Large glass power insulators have fascinated this writer since 1986, when several coolie hats, Muncies and Pyrex power pieces were acquired from a power company in Great Falls, Montana. Some fabulous CD 378.8's and other French power pieces were also found in Australia in the 1980's and early 1990's and brought back to Alaska, forming the nucleus of a glass power collection.

The first huge insulator was found by chance in the south of France in March, 1996 while my son, Will, was making his first trip to France with me. We had just completed a private tour of Chateau Margaux, a famous winery just out of Bordeaux, France and had driven to the nearby city of Saintes to check out the power depot. The depot was closed when we arrived but a lone worker locking up allowed us into a large fenced area to retrieve a couple nosers and t-bars. While we were cutting the iron pins off the insulators, the worker kept pointing to a pile of broken glass across the compound and insisted we go check it out.

This pile of broken glass turned out to be a huge, four piece power insulator with a shattered top, creating the pile of broken glass. Partially hidden behind this unit was another huge unit in perfect condition. The only thing Will said as he carried it to the car was, "it's heavy". Safely back in Alaska, this unit was assigned the CD 370.5 number by Mr. Woodward in May, 1996 and is illustrated on page 50 of the 1996 green price guide published by Albers-Woodward. This illustration also shows clearly the important fourth piece of glass, a heavy collar between the middle skirt and the base of the unit that adds greatly to the insulating qualities of the insulator. This unique insulator proved to be the largest and the heaviest pin type glass insulator ever found in the hobby, a record it held for almost a decade.

Seven years and many insulator trips to France passed by before another huge power piece was found. A line of large power insulators had been observed south of Clermont-Ferrand in October, 1997, all still in use. When I returned to check the line out in March, 2003, it had been demolished without a single insulator being saved. The power official who shared this information with me remembered an old glass insulator in one of their storage areas and went to check it out. What he brought back, and presented to me, was a huge, three piece Isorex insulator in green black glass. Unfortunately, the top skirt was broken on the flights back to Anchorage but it is still an impressive piece of glass. This unique insulator was assigned the CD 378.9 number by Mr. Woodward in January, 2007.

# 2 CD 378.9 (dome) Isorex/417 (3 piece) - Green black. Dimensions: 15-3/4" x 14-3/4" x 11- 3/4" X 13-1/2". Weight - 53 pounds. Number known - Unique

March 2005 found me in the south of France searching for a large, four piece L' Electro Verre power insulator. Jim and Lis Bergman, friends and fellow collectors, had brought one of these units back to Alaska a few years earlier and told me there had been more in the area. Although my search was unsuccessful, I did have the good fortune to meet a high EDF official who was the chief engineer for a large district in the south of France. He informed me that a short, remaining section of an old line of large power insulators would be dismantled in several months and he would notify me of the exact date this would happen. While in the engineer's office, I admired a huge, unembossed insulator in dark green glass that had a smoothly rounded top. It had been given to the engineer many years earlier by a close friend, long deceased, and was a personal treasure of the engineer.

October, 2005 found me back in the engineer's office, again admiring his dark green monster insulator. Dismantling work on the old line had been delayed a few days so the engineer volunteered to take me to another EDF depot sixty miles away to check on power insulators. Once at the depot, I was shown a huge power insulator that was on display in their main building, the same L' Electro Verre unit I had been searching for earlier. After a discussion between my engineer friend and the head EDF officials, the velvet rope protecting the display was taken down and the insulator loaded into the engineer's truck for me. Safely back in Alaska at the end of this trip, the L' Electro Verre unit proved to be virtually identical to the 1996 Folembray find. This was confirmed when Mr. Woodward accorded it the same CD 370.5 number in January, 2007.

#3 CD370.5 (dome) L' Electro Verre/475 (4 piece) - Dark green. Dimensions: 15-1/2" x 14" x 13" x 15". Weight - 53.8 pounds. Number known - Two

Two days after being given the L' Electro Verre beauty, the engineer rendezvoused with me two hours east of his office, where the contract crew had just taken down the first two towers of the old line. One glance at the first insulator convinced me it was larger than any of the other monsters I had found. The engineer introduced me to the three man crew and I then spent three full days working with them, checking each tower as it came down to see if there was a decent insulator on it as most were badly damaged.

Nine good insulators were recovered in the three days I spent with the crew, and two more days were spent packing and double boxing the units for the flights home with me. Unfortunately, three of these beauties were shattered after safely clearing customs at San Francisco airport and being turned over to the TSA authorities for security checks and the flight on to Alaska. This Folembray giant was assigned the CD 370.6 number by Mr. Woodard in June 2006 and is now the largest glass insulator known, although not the heaviest. At 53.1 pounds, it is still lighter than the CD 370.5 found in March, 1996. The five extra jewels quickly found homes in major collections around the country.

September, 2006 found me back in the south of France again, visiting with a great contact who had been finding some new styles of medium size power pieces for me. I decided to go by and visit my engineer friend again, only to find out he was at home on leave when I reached his office. A coworker called him and he insisted they give me a cup of coffee and he would be right in. While enjoying my cup of coffee, I noticed that his dark green monster was no longer on the window sill. We had a nice visit after the engineer arrived and he informed me he was retiring on November 1, 2006 after almost thirty-five years with Electricity De France (EDF). He accompanied me out to my car but before I could say goodbye, he went to his car and came back carrying the dark green monster from his office. He had taken it home for good while doing some pre-retirement cleaning in his office, then decided it would have a better home and be much more appreciated in my collection. He explained that he had come to understand my love and passion for the large power insulators during my several visits and trips with him. This great friend was now personally responsible for my acquiring the last three of my five monster insulators.

A lot of time was spent carefully packing and double boxing this beauty for shipment back to Alaska, where it arrived safely. Placed on my electronic scales, it weighed an astounding 56 pounds, outweighing the CD 370.5 Folembray, which held the record for heaviest pin type insulator known for ten and one-half years. This no name monster was assigned the CD 370.7 number by Mr. Woodward in January, 2007.

EPILOGUE - Is there a larger or a heavier French power insulator still out there waiting to be discovered? How about a style or an embossing that is different from the above five that is over the magical, fifty pound mark? Only time will answer these questions. One thing is certain though, this writer will continue to look for one on every insulator trip to France.

Editor's Note: For a perspective on the size of these monsters, note that the smaller insulators shown with the monsters at the start of the article are CD 164's.