Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-01-19
A LIGHT SUBJECT.
The Lightning Lights of the
Angelic City.
A HISTORY OF THE ENTERPRISE.
From Small Beginnings Large Re-
suits Developed in the Short
Space Of Six Years.


was set in motion on the corner of Ban
ming and Alameda streets, this city. 1t
was to turn single electric dynamo and
generate electricity to light the central
part of Los Angeles. Soon after it was
set in motion the lamps on the tops of
half dozen tall masts began to twinkle
and then they shed their weird but bril-
liant light over the houses of the An
geleflos. 1t was one OF the events which
helped to bring Los Angeles into national
prominence. All the country heard of
the city of climate and it's novel system
of illumination by means of lights gener-
ated by electricity and hung on the tops
of masts as high as that of some great
admiral. For several years all visitors to
this city were duly escorted to the
works after the shades of night had fallen
thick over the earth, land there they be-
held with wonder the single dynamo with
it's many-colored sparks flying from the
conductors, and the light which cast such
a pallor on all around. Los Angeles Twas
in those days the only city in the United
States lighted in this way. The man
who had set the plant up and set the
works in motion, Col. G. II. Rowland,
has been pioneer in more than one en-.
terprise during his long and active Ca
reer. He is still the general manager of
the company, and is ably assisted to-day,
as he has been from the first, by Mr.. J.
w. Warren, the efficient superintendent
and electrician of the works. The writer
was .among the very first newspaper
men in the city to give an account of the
electric light works, and to explain the
modus Operondi of the system. He has
steadily watched the growth of the
concern with much interest, and yester-
day having spare hour he took walk
to the spot to see how the works look at
this juncture. He found Colonel How
land and Mr.. Warren busy about the
place looking after one detail or other at
the works.
BUT WHAT A CHANGE!
Instead of the one small engine he
found that it had been cast aside as USE
less, and there was the second engine
the company bought, a 14x20 engine, still
doing all the work that could be got out
Of it, and besides this three fine 18x42
Corliss machines of the very best make,
pressed to their highest possible capacity
to produce motive power for the plant.
The one small boiler had been replaced
by four immense ones of ordinary make,
and two Hazelton boilers thirty-six feet
high, each containing 900 tubes SO inches
long. There is boiler and engine force
equal to 75O horsepower, and it is all used
while the lights are burning. The one
dynamo has increased to twelve and they
are all driven at their utmost speed. The
driving wheels on the Corliss engines
weigh each ten tons; they are sixteen
feet in diameter, with force twenty-five
inches wide. The pulleys on the dyna-
mos are twenty inches in diameter, and
this combination gives speed of 750 to
800 revolutions per minute. Each dy-
namo is estimated at this speed to pro-
duce light for sixty-fve lamps of 1000
candle power each. This is 130, 900 can
die power to each dynamo, or 1,500, 900
candle power as the product of the
twelve dynamos. One can easily write
a million and half candle power, but
to imagine what the light of that many
candles of the standard guage would be
is far beyond the power of the finite
mind.
But this is not all one sees at the
electric light works. He has to visit the
furnaces and inspect the perfect system
there for generating heat before he fully
comprehends the excellence of the
system.
BURNING OIL.
In the Mikado the killer of the heir
apparent is to be treated to bath in
boiling oil as Humorous" episode. At
the Academy of Music Just now Rev.
Sam Jones has good deal to say about
pretty hot fires. Sam could gain inspir-
alton by visiting Jimmy Warren's fur
naces. Here is another enterprise in
which Los Angeles is the pioneer city of
the Union. At this moment the East is
trying experiments OF all sorts in the
way of burning oil. The problem has
long been solved at the electric light
works. The oil mixed with steam is
forced into a great furnace lined with
fire brick. 1t is injected with great force
against massive heap of these bricks IN
the center of the furnace. The oil and
steam are regulated so that the proper
amount of carbon and OXYGEN are brought
together to consume all the fuel, leave no
smoke and produce the most heat.
The water that goes into the boilers
is first heated and then forced into the
boilers by means of duplex pumps that
work as nicely as watch.
There are repair shops and other &C.
cessories in the rear of the works, and
oil tanks below ground. The whole
business is systematized in the most
admirable manner.
WHAT is ACCOMPLISHED.
Here is the motive force, and here the
system which gives to Los Angeles her
light. The city is six miles square, the
area is thirty-six square miles, or 23,040
acres. It is the largest area on this
Coast attempted to be lighted. That
area is all lighted. More than this.
The country beyond the city for several
miles is largely the beneficiary of this
system. As far off as at Anaheim, a
distance of nearly thirty miles, the
electric lights may be seen like stars on
the horizon. As ships sail outside the
mouth of Santa Monica Bay at
night, the eyes of the watch
ing mariners are attracted by the
lights that gleam from the tall mast
heads on the hills of Los Angeles. Prof.
Geo. Davidson, of the United States
Coast Survey, wrote here some time ago
to learn the altitude of the lights above
sea level with view of calculating how
far out at sea they would be visible.
THE COST OF LIGHTING.
For the electric light service the city
pays 81 900 year for each mast bearing
three lamps of 1000 candle power each.
The total cost for lighting the city is