Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-01-03
ESPECIAL rrIEenAM TO THE DISPATCH,

ESPECIAL TELEGRAM TO THE D1sPATcH.l
NEW YORK, January 2.-The first incaE-
descent electric lighting station ever estab-
lished was burned out this morning by a
fire that did 5000, 900 worth of damage at the
southwest corner of Pearl and Fulton streets
and blocked travel in that quarter Of the
city for several hours. The electric light
building, In which the fire started, was the
original station of the Edison Company. It
was still used to supply $4,000 incandescent
lamps in the part of the city below Spruce
street. 1t contained eight old-fashioned
"Jumbo" dynamos, with the boilers and
engines necessary to run them.
The fire started in the dynamo room, un-
doubtedly from sparks from one of the ma
chimes. When. through break in the wire
or for any other reason there is sudden re-
duction in the amount of electricity that a
dynamo is required to supply, the effect
upon the dynamo resembles the effect of the
sudden flying off of the belt from the main
driving wheel of powerful engine. The
tendency is for the machinery to tear itself
to pieces.
SUICIDAL PRoPENsITIEs.
d
outflow of the current, and the consequent
increase in speed, unless the power pro-
pelling is instantly reduced to correspond it,
causes the dynamo to commit suicide by
"burning out" as 1t is called. The inten-
sity of the current destroys the brushes and
other beat-sensitive parts of the machinery.
A shower OF sparks fly in every direction
when this occurs. The building on Pearl
street was only an old warehouse with mod
ern floors, and these in the course of years
had become soaked with oil from the ma
chinery.
There had been trouble with the wires ON
one of the circuits during the night, and it
is supposed that this led to the burning out
of a dynamo, the sparks from which set fire
to the oily floor.
OTHER TROUBLE IN ST. LOUIS.
A special from st. Louis says: The tele-
phone service Of st. Louis is to-day just
about knocked out The cause of the
trouble is the beginning of the operation Of
the Missouri Electric Light Company's 8
plant, which Eliminates the alleys of the
city. 1t was first manifested Tuesday even
ing, and this morning, early, when the
electric lights were turned out. 1t was not
then, however, a comparison to the trouble
to-day.
About II o'clock this morning it began
anew, and by noon the Bell Telephone Com
pany had 1000 wires utterly useless, and
about 80 per cent of its service was very
seriously impaired. The fire alarm tele-
graph was in working order. but the tele-
phone and police system of the city was
crippled almost to uselessness. The ques-
tion then was what to do about it, as there
could possibly be no remedy as long as ex-
isting conditions remain.
A DEsPoNDENT VIEW.
General Manager George f. Durant, of
the Bell company, when seen, took de-
spondent view of the situation, and said the
only real remedy would be a metallic cir
cult for each subscriber, and this would in
volve an underground circuit 1--WE have, "
said he, "done everything in our power, so
far. We have had all the men out we could
get, and worked through the rain of Wednes-
day night and to-day. The only other step, "
he said, "may be to enjoin the lighting
company from operating its plant. They
are doing everything they can to help US
solve the problem, and we do not want to be
forced to use harsh measures against them,
but would not be surprised if it would
come to that"