The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1903-01-31
nISHAPS TO ELECTRIC WIRES
D4NAGES CAUSED By ANIMALS
AND BIRDS.

Lohs-Disthnce ITansma sStOn Plant
in Mexico-AppIseations of EIeetrIoI-
~ In Medicine
"As electric lines increase in extent"
says the Electrical Review. 1.-The num-
bers Of mishaps caused by animals and
birds become more and more promi-
nent. The builders of the telephone
and telegraph wires in Mexico first con-
graduated themselves that the absence
of, sleet would allow them to economic
on the construction, but the ring-tailed
mnkeys and parrots soon availed them
selves of the opportunity to congregate
on these lines at night, and a heavier
construction became necessary. In like
manner, when lines were first built
through forests the absence of munich
pal supervision did not allow the full
range ofantici pated economies, for the
bears, mfstaking the humming of the
wires for concealed hives of bees, were
active in their search for the hidden
sweets, crashing the poles until those
of moderate size were severely weak
ened. And now come the birds to add
to the trouble, for the power circuit at
Anaheim, in Southern California, was
short-circuited by an OWL causing trou-
BILE at the power station, and the wires
falling upon telegraph wires caused diff
fculties on those lines.
If the eagles which aIighted on
wires of opposite polarity in the Fresno
power circuits had remained in peace
and harmony it would have been better
Tor both birds and plant, but the first
blow of fight caused the simultaneous
defeat of both eagles, and the arc
short-ciccuiting the wires made the in
eVitable trouble at the central station.
A heron recently alighted on the power
circuit of the Trenton Falls line a few
miles north Of Utica, N. Y, and STEP
ing across from one wire to the other
made burnt offering of himself and
trouble again at the central station.
Along the Atlantic coast in eastern
New Jersey the fishhawks establish
their nests on the telegraph and tele-
phone poles, and defend their homes
with such pugnacity that the linemen
their belts for defence
There are numerous instances of
rats causing crosses at switches in cleo
tric-lighting lines, and some fires in the
underwriters bulletins have been as
cribed to this cause. It Is but short
step from rats to cats, and a cat at
Lockport, retreating up the pole Of
power line to escape from a dog-from
the danger she knew to the perils she
wot not of-at the cross-arm made a
cross from one circuit to the other in
such manner that the arc melted the
Wire for long distance, and also
caused some difficulty at the power
house at Niagara Falls. The use of the
expression bugs for specific trouble is
ncst entirely of ethical significance, be-
cause the insects are an omnipresent
difficulty for outside lines. The larvae
of small insects. secreting formc acid,
have opened circuits by corroding away
the fuses. Hornets congregate on the
poles, and indicate their umhrage at
the disturbance when the lineman
opens the door, in most vigorous
manner"
PLANS FOR 1O5 MILES OF LINE IN
MEXICO.
According to the Electrical World and
Engineer, Robert McF. Doble, consult
ing engineer of San Francisco, is COM
plotting plans for most interesting
long-distance transmission plant at
Guanajuato, Mexico, for the Guanajua-
to Power and Electric company, in
which John Hays Hammond, C. A. Cof-
fin and others are interested. The
transmission line is to be one hundred
and five miles long, and the line volt
age sixty thousand volts. Although it
has frequently been proposed recently
to build transmission lines on steel tow
ers several hundred feet apart, it now
looks as if the Guanajuato plant would
have the honor of being the first to ac-
tually put this idea into practice. The
steel towers on this line will be four
hundred and forty feet apart, making
twelve spans to the mile. The conduc-
tors will be nineteen-strand copper ca
bles, equivalent in conductivity to No
1 solid copper wire. It is a well-known
fact that wire cables have greater
tensile strength than solid doris of
equivalent cross-section and weight
The use Of copper cable instead of the
solid wire of course makes it possible
to use longer spans than could safely
be employed with solid wire of the same
conductivity. 1t is said that the tensile
strength of the nineteen-strand copper
cable, which is to be used, will be from
sixty to seventy thousand pounds; as
against forty thousand for the solid
No. wire. The cross-arms and the
pins will be of iron.
There will be but one three phase line
and one insulator for each wide at a
tower. Since as matter of practice at
sixty thousand volts repair work on one
dead line would be impossible if there
were another live line on the same
poles Or towers, it is not considered of
any use to put more than one three
phase circuit on a tower or pole line.
1t is figured that the cost of the tower
line will be no higher than first-class
pole line. Longer spans were not decf-
ded upon, because they would have ne
cessitated the use of more than one in
sulator to wire at the towers. AS ev- 4
cry insulator Is a point of weakness in
a line, the fewer insulator the better. !
In regard to iron pins and cross arms,
1t is considered that if wood pins are
used the breakdown of an insulator al /
ways means the destruction of the use
Of Ia min. and thp min fpJ1St no