Although
the Niagara power plant was huge, the 1896 transmission line was a modest affair
– it only carried 2000 horsepower for 22 miles. The Folsom line had, more than a
year earlier, carried 4000 horsepower almost the same distance. But Niagara had
a lot of publicity going for it. For that reason it was instrumental in removing
the last possible doubts that high-voltage, polyphase alternating-current
systems would be the dominant energy supply for the world.| In late 1900, a new line was constructed to transmit more power at 22kV. A new insulator, the U-966 manufactured by Thomas, was used. It was stronger than the original insulators and stood up under the higher voltage. The image below, thanks to Elton Gish, shows the original crossarm end with a U-937 helmet mounted in its original position. The crossarm and its story appeared in Issue # 11 of Power Line Explorer Journal. |
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U-966 |
U-934 |
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Niagara Crossarm with Helmet |
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