[robtcorl]

Maybe I should indulge in posting a few bagpipe videos again?

Do you feel lucky Punk?

---

Last edited by robtcorl; 01-09-2018 at 06:46 AM.

[tim60]

ETSA used funny poles!!!
(Two lengths of railway line joined at the top and, maybe, 300mm at the base and the space between filled with concrete)
We Victorians guessed that you had no straight trees in SA, to use as poles.

Those poles are a stroke of genius, by a former Adelaide Electric Supply Company engineer called Stobie. A wonderful engineering artefact that was so easy to design with.


You are right that they were a response to the lack of trees.

[RoxnDox]

The State of Kansas is part of what is called the " Great Plains " Huge treeless grasslands. settlers needed to find an alternative to wood for fencing off fields
It has a area called " Post Rock Country "

" The area known as "Post Rock Country" stretches for approximately 200 miles from the Nebraska border on the north to Dodge City on the south.

The limestone itself is found close to the surface and is usually uniform in thickness. One of its greatest attractions is that it is soft enough to shape when freshly quarried but hardens with exposure to the air. The feather and wedge method is most commonly used to remove the stone. A rather modest set of tools is required, often made by the local blacksmith. A drill, a hammer, a chisel, and a set of feathers and wedges are needed. After the soil is removed, holes are drilled into the limestone about eight inches apart. Feathers and wedges are placed in the holes and the wedge is hit with the hammer to split the rock.

After the rock is quarried it must be moved to the site of the fence. The posts are then set in the ground about 10 steps or more apart. They are then prepared for the wire fence. Several methods can be used but perhaps the most popular is to notch the post's edges to hold the barbed wire after which smooth wire is wrapped around the post to hold the barbed wire in place. . . .

Although the popularity of working with the stone has declined somewhat over the years, the tradition has never stopped. There have always been at least a few post rock cutters in the state who not only do repair work on old structures but also help build an occasional new structure. Recently post rock has become a cultural symbol of central Kansas, representing both the land and the people who settled it. This symbolic use of the post rock has caused a renewed interest in this Kansas folk art. "

Post Rock Cutting - Kansas Folk Art - Kansapedia - Kansas Historical Society

you can drive down the roads and still find upright limestone fence " poles "

I saw some driving home to Omaha from Denver one year, it was a sight worth stopping for. At least for a kid that grew up here in the Pacific Northwet, where the trees and shrubbery will overgrow everything if not chopped back every other day.

[aslyfox]

I saw some driving home to Omaha from Denver one year, it was a sight worth stopping for. At least for a kid that grew up here in the Pacific Northwet, where the trees and shrubbery will overgrow everything if not chopped back every other day.

Those are what I was talking about

[robtcorl]

That limestone was a lot easier to work with than the granite quarried from here in MO at present day Elephant Rocks SP.

[Parallax]

Do you feel lucky Punk?

You're scaring me.

[Ex Finn.]

A side by side double barrel loaded with bacon-bits!

[Racer X 69]

Going that is, getting home is always a priority coming back.

When we went to Arnold, NE last year for my uncle's funeral, I gave extra time for each day to be able to stop and nose around. Sure, I got there 2 days (1,500 miles), but there was still time to check a thing or two out. Coming home we took 3 days. Went through a lot of small town America. Almost entirely on 2 lane highways and county roads (about 1,800 miles).

Life's a journey.

Enjoy the ride.

[Racer X 69]

ccc,
I've tried to figure out your state, thought KS, now thinking OK, or NE?

My money is on the 1000 Lakes state.

[robtcorl]

You're scaring me.

Scares me a bit too, and I know the guy, a damn nice fellow.

[monochrome]

In my city Kirkwood, here in suburban St. Louis County (my city was Incorporated in 1859 and was a major RR division stop until the late 1950’s) our street markers are 8” x 8” waist-high limestone posts with the street names incised and painted black and a pyramid top. Around 1985 the County (that grew up around us) required we replace them with ugly green reflective signs on poles.

My home in in a Designated Historic District though, so our posts must be maintained - and replaced when they’re hit by cars. Makes the County crazy, but they wrote the Historic Preservation Ordinance - so hah hah.

The State of Kansas is part of what is called the " Great Plains " Huge treeless grasslands. settlers needed to find an alternative to wood for fencing off fields
It has a area called " Post Rock Country "

" The area known as "Post Rock Country" stretches for approximately 200 miles from the Nebraska border on the north to Dodge City on the south.

The limestone itself is found close to the surface and is usually uniform in thickness. One of its greatest attractions is that it is soft enough to shape when freshly quarried but hardens with exposure to the air. The feather and wedge method is most commonly used to remove the stone. A rather modest set of tools is required, often made by the local blacksmith. A drill, a hammer, a chisel, and a set of feathers and wedges are needed. After the soil is removed, holes are drilled into the limestone about eight inches apart. Feathers and wedges are placed in the holes and the wedge is hit with the hammer to split the rock.

After the rock is quarried it must be moved to the site of the fence. The posts are then set in the ground about 10 steps or more apart. They are then prepared for the wire fence. Several methods can be used but perhaps the most popular is to notch the post's edges to hold the barbed wire after which smooth wire is wrapped around the post to hold the barbed wire in place. . . .

Although the popularity of working with the stone has declined somewhat over the years, the tradition has never stopped. There have always been at least a few post rock cutters in the state who not only do repair work on old structures but also help build an occasional new structure. Recently post rock has become a cultural symbol of central Kansas, representing both the land and the people who settled it. This symbolic use of the post rock has caused a renewed interest in this Kansas folk art. "

Post Rock Cutting - Kansas Folk Art - Kansapedia - Kansas Historical Society

you can drive down the roads and still find upright limestone fence " poles "

[robtcorl]

You know damn well I thought of Mr Rupert today when I had a CFS for lunch.
That's a $7.50 USD plate lunch in the Heartland of America.

[aslyfox]

Scares me a bit too, and I know the guy, a damn nice fellow.

so it isn't Robtcorl, a member of the forum

the scary guy doesn't get a vote

let the bag pipes play

[Ex Finn.]

So all they have is 1000 lakes.
Poor Minnesotians

[bertwert]

Do you feel lucky Punk?

I feel 1900 miles away lucky