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Pylon schemes

Contents

Overview

This page is not a catalogue of all lines and schemes, just those schemes that have a name. Not sure what this page is for but it had to be split out from the series page as part of disentangling the confusion between scheme designations and tower suite designations. The entries are only in the vaguest hint of a meaningful order, as virtually nothing is known about any of these schemes.

See the regions page for a guide to the regions and their abbreviations and prefixes.

Primary Lines

Original CEB/CEGB PL schemes, plus later schemes of 132 kV and above.

The Watshams SEE PL7 tower drawings are variously annotated with the identities of other schemes, but no other scheme appears on all of them. Thus, without inspecting each one individually it’s not clear to what extent they re-used the SEE PL7 towers. Hence “Watshams?” below. (There are other Watshams tower types but only one 132 kV type is known; the others were for secondary lines.)

The only known SWE PL1(a)&(b) drawings are for a Callender’s S2 tower and date to 1931. Extant lines use this S2 type in conjunction with revised Milliken (SS PL1) angle towers, as well as Milliken S10 standing in for S2. Whether this scheme used double circuit anywhere remains a mystery.

Scheme Tower type Route Route code Date
CS-PL1 CS-PL1 (Milliken L145) From 1928
SEE PL1a GEC (“PL1a”) From 1928
SEE PL1(b) SEE PL1(b) From 1928
CE PL1 SS-PL1 (Milliken T161)
NWE PL1 SS-PL1 (Milliken E112)
MEE PL1 GEC (same as SEE PL1a) From 1929
SEE PL2 CS-PL1
NWE PL2 NWE PL2 (Milliken E111) From 1930
NEE PL1 SS-PL1 (Milliken E136) From 1930
SWE PL1 SS-PL1 (Milliken E141) From 1930
EE PL1 SS-PL1 (Milliken E142) From 1930
SWE PL1(a)&(b) Unclear; seems to be Callender’s + Milliken Ca. 1931
SS PL1 SS-PL1 (Milliken E164) From 1931
SWE PL2 SEE PL1a?
Spey Valley Blaw Knox K1576 Tummel Bridge–Keith From 1936
CE PL3 CE PL3
CE PL4 PL4/WGR
WGR PL1 PL4/WGR Carlisle–Galashiels V
SEE PL7 PL7
MEE PL6 PL7?
EE PL3 PL7? Ipswich–Stowmarket
NWE PL6 PL7?
MEE PL9 PL7?
SWE PL10 PL7?
SWE PL11 PL7?
MEE PL12 PL7?
MEE PL13 PL7?
NWE PL12 PL7?
SEE PL17 PL4 “Swindon” Ca. 1944?
SWE PL16 PL16 Andover–Salisbury–Bournemouth Ca. 1947
T(12) BEA – L36 PL7 Carrington–Broadheath–Sale
T(12) BEA – L66 L66/L89 Clyde’s Mill–Carlisle–Stella Ca. 1952
T(2) BEA – L136 PL7? Littlebrook–Hastings diversion
T(2) M&M L4 PL7? Brighton–Worthing PSA
Three Bridges–Brighton PRA
T(8) K&D L8 J L Eve L3 South Wales area: likely Pyle Ca. 1954
WM(EL) L27 J L Eve L3 Stourport–Ludlow ?
T(6) CEA – L236 Blaw Knox K4611 Spondon–Annesley–Chesterfield uprating from 66 to 132 kV Ca. 1958
T(2) CEA – L256 PL7? West Weybridge–Staines Ca. 1958 †
T(2) CEGB – L280 PL7? 132 kV line mods – Northfleet

† The CEA only existed between 1955 and 1957, and since L236 is already dated to after 1957, L256 is presumably going to be around the same time.

Secondary Lines

33 kV and 66 kV on lattice towers, mistakenly referred to as “pre-Grid” towers. Tower diagrams pending some way to name the different tower types on this site.

Scheme Tower type Route Route code Date Comments
MEE SL1 Milliken E102 “Lincolnshire area” From 1929
MEE SL2 J L Eve C15/C23 From 1929 Seems to have been treated as one scheme
NEE SL1 Darlington–Northallerton HO-SA
Malton–Scarborough HO-SC
Malton–Whitby HO-SD
Harton–Sunderland HO-SE
Sunderland–Dunston HO-SF
Dunston–Hebburn HO-SG
Hebburn–Harton HO-SH
NWE SL2 Milliken T163 ca. 1929 Also SL2A
SEE SL2 Watshams ca. 1929 Only recovered drawing is the D60/DT, same tower as in SEE SL3
SEE SL3 SEE SL3 ca. 1930 D60/DT as SEE SL2
SWE SL2 Milliken E177 ca. 1932 Apparently also SWE SL3
SEE SL4 SEE SL4 ca. 1934
NWE SL4 NWE SL4 ca. 1936
SWE SL9 J L Eve C333 Bath–Melksham Drawings appear to have been drawn in 1936 and approved in 1948
SWE SL10 “33 kV at Salisbury (132 kV)”
SEE SL8 SEE SL8 Rayleigh–Southend Only the gantry drawing recovered
SWE SL11 Blaw Knox K9906 ca. 1947?
SWE SL4 Blaw Knox K9906? SL4 noted on the K9906 D30 GA diagram instead of SL11
NWE SL9 Watshams 132 kV? Copies of the SEE PL7 D10 and D30 drawings were found annotated “N.W.E. - P.L.6 & S.L.9.”; these are 132 kV towers so it’s not clear what SL9 encompassed.