 | Big Power at Folsom, CA This 1895 plant produced 4000 horsepower - ten times more than Willamette Falls, Pomona or Mill Creek. The transmission line ran 21.5 miles to Sacramento and operated at 11,000 Volts (11kV). A special insulator, the U-701, was chosen to support the wires on this line. It is 4.4 in. diameter and 5.5 in. high. |
U-701 | |
 Original Folsom Pole Line | |
| Paul Greaves supplied this photo of the line (right). The power plant survives to this day. Although it is no longer in service, it has been made into a State Park. A number of rare insulators can be seen on the grounds, but none of the original U-701. The line became the earliest transmission of Pacific Gas & Electric when that company was formed in 1905. |