The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1890-05-13
AMID whIZZINc pYNAMos.
The City Council Visits the Electric
Light Station.

The members of the City Government Wis
tied and inspected the works Of the COnsOl-
dated Electric Light Company on Plum street
last evening, accepting special invitation
Of the General Manager Mr. George f. Ray
mond. They were met and shown over the
works by Mr.. Raymond and Superintendent
Harry Mason. 1t is very doubtful If one
thinks when he looks at an incandescent
light, Of the immense, outlay Of cap
ital, necessarily back Of 1t. The visitors last
evening found system as near perfection
as skill. science and ingenuity can make It,
II is III fact almost duplicate. asysssl1, en-
deavors in that respect, having been made as
far as possible. Way out In the boiler room
it begins; here are five immense boilers in
regulor use, with two spares for use in emer-
gencies. The total capacity Of these boilers
is 900 horse power, and they consume twelve
tons of coal every twenty-four hours. Out
4 is stacked some 200 tons Of coal,
the supply on hand never being allowed to
fall much below that amount. Two water
mains feed the boilers one from Plum street.
the other from Union street, so in case of an
accident to either the other is ready. A dom
key pump is constantly in motion forcing
water into the boiler; should this pump give
out an injector is hardy for the same pur-
fre-alarm tapper gives its warning
here and an electric bell announces the stop
ping and starting of any engine throughout
the system. Steam is supplied direct to the
several engines so that an accident to one
pipe, would not interfere with the working
of any other engine.
ofx ;s, hxy
dyn amo, the same engine that runs said dy-
namo is at the same time running another,
which at any time can be placed in commits
sion. Each arc dynamo has capacity of 40
lights, and there are eight dynamOs here.
A big Westinghouse dynamo, aided by a
little inciter has a capacity of $50 lights. This
dynamo is devoted to supplying the Union
station and the Maine Central offices.
An Edison dynamo with asapacity of 416
incandescents runs, the 246 thirty-two can
die power street lights.
But the Thomson-Houston system is prob
ably the most interesting part of the works
1t occupies the large room one enters directly
from the office, where the word "WelcOme''
shone forth last night in the brilliancy of IA
incandescent lights. Eight low pressure
dynamos, 110 volts each. compose the three
systems all feeding one grand circuit capa-
BILE of supplying $500 mile lights in
stores, offices. etc. Here are the accurate
amperemeters connected with each dynamo,
and so arranged that the exact amount Of
work each dynamo in the system is doing
can be readily seen at glance by those in
charge.
Tho comnanv keens on hand extra
,ssSsstnSes. belts, pulleys, and intact nearly
every part of sne various las-sc s.ie1 sai1
breaking of any part OF which wouid serf-
ously interfere with the service.
The company will furnish arc lights on
Peaks Island this summer for the Casco Bay
Steamboat Company; about 25 lights will be
used and a new dynamo will be placed In
the present station on the island.