DALIAN PORCELAIN INSULATOR WORKS

For quite some time we have known of Dalian Porcelain Insulator Works, located in the town of the same name in China. The plant manufactures insulators for the China National Machinery & Equipment Import & Export Corporation (CMEC), headquartered in Beijing.

Dalian's catalog shows several styles of export pintype insulators as well as suspension disks, shackles, etc. However, until now, we have not seen actual specimens.

Through correspondence with Dalian, Wayne Junop (Ontario, Canada) was able to obtain the three telephone insulators you see in the photos below. The underglaze stamp in blue ink is the Dalian trademark. These light grey insulators are obviously brand new and of fine quality ceramic material, which has been highly glazed. They have small pinholes and tiny threads in accordance with the Chinese Standard, but are available with American and British standards as well. Through CMEC, Dalian insulators are exported to 26 countries, so now let's really be on the lookout for them!

In the first photo, the insulator on the left is similar to, though 1/8" shorter than U-1392. U-1334 is shown to the right.

The two piece insulator you see in the second photo is called a "protective telephone (or fuse) insulator." The thick heavy cap is made of a translucent plastic and unscrews from the base as you can see in the last picture. This will need a new U-number! Measurements are 3-3/8" across the base and 5-1/2" tall.

Many thanks to Wayne for sharing this find! He was also the contributor of the Dalian catalog, which was our only source of information until the insulators came to light. His persistence certainly paid off.

As an aside, I recently read that IFO Electric of Sweden (see my CJ column, July, 1987 issue) now has a licensing agreement with the China National Machinery & Equipment Import & Export Corporation, which involves the installation of a production line for isostatic pressing of solid-core insulators in Central China. This plant is scheduled to be ready for production sometime during 1987. This expansion indicates good health at IFO Electric.

WOW! WHAT A FIND!

Many of you saw this insulator on my table at the Fresno Show. It is just an unbelievable jewel. It is not a new CD number and in fact, it is CD 601.2. This one is embossed FIDENZA / 222 and it is PURPLE!

It was found in Trento in northern Italy near the Italian Alps. This is the first one like this we have ever seen and are we excited. That's the good news....the bad news is that is has to go home to its owner now that it has made the rounds of all the collectors at the National and has put in its appearance at several club meetings as well. (Editor's Note: This beautiful insulator will be pictured in living color in the 1987 color insert which will be a part of the upcoming November, 1987 issue.)

The insulator is on loan from Bill Ginn (Houston, Texas) who borrowed it from a friend back in South Carolina last spring. This particular friend is certainly a "good guy" to have let this rare Italian insulator travel all the way to Houston, then to Fresno and back to Houston again just to let other collectors see it. Thanks, Gino Trombini, of Mauldin, South Carolina! We appreciate your trust and generosity and please, when you go back to Italian soil, see if you can locate any more of these beautiful insulators. There will be about 100 homes, right off the bat, just waiting to give shelf space to a purple FIDENZA / 222! Right, gang?

Next time, I'll be showing you several new foreign finds from the National Show and also tell you how and why Keith Neal found a German insulator on the Island of Guernsey.