The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1904-05-13

II fkahts 81 /: n
der the ftorsesl oe


Il. s,f abI . af7sS y;t,sa
ID ii, rsesia sc
/ ss free CON nanies are now so king
hard on the Cansa ian 81 :le-.of I he NJ I:
asara prepare for genera iag3eset.-
sr:cal power from the falls. Two$oa
these com panies are controlled ~
american capital. the third exclusive.
ly by Canadian and English capital
All expect 10 sell their product on IN 2
Canadian side and to'dlstribntezp power
to points as mucn as 200 miles dis
tant from the falls.
Each company has encountered
some interesting engineering prob
lens in the course Of the work. One
company. for example, has had to
plan for roof of unusual strength
over its power house. because II IS
expected that the spray from the falls
i'll winter Will thatch the roof with
five feet of solid ice
No part of the work is more inter
esting than that undertaken by the
Canadian company. The penstock, or
great trench, Of this company, AT the
bottom Of which will be placed the
turbines, that are to generate she pow
err, is 1900 feet from the center OF
the Horseshoe Fails.
This great trench is to be 100 feet
deep by 400 feet long and 80 I9et
wide The problem presented was to
discharge the water from the bottom
OF this trench after it had passed
through the turbines, and done its
work. 'y
The engineers decided that in order
to accomplish this 4 tunnel should be
extended from the bottonl of the pen
stock to the center OF the Horseshoe
Falls. For tn.s purpose shaft about
10 feet square was sunk on the Cana
dian side a little above the falls to
a depth OF about $50 feet.
From the bottom of this shaft was
dug a tunnel to a point few hundred
feet above the center OF the falls to
meet the line Of the 1.90O-foot tunnel
that is to run directly from the bot
tom of the penstocn to the center
of the" falls. When this line was
struck The wo:kmer began tunneling
directly toward: the penstock
In order to make the removal Of
the debris easy there was dug from
the tunnel leading from the 10-foot
shaft short tunnel to point be-
meath the falls and pretty close to
the Cana dian side. One may now
Stand at the mouth Of this tunnel
within a few feet of the whole mass OF
NJ;
ing through tne roaring sheet, see the
dim. transfused light Of day outside.
Those wno have had this privilege
say it is a wonderful sight.
When the tunnel to the penstocs
has been completed it Will be extend.
ed from the point of intersection Of
the working tunnel from the 10-foor
shaft to the center of the tails at a
depth OF about, $50 feet. This whole
1,90o-foot tunnel will eventually be
horseshoe shape, with vertical d-
ameter Of SO feet and a horizontal di-
ameter Of 20 feet.
The horizontal bottom paved with
solid blocks of stone, will be IA feet
wide. Along this tunnel the waste
water from the penstock will flow to
discharge itself into the volume of
the Horseshoe Falls some feet above
the bottom.
ALREADY a considerable part of the
tunnel to the penstock has been dug,
and the debris is daily being dumped
at the mouth of the short auxiliary
tunnel opening beneath the falls near
the Canadian side. 1t will take five
months TO complete the tunnel and
probably year to get the power sta
ton in running order.
When running full it viii generate
10000 horsepower. Engineers from
this city who have seen the work in
progress describe it as of great Inter
est and marve1ously Ingenious IN the
way means have been adapted to the
ends to be accomplished New York
Sun