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{{IOTW |number=CD 244 |date=Mon, 21 Apr 2008

| nickname = 
Pomona; Westinghouse Pomona; 244 Crosstop

| patents = 
(related) 
{{Patent
| type = Utility
| number = 517,634
| patentee = George H. WINSLOW
| date = April 3, 1894
}}

| details = 
'''Embossing''':  none.

'''Colors''': Only found in light to medium purple.

[http://www.insulators.com/photos/photos/244-pur.htm Purple CD 244]

===Comments===
It appears that the large bell-shape design of the "Pomona" was to accommodate the use of a separate oil cup, however many were evidently installed without the cup. Broken specimens have been found with the oil cup actually molded out of the inner skirt (I believe these were found in Colorado).

[http://www.insulators.com/articles/high-tension/page02.htm High Tension Page 2]

Known areas of usage are near Telluride, CO; Bodie, CA; and Pomona/San Bernardino, CA. Two mint Pomonas were found in a Los Angeles area antique shop back in 1986---they were previously used as lamp shades on small table lamps! On the Bodie, CA line the Pomonas were only used on the top steep ridge poles (CD 162 Brookfields were used elsewhere). With two Pomonas used at each ridge point, it is estimated that as few as a couple of dozen Pomonas may have been installed on the 13 mile line. Here is a photo of one that survived: {{PicturePoster |id=213375100}}

These brief comments on the Insulator of the Week are not intended to be complete and are presented to encourage discussion and additional information from ICON. Now it's your turn to share info and/or post a photo of your CD 244!

| discussion = 
{{Comment
| name = Bob Stahr
| date = Mon, 21 Apr 2008
| comment = 
I can add the following from an article on the Pomona line that appeared in
the New York Times:

The New York Times

New York, NY, Sunday, August 25, 1895
vol. 44, no. 13,731, p. 20, col. 1-3

..............It is needless to say that great care, was taken with the pole
line, or running track, for this lightning sprinter. There are, in reality,
two transmission lines, one 13 3/4 miles to Pomona, and the other 28 ¾ miles
to San Bernardino. Each is built of No. 7 B. & S. gauge of copper wire. At
first it was intended to use insulators with oil in their curled rims, but
the builders of the line fell back on a double-petticoat, flint glass form,
which has answered admirably. As a matter of fact, the oil would not last
long in the blistering sun of that region. The poles are Santa Cruz redwood,
23 feet long, and set 125 feet apart................
}}

{{Comment
| name = James Doty
| date = Tue, 22 Apr 2008
| comment =
<blockquote>CD 162  Brookfields were used elsewhere.</blockquote> 

Having walked this line, They also had 287 locke on it or used for  replacements.
Also found was a nice iron pin with cast lead threaded top.
}}

{{Comment
| name = James Doty
| date = Tue, 22 Apr 2008
| comment =
[http://members.aol.com/milstkr2/EYECANDY/244.jpg Another picture of 244]
}}

{{Comment
| name = Bill Meier
| date = Tue, 22 Apr 2008
| comment =
There is another interesting article in The Electrical Engineer

New York, NY, Wednesday, July 31, 1895, vol. XX, no. 378, p. 116

LONG DISTANCE TRANSMISSION AT 10,000 VOLTS - The Pomona Plant

.........
The wires are supported upon large double-petticoat flint-glass
insulators designed for this plant. These insulators are of perfectly
clear flint-glass, which gives a better surface-insulation than is
attainable with any other kind of glass.

It was at first proposed to use oil insulators. The reason they were
not used was because the glass companies which had undertaken to
furnish them found on trial that they could not make them without
considerable experimenting, which would have delayed the installation
of the plant. This was no doubt fortunate, as the country through
which the line passes is subjected to hot, dry winds which not only
blow dust onto the insulators, but also inside them, and during the
day the sun beats on the insulators until they become so hot that
they nearly blister one's hands. If oil were used under these
conditions it would soon evaporate and thicken, and become filled
with dust. It would therefore seem undesirable to have used oil
insulators in this case, or to use them in any other until an
increased voltage makes them necessary, and the transmission of
greater amounts of energy over the circuits justifies the additional
expense necessary to keep the insulators in good condition.
.........

