I grew up in an area of Massachusetts where Corning Pyrex insulators were still used in fairly large quantities especially in the area west and south of Worcester, my current home. I was always fascinated with these big clear glass power insulators. I discovered hundreds of CD 323 and CD 325 along with some CD 322, 324, 326, 327 Pyrex within 100 miles of here between March, 1985, and May, 1988.

One of these Pyrex lines discovered was like none I've ever dreamed possible around here. On March 22, 1987, while at the Yankee Polecats' club show in Marlboro, Connecticut, a collector named Jeff Bell told me of a Pyrex line he discovered recently in a small mill-town 20 miles south of Worcester. The way he described them was they were huge and had 3 skirts. The first thought that came to mind was the CD 331 Pyrex 701. I didn't think this was possible at first with the only lines of these known to exist were apparently in Washington and Oregon. This piece is rather rare in the Pyrex product line. I have never seen one of these for sale and this was the only piece, other than the extremely rare CD 328 and CD 330 Pyrex, that I needed for the complete Pyrex power set. (Pyrex is my specialty collection!)

Anyway, I got excited enough to check the line out after the show. Bob Flint, another collector friend, and I found the line with the directions given, I couldn't believe my eyes. I stopped the car, looked to the left and up on a pole 50 feet in the air sat 3 beautiful CD 331 Pyrex 701's. I screamed with joy and almost jumped out the window. We decided to hike several poles and found on a 35 foot pole five of the CD 331's. It started to sprinkle and you could really hear the noise on the 69KV lines which fed a nearby substation that serves several local towns. We saw that the next pole had been replaced and I ran to it with excitement. In a bushy area, there was a large piece of glass. "A "701!" Bob came running over to see what I had found. The Pyrex 701 had a big crack and an eight inch chunk off the bottom skirt. That was it for one day since it was beginning to get dark. I took the damaged CD 331 home and was happy to have it as part of my collection.

On April 12, 1987, Bob and I checked out the entire line and made a day out of it. We counted only 21 of the CD 331 still in service, all in the same general area. About 15 appeared to a be mint, while 5 were chipped and/or heavily flashed over and heavily damaged. We also found several old poles on the ground with Pyrex 701 pins on them, which I removed at a later date.

On March 12, 1988, almost a year later, I came back to the line to examine another section that had all replacements on it. Looking at the Pyrex 701 section, I noticed that one of them had been taken down. I got so excited I walked through a swamp to get to the pole to find the 701 broken in a million pieces. Continuing along the same section of line, I found lots of CD 331's broken beyond repair -- about 9 in all. I found one that had 2 pieces off the top skirt and 2 pieces off the base that fit perfectly when I took them home, cleaned it and glued the pieces back together with epoxy. The piece still has 8 inches missing from the bottom skirt. It displays mint though and was the second CD 331 for my collection.

In April 1988, I discovered a second Pyrex 701 line somewhat east of Greenfield. Unlike the other line, this line was dead, discontinued and scheduled to come out in the near future. This line has not been used for years and is overgrown with brush, trees, etc. I call this "The Jungle Line." On April 21st I discovered a CD 331 on Pole #215 and a second CD 331 Pyrex 701 on Pole #248 while searching on April 27th. These were the only two I saw on the entire line and they were located only a mile apart from each other. The line had been a 69 KV power line feeding a small substation. The wire used was #4 AWG solid copper. Both CD 331's were installed in 1935 judging by the dates on the poles.

Being an ex-lineman, I had been trained in climbing so l proceeded to climb with hooks and safety belt to the top of pole #248. The piece was VVNM with a big flashover scar. It was lemon yellow with lots of carnival along the inside pinhole area. I managed to lower it safely after having some difficulty getting it off the pin. I carried it a mile back to the car.

I finally had a CD 331 in good condition. I couldn't get the sight of the other 701 on the top of pole #215, so on July 16th, my good friend, Jim Simpson, and I headed out to the line one more time. When I reached the top of pole 215, I gave that Pyrex 701 a great big kiss. I cut both ends of the dead wire and took the monster off the pin. Somehow the rope burn I received lowering the glass to the ground was worth it. We decided to leave the wires on the piece which was more clear than the others, but it had lots of carnival in the pinhole area. Taking two Pyrex 701's out of service was beyond my wildest fantasies. It certainly made my specialty in Pyrex glass very exciting and complete.

I recently heard of another CD 331 line that had been replaced years ago because many of the insulators failed while in service. All I can say is that there's still good glass to be found. Its much more fun to find your dream insulator than it is to buy it!!

Five CD 331 Pyrex on a live 69KV line.
This is the most I have seen on 
one pole which is 35 feet into the air.

Pole #248, one of 2 such poles on a dead 69KV line discovered 4/27/88 and removed from service 4/29/88. The one Pyrex 331 is flanked by two large porcelain insulators.
My four CD 331's in my living room. Top left - 7/16/88, Pole 215, Mint, near clear. Top right - 4/29/88, Pole 248, VVNM, very light carnival. Bottom left - 3/12/88 dam aged lower skirt, bgued pieces, lemon yellow. Bottom right - 3/22/87, cracked, lower skirt damage, lemon yellow.	Pole 215, 7/16/88, the Pyrex 701 just be fore the dead wire was cut and the insulator removed. Photo taken by me as I sat atop the top.

Stories of climbing poles have long been associated with the insulator hobby. Unfortunately there have been tragedies which have occurred even when climbing was done by professionals in the utility services fields. Collectors are warned that they should contact utility companies for their assistance in securing out of service insulators. Never assume you know how to climb a pole or that there isn't danger on lines which are "dead" or "out of service." We can only assume that author's policy was "Safety First."