Fred M.Locke M-4325

By Michael Spadafora; posted April 14, 2012

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This was the worlds first four part cemented multipart insulator and also the very first "lilyshell" design . It was produced in 1903 by Fred M.Locke and used on the 55,000 volt Electron-Seattle, Washington line . This was special custom ordered design for the Stone and Webster engineering firm for the construction this line. 3000 were produced for this order in the spring of 1903 . In subsequent years this design was very popular and used throughout North America. They were later produced by the hundreds of thousands and were cataloged by every manufacturer in the 1905-1925 era. This Fred Locke insulator was only in service from 1904-1915. This is the first complete unit seen by any living person today. All of them were destroyed and removed from service by about 1918 because the fragile thin top skirts were very prone to cracking and electrical puncture.

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