Note the comment that the insulators were made of perfectly clear
glass!!! Thus, these we have in the hobby have no doubt turned purple
in the sun...

Does anyone know what shade variations, if any, we see in the Pomona's?

I guess it also says that flint glass is better than other types of
glass because water doesn't adhere to it as well?
}}

{{Comment
| name = Brad Dahlquist
| date = Tue, 22 Apr 2008
| comment = 
The Pomona was one of the first 'radical' insulators I had ever seen. In
1972 my friend Ray Richter came into the antique shop that I hung out at
after school. He'd been on one of his insulator road trips and had a box
of nice insulators. He unwrapped a Pomona that I recall had about 3/4 of
the outer skirt cleanly missing but was otherwise very nice. I was
amazed. Here was an insulator that had not one, but several desirable
features all in one; it had a 'cross top' it was 'hi-voltage', it was a
'large glass' type, and it was purple to boot! I remember him saying
that even in that condition, it could go for $50! I often wonder what
happened to that piece. Hope it was never repaired.
}}

{{Comment 
| name = Rick Soller
| date = Tue, 22 Apr 2008
| comment = 	I have one of the Pomona's with an oil cup.  Perhaps they deserve a new
CD number since the oil cup is molded into the inner skirt.
}}

{{Comment
| name = Lee Southern
| date = Tue, 22 Apr 2008
| comment = 
The following text is from a book entitled "Electric Power Transmission
Plants and the Use of Electricity in Mining Operation" written by Thomas
Haight Leggett, published in 1894.  It is in reference to the line at the
Standard Consolidated Mining Company at Green Creek, near Body, Mono County,
California.


Wire-Line

The length of the line is 67,760 ft., or 12.46 miles. The poles are of round
tamarack timber, 21 ft. long, 6 in. in diameter at the top, set 4 ft. in the
ground; poles 25 ft. long being used through the town, and along the line
wherever there is danger of deep snowdrifts. They are placed 100 ft. apart,
and fitted each with a 4 by 6 in. cross-arm, boxed into the pole, and held
by one bolt and lag-screw. The object of chamfering the ends of the
cross-arms is to leave less room for the lodging of snow under the
insulator.

The line crosses extremely rough country, not 500 yds. of which is level
beyond the town limits. Most of the ground is very rocky, over 500 lbs. of
dynamite being used in blasting the pole-holes.

The wire is of No. 1 (B. & S.) gauge, soft-drawn bare copper, and is
attached to standard, double-petticoat, deep-groove glass insulators carried
on Klein patent iron pins. The distance between the wires is 3 ft. 8 in.,
and there are over 16.5 tons of copper in the line. The only objection found
to the iron pins is their liability to be withdrawn from the cross-arm
during a gale of wind, whenever there is an upward pull on the wire. To
obviate this a number of pins were drilled with an 1/8 in. hole near the
end, and in all such places these were used, and held firm by driving a wire
nail through them.

The wire was first attached to the insulators by tie-wires of No. 10
galvanized iron wire. Later it was found advisable to insulate the linewire
at the insulators, and for this purpose ordinary sheet-rubber 1/8 in.thick,
such as is used for gaskets, was cut into strips 1.5 in. wide and 12 in.
long. These were wound spirally about the wire and held in place by two
close wrappings of Manson's tape. The whole was then well daubed with
asphalt paint, and the insulated wire re-attached to the insulators by
tie-wires of No. 6 weather-proof copper wire.

The line crosses a number of very steep ridges (from 300 to 800 ft. in
height), and on these the wire necessarily pulls heavily on the top pole,
and especially on its pins and insulators. In all such places the ordinary
double-petticoat insulators were replaced by the large "Pomona" insulator,
on which the wire is carried in a groove across the top, and its weight is
therefore directly down upon and in line with the center of the pin.

