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| I spotted this light pole in the neighborhood recently while out bicycling. I'd never noticed it before, which is odd since it's obviously been there quite a long time. |
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| This light pole up on Kessler Boulevard, on the other hand, is obviously of recent vintage. |
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19 comments:
Don't last long if you smack em with a car
This is what happens if you put 11,001 pounds on it, obviously.
If it's longevity you're after, you can't beat a stobie pole (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stobie_pole). If you have any interest in aesthetics, however, you'll definitely want to look elsewhere.
Fiberglass?
And I doubt a Stobie pole would last that long through winters in the midwest.
I was going to mention light poles in Kazakhstan. Everyone saw "Pulp Fiction" when Vincent was telling Jules about being in France, about how it was the little differences that got to him?
In Kazakhstan they use cement for light poles, out in the country. Pretty much like a Stobie, I guess, except without the metal sandwiching it.
Kind of a trip.
Lots of neighborhood utility poles in SW Florida are concrete nowadays. And not terrible-looking.
Older neighbourhoods in Portland OR still have rings set in the curbs so you can tie up your horse ...
We've got those wrapped-fiber things in my neighborhood in Zionsville.
They look like crap, close up.
Light poles in Korea are concrete, too.
Lots of Countries use (Ferro) concrete light poles.
These days with the right process control technology you could extrude pure concrete poles that could flex like springs. ( Seriously, I know a ceramics prof who has created cylinder wound springs of "concrete".) too expensive and pointless though.
HOWEVER, one of things to note is survivor bias, one old thing surviving does not imply that all the old things are better, as it's possible that all it's modern brethen, like this modern children died a long time ago.
B,
I thank my lucky stars that I'm ignorant enough of midwestern winters to not be able to respond! But Lewis' and D.W. Drang's comments suggest maybe they're up the task. I briefly (12 hours) flirted with early spring in Korea and it was pretty darn cold. I have to assume Kazakhstan knows from cold (and apparently beautiful, too. Have y'all seen this? http://ibnlive.in.com/news/teenage-volleyball-player-from-kazakhstan-branded-too-beautiful-to-play-the-game-becomes-an-internet-sensation/489422-79.html)
Stobie poles were a big part of my education in Australian regional vernacular. I swore up and down when I moved to the US that people in Australia called light and electrical poles "Stobie poles." My friends, disbelieving me, asked some other Australian they knew. He, from Melbourne, had apparently never heard the term, which is when I googled the phrase and learned of the Stobie pole's uniquely South Australian heritage.
My town has to replace a light pole every 3-5 weeks due to really stupid drivers.
They use fiberglass poles.
Lighter and cheaper than aluminum.
How long do they last?
How old are the original Corvettes?
Offhand, that's the only old thing made of fibreglass I can think of.
When did they start making boats in it?
Ok, wiki says late thirties-early forties, with radomes as some of the earliest uses during the war.
I think that the metal would separate due to different thermal expansion coefficients. Encapsulated like rebar is one thing, construction like a Stobie pole is another...
+110F ambient to -20F over a year is a LOT. (sometimes 40+ in an hour)is hard on stuff like that.
I might be wrong. Modern concrete is wonderfully engineered.
But I have seen concrete/rebar utility poles fail after 5 years in this area. The Utilities stopped using them because they didn't last. They use metal towers or lattice structures for HV lines, but they gave up on concrete a few years ago due to cracking and separation issues.
Tam,
I've been looking a Canon d series cameras since you mentioned getting a 20d. I was wondering what your thoughts were on it?
Tam,
Relating more to your photographs rather than street poles. A while back you mentioned getting a Canon 20D. You have got me looking at them now and I am wondering about your opinions. I am particularly comparing the 20D to the 40D and wondering if it is worth the extra cash.
Stretch, yet another reason Stobie poles should commend themselves to you.
Per wiki:
"Stobie poles are widely regarded in Australia to be dangerous to vehicles, with collisions sometimes 'almost cutting the vehicle in half.'"
Surely this would provide some sort of disincentive to crash into them. While the message took hold, your town would only have to replace townsfolk, and those are in abundant supply.
Anon:
Our Constitution is old, too, but that doesn't mean it needs thrown out, to be replaced with the modern abominations of "rights" and entitlements.
Show me a modern mainstream house built even remotely as stout as 60 years ago.
"Progress" isn't all it's purported to be, since, using failed business models as an example, all the substance and foundation gets gutted for quick profits from a pretty fascia.
Steve C,
" I am particularly comparing the 20D to the 40D and wondering if it is worth the extra cash."
The main reason I went with the 20D is that it was the cheapest of the semipro Canons to take my existing collection of EF-S lenses. I'll eventually be upgrading, but I'm liking it so far.
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