J L Eve C1415

Contents

• Overview
  • General data
• Lines
• Tower forms
• Tower details
• Locations
  • Sandbank
  • Garelochhead
• See also

Overview

J L Eve C1415 is transmission tower type used for the line constructed by the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board (NoSHEB) out to Dunoon. The line supplies the Dunoon Grid Substation outside Sandbank (near Dunoon), Argyll and Bute, Scotland (55.976° N 4.948° W). It crosses Loch Long, and presently terminates on a junction with dual PL16 lines at Garelochhead (56.090° N 4.816° W). The line uses a mixture of C1415 and C670 towers and an unspecified Blaw Knox 0.175 type (presently unidentified). Special towers are used for the Loch Long crossing.

These are “light construction” towers, designed for lightweight 0.125^□″ SCA (125 mm² Tiger ACSR) conductors. The towers are unusually small, with 11-foot phase separation and line towers only 22 metres tall.

C1415 is a derivative of the earlier C772 type; C772 did not support an earthwire, while C1415 does.

The only C1415 drawing recovered is for the D10 and dates to 20/02/1970. SSEN’s drawing set is C1824, from 1975. The C1824 drawings are metricated. The very early metrication raises the possibility of a second line built with these towers, but no such line is known. Alternatively, the drawings could have been pre-emptively metricated early on ahead of any future tower damage or failure.

The Loch Long crossing uses four special towers. The crossing towers most closely resemble J L Eve D and appear to be adapted from it. Each side also has an anchor (strainer) tower formed from an J L Eve L6 DJT with a shorter earthwire peak. On one side of the loch the anchor tower has M10 legs (10 foot height reduction) on the side facing the crossing tower and M20 legs on the opposite side to accommodate the hillside. The Eve drawings suggest that both anchor towers are built this way but there is a suggestion that the other anchor tower has M20 legs on both sides.

The C1415 was is scheduled for replacement in 2025; a new line built on L7(c) towers will be taking its place, re-using the existing Loch Long crossing. As of January 2026 this project has yet to be finalised.

General data

Designed for	NoSHEB (North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board)
Design contractor	J L Eve
Found
Status	Pending replacement and demolition
Class	Light construction
Height (straight line tower)	73′–3″ (22.3 m)
Voltage	132 kV
Dates back to	1970 (sole recovered C1415 drawing)
Known conductors	Single
Design conductor	0.125□″ SCA (125 mm² Tiger ACSR)
Design earthwire	0.06□″ SCA (60 mm² Skunk ACSR)
Circuit count	Double

Lines

• Dunoon to Garelochhead, until its upcoming replacement and demolition

Tower forms

The following diagrams are shown to scale at 12 pixels per metre:

Note the asymmetric bracing on the transverse faces of the D30 and D60 towers, an Eve trait.

The DT general arrangment and erection diagram didn’t include the extended top crossarms, so this is estimated from Google Street View based on a diagonal view of the terminal tower at Sandbank. The Garelochhead terminal tower has the standard top crossarms.

The D10, D30 and D60 GA&EDs depict the earthwire peaks taller than the stated 8′–3″ height. The D10 and D30 diagrams were simply tweaked as the error was minor. For the D60, where the error was significant, the height of the top crossarm has been preserved in order to best approximate the actual towers (as best as can be made out from Google Street View) and the remainder of the peak reduced in height.

Some of the towers have additional crossarm bracing; it’s not clear whether this is strengthening or whether these are uplift crossarms.

Anchor tower used either side of the Loch Long crossing, J L Eve L6 DJT with a shorter peak:

Tower details

Crossarm width is the total width across the widest crossarm, to the conductor centrelines and not end of steelwork. Tower height is to the bottom of the top of the peak.

The terminal tower’s entry angle range is 0–10°, which is very unusual.

Locations

Sandbank

Garelochhead

See also

• Sandbank end of the line (Geograph)
• Line tower (Geograph)
• Crossing Stronchullin Hill (Geograph); note the large spacers
• Loch Long crossing anchor tower (Geograph)
• Loch Long crossing anchor and crossing towers (Geograph)