The line has given no trouble whatsoever, and has carried the high potential
of 3,000 volts without a leak, even during a severe storm of ten hours'
duration, the rain changing to sleet and ice toward the end; but this severe
test, it must be admitted, occurred after the wire had been wrapped at the
insulators as described. In fact, one of the chief objects of this
insulation was to render the line proof against just such a storm as this.
Snow-storms have no effect whatever.
}}

{{Comment 
| name = Brent Burger
| date = Tue, 22 Apr 2008
| comment = 
This is news to me.  How about a photo ?
}}

{{Comment
| name = Dwayne Anthony
| date = Tue, 22 Apr 2008
| comment = 
James wrote regarding the Bodie line:
I believe these were CD 287.1 Lockes in light blue. They were added
later at the top of the pole on side pins when the line was upgraded
from single-phase to three-phase. The original insulators were the CD
162 Brookfields (dome arc/skirt date) and the CD 244 Pomonas, all
mounted on steel pins with lead threads.
}}

{{Comment
| name = Caleb Thimmel
| date = Tue, 22 Apr 2008
| comment =
The Colorado line extended from the power station near Ames to the Gold King
mill- a distance of 2 1.4 miles. There were 62 poles with each using two cd
244 double petticoat Pomona's mounted on the top crossarm, two triple
petticoat Locke cd 287 insulators on the middle crossarm and two double
petticoat porcelain U-744 General Electric insulators mounted on the bottom
crossarm.  The large glass insulator used in Colorado was the same as the
one used on the Pomona and San Bernardino plant. (Sources: Elton Gish
multipart Porcelain Insulators Second Edition, 2000; and Transactions of the
American Institute of Electrical Engineers, Vol XV, 1898).

When was the line upgraded from single phase?
}}

{{Comment
| name = James Doty
| date = Wed, 23 Apr 2008
| comment =
No, I think there 287.
I will have to look for the broken piece to compare with the book  picture
}}

{{Comment
| name = Andrew Gibson
| date = Wed, 23 Apr 2008
| comment =
Bill commented
<blockquote>
"Note the comment that the insulators were made of perfectly clear
glass!!! Thus, these we have in the hobby have no doubt turned purple in
the sun... "
</blockquote>
But what exactly does "perfectly clear flint-glass" actually mean?  There
are people who will say that "clear" is not a color, it is the state of
transparency.  As such, the Pomonas definitely are very "clear" in the
sense of transparent.  Theoretically, there's nothing to say that they
couldn't have been purple when put up to begin with.

I'm not sure what the 1895 concept of "clear" was.  Does anyone have an
idea?
}}

{{Comment
| name = Rick Soller
| date = Wed, 23 Apr 2008
| comment =
I've added to my web site a picture of the CD 244 I own with the oil
cup.  Unfortunately it is nowhere near complete.

[http://www.collectinginsulators.com/CDs/CD244-1.html CD 244 with oil cup]
}}

{{Comment
| name = Robin Harrison
| date = Wed, 23 Apr 2008
| comment=
Awesome!  I never knew that specimen existed.  Do you know which line it 
was found on (since at least one article mentions the oil cup NOT being 
used)
}}

{{Comment
| name = Brent Burger
| date = Wed, 23 Apr 2008
| comment =
I know these Pomonas are common as 42's and a person can get tired of looking through piles of them looking for that one "odd" one with the oil cup, but it really is worth the effort, right ?

Right.

