Part III

The Pacific Northwest is an area well known for its natural beauty. A lesser known fact is that it is the "motherlode" of multipart porcelain lines. Numerous old transmission lines associated with some of the earliest hydro-electric plants in this country are found in this region. Many of these lines traverse remote wilderness where the chance to find insulators always exists. Over the last couple of years I had researched a 60kv transmission line put up by Washington Water Power (WWP) in 1902. This line ran from the Monroe Station in Spokane, Washington, 100 miles into the Coeur d' Alene mining district of Idaho. In 1901 the only long high voltage line was the famous 40kv Bay Counties line in California that used M-2795 Fred Locke insulators. WWP was assisted by Charles Steinmetz of General Electric in designing a line that would initially carry 45kv and eventually 60kv over 100 miles. The line, known as "Coeur d'Alene Number One" was built by a crew of 40 men during the summer of 1902. Teams of 5-6 men worked six days a week placing 35 foot cedar poles by hand over difficult terrain. The line was completed and power first transmitted to the Bunker Hill mine in Kellogg, Idaho on August 25, 1903, with regular service to the mines in Burke by November 1903. Voltage on the line was 45kv until 1905 when it was upped to 60kv following an experimental surge at 70kv. 

Based upon old photographs, journal articles, and several old advertisements, it appeared that M-3725 Fred Locke multiparts were used on the original installation. This is the type of line multipart collectors dream of! A single Fred Locke M-3725 was reportedly removed from this line on a Spokane bridge crossing and acquired by a collector many years ago. I spoke to the owner of this insulator as well as several local collectors searching for information, but little seemed to be known about the line. Most thought that if any Fred Locke's were on this line they would have been removed in the 1970's by collectors who searched this line for glass. After discussing the facts with another avid multipart collector (Mike Spadafora), we made plans on searching the line in the spring when the snow melted out of the area. Research at WWP revealed that most of the line was overbuilt with a modern suspension line that probably removed most of the 1902 line. However, we had hopes that portions of the line that were abandoned near a small, historic mining town named Burke may still contain some insulators. Mike happened to be passing through the area in late April and decided to stop and check the line out before our planned visit. As I had hoped, Fred Locke multi's were still to be found along overgrown and abandoned portions of the line near Burke. Mike returned from his trip with enough pieces to put together four M-3725 Fred Locke "kitsulators". He also found some broken baby blue M-4325 Victors and was able to piece one of these together.

With this exciting news I quickly arranged a couple of vacation days for a trip to Burke at the end of May. I was looking forward to possibly getting a M-3725 Fred Locke from this historic line for myself. After making the 5-1/2 hour drive I arrived at 1 :30 am at our pre-arranged campsite on a remote hill near a graveyard in Nine Mile Canyon. Not feeling like setting up the tent I spent a cramped night in the cab of my truck and was up by 7:00 a.m. The day was cool and clear and I had high hopes for the hunt. After driving up the Burke Canyon we left my truck where we expected to stop for lunch. We started out on the north slope of the canyon near the terminus of the line at Burke. The line was located on a steep mountainside and the old pole stubs were clearly visible from the road on the valley floor. We hiked up the steep talus and tailing covered slope past the ruins of old miners cabins and other mining debris to the first pole stub. It was hard to imagine that over 100 years ago this remote and peaceful area was the scene of violent labor wars between the Miners Union and the local mine owners that was big news throughout the country. In the late 1880's this area was populated by hundreds of miners who used to work the famous lead-silver mines along Canyon Creek with names like the Poorman, the Tiger, the Mammoth and Frisco. The mines along Canyon Creek. were the first profitable silver/lead mines in the Coeur d'Alene mining district in the 1880's and, were mined for many, many years after that.

