Shoshone journal. [volume] (Shoshone, Idaho) 1884-1931, 1896-11-20
NIAGARA RUNS UP HILL.
Such is the Practical Effect of
Electricity.
ThcTre cndouz Power of sne Great
Fails was set TO Moving the Ba-
chinery of FncterIcs at Buffalo, RI
DiIcs Abovethe Falls.

y bhHaARf ~ NV ts--tll
p tonight the turning Of the switch II
the big power house at Niagara fall
completed circuit which caused NJ
agara river to run uphill. so - speak
, By returning fraction OF rs reeistless
energy. which had already swept past
the gates Of buffalo. back into that city
twenty. seven miles distant. The har-
ness was buckled that bitches the fac
tory wheels Of Buffalo to the greatest
cataract on earth.
Nor day morning the street cars Of
this city will move by falls power.
Hereafter the fails must work enough
to earn their living The buckling o
the harness could have been done as
well twelve hours earlier, but owing
10 the fact that the father of William
Rankin of New York, secretary of the
Niagara Falls Power company, Is
clergyman, In Difference to his wishes
the Niagara falls power was not turned |
into the transmitting system at noon
today, as had been expected. The CON
nections were made at midnight tonight.
The force of experts having the work
In charge were busy all the night and
until late this evening testing the var
ious connections and going over the
machinery to make sure everything
was In proper order.
The distance covered by the line be
tween Buffalo and the falls is twenty
seven 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
s. Careful tests are to be made In this
and tests covering both
hight and day and clear as well as rainy
Weather. The electricians are paying -
PARTICULAR attention to this test. as on
he perfect Insulation of the carrying
Inc depends much of the future success
4 the undertaking. q
The line that has been built TO carry -
he current bearing wires are of a most -
ubsiantial nature, and unlike the ordi- ~
AIRY telegraph lines and poles. are
laced very close together. and are
raced in such a manner as to be proof sc
gainst heavy storms. At curves the ~
oes are set double and are guyed to 80 ="
umerous small poles to prevent sag
ng. The overhead line extends from -"
e power house at the falls to the city -
nlts of Buffalo, where the wires enter az
ron1Ytfo On the haad line bAA
ass insulators were found unequal to ~
c strain, and porcelain insulators were
ade especially to hold the wires. The "o
bill
lere are at present on the poles eight -,
Dles the carrying capacity of each
Ing 5000 horse power, or 4o,ooo-horse
q~er iFs- allll5 The PORES are of such w."
ostantial character that this number
wires can be doubled without sui
ting them to greater strain than is
,sidered safe.
The only contract made so far for Fat
delivery of power by the power
npany Is that with the Buffalo Stree D
Ilway company for Iooo-horse power. ext
Jnder the contract with the city the Is II
ipletion of the undert aking of deliv- LOT
X the power In Buffalo was not OBJ ye"
tory before next June. 1t was in or iii'e
TO secure the contract with the y y
ct railway company that the work ann
hurried through so much ahead of the
p Chr
ince the inception of the undertaking wor
during It's carving out the company fath
e frequently called upon Messrs. who
son and Telsa for advice aud those time
Gus masters of electricity have been the
ueut visitors to the power house to was
e the technical problems. The mus
er will sell IN Buffalo for $50 per kno'
e power per annum. and under It's ana
ract with the city accompany must poun
ease it's capacity 10000 horse power 'h's
rear until the maximum of 10000 oevil
e-power has been reached IN
feast