|
This steel tower was used to deliver electricity generated by the Shimotaki Hydroelectric Power Station, with a capacity of 37,500 kilowatts, which was constructed in 1911 by the Kinugawa Power Company in Kinugawa Spa in Tochigi Prefecture, through the 124 km-long, 66 kV double-circuit transmission line to the Ogu Substation in order to supply electricity to streetcars in Tokyo. The steel tower was constructed based on an American design but using domestically manufactured materials. The tower was specially designed to meet requirements such as narrower width between outermost electric wires in order to minimize compensation to landowners, while retaining a triangular wire arrangement. This steel tower was called "Banzai Tower" because it looked like a person with arms outstretched in the "banzai" posture. In 1918, the world's first power line carrier telephone communication experiments were conducted using this Kinugawa Transmission Line. |
