A Slice of Life
Bill Lites
Because the houses at the end of our block are surrounded on two sides by a county operated wooded sanctuary, normal access was not available to the location needed for the telephone pole replacement behind our house. I was informed that they would have to drag the new telephone pole around the back of our neighbor’s two houses (the heavy lifting I mentioned) and remove a portion of the field fence in order to gain access to the telephone pole replacement area. They used the truck mounted Altec machine to lift the new pole off its trailer and position it behind the Mobil Altec machine where it was attached by chains.
Photo Credit: Bill Lites
The Mobil Altec Machine was slow, and it took around twenty minutes for them to maneuver it thru the wooded area, around behind our two neighbor’s houses, to the area behind our house. They removed the portion of the field fence and guided the Altec Machine into the area adjacent to the telephone pole replacement area.
Photo Credit: Bill Lites
Once they got the new telephone pole where they wanted it, the operator used the Altec machine’s crane to let the pole down. They removed the chains from the large end of the new pole and went about making all the preparations necessary to set the new pole in place.
Photo Credit: Bill Lites
It took the operator some maneuvering to get the Altec machine into the proper position between, and around, all the undergrowth. Once it was in the proper position, they set a pad under each of the machine’s four hydraulically operated support arms, and adjusted them, in order to level and then stabilize the machine in place.
Photo Credit: Bill Lites
Once the base of the Altec machine was leveled and stabilized to their satisfaction, the operator slowly raised the crane and extended the hole drilling auger over the selected location for the new telephone pole. I was amazed at how fast and effortlessly the auger drilled that new hole.
Photo Credit: Bill Lites
Once the hole was satisfactorily drilled, the operator slowly retracted the drilling auger and stowed it under the crane. Then the operator traversed the crane, back around, so they could attach a special cable assembly to the new pole in order to begin the lifting operations.
Photo Credit: Bill Lites
They attached taglines and some kind of orange cap at the top of the new pole and the operator very carefully raised the pole. This was a very tricky operation, as there were multiple tree branches in the way. The operator very slowly and skillfully raised the pole, while he was maneuvering it around the tree branches with the crane, until he had it in the vertical position.
Photo Credit: Bill Lites
Once the pole was in the vertical position, the operator rotated the pole around to the designated new pole location (without bumping it into the power lines). Then the operator extended a pair of jaw-like clamps (located on the end of the crane) around the upper portion of the pole and carefully positioned it over the newly dug hole.
Photo Credit: Bill Lites
—–To Be Continued—–
Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 65 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing. He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville. Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.
One of Bill’s favorite Scriptures is: John 10:10
Old Things R New 