Omaha daily bee., 1896-11-16
NIAGARA FALLS SET TO WORK
Powerful Electric Current Carried by Wires
to the City of Buffalo,
UNDER CONTRACT TO MOVE STREET CARS
Five Thousand Horse Power Now
Ready for Use, hut the only Com
tract at Present Calls for
One Thousand.

BUFFALO, y. y, Nov. l6.-At mliulghi
the turning Of switch IN the big power
house at Niagara Falls completed a circuit
which caused Niagara to fow uphill. SO 10
speak by returning a fraction OF its resist
less energy, which had already swept past
the gates Of Buffalo, back into that city,
twenty-seven miles distant. The harness
was buckled that bitches the factory wheels
Of Buffalo to the greatest cataract en- earth.
Starting this morning the street cars OF
/ this city will be moved by falls power.
! Hereafter the falls must work enough 10
earn their living. The buckling Of the har-
ness could have been done as well twelve
hours earlier. but owing TO the fact that the
father Of William B. Rankin OF New York,
secretary of the Niagara Falls Power com
! pany is a clergyman, and in Difference to his
wishes. the Niagara Falls power wes not
turned into the transmitting system at noon
! sunday. as had been expected. The CON
nections were made at midnight
The experts having the work in charge
were busy all Of Saturday night and until
late last evening testing the various con
ncctions and going over the machinery to
make sure everything wes in proper order
! When everything WIS in readiness Tor the
Iswitch to be thrown over, the electricians
I were confident that there need be no ccssa-
tion OF the current set flowing over the wires
I OF the Buffalo street railway system.
The distance covered by the line between
/ Buffalo and the falls is twenty-seven miles
and the expert electricians who have the
I work To charge estimate that the loss OF en-
ergy will be less than 10 per cent. and may
not much exceed per cent Careful tcsis
I are to be made in this connection, the tests
1 covering both night and day. and clear. as
| well as rainy weather. The electricians
are paying particular attention to this test
| as on the perfect insulation OF the carrying
-
/ the undertaking. The line that has been
! bGilt TO carry the current bearing wires is
of a most substantial nature. Unlike the
ordinary telegraph line the poles are placed
! cry close together. and are braced in such
manner as TO be proof against heavy
storms. At curves the poles are Sc; double
I and are Euyed TO numerous smaller poles TO
! prevent saEgiuE The overhead line extends
| rom the power house az the falls TO the
-i'y limits Of Buffalo. where the wires enter
clFss insulators are found unequal TO the
strain and porcelain insulators were made
specially to hold the wires. The insulators
were subjected TO a current OF 10000 volts
| before being put IN use. There are al
1 present on the poles eight cables each with
/ carrying capacity OF 5,00j-horse power. or
| 90 0000-horse power in all The poles are Of
| such q substantial character, however, that
his number Of cables is considered safe.
The only contract made so far for the
delivery Of power in Buffalo by the power
company is that with the Buffalo Street
Railway company. for ! .O00-horse power
Under the contract with the city. the com
pletion OF the undertaking Of delivering
power in Buffalo was not obligatory before
next June 1t was in order to secure the
contract with the street railway company
that the work was hurried through far
! ahead OF time. Contracts with others de-
string 10 use the electrical power will now
be made and IL is thought that by the open-
I ing Of spring the power viii be well dis
trlhutcd throughout the city.
Since the inception OF the undertaking. and
| during its carrying out. the company has
| frequently called upon MCssrS. Edison and
| Tesla for advice, and these famous masters
Of electricity have been frequent visitors TO
;he Niagara Falls power house TO solve
technical problems. The power will sell in
Buffalo for s36 horse power per Rnnum.
and under It's contract with the city the
company mus; increase its capacity 10000
horse power per year. until the maximum OF
80 000-horse power has been reached.
The switches were turned on exactly at
midnight by w. L. Bennett. chief en-
Eineer Of the General Electric company
Mayor Jewett was present and held the
watch. Everything worked smoothly.
NIAGARA FALLS. y. Y, Nov. l6.-The
fact that at midnigh, was 10 begin the trans
/ mission Of electrical power from the falls
to Buffalo for the first time drew a very
| large crowd of people to the power house
! Of the Niagara Falls Power company. So
! many were trying 10 gam ADMISSION 10 the
place that at o'clock last evening the
doors were closed. Those present in the
power house proper were: Messrs. ". b.
| Rankin secretary OF the company; W. A.
/ Breckenridge resident engineer; Paul NJ.
| Lincoln, electrical expert; l. r. EdmoLds
Of the General Electric company, and Hon.
II. W Ely. Mr.. Edmouds had charge OF
the transformer house.
At II as Messrs Rankin, Breckenridge and
Lincoln took positions or the raised plat
form in front Of the switchboard on the
main floor Of the power house and arranged
the switches Shortly before 70 o'clock Mr..
! Breckenridge notified Mr. Elmonds in the
transformer house that the electricity was
| ready for the transformers, and a moment
| later the switch was thrown and the power
| was rushing out on the line and away to
| Buffalo. Mr.. Edwards pronounced the ma
chinery all right. and formally delivered il
| TO Mr.. Brecknridge for the power COM
/ pany. II was accepted, and then the cur
rent was shut of for a brief space. Com
! muEiCaticn was had with the street rail-
way company in Buffalo, and word received
! from them that everything was In readi-
ness at that end OF the line Mr. Rankin
/ then stepped to the platform, threw the
! switch over and Niagara's power was in
/ Buffalo. a salute Of twenty-one guns was
fired by a battery stationed near the power
! kouse
BIRMINGHAM INDUSTRIES REVIVE.
III