BL England could shut down in May

Spung-Man

Explorer
Jan 5, 2009
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Richland, NJ
loki.stockton.edu
BL England could shut down in May

The power line towers behind my house are nearly one hundred years old. I believe they were erected in 1923, which brought electric to Richland School in 1924 although they couldn't get power to 'Uncle Jenk's' property (now mine) until 1965 because of the railroad tracks. Their steel parts were said to be even older, remaining members from a 1901 project I was told. The old structures are now being replaced.

Supposedly the upgrade reflects the need to restore BL England's service capacity with cleaner electricity from distant power sources.

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Old transmission line crossing the 'Skating Ponds,' South River, Richland.

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A 'Skating Ponds' tower deftly whisked away by a Sikorsky Skycrane, South River, Richland.

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New towers replacing the old towers at the Main Avenue crossing.​

It's amazing how quick and efficient the upgrade process is.

S-M
 

Boyd

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Staff member
Site Administrator
Jul 31, 2004
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Ben's Branch, Stephen Creek
Very interesting, especially the helicopter! They are working all over this area and have a system where they deliver sections of wooden platforms to access points in advance, then assemble them into a temporary road along the powerline for construction vehicles. I guess that's cheaper than improving the real road, which they probably don't want to do because it would encourage vehicle use.
 

Zach McGarvey

Explorer
Feb 11, 2018
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Woodbury / Vineland NJ
Pretty amazing to see. They did this near me, albeit without helicopters, and it was cool to watch. In Woodbury the PSEG transmission lines share a right-of-way with the railroad, and it's a busy area where freight trains are passing through every two hours or so, day or night. They handled it efficiently and without tying up the tracks at all. Those guys worked seven days a week, dawn till dusk, until it was done! They replaced the old gantry-style pylons that were at least 100 years old with new tubular ones like those shown above. My guess is those can be erected quicker and no welding is required since everything connects with nuts/bolts. Only, here they used some very shiny galvanized poles, instead of the more subdued weathering steel.
 
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