The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1912-07-18
EDITORS ENJOY OUTING.
Concluded from page l,

curved chute into the tail race at
the outer base of the power house.
So accurately has all these avenues
been arranged that the water does
not finish its service to the machin-
ery after its passage through the tur-
bines, but actually adds force to the
oncoming water above by the gravity
pull it's exerts in its downward
plunge into the tail race below,
which, when in full operation, VIII
resemble on a smaller scale the
whirlpool rapids of Niagara Falls.
The turbines are suspended in
their chambers from above by steel
shafts, with a six foot disc, like a
collar, which turns on similar disc
fitted into a monster cone-like frame,
in turn supported by steel and con-
crete ring at the upper part OF the
chamber. The surface OF these discs
never touch each other, but are sepa-
rated by layer of oil a hundredth
of an inch in thickness, forced be-
tween the face of the discs by con-
slant pressure. Thus the turbines
actually swim on film of oil and
are practically frictionless. To test
the accuracy of these planes SO as
to avoid the least possible variation
in contact between the two broad
bearings of the discs, after they had
been adjusted to the thousandth
part of an inch, a million pounds OF
weight was placed upon the lower
disc and the finest instrument Tor
measuring variations in hair lines
was not able to detect the slightest
"give.'
After a thorough inspection OF the
power house the observation train
was run down into the new lock
which the power company is build
ing for the government as gilt, and
the sight seerS were edited by the
statement that the cavernous con-
struction is larger than the locks OF
the Panama canal. A photograph
was taken of the two groups OF dele
gates, with the great lock wall as a
background and then the train labor
iously steamed out of the bed of the
river and up into the natural levels.
Crossing over the Mississippi river
on the regular railroad bridge, the
train entered the works Of the power
company on the Illinois side OF the
river. Here the train was run out
onto the long arched structure OF the
dam extending now fully three quar-
ters of the way across the river. The
work of constructing the dam by
means of huge travelling cranes car
rying buckets of concrete was shown
at close range, and in a position
which would have been dangerous to
a foot passenger Unled the train
arches, where it was being driven by
aches, where it was being driven by
the closing of the space between the
end of the dam and the power house
on the Iowa shore. This open space
vet to be damned is scarcely over a
hundred wards in width, and through
this creyice the river is rushing with
tremendous fury. Out at the very
edge Of this torrent, where the angry
water spurts into the air from it's
impact with the falsework OF the
structure a bevy of men are working
like beavers constructing the wooden
cribbings which are slowly but surely
creeping out into the torrent and
narrowing the space every day.
Within a week or two the gap will
be closed and the mighty river Will
for the first time in history be com
pletely spanned by breakwater that
is holding it's flood back as easily as
a baby stops the flow of tiny revu-
let with it's hand.
Cast in massive steel forms filled
with concrete the arches OF the dam
are marching steadily across the
water, firmly footed in the imperlsh-
able granite of the river floor. The
arches will be closed by steel gates
which will cause the river to rise to
the thirty-two foot level above the
normal surface Of the water. Then