Last change: June 23 2025
Larned, KS September 2014
29 pics
RemovedChecked on "as of" date (either in person or via latest GSV available), removal happened as late as that date or before
as of Apr 2022
Update Jan 2025: It was inevitable but at some point between Apr 2018 and Apr 2022 all this old stuff in Larned was removed. The pole locations and series insulators
survive, but the new LED fixtures are wired overhead with duplex cable now.
Larned is an awful long way from anywhere. Almost in the middle of the state, it's on
Kansas Hwy 56 about 80-100 miles northwest of Wichita. It's not as small as some towns on this site, with a population of about 4000.Driving in from the south on S Broadway St, the old GE M400 indicates that there might be some interesting old lighting here.
Still heading north on S Broadway St, this is the sight in the downtown area. Old fixtures, and some very old fixtures- see the Form 400s?- as far as the eye can see.
A closeup of one of the remote ballast Form 400 fixtures reveals that these are all series wired- in Larned the series loops run at 20A, quite rare as most of the surviving series loops in the US are 6.6A.
There are a mixture of remote and integral ballast fixtures, like this GE M400. This is still on S Broadway St.
The fixture breakout in the loop is done with a single post top insulator.
Further north on Broadway St, the series loop zig zags across the street from pole to pole.
RemovedChecked on "as of" date (either in person or via latest GSV available), removal happened as late as that date or before
as of Apr 2022
Turning right from Broadway St to E 14th, more old fixtures- in this case a GE Form 109.
14th St has a run of very well maintained Form 109s amongst other old fixtures...
...stretching off into the distance.
Turning back and looking west on 14th St, a sight probably not seen anywhere else in the US since the 1950s.
As far as we know, this is the largest surviving installation of Form 109 fixtures in the US.
A closer view of the right hand side of the street.
...and a closeup of a fixture and arm. All the old fixtures we saw were in very good condition, obviously well maintained.
Heading west on W 14th St, more old fixtures, in this case some remote ballasted OV25s.
RemovedChecked on "as of" date (either in person or via latest GSV available), removal happened as late as that date or before
as of Jul 2024
Update Jan 2025: Latest GSV (Jul 2024) shows this installation has indeed been removed at some point in the past 7-10 years.
Update Oct 2018: Another incandescent sportsfield installation has been found, at a former public school in Kennedy, MN. As of now it is in much better condition than the one pictured here at Larned, although the school and ball field are not used any more so the operational condition of those lights is unknown.
This next sequence of pics is from the
baseball field at the northwest corner of the Larned Senior High School, at W 11th and Morris. There is the remains of an incandescent lighting installation here.Update Oct 2018: Another incandescent sportsfield installation has been found, at a former public school in Kennedy, MN. As of now it is in much better condition than the one pictured here at Larned, although the school and ball field are not used any more so the operational condition of those lights is unknown.
As with the roadway lighting in this town, the continuing existance of this installation is unprecedented, perhaps in the whole of the US. It is fairly common to see the odd one or two incandescent floods still surviving, and occasionally still working. Much more unusual, is to see a complete incandescent sportsfield installation that has largely survived, albeit in this case not working.
Unfortunately, recent (2018) satellite views suggest that this installation might have been removed. I've not been back since 2014 so have not confirmed this.
Update Jun 2025: Although the Larned sportsfield lights pictured here are now gone, at Kennedy MN mentioned in the previous description here, latest
GSV (Aug 2024) shows the school, the field and 8 light towers still extant. 6 of the towers have 16 light fixtures, two have 24. Each tower has its own step down transformer.
Despite not being in use for many years, the school buildings and ball field are still being maintained by the looks of things.
There are several wooden poles with an assortment of different incandescent floods,
many still with the lamp intact.
A mix of what looks like short throw and longer throw fixtures, presumably this installation was designed like that.
There appears to be 240V coming out of the weatherhead (2 black wires), and the (presumably) 120V lamps split between each phase. The wiring is rather haphazard, with the fixture wires all wired toghether with split bolts and not protected from the elements at all. Whether this was acceptable practise when this was installed- I'm guessing in the 1930s or 40s- or not, is lost in the mists of time.
There appears to be 240V coming out of the weatherhead (2 black wires), and the (presumably) 120V lamps split between each phase. The wiring is rather haphazard, with the fixture wires all wired toghether with split bolts and not protected from the elements at all. Whether this was acceptable practise when this was installed- I'm guessing in the 1930s or 40s- or not, is lost in the mists of time.
Most of the fixtures are in good condition, the enamelling on the reflectors still largely intact.
A wider view of the poles in the previous closeups.
...and a view of the other side of the field. It looks like the field itself is abandoned, not just the lighting installation.
A view of the whole installation- 8 poles in total with around 70 fixtures. That's probably 50-100kW of loading, depending on lamp wattage.
Although some of the wiring can be seen to be intact, my guess is that this installation is abandoned judging by the general conditions of things.
A final view of the field, and the big skies so common in this part of the world.
Back on 14th St in town, and another look at the Form 109s there.
There are some Form 109s on metal poles although most of the poles in town are wooden.
A fantastic sight, and one that's probably unique in the US right now.
A look at one of Larned's regulator installations, this one at the intersection of 14th St and Broadway St. Oil switch is to the left. This is a 20A regulator.
A view from the other side- the regulator has a built in under current relay in the box on the side of the main can. The meter supplying the control circuit is to the left.
The regulator, and some of the fixtures it feeds. That scene (except the Subway) has not changed in 60 years.