The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1913-10-10
MADE TRIP TO SOMERSET DAM
Over 100 Board of Trade Members Enjoyed Themselves
Yesterday Afternoon Magnitude of the Work

Journey, the IL members OIL the Brat /
tlcboro board Of trade who visited the I
New England Power company i'm
mense earth dam aud storage reserve Dir /
in the wilds of Somerset 4cturneds last |
evening more than satisfied with the
trip and with IN entirely new concep-
ton of the magnitude Of the project
The party was enthusiastic over the
outing, and it is not improbable that
other trips will be made, possibly to
Springfield and HoIyoEe. Thirty au-
I tomobiles made the trip yesterday.
/ The work at Somerset is nearing
completion, so far as the dam and res
crvoir are concerned. but it is expect.
ed that next year am electric power
plant Will be built about goo feet
south Of the dam. 1t is estimated that
the entire cost Of the development at
Somerset will be from 81 ,000,000 TO ST.,
100000, the object being to lroS Idle
primary power to supplement the pow
Ter developed at the company 5 other
plants ON tile Dcerfeld river and on
1.-THE Connecticut river Mt Vernon.
As stated in The Rcformer yestcr-
day, the party had an excellent din
ncr at the Childs Tavern in Whining
ton, including soup, vegetables, chick
pie, roast beef, roast lamb and va
; rious desserts. The company gathered
: i'm front of the hotel, where several
photographs were made, and the Jour
inev to the dam, which is IA IL miles
, from Wilmington, then being resumed
4 A tire trouble delayed President Major
3 G. IIoughton 5 CO. short time but
u the only incident on this part of the
trip was q collision on the narrow
. gauge railroad owned by the New Eng
y land Hardwood company, which rum
II from Wilmington up into the Somerse
- timber district.
=" When about five and one-haIf miles
y out from Wilmington various member
= of the party heard a rumbline in tn
woods and soon eight or 10 car truck
came in sight. going down the grade
There was no locomotive attached. bu
locomotive and work car were az
lproachin@ from the other direction. /
was apparent that q collision wa
about TO take place ana those VIII
were in sight of the track stopped (
see the result. The engineer did no
see the trucks until they were clos
. upon him. when hc shifted his lever an
n jumped The fireman also jumped, an
almost at that moment the collisio
came, piHng up several Of the truck
but not doing serious damage, as the
had not attained much velocity.
When the party reached the worl
1men $ camp short distance west O
tthe dam it was met by a special fla
car train equipped with plank seat
i1 running leugthwise and in charge G
!" +. f. Gosselin, general superintendent
u of construction. But a few minutes wei
consumed in reaching the foot Of til
dam, aud then the train began elm
Ito the top, 100 feet mp This was II,
RI tcOmpGshcd by running aItcrnatel
be backward and forward, GONG mp a
easy grade each time, the slope of til
great dam being sufficient to allow th
y laying OF tracks at different elcy;
tions.
The west burrOw pit was first ysi
ed. Here two large steam shovcls III
- loading ears with earth to he dumpe
! on the DAM Of which it then htcom,
part. This material is clay mike
with gravel. the ideal material for sue
/ 4 "a dam and without which the da
q could not be built at reasonable q
q pense. Another steam shovel is at woI
q on the east hurrow pit, loading cars
be dumped on the east section of ii
q structure.
From the burrow pit Mr., GosseI
took the party out on the crest OF II
dam and showed them the method
construction. BY this time the interes
a ed group was firing at him vollev. aft
4 yolly Of questions, some of which
5 q doubtless regarded as very elementar
RI and he answered them all with con
pIcteness, going into much detail al
4 manifesting a desire to give all the i
B formation and show all the courtesi
Il possible, which added much to the 50
1 isfaction of the outing.
RI Some figures as to the size of Il
4 dam will give the reader something
an idea of the situation in which t
party found itself at this time. AT t
highest point it is 100 feet high. 1t e
Il tends between two mountains q
4 Itance of 2.1OO feet, which is betwe
. third and half mile At the ba
it is COO feet thick at the top it w
. be 20 feet thick when completed.
the upper side it slopes out into t
water on a grade of two and n h:
ua6s feet for every foot Of height. On t
- lower side the grade is three feet f
each foot Of height. The water in t
reservoir is now. about p feet deep.
Here, then, was the party nearly
feet in the air, at an elevation Of