The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-08-06
|DAGARA'S GREAT POWER.
Il VIII Before Long Be- Used for
Purposes Of General
Business.
n Wonderful Triumph OF the Ca
pabilities Of Modern Engi-
neerinG Science.
Power Equal TO That OF 100000 Hersea
6scured-A Hint FOR h Dam
ON the Missouri.

II Ii not 10 very long since the PROPOSE
tion to harness Niagara n make the grsa'
waterfall do duty for manufacturing pur.
poses, like any ordinary little cascade, wal
regarded Rs we'll nigh Impossible. And ye'
that same thing ia now AN almost accom-
plished fact. Canals are dug. tunnels are
bored, shafts sunk. and the whole work II
80 far advanced that this fall Will soc the
completion Of it.
The works Of the Cataract Construction
mpa which 10 doing this great JOB. are
situated q mile and a half above the head
OF the rapids, on the navigable part OF the
Niagara river. By locating them SO far up
stream as this the company was enabled to
take advantage not only of the height OF
the falls itself, but also Of the additional
hfty feet OF perpendicular distance In the
rapids as we'll. This was a great factor in
determining how much water power tho
company would be able to control, says the
New York Times.
Al that point the water is taken from the
river in a large canal and by it distributed
to the sites Of the mills and OF the power
stations, all these points being close to the
river. @"a
At each OF these points perpendicular
shafts are sunk in the rock to a depth or
abaut lao feet. At the bottom of these are
placed the great turbine wheels. from which
the power is derived. The water is brought
10 them in steel pipes, running from the canal
down the shafts to the wheels. The water,
after passing through the turbine wheels
and producing the power, is conveyed by
small tunnels running from the foot of
each shaft, to the great main tunnel. which
takes the water back to the river. emptylng
IL below the falls. Thus the great tunnel is
really the tail race for all the turbine
wheels.
These turbines are placed at the very
lower edge Of the vertical shafts, each of
which is 100 feet deep. Directly upon the
p edge of the shafts are the dyramos
used to produce electricity. If the shaft
upon the bearings At the bottom, the
resulting friction would be very great. 1t
would take considerable power to overcome
IL, and this power could not be again utll-
lied.
The engineers discovered the solution of
the problem in a peculiar construction of
the turbine wheels, by which she water en-
terinp them is made to buoy them up.
the great weight of the shafting is nearly
supported; and. in fact, there is very little
friction except the rolling friction on the
guides at intervals throughout the length
Of the shafting. This is a most Ingenious
oontrivanee that brings the water down the
shaft and throws it up into the wheel. It
Ia one of the most noteworthy trlumphs of
the whole work Of construction.
The big unnel that is built to carry OF
the waste water is driven 6 distance OF
1900 feet, oger a mile and a half, and all
the way through solid rock. 1t is an i'm
mense undertaking. The width ia nineteen
feet and the height is twenty-one feet in
side the b%riekwork. It has a cross section
of 1856 square feet. Throughout its entire
length it is lined with four courses of hard
brick laid in q strong hydraulic cement.
The grade of the tunnel is seven feet in
each 1000, and it will carry sufficient water
to develop at the turbine wheels 100. 600
horse power.
This amount of power is almost imcom.
prehensible. The bare figures convey no
water power ever controlled. and for the
sake of comparison, it may be stated that
it exceeds the combined water power of
Lowell. Lawrence, Holyoke and Cohoes.
This tunnel, from all indications. will be
completed by Sept. l. There are already
iacent to the ANA the new mills of
the Niagara Falls Paper company.
This company was originally organized
ut SAUL Ste. Marie, but on account of the
great power to be had at Niagara has
moved its business and mills to that point.
which will be supplied by six turbine
wheels of 1,0OO-h horse power each. The
wheels are to be placed in one large, square
shaft situated in the middle of the build
lngs. 1t ia expected that the mills will be
in operation early in 1888.
Near the mills are the shafts of the Cata-
ract Construction company, in which are to
be placed four turbine wheels, each of d, 600
horse power capacity. They will be de-
voted to the production of electricity. The
turbines to develop this enormous power
have several peculiarities of design. and
will be made in this country from plans fur
nished by engineers in Switzerland. after
consultation with the engineers of the com
pany.
The four will be at the bottom of q long
notch cut in the solid rock and open en-
tirely at the surface. Provision will be
will be provided. having for its purpose
the removal of ice, should it gather in the
canal. BY the opening OF a gate the ice
will be sent into the tunnel, and there it
will be quickly carried into the river.
The dynamos at the upper ends of the
shafts will have all the improvements which
can be suggested by electrical science. The
electricity hus developed may be used To-
calIy and distributed for owe in the mills.
and it will doubtless also be carried to the
ne~iRhbOrlnR city OF Buffalo. The transmits
sion last year of electricity from the falls
of Lauffen to the city of Frankfort, a dis
tance of 100 miles, with but a very small
ratio of loss. shows conclusively that its
transmission to Buffalo, a distance OF but
twenty miles, can be success sfully accom-
plished.
The Cataract Construction company.
which ia doing all this work. owns over
1000 acres of land adjacent to the Niagara
river, a portion of which is about to be laid
out for mill sites. and another tor resi-
dences of those connected with the works
of the company. Fifty houses will be built
there this fall. according to desians pre-
pared by Messrs. McKim. Mead d White of
this city. The streets of this little town
are to be well paved, severed, and drained.
The company has already constructed n
railroad several miles in length that brings
the mills and works INTO connection with
the several lines of railway passing through
the City of Niagara. The company has also
arranged for u new pumping station at
Niagara Falls to supply the town with pure
water pumped from the river.
Beyond question this is the greatest en-
tsrprise for the development of water power
ever undertaken. The special excellence of
his power IS its unfailing uniformity.
The great tunnel takes but an inapprecin-
BILE fraction of the water from over the
falls. But it has. and always will have, all
the water it can use, and with an uuvary-
ing head.
Very few water powers in the world DOS
sess this element of uniformity. The vari-
ation in streams in times of flood and of
.trnrnht ran9ar IL raparui1p 4