Green Cove

[nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org]

In a message dated 11/6/04 11:11:43 PM Eastern Standard Time, asketh Larry 
Smith:

>>
I'm building a model of the green Cove station and want to put up the 
power pole.  How many insulators did the crossarms have at the station. 
<<

Larenzo, My Son !

Them ain't "power" poles.  Them be telegraph and/or telephone poles !  They 
carried communications circuits, now AC power.

The "Rural Electrification" program didn't get to remote areas like Green 
Cove until sometime between the very late 1930s and the early 1950s.  And when it 
did, "commercial power" was dropped into each station building directly by 
the utility, and NOT hung on the railroad's pole line.

A number of railroad depots still had hand operated water pumps up until 
around 1960.  And when you gave close attention to the "commercial power" (i.e. 
"electricity") connections, you could tell that they had been run into the 
buildings as an after thought.

As to the number of wires carried on Abingdon Branch pole line, several 
people just answered that question on this Holy List by saying they have photos of 
pole line with 4 insulators.  Ergo, 4 wires.   Since the Virginia Carolina RR 
(a.k.a. the "Abingdon Branch") was built "late" and apparently equipped with 
those new-fangled telephone thingies (rather than Morse Telegraph) from its 
inception, 4 wires would represent two telephone circuits.  A teleGRAPH circuit 
used one wire on the pole line, and the earth as a return path.  But telePHONEs 
used two wires for a circuit.  (Which is one reason that railroads were 
loathe to replace good, reliable Morse circuits with telephone stuff... it required 
twice the number of wires for the same amount of circuits ! )

There were a limited number of places where railroads hung "power" (usually 
4400v AC) on their pole lines.  But rather than get into a lengthy disquisition 
about that topic here, you can request the tutorial upon said topic if'n ye 
so please.....  Suffice it to say that the Abingdon Branch was NOT one of those 
places.

-- abram burnett
        ( Morse Telegrapher ! )

(... and if you think you detect me grousing a bit about those blab-blab 
telephones, you are right ! )
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