The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-11-16
The Niagara Cataract
HarneSSed at Last.
Power Now Furnished for
Street Cars at Buffalo.
A Result Of the Earnest Study by
Foremost Electricians.

Buffalo. Nov. 16.-At midnight last
night the turning Of a switch in the big
power house at Niagara Falls. COM
pleted a circuit which caused Niagara
river TO flow uphill. SO to speak, by re-
turning a fraction OF its resistless energy,
which had already swept past the gates
of Buffalo, back into that city, "a miles
distant. The harness was buckled that
bitches the factory wheels OF Buffalo to
the greatest cataract on earth. This
morning the street ears of this city
moved by falls power. Thereafter the
falls must work enough to earn theiI
living
The buckling OF the harness could have
been done as well IL hours earlier. but
owing to the fact that the father of VIII.
lam Il. Rankine Of New York, secretary
OF the Niagara Falls Power company, Is
a clergyman, and in Difference TO his
wishes. the Niagara Falls power was not
turned into the transmitting system al
noon yesterday, as had been expected
The connections were made at midnight
last night. The force Of experts having
the work in charge were busy all of Sat.
urday night. and until late last evening
testing the various connections and
going over the machinery, to make sure
that everything was in proper order
When everything was in readiness for
the switch to be thrown open, the elec-
trlcians were confident that there need
be no cessation of the current set flowing
over the wires Of the Buffalo street rail-
way system.
The distance covered by the line be-
tween Buffalo and the falls is q miles,
and the expert electricians who have the
work in charge estimate that the loss OF
energy will be less than 10 per cent, and
may not much exceed five. Careful tests
are to be made In this connection, the
tests covering both night and day, and
clear as we'll as rainy weather. The
electricians are paying particular atten-
tion to this test, as on the perfect insula-
ton of the carrying line depends much
OF the future success Of the undertaking.
The line that has been built to carry
the current-beariH wires Is of a mest
substantial nature. Unlike the ordinary
telegraph line, the poles are placed very
close together, and are braced In such
a manner as to be proof against heavy
storms. At curves the poles are set
double, and are guyed TO numerous
smaller poles TO prevent sagging. The
overhead line extends from the power
house at the falls to the city limits of
Buffalo, where the wires enter cement
conduits On the overhead line glass in
sulators are found unequal 10 the strain,
and porcelain insulators were made
specially TO hold the wires. These in
sulators were subjected to a current OF
10000 volts before being put in use.
There are at present on the poles eight
cables each, with a carrying capacity OF
5000 horse power, or 10000 horse power In
all. The poles are of such a substantial
character that this number Of cables can
be doubled without subjecting them TO
greater strain than 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 1000 horse power.
Under the contract with the city, the
completion of the undertaking of de-
livering power in Buffalo was not obj
gatory before next June. 1t was in order
to secure the contract with the Street
Railway company that the work was
hurried through SO far ahead of time.
Contracts with others desiring to uss
the electric power will now be made, and
III IL tnOuBnl lHdt ny the OptHlHS Ol
spring the power Will be well distributed
throughout the city.
Since the inception of the undertaking.
and during its carrying out. the company
have frequently called upon Messrs.
Edison and Tesla for advice, and these
famous masters Of electricity have been
frequent visitors to the Niagara Falls
power house to solve technical problems.
The power will sell In Buffalo for $36
horse power per annum, and under It's
contract with the city the company
must increase its capacity 10000 horse
power a year until the maximum of
20, 900 horse power has been reached.