lineworker

thumb|250px|right|Lineworkers repairing electricity distribution lines that supply power to homes A lineworker (also called a lineman, powerline worker or in Britain linesman) constructs and maintains the electric transmission and distribution facilities that deliver electrical energy to industrial, commercial, and residential establishments. A lineworker installs, services, and emergency repairs electrical lines in the case of lightning, wind, ice storm, or ground disruptions. Whereas those who install and maintain electrical wiring inside buildings are electricians, lineworkers generally work at outdoor installations.

==History== The occupation had begun in 1844 when the first telegraph wires were strung between Washington, D.C., and Baltimore carrying the famous message of Samuel Morse, "What hath God wrought?" The first telegraph station was built in Chicago in 1848, by 1861 a web of lines spanned the United States and in 1868 the first permanent telegraph cable was successfully laid across the Atlantic Ocean. Telegraph lines could be strung on trees, but wooden poles were quickly adopted as the preferred method. The term lineworker was used for those who set wooden poles and strung wire. The term continued in use with the invention of the telephone in the 1870s and the beginning of electrification in the 1890s.