This line ran to the end of the town's boundary which met up with Norwell, MA. When this photo was taken (early 1939) it was contemporary in appearance and construction for its day and shows well-kept primary and secondary lines. There are some glass insulators mixed in on the poles in the photo. This stretch along Main Street remained at 2,400 volts primary until 1957. An upgraded substation transformer a couple miles away was installed at 4,160 volts wye. The wire was retained however all of the transformers were changed to accommodate the higher voltage. In fact many of the sturdier poles from prior decades along this route stayed in service until the town converted to 13,800 volts primary during the late 1980s. Some old crossarms also remained since all of the secondaries were openwire up until that time.

Other related news: In their 1939 year-end report "The Municipal Light Board has continued to keep the plant in first class condition and to make extensions of service as far as conditions justified."

Their report also added that "the use of electric ranges and other household devices is increasing, which is bringing future further reductions in rates in sight. We are still able to say that the people of Hingham continue to own a Light Plant which is outstanding in soundness, both physically and financially, and free from debt." This statement is quite noteworthy since the community's electric system was nearly totally in ruins after the hurricane and the cost of repairs was entirely funded by the light department's reserve account without taking an additional penny from the customer base.

For a closer look at the next pole (on the far left): [id=600212439]