My first attempt would be to look for power distribution manufacturers:

http://www.google.com/search?q=power%20distribution%20equipment

In this case the first link is to
http://www.tucsontransformer.com/

They have pictures for a variety of (used?) equipment, which is useful
in and of itself.

Looking further, though, they list the manufacturer of each piece,
some of which are:
http://www.uscopower.com/
http://www.royalswitchgear.com/
http://www.southernstatesllc.com/
http://www.morpac.com/ (Also equipment for stringing lines)
http://www.sandc.com/
http://www.powellind.com/products_page2.asp?MenuCategory=2&MenuPosition=1
http://w1.siemens.com
http://www.abb.com/
http://www.ge.com/products_services/electrical_distribution.html
http://www.gelearningcentral.com/lms/login/index.php  <-- Learning center...?
http://www.hubbellpowersystems.com/

I imagine if you do that with a few distributers (or just looked at
the nameplates of equipment you pass) then you'll gain a much larger
inventory of links to manufacturers, most of whom post whitepapers,
app notes, etc.

-Adam





On Wed, Jun 18, 2008 at 9:40 PM, Sean Breheny <shb7@cornell.edu> wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> Can anyone point me to a web site which describes details about the
> power distribution network (preferably in the US)? Specifically, I'd
> like to be able to identify some of the equipment commonly seen on
> utility polls and in substations. I'm not looking for a map of the
> actual network (i.e. something which is likely not published for
> security reasons) but just detailed descriptions about the different
> components, what they look like, how they work, etc.
>
> I am familiar with the basics but recently I came across some
> equipment which had been left (unenergized) at the base of a poll. One
> of the items was what I now know is called a fuse cutout. I had often
> seen them at a distance and assumed they were circuit breakers. Upon
> looking at it closely, I couldn't identify any circuit-breaker
> mechanism - it looked like a simple switch. Searches for "switch" and
> "circuit breaker" didn't yield any relevant results. I finally
> stumbled upon the correct term and then found drawings and
> explanations. I'd like to do the same for some other items I've seen
> but have not known what they are.
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> Sean
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