When we reached, the first stub on the hillside we. immediately began finding busted M-3725 Fred Lockes. I found an original M-3725 pin, an interesting "go-with" and strapped the heavy piece of metal onto my pack. The original line used the typical triangular spacing of the three conductors which carried #2 hard-drawn copper wire. The two pins on the crossarms were stuck in holes drilled in each end of the crossarm, whereas the pole top pin was oddly just stuck in a hole drilled in the top of the pole. This design did not hold up well and the replacement pins on the crossarms were a cast iron fluted pin that had a threaded rod through the arm. The replacement ridge pin is one of the oddest arrangements I have ever seen and consisted of a wood block 12 inches long with a fluted pin mounted in the center. The block was strapped onto the top of the pole with a large U-bolt. It appears that since they had already drilled out the center of the top of the pole out this was the only way to get the pin on without cutting the pole or replacing it.

As we made our way west along the line we also encountered a few shards of gray multi's adding excitement to the search. As the morning progressed we kept finding broken Fred Locke's but nothing worth keeping. I did find a mint aqua CD 102 (star) pony but little else. I was feeling a little discouraged thinking I had missed out on finding any remaining Fred Locke's. As we approached a large outcrop over the half dozen houses that make up the town of Mace, we discovered a pole and a broken gray M-4321 Victor. The top was wasted but the other skirts were still intact. Mike didn't feel like carrying the heavy piece along the steep slope so we decided to stash it and come back later to pick it up. We continued on, finding only the bottom two shells of an M-3725 Fred Locke as we approached my truck parked near the old Mammoth-Standard mine. Just before reaching the truck we discovered several downed poles near the remains of an old substation associated with the Mammoth mine. This was one of six brick substations constructed by WWP along Canyon Creek in April of 1903 to step down voltages to the various mines it was to serve. Mike found the top shell of a gray M-4321 with the small Victor R=oo logo that was broken but all the pieces were there. Mike planned on adding this top to the lower shells he found earlier in the day for a complete M-4321 "kitsulator", a very rare multi-part. Nearby I discovered a pole with several large broken Hewletts as well as a couple of M-2051 OB's in good shape. I thought these Ohio Brass units were a neat find as I had never seen such a tiny multipart before.

After lunch I went and retrieved the bottom of the broken M-3725 while Mike went to pick up the gray bottom shells of the M-4321 we had stashed earlier on the hillside. About an hour later we met up by the road and Mike was covered with dirt and looked exhausted. I asked if he had fun climbing the slope and he said "no, and I didn't find the gray bottom!". He then asked me if I wanted to retrieve it for him thinking I might have better luck than him. The 70 degree temperatures (hot for us for northwesterners!) and memory of the long steep slope made me less than enthusiastic and I replied "maybe tomorrow!". After a break by the ruins of the Frisco mine we proceeded up a portion of a hillside near the town of Gem. Union miners used this same hillside in 1892 to fire gunshots at "scabs" working at the Frisco mine across Canyon Creek. Men were killed on both sides and many were injured during this battle. The fight culminated in the union miners sending explosives down the drained penstock into the mill and blowing it up on July 11,1892.

We searched just behind a series of homes that bordered the old abandoned line. It was obvious that bottle diggers had been in this area in a serious way as pits dotted the old home-sites near the line. A faint cut in the forest and scattered pole stubs was all that remained of the old line in this area. After walking a distance of 4 or 5 pole stubs, I discovered a yellowish top to a M-3725 in three pieces and happily collected it in hopes of piecing a whole insulator together later. Traveling back towards Burke we came upon a pole with several strings of chocolate brown, OB hog liver suspensions with original OB hardware. Mike had looked at this pole on his previous visit and had the unfortunate experience of slipping down a talus slope and losing $200 cash somewhere on the slope. After we each removed a couple of the hog liver strings we proceeded down to the vehicles.

It was getting late (6 p.m.), but at this time of year it stays light until about 9:30 p.m. so after some food we continued the search. We decided to go up on a mountainside between Gem and Mace to look at the area where Mike had previously found the M-3725s on his first visit. We went down to get a photograph of one of the last remaining poles that still was in one piece, leaning against the hillside. Two busted Fred Lockes still remained on the lower crossarm. Mike couldn't locate where the line went to the east in this area so I suggested going lower on the hill. I had only gone about 100 feet when I found the next pole hole and then spotted the pole laying across the hill below me. I scurried down and quickly spotted the beautiful yellow-tan glaze of a Fred Locke, and found a complete M-3 725! The piece had a couple of chips under the top skirt but I was still excited! This insulator had the six date patent marking, a yellowish glaze and a very prominent mold line across the entire top shell. I was really psyched that all the research, taking time off from work and driving was finally paying off! I also found a broken, but displayable orange-amber CD 162 Hemingray on the lower signal crossarm, a nice window piece to say the least.

