Telephones Elevating Platform

History

Platform Elevating No.

Telephone poles stand in fields as often as on pavements, and a pavement-bound hoist is no use to a lineman with a fault across two fields of mud. External Plant News No. 23 of January 1972 described the Mark III in detail. Spring lockouts hold the vehicle stable through the platform's whole range of movement, which reaches a working height of 29 feet and an outreach of 13 ft 6 in. The space between cab and turntable is left clear for recovered line plant. The cabling winch, also at the rear, gained two speeds and an 800 lb line pull on the Mark III, with a fail-safe brake to hold line tension, 250 feet of nylon rope on the drum, and controls in the cage, at the rear, and by foot so the operator can keep both hands on the capstan.