J L Eve C534 (L16, Eve 0.4)

Contents

• Overview
  • General data
  • Designation
• Can be confused with
• Tower forms
  • Line and angle towers
  • Terminal towers
  • Gantries
  • Examples
  • Tower views
    • D30
    • D60
• Tower details
• Examples
  • Elstree–Rye House
    • Tyttenhanger
  • Sundon–Luton North
    • Sundon
  • Wymondley–Stevenage
    • Stevenage
  • Sundon–Westoning
    • Sundon
    • Harlington
• Eve C670
• See also

Overview

C534 is a 132 kV UK electricity pylon (steel lattice transmission tower) series, designed by J L Eve Construction. Confusion over its identity has led it to accumulate various names, including L16, L132, L55 and J.L.Eve PL16.

Found widely in England, it has also been used in Scotland and Wales, but seemingly not Northern Ireland.

General data

Design contract	J L Eve C534
Found
Height (straight line tower)	88′–10″ (27.1 m)
Voltage	132 kV
Dates back to	1950 (drawings)
Known conductors	Single
Circuit count	Double
Design conductor	0.4□″ SCA (now 400 mm² Zebra ACSR)
Design earthwire	0.175□″ SCA (now 175 mm² Lynx ACSR)

Designation

There is no definitive designation for this tower series. The primary drawings (not including contract-specific customisation) all appear to be in the C534 range, so this is being taken to be its identity.

C534

Used by UK Power Networks; this is the only known J L Eve drawing series for the core tower suite.

L16

The “J.L EVE.” types in the Tower Bible have been hand annotated as “[illegible]/L16”. This designation appears in [Hinkley Point C], which contains side view diagrams of L16 towers that broadly correspond to C534 (allowing for simplifications). The D2 STD and D60 STD heights in [Hinkley Point C] match those in the Tower Bible when converted to metric. Ian McAulay has examined the route described in [Hinkley Point C] and the towers in use are primarily those of a design matching L16 in the Tower Bible. [Hinkley Point C] only names a small portion of the BW route towers: BW2R, BW3, BW28R, BW29A and BW36R are given as L7(c), while BW27, BW29, BW34 and BW35 are given as L16. Spans BW1–BW9 are listed as having Rubus (500 mm² AAAC) while spans BW9–BW39 use Zebra (400 mm² ACSR). Some of the Eve drawings are labelled “S.E.E. - L16”, which is strange as this is a non-standard contract name format; the location of this line is not given; this may also be an indication of where the name “L16” came from, although it is not the same region of the UK as the line to Hinkley Point (which is SWE).

L132

As a CEB L132-compliant type, some organisations refer to the type as simply “L132”. It would appear that “L132” can also refer to the lighter weight Eve C670. The BR route between Dumfries and Chapelcross in Scotland uses L132 towers strung with Zebra (400 mm² ACSR) conductors, indicating C534 and not a Lynx L132 type [SWS Forum 08/06/2017]. Examination of this line shows this to be the case. [Uprating of Overhead Lines] also mentions L132 as a Zebra configuration with Lynx earthwire. The C route that passes Pwll in Wales also has towers matching the C534 design. The only formal information on this route is the following note in [Brechfa Forest Connection]: “The preferred solution is to add a further extension to tower C17. This is a type D10 E10’ tower constructed to specification CEB L132 (0.4 sq in conductors) …”

J.L.EVE

[Standard Tower Types] as well as Brechfa Forest Connection Existing Line Survey

J L Eve (0.4 design)

Alternative term found in Brechfa Forest Connection Existing Line Survey (same tower, C8, as designated “J.L.EVE”)

L4(H)

See the L4 page for details.

L55

Said to be an SSE designation; this stems from a misinterpretation of the marking “GEN. O.H.L. 132/L.55” as a suite identifier when in reality it is a drawing number for the general arrangement drawing of the D2 tower. See the Gen. OHL numbers page for more details.

J.L.Eve PL16

An incorrect term used by some enthusiasts as well as SSEN (in [Elmwood-Glenagnes]); this is illogical as, while Eve C534 is a CEB-L132 type, C534 takes Zebra (400 mm² ASCR) conductor while PL16 takes Lynx (175 mm² ACSR).

Can be confused with

• PL7
• Eve C670 single Lynx suite
• Various Milliken 33 and 66 kV series (angle towers only)

Tower forms

The diagrams below are shown to scale at 12 pixels per metre.

Line and angle towers

Terminal towers

C534 terminal towers come in a bewildering number of configurations. In additional to multiple distinct base forms (illustrated below), they are extensively customisable. You will find C534 terminal towers with crossarm extensions and reductions on a single side only, tension front face middle crossarm bracing (in addition to that of the compression front face) and crossarms fitted facing the opposite way. There are also numerous other minor alterations to the design such that it feels that no two examples are the same.

The original 1950 DT/DT90 tower had triangular-plan crossarms. The top crossarm was illustrated as being permanently extended in length although examples exist where only the basic top crossarm was used. In the crossarm plan below, the outline of the basic crossarm is highlighted; these bars are much heavier than the extended portion of the crossarm. The minimal type is treated below as a hypothetical through type although this is only speculation as no material has been found to explain the design; a through tower (with deviation) exists in Bonnybridge (Falkirk) albeit with the bottom crossarms fitted facing backwards.

