New-York tribune., 1903-04-26
HARVESTING THE HUDSON
The Big Dam at Spier Falls Com
pIeted.

-e
strength Tor years in useless grinding into the
-e-ite Of the lower slopes of the Adirondacks, is
ehout 70 begin working for in earnest, and TO
-be extent OF 50.ea9 horsepower BY midsummer
he mighty granite dam which the Hudson River
water Power Company has been throwing across
-bs States greatest stream viii be so nearly COM
nleted that electric power can be delivered 10
-eiehborfng manufacturing towns. The dam is
=, miles above Glens Falls and the cataract which
viii be created is called Spier Falls. after the
william E. spier. Of this city
The spier Falls power plant is only one Of three
which will be placed the upper river and its
tributaries It means a complete hernessiag Of
She mighty stream. and the total power derived
VII be not less than 10000 horsepower when the
river is running al full stage. One Of enc Saras
viii cross the upper Hudson few miles below
spier Fails. and viii be called Gays Fails. after
ne secretary Of the company The third dam.
vhicA viii cross the Sacandaga at Ashley Falls,
Will create In the valley OF that river beautiful
lake OF larger area than Lake George.
The dam at Sper Falls. which is nearing com
pleiion. is enormous structure-157o feet in
length from shore to shore. Isl feet deep at the
lowest dip OF the river bed. lis feet broad at its
base and . feet thick al point eight feet below
It's rounded top. It will rank with some Of the
greatest dams the world has ever known and in
oint OF time OF construction surpasses nearly all
n them The city Of New-York has been since
1e4 engaged in the construction Of the Cornell dam
sor the enlargement Of the Croton reservoir. It is
21So feet in length and nearly so feet high The
Assouan dam. across the River Nile. occupied four
wears in spite Of the fact that the resources Of
tne British Government were back of it The
F5udson dam viii be complete in three years from
The time work began It has been built by upstate
me, ard largely with their own capital
Ten miles west Of Glens Falls there is q great
rsn IN the mountains where the Hudson debouches
upon lower levels. with natural fall Of eighty
more feet in distance Of five miles. The legis-
ature Of the State granted the necessary riparian
rights and the company purchased land on both
SIDES Of the river to the extent Of eight thousand
acres Then at the point where the mountains most
nearly approach each other the construction Of
The dam was begun. ground being broken on June
% 1900
The river banks were first excavated, that the
dan might be solidly anchored TO the granite hills.
Then the course Of the river changed in order
70 lay bare its bed which scraped clean TO
the underlying rock This was done by building
ooffer DAMS first side, and then as the work
advanced. the other side Of the river. The work
began on the west side. and was continued until
the masonry construction had been carried $50 feer
into the river.
Suddenly the vvorkrnen came upon a peculiar de-
preston similar TO the sort which caused the
gineers Of the big Egyptian dam much trouble.
The Hudson. through some strange freak, had
sccoped out immense hole in the river bed It
extended sixty-four below the rock bed of the
river. with of about $50 by $50 feet It was
filed TO the ordinary level with muck and refuse.
but il was not solid. and the engineers said the
dam could not cross it II took time to excavate
tis depression. and it took time TO ill it up
again with solid masonry. but the dam is more Sc
cure for this being done.
When the time came 70 begin work on the east
side Of the river Golfer dam Of six hundred feet
was required Its construction OF the hard
est pieces Of engineering the problem developed 1t
vas built Of logs laid in hollow squares, the log
ends being dovetailed and spiked firmly in place,
and these squares filed with bowlders from the
neighboring hills II raised to a height of
hundred feet and was strong enough not only TO
turn aside the river. but also 10 sustain railway
and the excavation engines The earth and rock
were brought up in iron buckets and dumped in
front Of the cribvork. making dam IN itself Of
trconsideTable strength
The dam creates pond five miles long and one
third OF q mile IL width. Over this miniature lake
Z steamer travels Corinth station, on the Della
ware and Hudson Railway, and transports the
heavy machinery for the power house The speed
OF construction was increased and the cost OF the
dam lessened by the presence Of fine granite quar-
ries within thousand feet Of the east side Of
the dam The cut stone easily transported
from the companys Quarries at Hadley, few
miles away.
So much for the first factor in harnessing the
Hudson the second is the intake canal which
leads the water gathered by the dam to the power
house Il is the east side Of the river, and is
large enough 70 carry z current OF water twenty
feet deep. The water enters through ten head
gates each ten feet wide and rushes into ten pen
stocks twelve feet IN diameter, WHICH denver II
70 the same number Of turbine wheels in the
power house below. The power goes the
great generators the floor below, and from
them that modern power, electricity, springs 10
the transmitting wires and over them 10 distant
towns where il is needed
The equipment Of the power house is extensive
Each Of the water wheels IS capable Of 5000
horsepower under an eighty-foot head Of water.
The generator room is directly west OF the wheel
roon, and VIII be divided from the same by
brick partition In the generator room viii be
located eight 500 kflowatt and two 1000 kilowatt
three phase 1900 volt, forty cycle generators each
directly connected TO Z pair OF waterwheels. There
VII also 5e located il the same room, between
the generators 80 kilowatt and one 500 klowatt
Is volt excters each directly connected to its own
water wheel. At the south end OF the building wiz
be located the transformer room. which VIII be
BIZ 20 feet. In this room viii be located thirty
g5s lowatt and six go kilowatt air blast step-up
transformers. necessary motors and blowers for
cooling transformers, and the high and low poten-
tisl sWitchboaTds.
me heavy electric cables stretch away from the
power house like e family Of rnonstrous, endless
F..ekes from pole pole. passing over sp9r o.
Mount NcGregor, just south OF Cottage PARK, TO
Gems Fails Sandy Hill. Fort Edward, saratoga
Ballston Schenectady. Troy and Albany. For me
protection OF the pole line corps OF r1oers mas