Electricity - pedantic linguistics

[Alan T]

I spent my working life in a national electricity R&D centre, and many of the engineers and scientists there were even more pedantic than me. Several of them insisted that most power line supports were not 'pylons'; they were 'power towers', or 'transmission line towers', because the word applied only to ones shaped like the Greek letter 'pi'.

As the Greek word apparently means 'gateway', or 'gate tower', I think they may well be right.

These are common in the UK as wooden poles with a metal crossbeam, but now a little unusual in steel. Here is a fine specimen I spotted on the way to Crewe a few days ago, and I returned to photograph it yesterday onmy trip to the station.

[Alan T]

Here is one of its close relatives on the same power line, in the vicinity of the town's industrial area, plus a fine collection of more distantly-related non-pylons.

The other day a countryside TV programme here featured the 'Pylon Appreciation Society', who tour the country in the manner of trainspotters, collecting the various flavours of tower and pylon. The Electricity Company maintenance engineer they interviewed admitted to visiting the relevant website occasionally, but I note that he referred to the objectsas 'towers' throughout! His favourite (and mine), is the majestic single-span crossing of the the Severn Estuary, close to the Severn Bridges. Sadly, I don't think I have a decent picture of it of my own.

[selvin]

Alan,

Some musings.

These "pylons" are part of our western psyche. They bring forth immediate feelings of power and are iconic representations of progress.

In the same manner, observers of the Roman Aqueduct system stretching across the empire saw "power, and progress."

A few however thought of them as bandits, stealing our scenery, carrying the source of destruction of our local culture.

Love the first photo.

Aloha