insulator collector will find lot of new friends
in Europe.
H. I. P.
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Here is my collection of porcelain insulators that I hope to identify
and sell/trade for glass pieces. If you can identify any of the porcelain
pieces for me please email. insulatorguy@mb.sympatico.ca
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...or what's left in the Old Dominion! Site includes photos of select
pieces of the webmaster's collection, recent hunts and finds, various
history, as well as pieces found, or in, the collections of close friends.
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A presentation of my entire collection. Each insulator is pictured,
along with typical catalog information such as when and where it was
acquired, color, condition, description and more. There's also a short
description of how I started collecting, descriptions of displays I have
done over the years, and my want list.
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Learn about how I got started collecting, what I specialize in, and view
some photos of my collection.
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Insulator collecting in Western Australia. Features images of Insulators
in, or out of service. I also have photographs of my collection.
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A website featuring one insulator collector's collection of mostly glass
insulators. Includes CD listings, show reports, and lots of photographs of
insulators.
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Website devoted to insulator collecting. Photos of some of our
collection, collecting stories, and section on building tools for collecting
insulators
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New site by a new collector (as of 3/2002). The main aim of this site is
to provide some basic info and tips to those who are new to or interested in
collecting insulators. Over time I will continue adding photos of my own
collection as well.
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Listing of North American glass factories that did, or are believed to
have produced, glass insulators for telephone, telegraph and electric power
lines. Includes full company names, dates of operation, and other background
information of possible interest to collectors of antique insulators,
bottles & fruit jars as well as other types of glass. Also includes a
list of glassmakers' marks seen embossed on bottles, and information on 19th
century Louisville, KY glass factories. This site is new and I will
frequently be adding more material, so please check back often! Thank you!
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Updated 6/6/03!!! Added Cece's page! I will add new pics of my insulator
collection soon! Enjoy my page and please e-mail me if you think it can be
improved. Happy Collecting!
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A site with pictures of Corning Pyrex insulators.
All matter is made up of atoms, and atoms are made up of
smaller particles. The three main particles making up an atom
are the proton, the neutron and the electron.
Electrons spin around the center, or nucleus, of atoms, in
the same way the moon spins around the earth. The nucleus is
made up of neutrons and protons.
Electrons contain a negative charge, protons a positive
charge. Neutrons are neutral -- they have neither a positive nor
a negative charge.
There are many different kinds of atoms, one for each type of
element. An atom is a single part that makes up an element.
There are 118 different known elements that make up every thing!
Some elements like oxygen we breathe are essential to life.
Each atom has a specific number of electrons, protons and
neutrons. But no matter how many particles an atom has, the
number of electrons usually needs to be the same as the number
of protons. If the numbers are the same, the atom is called
balanced, and it is very stable.
So, if an atom had six protons, it should also have six
electrons. The element with six protons and six electrons is
called carbon. Carbon is found in abundance in the sun, stars,
comets, atmospheres of most planets, and the food we eat. Coal
is made of carbon; so are diamonds
Some kinds of atoms have loosely attached electrons. An atom
that loses electrons has more protons than electrons and is
positively charged. An atom that gains electrons has more
negative particles and is negatively charge. A
"charged" atom is called an "ion."
![[graphic of electons in wire]](http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/story/images/chap02_wire.gif "Graphic - Calif. Energy Commission.")
Electrons can be made to move from one atom to another. When
those electrons move between the atoms, a current of electricity
is created. The electrons move from one atom to another in a
"flow." One electron is attached and another electron
is lost.
This chain is similar to the fire fighter's bucket brigades
in olden times. But instead of passing one bucket from the start
of the line of people to the other end, each person would have a
bucket of water to pour from one bucket to another. The result
was a lot of spilled water and not enough water to douse the
fire. It is a situation that's very similar to electricity
passing along a wire and a circuit. The charge is passed from
atom to atom when electricity is "passed."
Scientists and engineers have learned many ways to move
electrons off of atoms. That means that when you add up the
electrons and protons, you would wind up with one more proton
instead of being balanced.
Since all atoms want to be balanced, the atom that has been
"unbalanced" will look for a free electron to fill the
place of the missing one. We say that this unbalanced atom has a
"positive charge" (+) because it has too many protons.
Since it got kicked off, the free electron moves around
waiting for an unbalanced atom to give it a home. The free
electron charge is negative, and has no proton to balance it
out, so we say that it has a "negative charge" (-).
So what do positive and negative charges have to do with
electricity?
Where
Does the Word 'Electricity' Come From?
Electrons, electricity, electronic and other words
that begin with "electr..." all originate from
the Greek word "elektor," meaning
"beaming sun." In Greek, "elektron"
is the word for amber.
Amber is a very pretty goldish brown
"stone" that sparkles orange and yellow in
sunlight. Amber is actually fossilized tree sap! It's
the stuff used in the movie "Jurassic Park."
Millions of years ago insects got stuck in the tree sap.
Small insects which had bitten the dinosaurs, had blood
with DNA from the dinosaurs in the insect's bodies,
which were now fossilized in the amber.
Ancient Greeks discovered that amber behaved oddly -
like attracting feathers - when rubbed by fur or other
objects. They didn't know what it was that caused this
phenomenon. But the Greeks had discovered one of the
first examples of static electricity (see
Chapter 3).
The Latin word, electricus, means to
"produce from amber by friction."
So, we get our English word electricity from Greek
and Latin words that were about amber.
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Scientists and engineers have found several ways to create
large numbers of positive atoms and free negative electrons.
Since positive atoms want negative electrons so they can be
balanced, they have a strong attraction for the electrons. The
electrons also want to be part of a balanced atom, so they have
a strong attraction to the positive atoms. So, the positive
attracts the negative to balance out.
The more positive atoms or negative electrons you have, the
stronger the attraction for the other. Since we have both
positive and negative charged groups attracted to each other, we
call the total attraction "charge."
When electrons move among the atoms of matter, a current of
electricity is created. This is what happens in a piece of wire.
The electrons are passed from atom to atom, creating an
electrical current from one end to other, just like in the
picture.
Electricity is conducted through some things better than
others do. Its resistance measures how well something conducts
electricity. Some things hold their electrons very tightly.
Electrons do not move through them very well. These things are
called insulators. Rubber, plastic, cloth, glass and dry air are
good insulators and have very high resistance.
Other materials have some loosely held electrons, which move
through them very easily. These are called conductors. Most
metals -- like copper, aluminum or steel -- are good conductors.
READ MORE ABOUT IT!
Here are some additional websites to check out.
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BrainPop
(http://www.brainpop.com/science/electricity/electricity/index.weml)
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Brief
History of Electricity - Great English website from
The-Education-Site.com, which provides information and
resource material related to key areas of the UK national
educational curriculum.
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Electric
Universe (http://csu.electricuniverse.com/html/index.html)
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History
of Electricity - Author unknown (http://historia.et.tudelft.nl/wggesch/geschiedenis/electricity/)
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What
is Electricity - William J. Beatty (www.amasci.com/miscon/whatis.html)
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©
2003 California Energy Commission. All rights reserved.
Have fun. That is the goal of many of the offerings here at ElectricianEducation.com.
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