Original 1902 pole in Burke area near where 
whole M-3725 Fred Lockes were found.

Original 1902 crossarm and pins with broken M-3725s near Burke.

Unusual poletop pill clamp used Oil Burke Line.

I continued on finding the next pole further down the slope and unbelievably, another whole M-3725 Fred Locke in a similar condition was laying next to the pole. Just down-slope Mike found a mint top to a M-3725. I also found another broken amber CD 162 as well as a mint aqua one (it figures!). It was great finding these M-3725 Fred Lockes intact, as all of the ones Mike found had to be put together from several broken units.

Since it was getting around 8:30 pm and we were really tired, we debated on leaving these insulators and hauling them out in the morning. All of the M-3725s had heavy fluted cast iron pins cemented in that made hauling them out a lot of work. No matter how tired I was though I couldn't stand to leave them there for the night so I decided I would haul them out anyway.

The next day started out clear and warm and we decided that I would go try to find the gray M-4321 bottom we stashed the day before while Mike was going to look for another gray shell he found lower down on the same hillside. On the way to the site we stopped at the local WWP office in Wallace to check on a multi that one of the old lineman supposedly had. Sure enough, it was a Fred Locke M-3725 with a seven date marking, the first found with this marking from this line. Offers were made for the piece but he wanted to check on its value before he parted with it. On a return trip through the area a week later Mike was able to purchase this piece from the lineman. 

After leaving his office we proceeded to our search spot and parked along a dead end dirt road. We were below a steep slope where a mine tailing re-vegetation project had just been completed. I took bearings to where I recalled the gray M-4321 bottom piece to be and I started the steep climb up the talus and ledges. After finding this piece I stuffed it into my pack and started down the slope. I met up with Mike still looking for another shell he left and then continued down to the car. On the way I found two strings of large busted Hewletts that looked like they were made by Thomas with nice patent dates and glazes. Unfortunately all of them were chipped or broken so I continued onto the truck without them.

After this we proceeded to try to track the line again on the hillside we finished on the night before. We continued down the thickly vegetated hillside taking bearings with my cheesy key-ring compass to where we thought the line ran. We found several downed poles with broken M-3725's and eventually emerged at an old mine portal.

After this it started to cloud up and we decided to go look for an area near an old substation that reportedly contained an insulator dump. As we climbed the west side of the Bitteroot mountain range nearing the Montana border we encountered patches of snow and it started to sprinkle. We could not locate the dump that we were told of, but we did find a dump with all sorts of trash and several busted suspension discs (including some very old gray OB suspensions), Pyrex stackers and Provo's. As we drove further up the road I spotted some green glass off to the side of the road and found a bunch of broken Provo's as well as some small Ohio Brass uniparts. As the rain started to pick up we decided to head down the Canyon and try to escape the coming storm. When we got back to the main search area the sky opened up in a downpour, and it started to lightning as well. It was mid afternoon and it looked like it was not going to stop. I decided to start my trip back to Washington since my search time was nearly up, and I was losing motivation after not really finding anything all day. I left Mike to search the line for a couple more days before he headed over to Montana to haul back more porcelain waiting for him there.

It is interesting that all of the M-3725 Fred Lockes we removed came from a series of 7 poles in a row on one hillside. The soft forest floor on this steep hillside probably prevented these insulators from being smashed when the poles hit the ground. It was really satisfying to research this old line, walk it and find what I had expected was still there. It is amazing to me the amount of good porcelain that is still out there for the finding if you do the research and legwork to find it. To me researching the history of an old line as well as getting out in the field and finding some classic porcelain is what insulator collecting is all about.

Author Ed Sewall shows off three M-3725
 Fred Lockes found on the Burke Line.