New-York tribune., 1903-01-12
USING HUDSON's POWER.
Work of Electrical Company at Glens
Falls

announcement that the Hudson River Water Power
Company had increased its capital stock from g.
1900 S 100000 directs attention TO the work that
is being performed on the upper Hudson TO utilize
the water power that has been going to waste for
numberess years, converting it into electricity and
transmitting 1t country wires to turn the
wheels of industry in manufacturing centres miles
away.
The scene of the operations is Spier Falls. located
between the Luzerne Mountain in Warren County
and Mount McGregor, the summit Of which
General Grant spent those last memorable days of
his life and wrote his memoirs. While the place =
only ten miles from Gens Falls. ten from Saratosa
and twelve from Fort Edward, it might as well be
I'm the midst of the Adirondacks as far as its ac-
cesshility is concerned. Located in a wild noun
tain region. with few settlers in the vicinity. this
natural waterfall has waited for years for the de-
rnands of commerce to raise up men to develop the
of the spot and turn them to useful pur-
poses. A correspondent of The Tribune writes as
follows of visit to the place:
We arrived in Gs4s Falls after dark one evening Ing
different roads, leading through the notch ever
region, at last came in sight of the lights of sper
Falls, where the work OF CONSTRUCTION was oelng 9
Mount McGresor by the winding wagon road
brought US once more into the valley Of the Hud-
open fire and an big mug OF cider aws5ed nus u.s. and and
awakened at the unseemly hour of $40 to breakfast
and to go to the works: A drive of mile over a
ing is a warming experience and at its end we
to the COLLECTION @ Of f. buildings ,h a which n is hse @
LIGHT S Of 1aP sy @ M with able b make 5 du hansg a e
lines Of huge peee 81 masonry e8tending out into
space The further end was hidden in the mist mist
sailed through the air on the whrring cable car
paee we bsehe to ahs h hour Of
the day. The night gang was going home and the
WEI We're Blowing their nsers for it the coolest
m9Tnng q the thus far As the D sun ofas grad
of the masonry became more distinct.
ed m then be- was the m f Pet se e shS n @
cities, 1t difficult to see the connection between
York City and the huge pile Of granite blocking the
Hudson River two hundred miles away % our INV we ARE
gestion. AS the day advanced and the air became
pronounced screeching snoTting locomotives rushed
making % fe bd er d9ng az The he
steady whrr Of the concrete mixer and the whistles
shouts Of the boys driving the mules and the gem
eral hustle made scene singularly at variance
The work Of building this dam has been going on
%o and is ga to Sf tS1 In er Jq
frSn rom the railroad a. Genf M s, Fails on
equipment, The dam and power house, costing s.,
1000 are expected to produce 50 600 horsepower To
eo-foot head, Each of the ten wheels win be
ss & tse Is t m tod @ D ons
q distance which, by the way. does not seem great
h stracture 3R T The . dam sod gfanits te
and averages about % feet In height 1t is anchored
rock bottom of the river. In getting to this bottom
a trying experience encountered in the big
hole" in the middle of the river. This occupied an
and half and about 70 feet deep. This
excavated three times before the foundation
was finally laid. After the first two excavations,
son. swept away all the false work and undid the
work OF weeks The greatest height of the dam at
any point is 156 feet. 1t will contain ISL 900
cubic yards of masonry. The power house is to be
situated the Saratoga County side In the shadow
of the dam in what was formerly the bed of the
river Ten 12-foot steel tubes will take the water
from the diverng canal to the ten 54-inch turbines
which will run the generators. The wires and the
patrolmen will do the rest
The patrol is not the least interesting feature of
this electrical business. This sentinel of peace and
industry while he has visible foe to encounter
leads, nevertheless, dangerous and strenuous tife
His mission is to maintain uninterrupted cleo
trica service and with that end in view, repair
all breaks and replace broken insuators and cross
miles of patrol, not knowing whether he will be
killed by electricity before not He rides his
beat eats his dinner gets a fresh horse and re-
turns. The entire existing line is now patroIled In
relays of fifteen miles and the whole system kept
in communication with the switchboard by
means of a telephone line Only a few weeks ago
some anxiety was caused by the failure to hear
from a certain lineman at the usual time. An in
vestigation made, and he was found one hun
dred and fifty feet from pole where he had been
making repairs. Fifteen hundred volts had gone
through him, and when found ne stiff
rail- He is riding his beat to-day as II nothing had
happened. Little damage has been done 20 the line
nv lightning. The worst offenders are hunters who
failing TO see game. use the peculiar white insu-
lators for targets
This power supply business is by no means
Do nj a