Friday, October 09, 2015

Glass Insulators

Andy | Friday, October 09, 2015 | Best Blogger Tips

Continuing from yesterday's posting... I spotted these glass insulators on the poles beside the railway tracks. Walking along a rail line in Ontario you might get lucky and see the insulators on aging wooden telegraph poles At one time they were a very common sight. The earliest insulators were developed with the growing telegraph line network initiated in 1844.

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Insulators were originally designed to keep the wires linking telegraphs and telephones insulated from the wooden poles that held them aloft. Made from glass or porcelain in a dazzling array of shapes and colors, including amber, cobalt blue, olive green, and royal purple. Today they are prized for their rarity and physical beauty and may sell for thousands of dollars.

18 comments:

  1. Nice find Andy. Completely disappeared here. Everything underground.

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  2. Very nice photo's with the light just falling on the insulators.

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  3. What great old posts and insulators, I can see why they would be collect able...

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  4. Belas fotografias.
    Um abraço e bom fim de semana.
    http://andarilharar.blogspot.pt/

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  5. I sometimes see these insulators in antique shops. Wish all of our power lines were underground!

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  6. Expensive, but putting these cables underground, I think, would save the power companies and consumers a pile of money.

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  7. I don't see them much around here anymore, but I do have a few that were dug up or found years ago. I always wanted a blue one, but all of mine are clear.

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  8. I brought a whole box of the home from an auction this summer. Some are really beautiful!

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  9. About the only place you'll find these these days is in antique shops!

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  10. Wow, great catch. I haven't seen any of those in many years.

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  11. Surprising that no one has climbed up to take them down, Andy!

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  12. I've seen them on those posts... I didn't know the term off hand.

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  13. I have a friend who has them in her birdbath for a splash of color and sparkle...nice find!

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  14. What a find! I don't think I've seen any of these in place anymore, just on display.

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  15. Now I understand what you said in your previous post..
    This has to be very very old.
    Really interesting find.

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  16. Around here insulators are used for targets by shooters.

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