PLAYING WITH FIRE.

Press, Volume LII, Issue 15752, 20 November 1916, Page 2

PLAYING WITH FIRE.

DANGEROUS PRANKS WITH ELECTRICAL LINE. Recently the Public Works Department announced that a reward of fifty pounds would bo paid for information leading to the conviction of any person guilty of a malicious attempt to interfere with the supply of electricity over the Lake Coleridge transmission lines. Behind the announcement a representative of "Tug Press" found that there was an interesting story.

It is stated that there have been no fewer than four occasions upon which wire has been thrown on to the transmission line on the Bon ley road between Yaldhurst and West Milton. It would bo more accurate to * that attempts had been evidently made to throw pieces of fencing -wire on to the transmission wires as the four pieces which ■were found, and which varied in length anr 1 . _ shape, were fouid on non-fatal portions of the transmission line —two pieces being found on the telephone wires and two on cross-arms. Concurrent -with these attempts two '"'umps" occurred in the supply of juice, that is, momentary over-loads probably caused by the pieces of fencing wire coming in oontact /with the transmission wire. Apparently the fencing wire failed to "hook on" to the wires charged with electricjty. It mav have been that those pieces of fencing wire were blown on to the transmission line—it does blow some on the plains sometimes— but Mr Lawrence Birks, the Depart ment's electrical engineer, is openly sceptical of that explanation." Assuming that the pieces of fencing wire were maliciously thrown by some person or persons the effect, if they had been successful, would have been to "short" the _ line and stop the supply of electricity over the line until it could be attended to As there is a second transmission line, consumers would not have been inconvenienced for g. lengthy period, as in the past the change over from one line to the other has been effected in 30 seconds. If the person, or pensons, had succeeded, and was in "he vicinity when the two wires came into contact, there would have been some fireworks that would have so dazzled that the beholder's eyes would not be fit for normal use for a couple of days. People in the city sometimes see the dazzling flash that is emitted when a tramway trolley-pole leaves the wires, but as the Lake Coleridge line carries a voltage about 100 times greater than the tramway lines, the dazzle from a ' 'short'' on the big transmission line is almost blinding. In the event of the thrower of the fencing wire hanging on to one end of the wire whilst a portion of it camp in contact with the* transmission'line —well, he would not have much chance of trying to repeat the experiment!