Baja Adventure
Reprinted from "Crown Jewels of the Wire", March 2006, page 48

Editor's note: New discoveries continue to be found all the time. Case in point... the following story submitted by a new subscriber. Never give up for there are insulators out there waiting for you.

My name is Bill Bayes. My wife (Maria) and son (Nicolas) have been hunting insulators for many years. My mother and father (Don and Elaine Bayes) got me in the hobby when I was 7. Memories of hiking old leads and learning to climb poles in Baker, CA when I was ten are fresh in my mind. Needless to say, my wife and son took to the hobby with no resistance whatsoever.

MEXICAN BEAUTY

On a recent trip to Baja to explore an old lead, we made a unique discovery. I thought perhaps readers of the Crown Jewels might enjoy the attached story and photo of one of our more interesting finds still on a pole, or rail, in this case. Many thanks.  Photo is courtesy of Dwayne Anthony.

Baja Adventure
by Bill Bayes

As 2005 came to a close, I convinced the family that one last hunt on a remote abandoned line in Mexico was the best way to end a great year. As the grumbles from the passengers in the vehicle began to increase because of a long boring drive, we were approaching an area to begin our hunt. I parked the vehicle as close as reasonable to the edge of a very steep canyon. After a precarious hike down and finally at the bottom, we spotted a railroad rail protruding from a grove of trees. After a closer look, we could see wire dangling from the 2 insulators on a short crossarm. I asked my son to hike on ahead to get an idea of where the lead was headed and radio back if he found any rails with glass on them. My wife and I looked up from the base of the rail and presumed that the insulators were a Derflingher TN-1 and a sharp drip Brookfield Pony. I asked my wife whether we should make the attempt for what appeared to be rather common glass. She was in high spirits and said "Why not". She agreed to climb up as long as I brought the ladder down from the vehicle.

After a long hike back up to the vehicle and a cold beer, I radioed my son for some much needed help with transporting the ladder back down the canyon. On the way back down my son explained that the lead had vanished a short distance away with only a few rails left with glass on them. Back at the first rail and a little beat from the hike, I promised to steady the ladder while my wife climbed to the top. She studied the insulators at the top for a second and said, "Wow, this Derf is a pretty color". I yelled back, "Is it intact?" She said it looked ok and removed both of them without much difficulty and came down with her prizes in her pockets. Once back on the ground we took a closer look at the first find of the day.

At first glance we knew this was not your ordinary Derf. It had a unique color, was in mint condition, and strangest of all, it had no embossing. At the end of our day we totaled our finds. The total balance of the hunt turned out to be: 6 - Telegraphos Signals, 5 - Derf TN-1 's (Including the oddball), and a couple more various pony's. Not too bad we thought.

On the trip home, my wife and son were examining the goods. They both kept noticing that the particular insulator looked like a Derf, but it seemed to be a different mold as the dome was shaped differently. After returning home, we all did some research. It turned out to be a not-so-well-known CD 154.7 in a beautiful yellow green. Needless to say, this piece has a very special place in our collection and was a great way to end the year. 2006 will most likely start with a return trip to the same location and with a little luck the find of another great piece of Mexican glass.