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[razpag]

It is carved into the wood Mr Cat. 

[waltergmw]

@ BK,

The date of manufacture is "engraved" into the wood. I'll find a suitable picture in a mo.

The manufacture is the process when the pole is turned, spiked and vacuum impregnated with wood preservative.

Kind regards,
Walter

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[burakkucat]

RP & Walter -- Thank you for the information. I shall have to do a spot of pole inspection when I next go out for some groceries.

RP -- A red "D" == decayed?  A red "SD" == seriously decayed?

Walter -- From your pictures this pole-newbie deduces: No.1, 1945, GPO era, No.2, 1997, BT era, No.3, 1993, BT era and No.4, 1951, GPO era.    As for the other marks, can I assume that the horizontal line on the modern poles is the "planted-depth" marker? I observe that both of the BT poles are marked 9M underneath the horizontal line. Would that indicate that the marker is 9 metres from the bottom end of the pole and thus the engineer, by measuring up from ground level, can determine if the pole has been "planted" at the required, safe, depth?

[waltergmw]

@ BK,

No it most certainly isn't 9 m from the bottom of the pole. Even HV electricity poles aren't usually buried more than about 6 ft in old money.
The scarf mark is probably 2 m from the base and the length quoted is usually the total pole length. However we need to have the final word from a BT or timber expert as to precisely what the various inscriptions mean and the units they use.

Kind regards,
Walter

[razpag]

RP & Walter -- Thank you for the information. I shall have to do a spot of pole inspection when I next go out for some groceries.

RP -- A red "D" == decayed?  A red "SD" == seriously decayed?

Walter -- From your pictures this pole-newbie deduces: No.1, 1945, GPO era, No.2, 1997, BT era, No.3, 1993, BT era and No.4, 1951, GPO era.    As for the other marks, can I assume that the horizontal line on the modern poles is the "planted-depth" marker? I observe that both of the BT poles are marked 9M underneath the horizontal line. Would that indicate that the marker is 9 metres from the bottom end of the pole and thus the engineer, by measuring up from ground level, can determine if the pole has been "planted" at the required, safe, depth?

'D' = Dangerous (but yes, due to decay). 'SD' = Shallow depth.

You're pretty much spot-on with your other observations though. 9M is the total length of the pole, the horizontal line should be at roughly 1.2mtrs above ground, with 1.8mtrs being below ground. If the line is a lot higher than it should be, then it shouldn't be climbed.

[burakkucat]

No it most certainly isn't 9 m from the bottom of the pole. Even HV electricity poles aren't usually buried more than about 6 ft in old money.
The scarf mark is probably 2 m from the base and the length quoted is usually the total pole length.

Walter -- On my way to the train station this morning (rushing, as usual) I didn't have time to stop and study any of the many poles I passed. However the 9 metre marking was playing on my mind. As a metre means nothing to me - as in I can't "feel" it like a yard, foot or inch - I decided to perform a quick mental conversion. Using the rule that one metre is approximately three feet and three inches, then 9 metres would be 27 feet and 27 inches. In other words, 29 feet 3 inches. As that is very close to 30 feet, which is what I think was the original GPO pole length specification then, by the time I had reached the station, I had convinced myself that the 9 metre marking was just the pole length. I'm pleased to see that both you and Mr Pag have confirmed my postulation.

Looking at the extra information RP has provided --

9M is the total length of the pole, the horizontal line should be at roughly 1.2mtrs above ground, with 1.8mtrs being below ground.

I can now understand that the horizontal line is one third of the pole's length from its bottom (approx. 9 feet 9 inches) and it should not be more than about 3 foot 10 inches when measured from the ground surface.

Guess who will be going out with his steel rule to check DP 1032, part of the plant associated with EABSE, from which his drop-wire originates?

[renluop]

... a metre means nothing to me -

Completely and with ruthless off-topicality I use a sort of 1.1 rule to relate imperial to metric in every day use.

Metre =1.1 Yard; Kilo = 2.2 lbs; Litre= 0.22 gallons. Funnily the ton and tonne are pretty well the same, so you get  " have tonnes of fun" from our badly educated marketing idiots.

[burakkucat]

Understood. That's useful to remember.

our badly educated marketing idiots.

Wot kould youse meen?