INSULATOR GLASS
Everything today runs on electricity. If there's a human activity, there's a
device to make it faster, easier, or simpler. And they all requires a power
source. Since electricity doesn't get generated in your house, it comes from a
power plant, and to get it from there to you requires wires. Lots & lots of
wires. In the early days electric lines were run right next to railroad lines.
It was convenient & economical. But how did those wires and cable manage to keep
the electricity going down the line?
In a word: Insulators. Above you'll see two pictures of insulators
along a railroad track just down the road from me. To insulate means "to
separate or cover with a nonconducting material in order to prevent the passage
or leakage of electricity, heat, or sound." Communication and electric line
wires in service must be kept as dry as possible in order to function
efficiently, and to cut down on loss of current. The wires are kept off of the
ground by being strung between poles. But something was needed to keep the wires
and (sometimes wet) poles apart. This "something" had to meet three basic needs:
- it must be made of a fast-drying nonconducting material
- it must be able to hold the line wire in place
- it must stay on the pole
This "something" was the insulator. It was developed and improved upon over
the years to meet those basic requirements and:
- it is most commonly made of glass or porcelain
- it has a wire groove to accommodate the line wire
- it has a pinhole which fits onto a pin (which in turn is attached to the
cross arm on the pole)
Porcelain insulators had their start when local potteries began making
telegraph insulators in the 1850's and 1860's. These crude early pieces were
usually thread less and were produced in much lower quantities than their glass
counterparts, and few have survived the years. Beginning in the 60's people started collecting them. Most insulators are quite common and
have little monetary value. The first step in determining the value of an
insulator is to determine which insulator you have. Even with a
price guide
in your hand, you have to determine which of the approximately 460 shapes, 2800
different embossings, and almost 9000 color combinations best describes your
insulator. (And those numbers don't even include any
foreign or
porcelain insulators!)
The following rules apply to logging a find on this cache....
- One log per user.
- Once a log has been made, that track may not be
used for 5 miles in either direction on that track. No other tracks nearby may be used if
they parallel the track in question. Tracks nearby but not parallel are fine.
- You must locate a pole with at least one complete row of insulator glass on
it visible. Your gps must be in one of your pictures.
- Just because there's a RR tracks near you doesn't mean it still has the
poles or that they have the glass. This may take some tracking down & I doubt
the internet will help you.
- Do not take unnecessary risks. Do not trespass. Do not walk on active rr tracks. This is geocaching, there is no grand prize of a million
dollars worth risking your life over.