Thanks for posting this.  I never knew these existed like this !
}}

{{Comment
| name = Andrew Gibson
| date = Thu, 24 Apr 2008
| comment = 
<blockquote>
"This is a CD 244 with an oil cup so it seems it would need a new CD number since the oil cup is fused to the insulator."
</blockquote>

Is the oil cup a separate piece that is somehow "fused to the insulator", or is that an integral piece with the rest of the insulator (similar to the way the CD 180 Liquid Insulator oil cup is formed)?
}}

{{Comment
| name = Justin Byers
| date = Thu, 24 Apr 2008
| comment = 
Hello ICON      We've been talking about insulators with oil cups and what not. What the story behind the 245 Oil insulator in the 2003 price guide?
}}

{{Comment
| name = Brad Dahlquist
| date = Thu, 24 Apr 2008
| comment = 
The same kind of 'clear' when used for windows, bottles, food jars, and so on.
}}

{{Comment
| name = Rick Soller
| date = Thu, 24 Apr 2008
| comment = 
The oil cup seems to be fused to the insulator.
}}

{{Comment
| name = Andrew Gibson
| date = Thu, 24 Apr 2008
| comment =
I'm not Woody so this isn't official in any way, but I would tend to suspect that this wouldn't/shouldn't get a new CD number.  The 142.4 has an inside piece that is cemented in place somehow, but it is listed as a 142.4 with or without the glass insert (according to the McDougald's Price Guide, anyway).  Other CDs certainly exist with an "extra" piece (albeit not attached in anyway), such as the 211 or 180.5, and they are certainly the same CD whether or not the extra piece is there. 

Does it appear "fused" in the sense of it was attached while hot (so the glass pieces fused together), or does it appear to be cemented somehow? 

Either way, that's a really neat piece to see -- thanks for posting the pictures!
}}

{{Comment
| name = Andrew Gibson
| date = Tue, 29 Apr 2008
| comment =
Who made the CD 244, and when?

From all the article documentation, it would appear that these insulators
were installed on lines around 1894/1895.  On these lines, it "was at
first proposed to use oil insulators. The reason they were not used was
because the glass companies which had undertaken to furnish them found on
trial that they could not make them without considerable experimenting ".
That seems to say that the design of the insulator was a new one, since
the glass companies had to experiment to make something that would work.
In my mind, that seems fairly obvious that the CD 244 design originated
around 1894.

So who made them?  I seem to recall that someone (William McLaughlin?) had
a recollection of producing large power insulators at the Valverde Glass
Works operated by Robert Good.  Robert Good arrived in Valverde in 1895,
and certainly by 1897 was producing insulators.  McLaughlin worked there
starting in 1897.  These dates are close to the 1894/1895 time when the
Pomonas were installed, though perhaps a little late.

Are there any other theories as to who may have made these insulators?
}}

{{Comment
| name = Paul Greaves
| date = Wed, Apr 30 2008
| comment = 
I think the large glass power insulator type made by R. Good is most 
likely some of the CD288 Mershons.  Specifically, the triple ridge type, 
and the single ridge type marked just "By R.D. Mershon".  They were 
found on a line in Colorado that I remember reading a historical 
reference that said the insulators had been specially made for it.  The 
quality of their glass also seems consistent with R.Good.  (There are 
also some unmarked CD288s that look old & crude, is it possible that 
Good was also associated with these?  I don't know... it seems 
possible.)

The CD244 on the other hand are very high quality glass, and extremely 
well made.  I think the main (original) installations of the CD244 
"Pomona" were all associated with Westinghouse... some of us in the 
power history area of interest have speculated that either Westinghouse 
made them, or contracted someone to make them.
}}

{{Comment
| name = Andrew Gibson
| date = Wed, Apr 30 2008
| comment = 
According to the McDougald's Volume 1, the Westinghouse Electric &
Manufacturing Company operated their own glass house from 1896 to 1898.
They made the WESTINGHOUSE embossed insulators, styles 2, 3, 4 and 6 (not
the Telluride types from Hemingray).  The Pomonas seem like they were
installed in 1894/1895, so a year or two before Westinghouse would
actually have been making insulators themselves, if those dates are
correct.  On top of that, the only "purple" that Westinghouse is known to
have made is the "purple tint" CD 113, which (though I've never seen one)
seems like it would be a considerably different color than the relatively
dark purple the CD 244 comes in.  It seems more likely to me that they
would have contracted someone else to make them.