The crossarms were subsequently completely redesigned. The basic form of the bottom and middle crossarms changed to square-ended and the top crossarm, while retaining the same triangle-ended outline as with the original design, was square-ended instead of triangular when reduced. Standard options included square-ended top crossarms and (in drawing range S123) 30-foot top crossarms. Where the original DT had 26-foot top crossarms (52 foot total width), the replacement DT had shorter 22-foot crossarms for 44 foot total width.

The standard DT was supplemented by a through-type DT with a simplified top crossarm and identical symmetrical bracing on all four sides. The through-type DT also came in a minimal “line” form (short top crossarms, demonstrating the square-ended reduced form of the new top crossarms) and a separate 30-foot type.

As the diagrams below cover only the basic types in their symmetrical forms, be prepared to encounter many non-matching examples including asymmetrical crossarm configurations.

Previously, five variants (numbered 1–5) were illustrated here; the five variants corresponded to the following types:

1. Variant 1: original 1950 DT (Essex Wharf Substation, 51.514° N 0.003° W, albeit with tiny outriggers)
2. Variant 2: standard DT with square-ended top crossarms (e.g. St Albans)
3. Variant 3: standard DT (e.g. Luton and Sundon)
4. Variant 4: through-type DT (e.g. Sundon and Westoning)
5. Variant 5: “line” minimal through-type DT (e.g. Lye Green Grid)

DT90 towers have been found with standard top main crossarms (e.g. Stevenage) and square-ended top crossarms (e.g. Ystradgynlais, Charleston (Dundee) and Cardiff). The example in Newport (south Wales) uses the extra bar in the top auxiliary crossarm (one side only) that is normally absent. An original-type DT90 has yet to be found.

S259/1, the sole known drawing in S259, depicts a custom through-type tower with “butterfly” or “wide-end” crossarms. This type is also noted as option (d) on the C534 DT key diagram, C534/282. S259/1 does not bear any dimensions, and the crossarms shown on the front face views of the tower appear to be far too wide. Towers matching this description and with identical crossarm plans can be found at Easton (Huntingdonshire) and between Layer de la Haye and Abberton, south of Colchester, Essex. Based on these examples, and the crossarm plans on S259/1, the tower diagram below is scaled as realistically as possible. The diagrams remain preliminary pending acquisition of J L Eve drawing C1110/1 with the crossarm general arrangement.

Gantries

A single gantry type is known, described on drawing L132/58 as ‘“crossunder” tower single circuit “universal” S10°-30°-60° type’, with “universal” presumably denoting the range of angles supported by a single tower body. This practice would continue with the SF60 that likewise supports any angle up to 60°.

Examples

Tower views

D30

D60

Tower details

See dimensions on the site guide page for a key to the tables.

Examples

The following examples represent opinion only. No tower types were obtained from any official material and thus all designations are speculative.

Elstree–Rye House

Tyttenhanger

This is a spur off the Elstree–Rye House 132 kV route, between the St Albans sealing end compound in Nightingale Lane (51.737° N 0.303° W) and the Coursers Farm Anaerobic Digestion Plant (51.728° N 0.261° W) on Coursers Road, passing through Tyttenhanger outside St Albans, Hertfordshire. The design of the terminal tower differs from that in the Tower Bible.

Sundon–Luton North

UKPN Sundon–Luton North 132 kV carries power from Sundon Substation (51.933° N 0.500° W) to Luton North Substation (51.908° N 0.425° W. The overhead lines run between Eve DT towers at Sundon Substation and the sealing end compound between Marsh Farm and Bramingham in Luton (51.919° N 0.442° W); from the SEC the line passes underground to the substation. The line appears to have been reconfigured at some stage, because one tower along from the DT at Sundon Substation is another DT (51.931° N 0.497° W) serving as a D60.

This entire line appears to be Eve C534.

Sundon

National Grid Sundon–Wymondley 400 kV and UKPN Sundon–Luton North 132 kV pass eastwards from Sundon Substation between the village of Upper Sundon and the hamlet of Lower Sundon, north of Luton in Bedfordshire.

Wymondley–Stevenage

This is a short 12-tower line from Wymondley substation and Stevenage.

Stevenage

These photos were take on pylon hunt 15 on 19th August 2023 specifically to document the comparatively (for Eve) unusual DT90 terminal tower.

Sundon–Westoning

The Sundon–Westoning 132 kV line runs between Eve DT towers at Sundon Substation (51.936° N 0.498° W) and Westoning Substation (51.985° N 0.491° W) and passes alongside Harlington. Alongside the Midland Mainline Railway, a number of the towers are L7 instead of Eve. Neither terminal tower matches either the design in the Tower Bible or the type found in St Albans.

Sundon

Harlington

Eve D10 adjacent to the Harlington Station car park. This appears to be standard height, as contrasted with the taller towers alongside the railway.

Eve C670

Eve C670 (“3-X”) line towers look almost identical to those of C534 (“4-X”):

See also

• Universal crossunder gantry in Whitewater Country Park, Hook (centre background) (Flickr)