The Brattleboro reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1907-1912, 1910-03-25
HIGH VOLTAGE AT THE DAM.
Some Of the Wires Cannot Be APP.
preached Nearer Than Three Feet.

How would you like to pass under a i've
electric wire and he told that Il you point
81 Your iingei At il within di.iant. II tao
or THREE ire, you stood a hrsi-class thancr
oi doing Il only once. Don't ny the cx'
pertinent. lou MAY be- one al thos,
fortunate individuals who fail 10 connect.
hut expert electricians will tell You that il
IL not wlse 10 indulge ia amy gesture Ia
Glove proximity 10 wire carrying 6d,npO
volts. A iiyeminuie visit 10 the plant oi
the Connecticut River Power company at
Vernon VIII enllghten a man more about
the strength of electricity than reading a
thousandpage text book
\ visit Ia the big plant at Vernon Fri.
day afternoon by party of Brattlcboro
men proved revelation 10 these laymen
Superintendent Mahoney looked over the
party and decided that they were not
cranks or suspicious characters and accord
ingly detailed one Of his experts 10 show
the men over the plant. While the ponder
Gus machines that max. Juice" were. OF
course, wonderful testimonials 10 the IN.
genuity aud prowess of man the iascin
atlng part of the inspection wa those WINS
OF FURNISHED copper carrying 6d,oV volts
southwark into Massachusetts High
above the generating APPARATUS these wires
are located ON what u known az the sta |
tion n the high tension gallery. This part |
Of the plant l. not accessible TO visitors, |
hut the guide l. able 10 give the visitor a /
sufficiently vivid description Of the danger
that turks among the wires to satisfy the
ordinary man that he has no further curios.
lily IN the matter. Not only Is u danger
ous TO point ones finger at those high
tension wires. hut il Is likewise danger
Gus TO come too close to them a. electricity /
does not always employ the same tactics
a Ia. Ea., |
a man will be thrown dozen or more feet
by repellent force and again an irresist-
lille force will attract him to the wires.
Probably the most interesting part OF a
tour of the Vernon plant is the trip under
he massive concrete dam. Through a
tunnel foggy with the spray forced up
through openings leading TO the food-gates,
with ones ears deafened by roar of air
md water the trip under the dam is one
lot to be forgotten. A. one steps gingerly
,ver a small opening in the cement floor
here suddenly comes a noise like some
rant drawing his breath between his
eeth and suddenly exhaling il. The ef'
ect upon person OF nervous tempera-
nent may be imagined. With a roar that
ives a visitor an idea OF the gigantic pow.
r behind the water, the narrow tunnel
; filled in an instant with a spray which
lmost obscures the long string of electric
ulbs One instinctively crouches against
he damp wall and wonders If the engineers
ave really constructed dam that will
old back such volume of water as is in.
ended. While this is a fascinating part OF
he visit it is rather trihe too suggestive
{ life aboard submarine and the sun
ght that greets one as he climbs up pair
{ almost perpendicular stairs into the dis
Iibuting room is a welcome change from
he partial gloom below.
Before entering the distributing room,
here the current is sent southwark to
avera cities in Massachusetts and north
ard to Brattleboro the guide conducts the
arty to level beneath the gigantic gen
rators and here one is permitted to see
trough glass portfolios the working mech
nsm of part of the apparatus that drives
re generators The distributing room, |
cated on the south side of the station
nd on the level directly below the first
DOR, is sufficiently removed from the rest
the plant as to be practically noiseless.
here is absolutely no machinery here,
ut above ones head are those glistening
PIPER conveyors which the guide says
e carving ten, fifteen and twenty thous-
I'd volts of "juice" Here also are the
switches used in distributing the cur
mt from the plant to the Transmission
1es. While the visit through the plant
one of interest from dozen different
,ints the visitor breathes easier as he
nerges into the open air and his ears be-
n to resume their functions after being
,afened by the hum of this gigantic bee
We, for such the great plant seems to
e unaccustomed to continual whirr of
achinery.