Do you think that Westinghouse may have made their own insulators prior to
1896?

Thanks for the thoughts!
}}

{{Comment
| name = Paul Greaves
| date = Wed, Apr 30 2008
| comment = 
I have no idea!  I would lean toward the idea of them contracting 
someone else to make them though... perhaps that is what inspired them 
to try making their own glass for a while?  It is interesting that the 
article stated "the glass companies which had undertaken to furnish them 
found on trial that they could not make them without considerable 
experimenting"... perhaps Westinghouse approached several glass 
companies in their attempt to get them made?
}}

{{Comment
| name = Caleb Thimell
| date = Wed, Apr 30 2008
| comment = 
"The plant for supplying the town of Pomona, CA with engery has the
distinction of being the first long-distance high-potential plant in this
country. A waterfall on the
San Antonio River, about sixteen miles due north of Pomona, furnishes the
enrgy for operating the generating-station. ...*The line consists of *No.7
B&S hard-drawn bare copper wire, supported on the top of* special double
petticoat glass insulators, designed by the Westinghouse Company for this
particular installation.* The insulators are placed on iron pins set in
cross-arms upon redwood poles. The line rests in grooves directly over the
pins, so arranged as to almost entirely relieve the insulator from lateral
stresses. Oil insulators are not found to be necessary, as the climate of
Lower California is sufficiently dry to render but little danger from
moisture leakage..." (The Electrical Transmission of Energy: A manual for
the Design of Electrical Circuits" by Arthur Vaughan Abbott, published
1895).

So whoever made the Pomona insulators (at least the ones used in California)
were designed by Westinghouse prior to 1895. And this article further
suggests that the oil version Pomona insulator originated for trial on the
transmission line in Colorado which receives a lot more rain than Southern
California. Further evidence comes from the fact that the Colorado plant was
installed in 1890 while the Pomona plant was installed in 1891.

"In the Mill Creek Power House No.1 of the Redlands Electric Light & Power
Co., near Redlands, California, installed in June 1892, and first put into
operation on Septermber 7, 1893, were two hydro-electric three phase units,
each of 250 kw ouput, ....These were the first three-phase generators made
in the United States, and this was the first three-phase transmission system
to be put into service in the United States. (Transactions of the
International Engineering Congress, 1915)

So it would seem to me that all of the insulators used on the transmission
lines in California and Colorado with Pomona insulators were all made prior
to 1893.
}}

{{Comment
| name = Caleb Thimell
| date = Wed, Apr 30 2008
| comment = 
I just re-read Bob Stahr's quote from NY Times article which states oil
version (cd 244) insulators were originally planned for the California line
but (paraphrasing) they realized the hot sun would render them worthless for
their intended purpose. So its possible they were originally designed for
use on both California and Colorado lines, but perhaps only tried them out
in Colorado after already having them made.
}}

{{Comment
| name = Elton Gish
| date = Wed, Apr 30 2008
| comment =
[[http://www.collectinginsulators.com/CDs/CD244-1.html]]

I sent Woody the photos and he said he had the information on his PC that
was stolen.  He said, "assuming it's the same as 244 except for the oil cup,
I've entered it as CD 244.3.

Rick, can you please send Woody (via snail mail) all the overall dimensions
so he can complete is file on this style?
}}

{{Comment
| name = Reini Criss
| date = Thu, 1 May 2008
| comment =
I was thinking about the question about the ponoma insulators mostly being
purple, yet being marketed as "clear flint glass", and I realized that the
definition of "clear" in insulators was if one could see through the
insulator.  I came to this conclusion because the Hemingray catologues all
say that Hemingray insulators were made of "clear glass".  The catalogue is
online somwhere, and I think it is on hemingray.info but I am not sure.
Just throwing out an idea.
}}

}}
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