The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1910-06-02
MOODY & ALMON'S PLANT
WORK ON MAD RIVER POWER
HOUSE Is BEING PUSHED TO
COMPLETION.

Local Electrical Concern viii Have
Much Improved Place in the Fall
of Present Year-Will Then BE In
a Position to Greatly Extend the
Service.
The new plant which Moody and AL
mon are building on Mad River is we'll
under way and the work is to be push
ed to completion this fall. The Golfer
dam was put in last week. shutting
the water off from half OF the river
bed and leaving the ROCKS exposed A
large force is at work on the project
now and it will be increased to so
men within a short time and day and
night gangs will be put on in a few
weeks.
Anyone driving up the valley can
but be impressed with the magnitude
of the undertaking and the possibili-
ties for Harvesting the latent power
in this river, which until this COM
pany began it's development, had been
used for nothing larger than small
sawmills. The road is being changed
for a distance of three-quarters of a
mile, so that it will skirt along the
hillside above the level of the pond.
This pond will be one of the sights
of the valley when it is flooded, as
it will be mile and half long and
very wide. An excellent view will be
afforded from the road.
The new plant is to be a mile above
the old one and is at what is known
as the Casey bridge, one of the land
marks of the valley. The work of
changing the road and drawing grav-
ell for the mixing of concrete has been
going on for the past TWO months and
there are four OK teams and seven
two-horse teams now at work, though
this number is smaller than what had
been used previously.
The dam is to be of concrete, 80
feet high, giving lead at the water
wheels of so feet. A mixer, driven
!
on the bank and it will require seven
men to keep it filled with cement and
gravel. The prepared cement will be
conveyed to the dam by means of a
blondin, travelling on galloway,
spanning the river at the dam.
From the dam the water will be
carried to the wheels by a steel pen
stock six and half feet in diameter
and 1000 feet long. At the power
house, which is to be of concrete, the
water will enter 900 horsepower
wheel, direct connected to revolving
field alternating current generator, of
900 horsepower. The dam, water
wheels and generator will set on the
solid rock. The contract for the hy-
draulic equipment and the generator
call for delivery by October 1, at
which time is is expected that the
dam will be completed.
The new plant will be mile from
the old one and the arrangement is
such that the water will be passed
through the new wheels, into the low
Ter pond and thence through the old
wheels, thus using it twice, with no
loss of head or fall in the process.
The company now has contracts for
power nearly to the capacity of the
present plant and the surplus power
from the new plant is to be marketed
in this city and Northfeld The cleo
trical arrangements will be such that
either of the water plants or the steam
auxiliary plant in this city may be
used separately or all of them at one
time on one line, so that the company
class service to their patrons.
A pile containing 5000 cubic yards
of gravel is already at the site of the
dam, having been drawn during the
winter, and the cement is being taken
to the place as fast as needed, COM
ing to Middlesex by rail. All prelim-
mary work has been done now and
the actual construction work will be
rushed during the period of low wat
er. The Golfer dam sustained a severe
test last week, at the time of the
heavy rain. The river rose so that
water ran over the top of the dam,
but no damage was sustained
Moody and Almon now furnish day
power in this city and all the power
used in the stone sheds in Northfield
as well as the street and commercial
| lighting of that place The system is
owned by G. E. Moody of Waterbury,
a we'll known lumber man and capt.
talist and G. II. Almon of this city.
HARDLY AN INSURGENT.