LaCrosse Water Power Co. / now Xcel

By David Dahle; posted August 14, 2019

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This was taken in the vicinity of Black River Falls, WI in 1997 - I only recognized the tower style as it was one of a number of classic-era lines discussed in a book I once had a photocopy of (Transmission Line Construction, Methods and costs by R. A. Lundquist; 1912). In the book, the line was shown with large 3-part multis, but as you can see, it has since been retrofitted with suspensions. I recall poking around under one of the towers and finding shards of the original multis and of the porcelain bowls used on the phone circuit. Some of the other insulators and lines I recall being shown in that book - gray M-3490, Coolies, the M-3890 line, etc... Kraemer and Spadafora ought to seek this book for their respective libraries.

Kraemer advised me this was built as a 46kV line by the LaCrosse Water Power Co. in 1908.

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