L34
Contents
Overview
L34 is a single-circuit 275 kV UK electricity pylon (steel lattice transmission tower) series. L34 towers take twin conductor bundles of unknown specification.
L34 appears to have only ever been used on a single line, route XE. It has been reported on the Pylon Appreciation Society that this line was built in (depending on which members-only post you read) 1950 or 1952, which matches National Grid data that claims (depending on which part of the line you look at) 1952 and 1962 (although that itself may have been the source of the claim of 1952); another post claims that Balfour Beatty were awarded the contract in March 1950. No definitive sources of information were provided. XE is said to pre-date the Supergrid proper. This line presently runs between High Marnham substation (around 7 miles west of Lincoln) and a tee point between XE, XEA and YYL between Braithwell and Old Ravenfield, east of Rotherham. The original route again varies on whose post you read.
| Contractor | Blaw Knox |
|---|---|
| Found | |
| Height (straight line tower) | 85′–0″ (25.9 m) |
| Voltage | 275 kV |
| Dates back to | Early 1950s |
| Conductors | Twin |
Tower forms
The following diagrams are shown to scale at 12 pixels per metre:
The only type for which a complete drawing has been obtained is S1, reduced in size considerably. For S30, the only recovered drawing is sheet 2 of 2 covering the top of the tower. The bottom of S30 as well as the whole of S10 and S60 have been drawn according to Google Street View; S10 and S60 have been scaled to the same vertical dimensions due to lack of data.
Tower details
The exact range of tower types within L34 is not known. Visually confirmed types (all very distinct) are S1, S10, S30 and S60. An ST and STX exist at High Marnham substation, but the STX appears to be L2. The ST is too far away to see clearly but it looks like an S10. National Grid also list a D type, but this appears to be erroneous data.
Crossarm width here is the total width across the single top section.
| Type | Source | Height | Base width | Crossarm width |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| L34 S1 | XM2015-8A? | 85′–0″ (25.9 m) | 18′–0″ (5.5 m) | 65′–0″ (19.8 m) |
| L34 S10 | No data | |||
| L34 S30 | XM2015-13A? | 83′–0″ (25.3 m) | ? | 59′–0″ (18.0 m) |
| L34 S60 | No data | |||
The (almost) full S1 drawing was supplied in poor form and is barely legible; part of the drawing was posted to the RMweb forum in higher quality. The XM range is not legible on any of the drawings but appears to be XM2015; the contract number is K9899. The S1 base appears to be 9 feet either side of the centreline; this is the best guess at what is written and it fits with the drawing. The S30 drawing is sheet 2 of 2 and omits the entire tower base.
Examples
Out of range.
See also
- XE western termination near Ravenfield (Flickr album)