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General Order 64-A

 

Section VIII

 

Detailed Construction Requirements For Communication Lines

(Class C Circuits)

 

84.8    Service Drops

 

A.    General Clearances.

 

(1)    Normal.  (See Table 1, Column B.)

 

(2)    Above Thoroughfares:  Service drops shall have a vertical clearance of 18 feet above the traveled portions of thoroughfares.  This may be reduced to 16 feet at the curb line of public thoroughfares.  Over private driveways or lanes this value may be further reduced to afford clearance to loads, the heights of which are governed by porches, awnings, etc., but in no case to less than 10 feet.  (See App. G, Fig. 54.)

 

(3)    Above or Below Supply Conductors:

 

a)    More than 6 feet from Pole:  Service drops may cross below open wire supply conductors of 0-750 volts or above supply cables where treated as in Rule 57.8, at a distance of not less than 2 feet, provided the crossing is not within a distance of 6 feet from any pole other than the service pole.

 

b)    Clearance Cross Arm:  Service drops may be supported on a clearance crossarm at a vertical distance of not less than 2 feet vertically above or below open wire supply circuits of 0-750 volts; or not less than 2 feet above supply circuits in cable (treated as in Rule 57.8) where such installations are necessary to obtain a crossing provided the communication service drop conductors are at least 25 inches horizontally from the center line of the pole or where carried on clearance arm in fiber conduit from end to end placed on the under side of the arm and attached to suitable bracket at each end of the arm.  Service drops installed in accordance with this rule will not entail any change in the supply conductors supported on the pole.

 

c)    Brackets:  Paired wire service drops may be distributed from brackets attached directly to the face and back of the pole at a distance not less than 5 feet below supply conductors.  (For climbing space, see Rule 84.7-A6, also Appendix G, Fig.  88.)

 

(4)    Above or Below Supply Service Drops:  Service drops may cross above or below supply service drops of 0-750 volts at a vertical clearance of not less than 2 feet.

 

(5)    Above Trolley Contact Conductors:  Service drops may be installed above trolley contact conductors (including messenger in catenary construction) of 0-750volts at a minimum vertical distance of 4 feet provided they clear the top of rails a vertical distance of 26 feet or 23 feet depending upon whether the railroad crossed does or does not transport or propose to transport freight cars.  (See Rule 74.4-B1.)

 

(6)    Fenced Right of Way:  Railway signal service drops (between the line pole and the signaling device) which are entirely on fenced railway rights of way shall have a vertical clearance above the ground of not less than 7 feet.  This clearance shall be not less than 10 feet when the conductor involved is exposed to vehicular traffic other than at crossings.

 

(7)    From Buildings and Structures:  Service drops may be installed at less than 3 feet from buildings etc., but shall not impair the free use of fire escapes, exits, etc.  The vertical clearance of 8 feet above buildings need not apply on the premises served and for all other locations may be reduced to 2 feet under the following conditions.

 

Over roofs of ¼ pitch (26° from the horizontal) or greater.

Over buildings where the horizontal overhang does not exceed 6 feet.

 

B.    From Combination Arms.  (See Rules 32.5-B and 32.5-C.)