Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-10-26
TO PEN THE BIDS
New Plant of the United States Electric
Lighting Company.

Lighting Company.
Bids will be opened this afternoon at 4
o'clock by the United States Electric Light
ing Company for the construction of the
| superstructure of it's new station to be
| located at the corner of 18th and streets
northwest.
The bids exclusive Of the foundation
which was recently finished at a cost of
$4,000, and it is estimated they will aver
age from $4,000 to $4,000.
The designs call for handsome building.
extending the whole length of 3 street
between 14th and 1872 streets. a distance
of about go feet, with a depth on the last
| named street of ISL feet.
Two pavilions, twenty-eight feet square
and sixty-four feet high, occupy the two
corners, and connecting them is the front
of the building, pierced by thirteen win
| dows, nine and half feet wide by twenty
five feet high, affording ample light end
| making bright and cheerful the large en-
| CINE ROOM seventy-three feet wide, extend
| ing along the entire 3 street front.
An Imposing Switchboard.
Installed at the 18th street end, and ex-
| tending the full width of the engine ROOM
| will be the switchboard operating the en-
| tire service of the company, comprising
| the low tension, arc and alternating sys-
TENS and the large storage battery. The
| switchboard is to be made from Rutland
| marble, highly finished, and containing the
| latest and finest instruments and appli-
| ances known to the electrical art. The
| electric storage battery will contain $50
! cells capable of running the entire plant
| during certain periods enabling it to
| carry easily any unexpected demand, such
| as the darkness due to u sudden storm, or
n To o~tfo
| cry.
| Large engines of the horizontal tandem
G., mpound condensing type, guaranteed to
| give the maximum power with the mini
| mum amount OF steam, will furnish the
| necessary power for operating the dyna-
| mos, which are of the direct connected
type that is, directly attached to the shaft
| Ing OF the engines themselves, without
| any intermediate betting.
| Ingenious Mechanical Methods.
Betting is not, however, altogether dis
pensed with, as the arc light machines will
| be operated from line of shafting located
In the basement, connected with two of the
engines operating the direct connected low
| tension generators. either one of the two
| engines being capable of carrying the en-
| tire load The arc machines may be
thrown IN or out of service as required, by
means or the shaftlng, by steel clutches five
| 1eet In diameter. This arrangement eco
| nom1cally provides for the operating of
| both the high and low-tension systems
| from one engine during the period of light
| est load.
Spanning the engine room is an electric
| crane or twenty five tons lifting capacity
ana seventy-two feet span, capable of pick
| iEg up its heavy load and depositing il In
any portion of the room in a few moments
separated from the engine room by 4
| massive brick wall, pierced only by the
steam pipes and tightly closing fire-proof
doors is the boiler ROOM forty-six feet
| wide. Huge steel water tube safety
| boilers. guaranteed to give the most steam
with the least COAL supply the necessary
steam required.
Before the waste gases of combustion
| are allowed to escape up the steel smoke
stacks they are obliged to traverse the
| fuel economiZers, cont tanning the feed water
| and affordlng upward of 10000 square feet
! OF heating surface each, thus heating the
| feed water from It's ordinary temperature
to the highest degree possible. This fuel
economizer will be the first to be operated
| in Washington.
| Another feature of the design is the alb
| sence of all auxiliary engines and other
wasteful steam consumers. Everything
which cannot be driven by the economically
| running main steam units will be operated
by electricity.
FireprOOf in Construction.
1t has been the aim to have the building
| as fireproof as possible The floors will
| therefore all be Of iron beams, arched with
| brick, and covered with a cement and
stone floor of ornamental design. The
roof will consist of iron rafters, filled with
cemented terra-cotta book tiles, and covered
with either gravel or Stag coating. The
| only woodwork about the building will be
| the window sashes and outside doors.
Only little over one-half of the con-
templated building will be serected at the
present time. as the remainder of the
| site is now occupied by the ipresent station
OF the company; Upon the completion of
| the new plant the entire service will be
transferred to It. TIE norton n q
| built will have capacity 20 per cent
greater than the old. With the transfer
| the old station will gradually be disman-
tied ana the new one extended so as to in
clude the present site. The company how
ever. has purchased all the surrounding
property, and can Guadruple, when neces-
sary. the present new plant. affording an
equivalent in other forms of electrical an
plication.
Complete Supervision.
With the compilation Of the new station,
which 1t Is hoped to have in operation
within the next few weeks, as all the con-
tracts for machinery, boilers and apparatus
were awarded some time since, the company
will, 1t is claimed, have a scientific and prac-
| teal plant second to none in the country.
1t will be equipped throughout with auto
| matte coal scales. hot and cold water me-
tiers and electrical recording apparatus, etc.,
in order to afford the ymost complete re-
ports and systematic records frpr1 the OPP
Grating force. thereby enabling the closest
supervision to be exercised over the cost of
production and distribution, and requiring
the highest intelligence and efficiency from
the employees.
The building committee consists of Presi-
dent A. A. Thomas and Messrs. Seymour
". Tuiioch, James l.. Norris and John
Cammack Messrs. Sargent and Lundy Of
Mr.. Erskine NJ. Sunderland Of this city
the architect.