Get to know the courageous, highly-skilled men and women who
risk their lives to keep the power flowing and the lights burning.
- Technicians work on live power lines carrying as much as 765,000 volts.
- Meet old-timers and new trainees, and see how the craft has evolved over the decades.
- A thorough history of one of the most dangerous jobs in the modern world: electrical lineman.
Since
man first caught lightning in a bottle and tamed electricity, we have
maintained a wary relationship with this unimaginably critical but
deadly force. We have always relied on a select caste of technicians to
wrangle the vital spark for us: the linemen (and, increasingly,
linewomen).
Over every fruited plain and purple mountain of this
nation are strung lines conveying hundreds of thousands of volts to the
remotest corners. Every mile of line represents an engineering marvel
and an imperiled life.
In this special presentation from THE
HISTORY CHANNEL®, you have a rare chance to meet these unsung heroes of
American progress. Go back in time with men who put up lines half a
century ago against stunning odds. Meet victims of harrowing power line
accidents. See how today’s trainees are being prepared and watch as
they learn how to rescue comrades from high voltage towers.
In
the early days, the death toll among these men was one in two. Through
their own improvisational ingenuity they devised home-made solutions to
many of the problems that hampered electrical distribution and made
their work so dangerous. The work remains risky – making repairs from
the skids of a hovering helicopter, voluntarily allowing 500,000 volts
to pass through you – but today the death toll is far lower and the real
story is the mammoth scope of modern electrification projects.
You’re in for a shock, you’re in for a treat, from this special THE HISTORY CHANNEL® presentation, HIGH VOLTAGE.
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