The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-07-31
MORRIS BUSH TALKS ON
ELECTRICITY IN MINES

Norris Bush of the woodward Iron COM
pany delivered an address upon the cleo
triflcation of mines by his company His
speech follows:
According to history in the early
days most of the work of all KINDS
was done by men. by sheer main force
and awkwardness. So 1t Is said that
the great monuments of the ancients
were put together by numberless men
dragging the immense stones into po-
sitlon As civilization and mechanical
Information advanced animals and
crude machines were used in place OF
the slaves and captiyes OF war to DO
the heavy work. With the application
Of steam the industrial world advanced
by leaps and bounds. Steam machin-
cry was only adapted for doing work
of certain kinds and in certain loca-
tons In mining, particularly, 1T was
very poorly adapted except to do work
outside and such work as 1t could do
from the outside through the medium
of endless tail rope haulages and COM
pressed air. So, for a number OF years
the driving of deep mines and those
great difficulty and with very low
efficiency. Compressed air could
be used for pumping and in some cases
in locomotives for haulage but the cost
of installation was high and cost OF
operation and maintenance excessive.
Most of the mines in this district used
mule haulage to some central point,
where the loads could be taken out BY
the outside hoists. AS long as the
mines and outputs were small this was
possible method of operation. Bu.
as the outputs were forced UP and the
mine areas increased several acres per
month some better, quicker and more
efficient method of coal gathering was
imperatively necessary.
1.-THE No. Dolomite mine was opened
in 1882 by the Woodward Iron COM
pany; the No. mine about two years
later. Both of these mines have been
operated continuously since except for
slight interruptions caused by strikes
The outputs has been steadily increased
until now for several years an output
of 1000 tons per day for each mine
has been maintained. The face of the
coal was necessarily very rapidly
driven away from the mouth OF tho
slopes until now the bottom of the
slopes is about three miles from tho
tipples. 1t was this condition thai
confronted the company in 1907. The
|haulages were SO long, the grades in
some places SO against the loa Is. that
1t was almost impossible to get enough
mules in the mines and keep them
out of each Nther's way to get the
coal necessary. - Besides this method
of haulage was very expensive OUTSIDE
of the cost of the mules. as each mule
or spike team had to have a driver,
and in some parts of the mines the ton
mage per mule was very small AS the
Developments in electricity had been
SO rapid and electric machinery had
been so much simplified 1T WAS decided
to introduce electric baulays and, at
the same time to avoid a double power
system to also ventilate and pump the
mines by electricity.
For economy's sake the central
power station was located at the fur-
naces and the steam Is furnished from
the furnace boilers generated by waste
of gases from the furnaces. Alternat-
ing current of $500 volts, 3 phase, .126
cycles is generated and transmitted
nearly three miles to Dolomite. For
supplying the direct current to the
electric locomotives rather an inno-
walton was introduced In the location
of the ub-stations. 1t was not feasible
to locate the station outside, owing
to the distance necessary to transmit
the current, the loss and high copper
cost. 1t was not considered desirable
I to locate the station above the work
inRs and drop the line through a bored
hole. because the station would have
been located about 2 y miles from the
railroad and in some of the toughest
country in JEFFERSON county. 1t would
have been very difficult to reach to
make necessary repairs. 1t was there
fore determined to shoot out a cham
Der in each mine and place the rotary
| converters under ground. The 1905
Volt current Is taken down the slopes
| in three conductor cable. thoroughly
insulated, and steel orinored. 1t Is sus-