Wires along Hwy. 97 at Klamath Lake (Klamath Falls: fence, train, electric)

[Jaybee]

My wife and I recently drove north from K-Falls along the east side of Klamath Lake. For several miles there are wires that look like utility lines but positioned between the highway and the railroad to resemble a rock screen-to keep boulders off the RR. But if they're a rock screen, there's no vertical ties between the poles.

The wires are mounted vertically and directly to the sides of the poles; from near the top to near ground level. If one were walking the wires are within reach-so I doubt they're electrical. However, they do look like they're attached to the poles with some sort of insulator.

Can anyone tell me whether the wires are electrical, telephone, or merely a rock screen?

Thanks.

[PNW-type-gal]

Rock warning. Think of them as a low-voltage Christmas light string without the lights. When a rock comes down that somewhat sheer face to the east of 97 with enough force to snap the wires, it can either just trip a signal to warn an on-coming train or actually get relayed back to a station. This technology's been around since the 20s, I think, and it's called a slide fence.

If you ride the train, you can see that the separate telephone wires actually fell into the lake in a few places. They must not carry signal any more.

[Imperial1904]

When driving north on 97, are you talking about those poles that lean up against the RR on the left? If so, I've always thought they were electric wires to hook up areas north of Klamath Falls.

[PNW-type-gal]

There are two sets of poles - the ones that look like regular utility/telephone lines, which must be disconnected because some of them are actually IN the water and have been for quite some time, and the ones that look like a 15-20' tall fence, except there are only horizontal wires (parallel with the ground) - that's the slide fence right next to the RR, between Hwy 97 and the RR.

[Jaybee]

Thanks for the answer. This will settle a dispute between my wife and I. The wife thought it was an electrical line, I thought it was a fence to stop falling rocks. Turns out we're both a bit right.