The LNER Encyclopedia

Sometime within the next year (that's near future for me) I might get around to planting the telegraph poles (I have the 30s/40s/50s in mind here). But what I can't get a clear picture of is what happens close to tunnel mouths. Were the lines taken underground at these points, or might they climb the embankment to go over the tunnel. I'm thinking probably not in the cases (probably typical) where the land over the tunnel was not railway owned.

Typically the pole either side of the tunnel would have been a terminal pole, with the wires terminating in a wooden location near the portal. The circuits would then have been carried through the tunnel on cables, usually on iron hangers fixed to the tunnel walls.

Hey - that's great. Thanks for the info Flipper, well worth the wait. (I've no excuse not to plant them now). So what about under bridges. I guess the lines would go over those if practical.

In general, I'm guessing that overhead wires were preferred by the lineside on the grounds of expense. To run a cable, the wires would have to be insulated. I guess back in the 30s this would have been done by factory wrapping each wire with paper and petroleum jelly (or something similar), probably quite expensive at the time. (Actually, I think even modern multi-core cable is very expensive). Any thoughts?

Best wishes
Tim.

Multi core cables are expensive especially now as the price of copper has gone through the roof!

Underbridges would probably have been spanned by the pole route, unless road traffic or other conditions made that impractical. Otherwise the same solution would typically apply, a short length of cable between locs, laid on iron hangers (although I have seen examples where the circuits have been carried under the bridge in a short length of concrete route).

I recently saw a couple of lengths of 1940's vintage LNER signalling cable dug through by a JCB - luckily it was long since out of use. Each core was rubber insulated within a rubber outer - the insulation was still quite pliable, although 60 years in the ground had left it a little the worse for wear in places !

LNER 7 Core Signalling Cable 1

LNER 7 Core Signalling Cable 2

These days it's typically only telecomms type cables (twisted pair) that are jelly filled (vaseline). Signalling cables haven't changed much since the latish LNER examples above.

I've seen lengths of buried LNER era signalling cable with a lead sheath, presumably for mechanical protection, although this may have had a rubber outer at some point. Possibly more pertinent to your original question, I've seen the ghostly outlines of some 1900's vintage cable which ran across a viaducat on hangers between two poles in a route. These appear to have been covered in layer upon layer of painted on bitumen !

Regards

Shawn

Shawn - great pictures and thanks for those comments, that clears a few things up for me.

best
tim.