The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1892-11-20

and workshops.
Thus 10000 horse power will be de-
veloped, or enough 10 equal the water
| power OF Lawrence, Lowell, Holyoke.
\ Turner'S Falls, Manchester. Bellows
! Falls, Lewiston, Cohoes, Oswego. Pater-
son, n. j.. Augusta, Ga, Minneapolis.
| Rochester and Lockport combined.
The Niagara river Itself Is che basin or
reservoir. and floods, washouts and fresh
| cts will have no more effect on the tun-
mel or water power than a breath Of sum-
mer air The raceways. canals, conduits
and wheel pits are cut through the hard
| and durable rock, which gives TO all alb
solute permanency, and the fact OF the
rock being but few feet lat no point
over ten feeD below the surface enables
the buildings and heavy machinery TO be
Ilaced upon solid foundations.
The water falls upon turbine wheels,
which will be put in by the company in
a number OF pits. and the power d.
veloped thereby will be brought TO the
surface. from which point 1t will be de-
! lvered TO the mills or factories at that
point. or transmitted by cable, Pneumatic
tube or electricity TO adjacent lands, as
the customers may desire. 1t has not yet
been definitely decided just how It is to
be transmitted. but It is probably to be
done by electricity. Professor George
Forbes, Of London, and Professor w.
Cawthorne Irwin, also OF London, who
are recognized authorities on hydraulics
and power transmission, are now here in
consultation with the Cataract Construc-
ton Company at the falls. The special
study OF Professor Forbes will be the in
stallation Of an electric plant for the
generation Of power current and the
transmission of that current to the mills
as needed, TO Buffalo, eighteen miles
away, and along the intervening strip.
which is now being eagerly snapped up
as manufacturing sites.
At present the completion Of the tun-
mel leaves the large force Of meE free TO
work upon the deep trenches. IN which
the turbines will be located and up which
the vertical shafts will transmit the
power as it is created by the downpour
or the water in the great stand-pipes
now going into position. These trenches
sink on either side the canal supplying
the water, and winter or summer. unaf-
fected by Ice or drought, the supply Of
water Will remain constant and twenty
four hours in each day will send I'D the
great power supply. The head Of water
from which the company will draw Is
practically inexhaustible. The watershed
from which the supply is taken covers
about $4,000 square miles, or twice the
area of Great Britain and Ireland Lake
Superior has 81, $50 square miles Of area;
Lake Michigan, % $50 square miles: Lake
Huron and Georgian bay. 23.S2j square
lake miles. and Erie has 1886 square miles
making grand toal Of reservoir area Of
$500 square miles
A few figures will give some notion OF
the power and water equivalents: One
horsepower requires the expenditure Of
9oO foot pounds per second; 10000 horse
power would require 66.OO0,C0O foot pounds
per second. One cubic foot Of water
weighs 81 IL pounds and in falling 12O
feet will develop 1900 foot pounds. AS
sumo that so per cent. Of this can be
realized, one cubic foot Of water will
develop 5000 foot pounds and TO develop
10000 horsepower will require H. 900 cubic
feet Of water per second. The Lake Sur
Vey Board estimates the average flow
10 be 265OOO feet per second. To develop
the power would therefore require IL
&5ths or little more than 4 per cent
OF the total flow, an amount scarcely per-
ceptible at the falls. This estimate is
based on the assumed diversion of all the
water that the tunnel will convey. The
amount taken at first viii be much
smaller. The whole amount would operate
$40 mills Of 800 horsepower each.
These figures answer the question which
is asked over and over again. whether
robbing the falls of the quantity Of water
necessary to do the work will not destroy
the scenic beauty Of the falls The com
missiOners Of the Niagara Reservation
had this possibility in view when they
lodged n protest against the last act
giving legal existence to the power COM
pany The objection was against the |
State making any contract with the tun- |
mel diggers which would make il difficult |
in the future to shut down the mill pro- !
perty if it was found that the existence |
of the falls was in danger. No heed was |
paid to the protest, and the additional |
was given TO the company. The |
same company has since secured similar |
rights and powers on the Canadian side |
from the Dominion at an annual rental !
Of $50, 600.
Practically the company has secured the
ownership Of all the water going over
Niagara Falls, and their use of it depends
on their ability to market he power
which they create. Power will begin Ia
be furnished by March next. Two points
nave already been fixed upon:
]. The central station. where about
10, 900 horsepower will be turned out from
hree 5000 HORSEPOWER wheels, which
viii probably be converted into electricity
ma distributed. BY charging the wheel
lit ten 5000 horsepower VIII .els can be
,ut at this Toint.
2. About 5000 horsepower for the Mia
ara Falls Paper Company, which is
furnished at the extremely low price CT
8 per year per 2i-hour horsepower. The
omp9nYs public announcements Of rates
or power are SO per horsepower for
600 horsepower or over, $3.50 for 1900
rse-poWer, ST for 1900 horsepower,
nd 50 on down to S2l for 800 horsepower.
II for 2l-hCur power if wanted the cost
+ ordinary steam power for a lO-hour
ay rangirg from 80 10 $40.
The building of the tunnel has been an
work Of no small magnitude.
was begun on October T. 1885, and has
cen pushed night and day ever since
it'll a working force Of l,SsD men. divided
ITO two shifts. over a thousand pounds
dynamite were used each twenty-fOLr
ours, and the hard Niagara limestone
as been taken out with the greatest Of :
are
AS soon as the roof line was finished n
)hdly constructed arch Of timber was
'ected as a support and all danger from
hat source was obviated. When the
cond bench was removed heavy posts. ,
inches square, were put in 10 support I
he wooden arch, and these rested on
,cky ledge left for the purpose of re-
owing the last bench.
The timbers were placed very close
gether, and were strong enough 10 re-
ST any pressure. But 10 guard against
rprises, leaks and other faults, the
p, % Iatuaov tho tin barc md tho rOctre