Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1892-01-24
THE CITY LIGHT PLANT.
HOW THE WORK GENERALLY IS PROGRESS
SING,
And What Remains to Be Dons-About Two
Months Time Will Likely Be Rsquired-Ths
Incandescsnt Light Question.

Despite the cold, wet and snowy
weather OF the past two weeks work
has been progressing in a fairly salts
factorily manner at the city electric
light plant, and there is good reason for
the prediction that in sixty days more,
or about the first of April, the plant will
be in working order. Better time than
this can hardly be expected, inasmuch
as the weather at this season Of the year
is very unreliable, and much OF the
labor must be done in the open air.
"A visit TO the plant yesterday showed
that bricklayers, roofers and machinists
were hard at work. About two-thirds
OF the corrugated iron roof is on, and
about five days of good weather will see
IL all in place. AS soon as that state OF
affairs arrives, the carpenters will be-
gin fitting in windows and doors, and
closing the building in so that it can be
warmed. The machinists have all the
shafting bed plates in place on the
foundations, aud bolted down, and the
big shaft is lying on the floor, with the
clutch pulleys near by, ready to be put
In place as soon as the bed plates are
finally lined up. The engine men have
the bed plates Of both engines, weigh
ing six or seven tons each, inside
the building and up on
the cap-stones, where they are
to finally rest, and the cylinder for the
north engine is also approximately in
place. The cylinder for the south en-
CINE will likely be holsted inside the
building tomorrow. This machinery is
very heavy, and it will probably take
five weeks to get the engines together
They have necessarily been exposed to
the elements good deal for about nine
ty days past, and it may be that some
delay will occur through rust having
accumulated in valves, slides, etc. Even
the bright metal stored in the old Bod
ley building was found to have rusted
good deal.
At the boiler house the boilers were
being finally lined up yesterday. The
brick work OF the furnaces is perhaps
two-thirds done, and this work will
likely require ten days more. The big
iron smoke-stack is not yet in place, but
the foundation has been ready for it for
sometime. The bricklayers yesterday
were working at the furnaces, and were
also topping out the small chimneys on
the power-house walls, so that stoves
could be put into the building as soon as
the roof is on. The permanent floor
has not been laid as yet, it not being
desirable to put it down until the roof
was on and the machinists had quit
dragging big pieces of engines around.
Superintendent Bleoo is pushing the
pole line construction, and 1t is nine
tenthS done, so far as stringing wire is
concerned. On this part Of the work,
one hundred mast arms remain to be
put up, then four hundred hoods and
hanger-boards must be placed, and fin
ally the lamps themselves must be hung
and connected up with the line. This
work will neCessitate visiting each OF
the four hundred points where lamps
are to be hung several times, in rota-
ton, and will take up some weeks.
The line must also be strung over the
bridge across the river. Then, at
the power house, the switc h-board must
be put in, the wires carried in and con-
nected, am-meters, volunteers, light
ing arresters, cut-offs and other appli-
ances rugged up, adjusted and tested,
the dynamos brought here from Fort
Wayne, set In place, and connected
with the steam-power and with the
switchboard, aid big lot OF incident
al work done, before start can be
made. 1t will thus be easily seen that
sixty days is not to long a time to allow
indeed, it will probably be little too
short, especially IL there should be lot
of bad weather in the meantime. The
fact is, that the whole matter is little
larger job than most of those having
charge ofthe construction Of the plant
imagined, when they started with it,
hence the failure to "get the light on
by Christmas" so often heard in the
beg inning.
Apropos of the city arc plant, it is
pertinent to say that the subcommittee
to which was delegated the task OF
making an inventory and fixing price
for the incandescent plant Of the Wheel
Electrical Company are at work. They
have engaged an expert, and he has Wis
tied the plant, and looked around 1t,
and report from him is expected in
the not far distant future. This report
will be made to the Electric Light Com