Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1909-03-18

Thus the dam in sections extend ID
across the river, hut owing to the
method IF construction. the spaces
between the piers. left to allow the
water to flow through during the
work, are easily being closed, rs Op,r-
atoms can he carrid On without him
france from the rise and fail of the
river. The plan Of building the cof
frrlam was to construct huge timber
cribs, Ii feet by 30 feet. their mttnmS
being modelled to fit the river bed,
which were tiuatvd down by means
of heavy cables and then sunk in
position 10 feet apart. The spaces
between the cribs Were then clos 1t
with stop-logS, and the whole upper
fac" of the dam shcath,d with plankS
and with dirt. Dump ears pulled
by small engines, which ran over the
cribs, brought the dirt from the island.
For the mixing of the concrete to
bc ns.d in bnilding the main dam
and power house, the company erect
I'd large plant. Eight Smith mix,
RS with Il capacity OF 1000 cubic
yards a day were in a building 2JO
feet by 80 feet. The mixers Were
placed under cHut,s connecting with
bins ahuvr, which e ntaincd the
crushed stone, sand, and cement us d
in the mixing There We're 81 of
these bins in all. Next to tn. con-
crete plant Il store house for the CO.
mcnt was erected. All the drills and
the HOSTS ON the dcrrcks We're work
ed by compressed air, furnished by
two 35U-h horse power Curliss engines.
I'm the same engine house was install
ed the dynamo that furnishes the en-
tire works, houses, etc. with electric
lighting and telephone service.
At Conowingo, II miles below Me-
Calls Ferry, the company opened two
immense quarres, giving employment
to 400 men. The qunrrirs are about
a mil" apart, one having rock face
1000 feet long, and the other rock
face 900 feet long. Both quarrics
are adequately tracked, and the rock
as it is taken from the quarries is
swung out over the tracks on large
cables and then dumped into cars.
These ears are drawn by engines to a
large stone crusher, which the com
pany has erected near the railroad
station at Conowingo. The sand for
the concrete is dredgcd from the bot
tom of the Chesapeake Bay off Elk
River, and brought to Port Deposit
on fleet of ten barges. AS soon AS
it arrives at the company's dock at
Port Deposit it is TAKEN from the
barges by two suction pumps and
dumped into the waiting cars, which
haul it up to McCall's Ferry, dis
lance OF II miles. The power house,
which contains the electrical installa-
ton, is so feet by 800 feet and is
equipped with ten Swiss twin-turbine
motors, parallel outward flow, each
with capacity to generate 1900
horse power. The water which turns
the wheels of the turbines passes
through ten large conduits to the
wheels at the rate of 5000 gallons a
second. After turning the wheels,
this water is discharged into the old
river bed below the dam. The main
difference between this plant and the
ones at Niagara lies in the fact that
no wing dam had to be built, and that
the water furnishing the power, in
stead of passing to the turbine wheels
through conduits, drops down into
rectangular pits in which are located
the turbine wheels. This installation
will give the McCall's Ferry plant
the largest capacity of any in the
United States with the exception of
those at Niagara Falls. The size of
the power house can be appreciated
by noting its dimensions. 1t is one
of the most complete of its kind in
the country, being equipped with
permanent electrical apparatus for
lifting and transferring parts of gen.
Grating units and heavy machinery
which may be installed in future.
The lifting and conveying mechanism
is operated by an individual motor
plant.
Within radius of IS miles from
the site of the project are situated a
numbering of manufacturing centers,
including the cities Of Baltimore,
Washington, Harrisburg, York, Ian
caster, and Philadelphia. With the