SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — From a nitrate film dating back to the 1920s, to a scanner digitizing it into a video file, to an iPad, to a high-definition projector blasting it onto a screen: Oh, how far we’ve come.
In the year 2026, you can now watch an ice storm from nearly a century ago causing power lines to wiggle. The film, likely training material for electrical engineers, was recently discovered in a garage for National Grid cars in Liverpool.
It shows a phenomenon known as “galloping lines” or “jumping cables,” the latter being the film’s title. Power lines laden with ice an inch-and-a-half thick whipped in the wind. If the lines slammed together, the could cause electrical shock waves resulting in fires and mass outages. The same thing happens today, though with more safety precautions…