Concrete Electrification Masts

[Richard Scott]

I've noticed a lot of concrete electrification masks in various countries in mainland Europe, can anyone explain why, please? I would have thought concrete was a poor material for these masts and more expensive to manufacture? Obviously there must be some benefits? Not fitting with environmental credentials though due to its inability to be effectively recycled?

 

[DanielB]

Concrete electrification masts where used in the Dutch province of North-Brabant (and actually also some south of Dordrecht within South-Holland) as there was a shortage of steel just after the second world war.
A special design was used between Utrecht and Hilversum, also because of steel shortage but in this case in 1938 so just before the war. These even have a listed status as a monument.

 

[Richard Scott]

Concrete electrification masts where used in the Dutch province of North-Brabant (and actually also some south of Dordrecht within South-Holland) as there was a shortage of steel just after the second world war.
A special design was used between Utrecht and Hilversum, also because of steel shortage but in this case in 1938 so just before the war. These even have a listed status as a monument.

That makes sense, have noticed a number in Austria that look relatively new so a different reason there?

 

[ABB125]

This is something that I actually actively looked out for on my last Interrail trip!

Lots of concrete masts in Austria - brand new ones being installed as part of upgrade works between Wels and Linz, pretty sure the newly-upgraded Pottendorfer line Wien - Wiener Neustadt was all concrete as well. Plenty of older concrete masts elsewhere.
I spotted some wooden masts in rural Norway - basically a phone line pole, but with OHLE attached. Quite a good idea for generally lower-speed routes where there are plenty of trees available.
Brand new steel lattice masts being installed in southern Italy. In the UK we're told that lattices are bad because they corrode, so have to put up with far heavier, ugly (and less environmentally-friendly) solid steel instead - presumably corrosion is less of an issue in Italy?
Steel masts in Switzerland (which didn't look particularly old) being replaced with new steel masts, installed a few metres away from the existing ones.

Pretty much all electrification which I've looked at in Europe uses traditional concrete piles - none of the silly GWML-style 11m steel piles. Why does the UK have such an apparent aversion to what seems to be best practise everywhere else?


Here are a few pictures I took, at Reichenbach im Kandertal (northern Loetschberg tunnel approach), Basel Bad, and somewhere near Strasbourg

 

[ac6000cw]

Nearly a century ago, the Henry Ford owned a railroad in Michigan, part of which was electrified at 22kV 25Hz in 1927 using arched concrete supports (picture from the Henry Ford museum). I think they have a certain elegance. Electric operation only lasted a few years, but the concrete arches proved so difficult to remove that some are still standing today over the railroad (now part of Canadian National).

I spotted some wooden masts in rural Norway - basically a phone line pole, but with OHLE attached. Quite a good idea for generally lower-speed routes where there are plenty of trees available.

I've also seen wooden poles used in Switzerland years ago.

The long-gone US Milwaukee Road 'Pacific Extension' 3kV DC electrification mostly used wooden poles - note the 3-track headspans strung between wooden poles with guy wires, and the high-voltage AC substation feeder line on the right also on wooden poles. A 1974 picture in the last week of electric operation (after 50+ years), from https://www.american-rails.com/milw.html:

 

[JonasB]

I've noticed a lot of concrete electrification masks in various countries in mainland Europe, can anyone explain why, please? I would have thought concrete was a poor material for these masts and more expensive to manufacture? Obviously there must be some benefits? Not fitting with environmental credentials though due to its inability to be effectively recycled?

Concrete masts were used in Sweden during the 1940s as there were more important uses for steel. You can still see them in some areas I think, but most of them have been replaced by steel masts.

Siljansbanan, Borlänge-Mora, was electrified on a budget in the late 70s using wooden masts and many of the wooden masts are still there today, https://maps.app.goo.gl/mQ1swritWSR63FZY7

 

[AndrewE]

I wonder which has the lower carbon footprint? Steel which can be quite light (early WCML is nice and airy) and is infinitely recyclable, or a relatively small amount of reinforcing steel and loads of carbon-intensive concrete which isn't so recyclable?
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cxee01m5yero sounds to be good news though...

 

[Railsigns]

The long-gone US Milwaukee Road 'Pacific Extension' 3kV DC electrification mostly used wooden poles

The Black Mesa & Lake Powell Railroad in Arizona has 50 kV OLE on wooden poles.

 

[sh24]

Concrete was very popular in the former Soviet Union. Steel was reserved for more important things (e.g. tanks). I did also wonder if concrete copes better with extremes of temperature.

 

[randyrippley]

The Morecambe electrification used concrete masts in places
Some still exist, used as sports pitch floodlights

 

[Gostav]

Concrete was very popular in the former Soviet Union. Steel was reserved for more important things (e.g. tanks). I did also wonder if concrete copes better with extremes of temperature.

Cement poles also popular in Japan and l don't think they have any problem in extremes of temperature (today Tokyo is 38°-28°, excessive heat summer days).

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The lines on the bridge will use steel poles because of weight considerations.

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Many private railways have their own preference to choose steel or cement poles, or even wood poles due to shortage of money.

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[Alfonso]

Bernina bahn in Switzerland was mostly wooden poles until at least mid 1990s but is now mostly metal. I guess choice is a combination of price, availability, weight, and standards

 

[coppercapped]

When the Hamburg - Lübeck - Travemünde route was electrified some 15 or 20 years (time flies!) DBAG used a mixture of tubular concrete and lattice steel masts for the overhead. I think, but don't know, that the concrete masts were made by pouring the concrete into a spinning mould. I also don't know whether there is any steel reinforcement in the concrete. A photo of such masts may be seen at: https://external-content.duckduckgo...81484892cbf57260cb36470ce1bd518f8b&ipo=images