The herald., 1898-12-19
ENGINffRS,ARCHITfCTS|
VIEW WATER AND ELECTRIC
POWER AT REDLANDS
WIND UP WITH A BANQUET
And Elect Officers of the Association
for the Coming Year-Fred
Eaton as President

| station Saturday morning it had forty OF
Los Angeles representative engineers and
architects on board, who had accepted the
invitation of the Southern California Power
company TO view its plant in the Santa Ana
canyon. Transportation was furnished by
the Southern Pacific and Santa Fe railroads,
and special Car was devoted to their use
City Engineer Olmsted, who is secretary of
the Engineers and Architects Association
OF Southern California, counted noses:
Burr Bassell, A. b. Benton, II. G. Brandt,
Joe A. Bernal, j. Lee Barton, III. f. Britt,
w. b. Clapp, c. w. Davis, Theodore A.
Eisen, General Charles Forman, Fred Eaton,
S. F. Hunt, f. Lewis Jones, George B. King,
j. B. Lippincott, George Lawrence, jr.; j.
II. Krempel, Joseph Jacobs, o. Morgan, +.
McCulloch, w. H. Sanders, j. d. Schuyler,
4. l.. Swaine, H. I. Thaxter, William II.
Workman, jr.: E. 7. Wright. A. f. Koe-
hing, Judge Campbell, w. F. Richardson,
w. S. Devoll j. w. Forsyth, H. II. Sinclair,
Richard Sanborn, +. G. Finckle and Henry
Fisher joined the party at various points
along the road.
The trip was uneventful, with the eXcep-
tion that at Pomona an old lady who got on
the wrong car by mistake did not discover
her error until sitting down in close prox-
unity to three boxes which contained what is
necessary to make Redlands tolerable to
i-Prohibitionsts. She gave one glance
at the telltale labels, gathered her skirts
about her and fled from contamination.
At Grafton, four miles beyond Redands,
the visitors were met by carriages. which
took them on the twelve-mile journey up
the Santa Ana canyon. The most notice
able feature of the landscape is the flume of
the Bear Valley Water company, circular,
forty inches in diameter, made of wooden
slaves, hooped with iron, and resembling
a barrel long drawn out.
1t was one o'clock when the power house
was reached; the pangs of hunger overcame
the naturally strong desire of the engineers
to discuss stress, strains and pressure, and
instead the problem of filling a vacuum was
solved. The power company met the issue,
and after lunch the power house was Wis
tied.
One of the quickest finished contracts of
the undertaking was the power house, COM
pleted in thirty-four days, made of concrete
and corrugated iron. Inside are four large
generators of the General Electric company
pattern, on the same shafts with four large
Pelton water wheels. These wheels were
specially constructed for this firm, are
eghty-two inches in diameter, and are
driven by 3N inch jet working on nineteen
buckets. Each Pelton wheel weighs Il, 500
pounds, while wheel, axle and dynamo
weigh $4,000 pounds. This weight is sup
ported on concrete foundations which go
down to solid rock.
On the opposite side OF the power house
are transformers which change the current
from the dynamos from voltage Of $50 to
$4,000. 1t is found that this system of high
voltage is most practicable in the transmits
sion of electric power long distances. From
the transformers the current leaves for Los
Angeles, eighty miles away, over six strands
of No. l copper wire. The loss by trans
mitting for such long distances has been
figured to not exceed ten per cent. From
the plant when completed it is expected to
realize 1000 horse power in the city. Two
other dynamos are to be secured in short
time which will increase this estimate, each
generator being capable of producing 1000
horse power.
Power transmission and machinery were,
however, not the most difficult features of
the work. These were encountered in i'm
pounding the water and delivering it at the
water wheels. The place of intake is three
miles of the canyon from the plant, near the
junction of Santa Ana and Bear creeks
Catch basins have been constructed in both
creeks, and from these basins the water flows
into two short fumes which lead to the
sand box, where all cxtraneous matter,
which has escaped the screens of the intake
is deposited. From here the water flows
through a tunnel in the solid rock, and
fumes constructed of lumber to the point
of use. From the headworks to the power
house is distance of 1928 feet, Of this
distance 1855 feet is in tunnels through
the solid rock, eighteen in number, inter-
spersed with sixteen fumes. The tunnels
are from 24S to 2O74 feet in length, while the
six feet high in the center by five and half
feet wide, and fumes are of the same width,
with a height of four feet. Both are con-
structcd of sufficient size to admit of the
passage of an inspector in small canoes
designed for the purpose. The greater part
Of the tunneling is surfaced with cement,
irving a smooth finish. All points on the
f,lme liable to damage from falling rocks
are protected by heavy roofing, and no part
Of the woodwork comes in contact with the
ground, all trellisses and supports being
placed in solid concrete foundation.
From the system of tunnels and fumes
the water is deposited in a reservoir of solid
cement, triangular in shape, to conform to
the lay of the land, with sides seventy feet
long and ten feet high. A waste pipe from
The reservoir connects with spillway pipe
from the fume permitting the emptying OF
he fume in quick time.
At the reservoir the opening of the pres
sure pipe is 72S feet above the point of
applying the power. This pressure pipe has
| diameter of thirty inches >and is buried
from three to twelve feet below the surface.
II has a total length of 22lO feet. The
plans Of the company include second pres
sure pipe to be constructed as soon as ncc-
assary. From the pressure pipe the water
goes into receiver pipe of the same di-
nensions and thence is delivered at the
wheels under pressure Of 300 pounds to the
square inch, developing 1850 horsepower
gross in each wheel.
Each generator is so planned as to be in
dependent, any one of them can be cut
out of use at moments notice. Ingenious
governors regulate the speed of the wheels
by DETECTING the jet from the buckets when
less velocity is required. Total cost of plant
was 100000.
After the engineers had thoroughly in
spected the works they took the road to
Redlands and Casa Iona hotel. There the
annual banquet of the association was held,
President T.. J.. Swane acting as toast
master. The following toasts were given