Click "Next" for a more overall vantage view of this telegraph and well-travelled railroad route. Now you have an idea why a lot of our railroad insulators have plenty of soot caked upon them ;-)

These telegraph pole lines (likely owned by Western Union or by competing companies on each side) were quite heavily loaded as you can see.

Such older 6-pin telegraph lines (often with iron wire) were upgraded (especially by Western Union) commencing around 1910 with cedar poles, 10-pin crossarms and hard-drawn copper wire. Former single-petticoat were not reused during this process (at least here in the Northeast) since they no longer met the company's specifications...thus, double petticoat glass insulators were the rule and were put upon the "new" lines if in good condition.