Collapse Of Power Poles Attributed To Chemical Action

Wanganui Chronicle, 20 July 1948, Page 4

Collapse Of Power Poles Attributed To Chemical Action

I Four steel power poles set in con- ! crete about 20 years near the I Taihape Railway yards had snapped ; off at their basgs recently in unusual • circumstances, reported the engineer I (Mr. H. Webb) at the monthly meeti ing yesterday of the Wanganui- ' Rangitikei Electric Power Board. ! Evidently sulphurous smoke and I fumes from engines had been washed I down the poles by rain, and in the resultant chemical action the poles I had corroded at. the bases. The ' poles had collapsed during the last j storm in the district. They have since been replaced by wooden poles"It could not have been caused by vibration," said Mr. Webb, in answer to a Question by Mr. J. C. Batt. The enginer’s report stated that eight new service lines had been i erected in the Marton area during the menth, and 24 new lines ■ had been erected, together with exi tensions to four existing lines, in the ! Wanganui district. When the question of the availability of labour was raised it was pointed out that while the position in , regard to employment for outside work was satisfactory, there was need ' for more skilled men. In particular, the board could use another four o | live skilled linesmen. The position, as far as the purchase of service vehicles was concerned. was that two or three American type trucks and one or two English type would shortly be on the Dominion market, reported Mr Webb. Permits to import heavy service lOcwt. vehicles had been refused, and f the lOcwt. English type vans cor--1 tained only a 10 h.p. engine, which I made them unsuitable for Wanganui i country dstrict work.