The vast majority of the insulators that I saw in France were glass, usually
aqua. The ceramic insulators were almost always white -- I only saw one in
brown. The two plastic insulators in this display were used to carry the same
type of wire that the #3 V.A. was used for -- I saw them on the same lines, in
use, several times. Just about all of the French pin-type insulators are
fastened to the pin with a type of cement -- the threads serve only to help
fasten the cement in place. Some, such as the #5 L'ELECTRO VERRE, are
"threadless" -- they have a series of bumps to thelp fasten the cement instead
of threads.
All of the insulators in this exhibit come from near the city of St. Flour,
shown in the picture on the right of the display. The majority of them were
found in a small insulators dump by the side of a road. A number, though, came
from other places. Several of these insulators were given to me by Electricite
de France; one was lying beneathy a pole, having been removed from service; and
one was found in the shadow of a mediaeval castle. The #7 FOLEMBRAY, found on
an abondoned metal tower, is the newly assigned CD 687. It is, at the moment,
the only one known to exist in the United States.
7
6 8
5 9
4 14 17 10
3 15 16 11
2 18 19 12
1 20 21 13
1 - C 66, black plastic 11 - ISOREX, CD 545
2 - ISOREX, CD 640 12 - FOLEMBRAY, CD 640
3 - V.A., CD 545 13 - unembossed black plastic
4 - FOLEMBRAY, similar to CD 536 14 - unembossed ceramic, sim. CD 642
5 - L'ELECTRO VERRE, sim. CD 536 15 - V.A., CD 640
6 - ISOREX, CD 642 16 - unembossed ceramic, sim. CD 640
7 - FOLEMBRAY, CD 687 17 - FOLEMBRAY, CD 642
8 - ISOREX, old CD 827 18 - VHT22T, no CD number
9 - PFC in circle 19 - L'ELECTRO VERRE, sim. CD 377
10 - L'ELECTRO VERRE, CD 575 20 - EIV 22, suspension insulator
21 - EIV, CD 1065