Mexico weekly ledger. (Mexico, Mo.) 1855-1956, 1896-05-14

WHERE OUR LIGHT Is MADE.
A Visit to the Power House OF the
Mexico Heat, Light and Power
Company, One of the Best
Equipped in the
State.

Outside of st. Louis and Kansas
City there is not in the State of Mis-
souri, better equipped power house
than that of the Mexico Heat, Light
& Power Company, situated just south
of the railroad yards, on south West
ern avenue.
Through the courtesy of Temporary
ChiefEngineer Robert Dearing, ,ofMar-
shal, and Fireman G. T. Turner, than
whom there are not two better cleo
tricians anywhere, a representative
of the LEDGER was conducted through
this interesting building last evening
while the light making machinery was
all in motion and shown the entire
plant.
On entering the engine room the
first object to attract ones attention
is the great fiy-wheel, one of the
largest in the interior of the State,
measuring over 16 feet in diameter,
with rim nearly two feet wide. This
monster revoIves at the rate of so
revolutions a minute, while around it
winds continually the immense leath-
er belt by which all the machinery in
the room is operated. This belt is in
itself a curiosity. 1t is what ls known
as seamless belt, and Is made by
cementing great pieces of leather in
overlapping layers, the thickness of
the whole thing being three layers.
To make feet of this belt, the width
of which is about IS inches, requires
the greater part of three hides, and
when one takes into consideration the
fact that it is over 100 feet long it can
be seen that 1t required the hides of
quite herd of cattle to make this
transmitter of power. The cost of
this single belt was $3.50.
The engine which turns with such
rapidity the wheel on which this belt
rests is one of the famous Corliss
manufacture, 800 horse power, made
on the same order as the wonderful
one which furnished all the motive
power needed for the great Centen-
l.
1876, while the steam for it is furnish
ed by two immense boilers stationed
in the boiler room, just back of the
engine room.
Following up the great belt as it
swiftly revolves one sees long shaft
on which six or eight smaller wheels
are revolving at high rate of speed,
each one furnishing the running
power, by the aid of a belt, for one of
the pieces of electrical machinery.
The smallest of these wheels makes
400 revolutions every minute, or
about "a second.
In the engine room are two Schuy-
Ter arc light dynamos, one of so and
the other % light power, two incan-
descent dynamos of the Westinghouse
pattern, and an EXETER.
1t ia in these that the electricity is
generated and started on its way over
the wires. Around each of them is a
| wooden platform-a non conductor
on which the engineer stands while
| working with them when they are in
| motion. Standing on one of these
platforms the newspaper man held
| his hand for some moments on a
small piece of brass in which there
was a current of electricity strong
| enough to kill a horse. Had he for
one instant allowed his foot to touch
| the concrete floor he would have
walked up in glory (perhaps p and
this tale would never have been told.
But as Rudyard -Kipling would say,
s'That's another story" and leaving
the gentle reader to fondly quote
Tennyson's "Of all sad words OF
tongue or pen the saddest are these,
'it might have been,'" we will pro-
ceed.
| The electricity is not only stored in
the dynamos, for after they have been
running awhile the leather belts be-
come SO charged that one can hold
his finger tips few inches from the
edge of one and see a continuous blue
stream of static electricity leap from
them to the belt. There is no pain
connected with this little experiment
unless one gets his fingers too close
to the belt when the sensation is that
of needle pricking the finger tip.
On the south side of the room is the
switch board and the indicators, the
latter showing how many lights are
burning and the strength of the cur.
rents. On stormy night, or when
the air is heavily charged with elec-
tricity, it is no easy job to have te
set switch. The engineer takes holG
of the handle and then reeedes as fal
back as possible from the board an6
, throws the switch, amidst brilliant
display of all kinds of colored lights
and it is nothing unusual on such
y night to see ball of fire as large as
, mans head shoot in the room OF
wire and go out by the same meth
cd, doing no harm, but causing on
} lockers, if there are any, to shiver
little. There is no safer place to b'
during an electrical storm than in al
electric light power house.