Rubber Insulators

Reprinted from "INSULATORS - Crown Jewels of the Wire", July 1971, page 21

Besides collecting porcelain, I am quite interested in composition insulators, especially the small rubber ones embossed CONTINENTAL RUBBER WORKS / ERIE PA. USA. So one day while looking through the phone book I noticed an advertisement for a Continental Rubber Works in Huntington Park. I then decided to call them up and see if they were the same Continental that made the Continental insulators. To my surprise, these insulators are still being manufactured by Continental in Erie, Pennsylvania. The man with whom I talked on the phone sent me a pamphlet on the five Continental insulators. The only one I have never seen is the number RC-1 Spool (Case Transposition). I would like very much to obtain one of these for my Continental collection.

I have enclosed a photocopy of the pamphlet I received and hope it may be of use to you or your magazine. (Reproduced at 40% reduction on the following four pages.)

I have only 1 style of Continental insulator at this time, the R-4; I just started collecting these a few weeks ago. Many collectors do not realize the many styles of rubber insulators there are, and therefore think these are worthless. The ones I am now looking for are: the R-3 (I have seen very few of this style in use around here.), the R-5 (Similar to the extremely common R-4 used every where.) and the RC-1 spool. There is one more, of which I do not know the number, but I will attempt to sketch it here.

If you have any of these for sale or know of anyone who does, please let me know.

One more thing. The ad I placed has brought "tons" of mail to me, which is very helpful in locating some of the porcelain and glass I am looking for. 
Happy Insulatoring; 
H. S. Blake 
17356 Kingsbury 
Granada Hills, Cal. 91344

Image text: Eliminate Breakage  Improve Efficiency  Save Replacement Costs and Labor Manufactured Exclusively by CONTINENTAL RUBBER WORKS Erie, Pennsylvania 16512

Image text: PROVED SUPERIOR TO GLASS, CERAMIC AND PORCELAIN INSULATORS IN LABORATORY TESTS AND THROUGH MORE THAN 25 YEARS OF CONTINUOUS FIELD SERVICE Savings in time and money are substantial. Temperature, Fog, Humidity, Wind and Rain tests show Continental Rubber Insulators have Preferable Characteristics. Continental Rubber Insulators are the answer to the costly and troublesome problems experienced with glass, ceramic and porcelain insulators. Users report that the elimination of broken insulators during the first year more than pays for rubber ones and results in reduced material and labor costs. In addition, leakage and wire troubles occurring in wet weather due to damaged insulators are avoided, thereby improving operating efficiency of circuits. In a variety of applications, both laboratory and field tests prove the superiority of rubber insulators in high wind, fog, humidity and extreme temperature conditions. In rain, they are equivalent to glass and earthenware types. Under severe mechanical strain, rubber insulators show no weakening at critical points of support, such as at corners and terminals, They have greater surface restivity, lessen wire breakage and are self- cleaning. For use on Electric Power, Telephone and Telegraph Lines and on Railroad Communications Lines.

Type:  R-3 Insulator (Detail) Design, size and pin data: The R 3 rubber insulator has a smooth interior hole that makes a tight-fit, self- threading grip on the standard steel spindle without cob. R-4 Insulator (Detail) The R-4 rubber insulator has interior threading which gives a tight, screw fit on either the standard wood pin or on the steel pin with wood cob. R-5 Insulator (Detail) The R 5 rubber insulator is designed for use at points involving heavy wire loads or severe stresses. Tight grip, self threading hole for either the long or short shank A. T. & T. type transposition pin. RC-1 Insulator (Detail) The RC-1 rubber insulator is specifically designed for use on the Case Transposition Bracket.

Image text: LABORATORY TEST GRAPHS SHOW COMPARISONS (Detail)  SURFACE RESISTIVITY OF CONTINENTAL PIN-TYPE RUBBER INSULATORS AND STANDARD GLASS INSULATORS AT ELEVATED TEMPERATURE AND HUMIDITY     (Detail Figure 1)  RUBBER INSULATORS RELATIVE INSULATION RESISTANCE Of OPEN WIRE CIRCUITS (Detail Figure 2)  FIGURE 2 AVERAGE ANNUAL RELATIVE PERFORMANCE OBSERVED UNDER HEAVY FOG CONDITIONS  For additional information, contact your nearest (Detail) Continental Rubber Works Branch Office Buffalo, New York .. ...... (716) 852-0018 Memphis, Tennessee (901) 327-6194 Chicago. Illinois ...... (312) 276-7474 New York. New York (201) 933-5577 Cleveland. Ohio .. .. ...... (216) 631-0482 Philadelphia. Pennsylvania. (215) 627-5205 Detroit, Michigan ...... (313) 547-8181 St. Louis, Missouri .(314) 531-4088 Kansas City, Missouri, ...... (816) 444-6720 Shreveport, Louisiana .(318) 861-7425 Huntington Park, California.. ...(213) 581-0143 CONTINENTAL RUBBER WORKS