San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1894-08-23
Transmitting Power.


gress of the work at Niagara has
proved an active stimulus to en-
gineers all over the world. Almost
every day brings some new scheme
for the utilization OF power at a
point far from its source. In I'll o
early part of last month a plan
was outlined for supplying the
power for the great Paris EXPOSE
tion of 1900 from the coal fields of
Northern France, and now most
important project on somewhat
similar lines is proposed in Eng
land. b. II. Thwaite and James
Swinburne have submitted to the
Manchester Association of En-
gineers a plan for transmitting
power from the South Yorkshire
coal field to London, with trunk
lines for serving the large towns
along the line Of transmission, in
Guiding Derby, Nottingham,
Leicester, Bedford, Northampton,
etc., and possibly an auxiliary
station in South Staffordshire for
the service of Wolverhampton and
| the industrial areas in the line of
it's route across to the point where
| it Joins the main trunk line serv-
ing the metropolis. The plan is
to generate power by burning coal
at the pits mouth, and to transit
NIT the power electrically. The
coal will first have it's residual
products removed. AS these form
the most valuable portion of the
coal, the fuel actually used may
be itself fairly regarded as the
residual product of the distillatioD.
Gas engines are to be employed
instead of steam engines and
boilers, and the power is to be
transmitted by highpressure alter
mating currents. The scheme bears
much resemblap Ce to the Niagara
plan, but the latter has the advan-
tage of using water, which costs
nothing, while in England, the out
lay for coal will be 2 per cent of
the cost of the power delivered in
London. The value of such a pro-
vision will be enormous. Textile
and other factories and workshops
will be at once connected up with
the ower-transmission mains,
and the anxiety and responsibility
Of the factory owner in regard to
his power plant, involving the care
of the skilled and unskilled labor
element, will be at an end. The
space absorbed by the boilers and
economizers, engine house, coal
stores and chimney will not be re-
quired, and all the troubles of OBJ
tanning coal and suitable water
supply and the thousand and one
requirements of the maintenance
of a steam engine plant, will be
avoided. The serious waste of fuel
in early lighting and during meal
hours would be escaped, as we'll as
the excess of labor almost always
associated with the operation of
isolated and comparatively small
steam power plants. AT certain
hour in the morning the move
ment of a switch would start the
plant, and at night the quick turn
of handle would cut off the power.
The interest saved on plant would
be not the least important con-
sideration. The main service
would be available for lighting
purposes, for elevating goods, and
traversing them for ventilating,
fire extinction, electrolytic and in
Vulnerable other purposes. If it
were found necessary to stop IL e
factory for an indefinite period,
there would be no expensive staff
TO maintain, and the reduction of
skilled labor made possible would
constitute a momentous economic
item. Another Of the many advan-
tages of the plan is that an ad-
ditional extension, involving extra
power plant, could easily be made
and thus what is often one Of the
greatest difficulties attendant on
an increase of business would be
overcome.