Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1909-03-18
The M'Call's Ferry Hydro
Electric Power Plant.
by WILLIAM ALLEN.

6'''' : II + P''yN - ~ 20 49, '''''
on the Su>quchanna Riv"r. 1t is an
interesting fact that this water c"nrs'.
although one of the most important
in the United States. has been literal
ly running to waste. Although TIL
river drains an area Of nearly 10000
square miles and is $50 miles IN
length, as yet the power d'N lnp d
fro has been so small as to be in
significant in comparison with what
can J." obtained ly Il e plant we have
ref. red to.
u, IA distance of 60 miles examined
by "ngin ers. it ia estimated that this
river would afford over 800, 800 -l"r-
trical horsepower, w"rr series OF
dams AM & nrrating stations install Il
where sites are available. The Nc
Cali - +, Try dam, ~ it il termed, ha-
cen built ON this section at a sit.
where it is calculated fully l5n.m t
horse power can be- develop 1t. Will
the river is very wide at this point,
an island dividing it into two chan
nnlS enabled the builders to construct
a barrier where the volume of water
and the current at food height might
otherwise have rendered the project
impossible. As it is. plans had to he
made with view to resisting the force
of the ice fields which come down the
river with the spring frcshcts, also to
provide for the great difference be-
tween the height Of the river at high
water and mt low water, which at
times is no less than 30 feet. The
tota, width of the Susquehanna at
Met all's Ferry is nearly 1900 feet,
consequently barrier Of these di
mansions had to be erected. AS the
photographs show, the dam is an i'm
posing structure. In height it ranges
from 60 feet to 100 feet, while its
width at the bottom is no less than
IS feet. taprring to the crest III a
parabolic curve. An idea of the
amount of material in the work is
given when it j. stated that nearly
400, 900 cubic yards of concrete We're
used before it was complete d.
Illustrations show, it is OF the ogec
type, designed especially to withstand
the ice packs, also the debris which
is brought down ON flood currents in
addition to the great volume of water.
For Il distance of $3.50 feet the
Mccall is dam of the weir type.
Consequently, it is believed that the
annual flood will carry the floating
matter over it without damage, since
The river reaches such IA height in flood
time that the depth of water on the
crest of the dam will at times be fully
Is feet. The sides of the barrier,
however, have been constructed of a
special thickness, and are considcra-
bly, higher than the weir section, be-
ing built at such an angle that they
do not offer direct resistance to the
water course. In fact, the engineers
have taken advantage of curves and
angles wherever possible, SO as to di
vert the force of the flood current.
The building of the main dam and
the power canal nccessitated much
preliminary work, owing to the diff
culties of placing barrier across the
water course. 1t was necessary for
the false work to be of the most sub
stantial character, and one of the first
steps was the construction of another
massive viaduct nearly across the
river. This outlay alone was $780,
600, because the bridge was 1000
feet in length with a width of 90 feet
on which were laid railway tracks.
The work was necessary in order to
furnish a site for the concrete and
other supplies and for the mechanical
convcyors which transferred the ma
terial into the bridge forms. AL
though the viaduct was in itself a
structure which might be considered
permanent, it was only built for the
purpose of facilitating the construc-
ton of the dam in lieu of woodcn and
other false work, and was later de-
stroyed.
1t was necessary to build a Golfer
dam of unusual strength to meet the
emergency. Work was begun upon
this from the east side of the river,
and the water diverted from section
of the channel about three fourths of
mile in width. Here the perman-
ent structure was taken up, the bar
rier being formed in piers with space
of about so feet between each. After
this section was completed, second