The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-11-05
ELECTRICITY FROM 4 WATERFALL
The Current Carried to seattle and Tacoma
over Aluminium Wires.

Preparations are being made to use the power
Of tho falls II the Snpqranc 10 furnish electricity
tn the cities II Seattle aud Tacoma respectively
thirty one miles and forty live miles distant Tho
falls IRE go feet high. The water fails int" n
rocky gorge. AMI for engineering reasons II WAS
considered Improbable t. take oil the stream
needed for power 10y side channels and carry
It To- power house built beside the water course
below. \ novel mcthod was USED therefore
Back fro the edge nf the falls about 200 feet
a shaft - feet by 10 feet was sunk through the
solid rrcA IN point 200 feet below tho ucd 81 tho
river and then turning down stream WAS con
tiuucd horizontally until It emerged at n point
well beyond tho falls In the gorge below. \
little hey nud the point where the horizontal tuu
mel begins and extending tn the very for: If the
falls y great chamber was hcwn on, VI the rock.
200 feet long, - feet wide and 30 feet high, and
her" ar" placed the turbine water wheels and
dynamuS which change the enormous power
OF the falling water int" currents If electricity
The water Is not turned directly into the tunnel.
but into y great steel rcnstock, or upright pipr
=, feet IN diameter which passes down through
the shalt From the foot Of this pcnstock the
" atcr IL fed through y horizontal receiving tube
10 feet III diameter and y ic"t long and another
tub" ~ feet IN diameter aud 10 feet long 10 five
water wheels which drive the electric generators
and rVCii"rs There ar" four generators and each
is rated nj l. 800 kilowaus OF total # 500 horse
power, ana thrN are taIhble al producing about
I" eco horse power continuously
The minimum amount nf water that goes over
the falls IN the dry season is estimated Ia H. 60
pablo ui producing 2S.ND horse power aud by
damnug Tie outlets ui number oi tributary
hikes II - believed that 100000 horse power can
hr secured
The electric current * ut |. 600 volts aud this
~ led UPWARD Ia n house hut beside Tho mouth
Of the Hume, ,whcr" II is transformed by rotary
transformers into u current Of 10000 volts for
transmission I" Seattle and Tacoma. The cur.
fen,s arc taken out 81 m" trans!orni"r house and
across country On aluminium wires. The use
Of aluminium for This purpose has been brought
abou! by the high price Of copper. and the lighter
metal has some advantages besides its lower
cost, Az its cOnductiy,ty IL only 80 per cent
OF that Of copper, the wire has u he 40 per cent
larger and this gives II n strength considerably
greater than the copper wire. would have and
adds TO the life Of the line \ disadvantage is
the fact that aluminium cannot he soldcrcd together
In practice Instead the ends of the wires are
put through ohlung tubes and twisted around IN REQ
times There are $1,000 pounds Of aluminium
wire in the Seattle line and ~, 900 pounds in the
Tacoma line. The wires end AT sub stations
IN the two cities where tue current IL again trans,
formed to q low voltage and from there IL Is sup.
piled to customers \ -four mill at Seattle is
already running by electric power from Sno
quaint" Falls