Evening journal., 1911-11-15
MAKING POWER
PLANT MODERN
Wilmington and Philadelphia
Traction Company Puts
100000 in improvements
WIRES TO GO FROM
CENTER OF TIE CITY

Workmen yesterday began placing
the frame work at the new power
house for the Wilmington and Phila-
delphia Traction Company, along the
Brandywine creek. The new struc-
ture will be one Of the most modern
plants Of its kind in the country and
the only plant in this city equipped
with automatic stokers, thereby ELI
mating the smoke nuisance.
Early last spring the local company
had plans prepared for the erection
Of a new electric light station and the
converting of the Fifth street power
plant into a sub-station. It was like
wise decided to lay under ground all
high power wires between the two
stations.
Experts drew the plans for the
buildings and work on the Brandy
wine creek plant was started hrsL
The framo work of this plant has been
erected. The structure is 100 by ITO
] IhnI III size anu AnA hAt-hNhN h-+-tN
the roof is "a feet The foundations
of the building. which are OF steel
construction, rest on concrete placed
on bed rock. In securing this tounda-
tion it was necessary to go below the
bed of the creek along which the
building is located In some places
the concrete is four feet wide at the
top, widening as it goes down.
The boiler room which faces the
creek. will be on the second floor,
while above it will be the coal bunk
ers and ash pit The bunkers will
be- constructed of steel and will hold
1900 tons of coal. The boilers will
number six, of 50O-horsepower each
and are known as Edge Moor boilers.
These will be fitted with Wetzel
stokers carried on the main floor.
Under this room will be a l4-foOt
basement. where a number Of pipes
will be located and tho ashes will be
handled in cars.
To the north of this room will be
the engine room. Here will be the
new steel turbine constructed by the
General Electric Company. This ma
cEine will furnish 4,400 kilo watts of
power, which is equal to the capacity
of both plants now in use. The tur-
bine is of the Curti3s Horizontal type,
generating current at 1900 volts at
60 cycles The steam from the tur-
bine will be condensed in a Worth
ington surface condenser. The water
from the intake will go into the con-
densed steam and into hot wafer
heater while the exhaust from
the small pumps will raise the tenn
perature and it will enter the boilers
again. There will also be "A 2O-ton
. crane in the engine room, while IN
, the basement will be various hot
water pipes, etc. About 90 feet from
q the building will be the coal elevator
: constructed Of steel and iron. At the
e bottom will be an electric crusher
L The coal will be dumped from the
y freight cars into a shute entering the
+ crusher. where it will be broken and
Q carried by a bucket arrangement &C
= the bunkers over tile boiler room
: From there it will go through chute
l to the stokers into the furnace.
= The ashes when they fall to the
}. basement will be caught I'm cars and
d here manual labor Will be called on
= Laborers will push the car to the
i elevators and dump the contents int
a hoist where they will be carried tc
the pit near the coal.
When desired the ashes can be
dumped into cars or teams on ths
j ground below through ohutes.
COffer Dam Aids.
Owing to the shallowness of the
y Brandywine creek at that point tho
!. question of water had to be solved
. and a Golfer dam was erected in thI
= creek near the wall of the boiler
room. Then q sort of well was sunl
= four feet below low water mark II
. make sure. however, that water woulr
- always be obtainable. a dredge tool
y out 600 cubic yards of sand and muC
from in front Of the intake. The roo
a Of the new structure will he of con
m crete. covered with tar and plasti,
slate, while the walls will be o
brick and glass Altogether the stee
used in the building weighs over "a
tons.
In connection with the boiler room
y a brick smokestack 220 feet high ant
Is feet inside was also erected Thi
stack is made of radical brick and 4
~ II feet higher then the stack on tn
- Water Departments station opposite
v The structural work is being done b.
v A. S. Reed and Brother Company.
= In keeping with these Improvement
Il the interior of the Fifth street plan
-. of the company is being remodeleC
- the engines having been removed, an
two 1,000-kilo watt motor generator
"a installed. One set Is already i'm us
~ and the other is pow being place.
IN New switch boards arc also to b
10 placed there, and the current will b
& transferred from the Brandywin
plants to Fifth street through thre
cables. The company is also layin
conduits in Fifth street from Wes
-, to Shipley, through which all wire
-, shall enter and leave the sub-statioi
- 1t is intended to extend the under
N ground system TO King street. whe
all overhead wires in the businel
sections of the city will be eliminates
: The total amount being expende
4 by the company for the improve
II ments amounts to over 100000. Tn
does not include the costs of the ne
II tracks being laid about the city.