End of the line

REGARDING the Telegraph Pole Appreciation Society (January 19), I spotted this fine example on the parapet of the old Great North of Scotland Railway viaduct over the River Ythan, at Ellon, Aberdeenshire. It appears to be a hybrid ‘pole’, the wooden section bolted to a length of rail, elegantly bent to shape. Cross-arms extant; insulators damaged or missing. I estimate its age at 80–100 years and have no idea why it is still attached to the viaduct, 57 years after the line closed to passengers and 43 years after full closure. Brian Taylor, Aberdeenshire