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Linemen ROPE ACCESS (See the full slide show at bottom)

Ropes That Rescue (RTR) is a leader in the electrical bulk power delivery (transmission) field. We specialize in tower, substation and mid-span conductor rescue training and rope access. Our power line rope access training was ground-breaking in the early years and RTR’s Reed Thorne pioneered the way for power companies to use this as a tool on power transmission structures. It was a steep learning curve as getting linemen to wear climbing style helmets instead of the usual linemen “brain buckets”  was a tough sell. Reed’s initial transmission line rope access techniques were recorded in Alan Drew’s historical The American Lineman book for Northwest Linemen College (see bottom of this page). Many of Reed's early photos of power line rope access are shown in this publication. The very first SPRAT (Society of Professional Rope Access Technicians) "certified" transmission linemen were  a tough group of Southern California Edison Company Trainers in 2007 trained by Reed in Chino, California. His extensive knowledge comes from transmission line experience in T&D which very few training companies can offer. RTR knows power lines and has trained some of the largest utilities in the US. We always say “Training BY linemen, FOR linemen”
 
linemen rope access training 

Our in-depth, hands on training is broken into three distinct and different areas involving transmission lines: 

1) Rope access for transmission linemen (doing work via rope with written work procedure) 

  • Accessing tangent insulators (V string and I string)
  • Dead end insulator strings (hot end)
  • Conductors (single, twin, triple and quad sub-conductors)
  • Transmission tower guying systems
  • Any area of a transmission tower (self supporting or guyed)
  • Radio communications tower workers(self supporting or guyed)

2) Rope rescue of linemen off of power transmission towers and conductors

3) Fall protection using 100% attachment and rope

Linemen rope access

RTR has trained in transmission line rope access:

  • Public Service Electric & Gas, NJ 
  • Pacific Gas & Electric, CA
  • Southern California Edison Company, CA
  • Los Angeles Dept. of Water and Power, CA
  • San Diego Gas & Electric, CA 

Essential training for:

  • Transmission linemen working on and off ropes
  • Those wishing alternative methods of providing 100% fall protection on structures

contact rtr

 

 

American LinemanAlan Drew American LinemanAlan Drew Lineman
Super lineman, Alan Drew, of Northwest Linemen College holding the bestselling hardcover book he authored The American Lineman. Alan serves as a technical consultant for NWLC and still remains as a part time instructor. At far right, Alan retrieving a very rare old multi-part porcelain insulator from a pole in Idaho for Reed Thorne referred to in the hobby as an Thomas gray M-2430. Reed is a porcelain and glass multi-part insulator collector and he still has this M-2430 in his collection. See more insulators of Reed’s HERE.
  • NOTE: RTR develops specific task-related transmission line and tower rope access plans and draws the specific towers with written procedures if needed. Reed's illustrations of transmission towers are second to none in the industry. Also, RTR can train linemen up on all the disciplines of rescue by fellow linemen on transmission structures. See the two professional rescue and rope access videos done for Georgia Power and PG&E on the Lineman Training page HERE

  • PG&E Towermen here using rope access techniques developed by RTR for accessing the mid guy intersections on 500kv transmission lines near Round Mountain (Redding) California in 2014.

  • PG&E Tower Crews here using rope access techniques developed by RTR for accessing down guys on dead end 500kv transmissionn lines near Round Mountain Substation (Redding) California in 2014.

  • Ropes That Rescue "Adopt-A-Highway" on Hwy 89A

    RTR has been 'sponsoring' (Adopt-A-Highway) a two mile section of Arizona scenic highway 89-A in Oak Creek Canyon since 1993. This beautiful scenic section is just above Midgley Bridge and includes a spectacular vista of the red rock Mitten Ridge and famous Teapot Rock (just behind the right sign post). 

  • This John William Waterhouse painting illustrates Alfred Tennyson's poem The Lady of Shalott. Draped over the boat is the fabric the lady wove in a tower near Camelot. But she brought a curse on herself by looking directly at Sir Lancelot. With her right hand she lets go of the chain mooring the boat. Her mouth is slightly open, as she sings 'her last song'. She stares at a crucifix lying in front of her. Beside it are three candles, often used to symbolize life. Two have blown out. This suggests her life will end soon, as she floats down the river.

    From Reed Thorne: The classic Brittish Pre-Raphaelite style John William Waterhouse painting of The Lady of Shalott from the Tenneyson Poem. The painting is my favorite classical piece found in the Tate Museum in London. I stood in awe of it when I visited the Tate in 1974.