Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-11-16
I'M HARNESS-FRANK c. CARPENTER DESCRIBES {


dreds of steps and tramp our legs tired
IN going through the miles Of construc-
ton that We realize that these Things
are SO,
Across the river we can see the great
steel towers that carry the cables to St
Louis. The one nearest the power plant
is the Illinois shore. more than $50
feet distant and those which run from
there on for distance OF more than
Len miles are sel St1 feet apart. Each
tower is eighty feet high. Ii Is built on
a concrete foundation, and is made
that il will withstand cyclones and earth
quakes- Dr Barr te Is ME that the cables
which carry the electricity are about as
big around as ycIr finger and thai each
consists Of nineteen twisted wires OF cop
per He says that from the top OF the
towers steel cable runs. and that this is
50 connected with the ground that it pro-
trcts the COpPeS cables from lightning.
There are SiN copper cables hung to the
towers with the steel cable on top.
We walk down the steps to the river
and stand for a moment watching the
workmen ia the iry-dock. From here We
cross over 10 the lock canal, through
" hich several great passenger steamers
are moving II only takes ten minutes
for ship 70 pass through, and the canal
thus saves two hours fo~ the steamers
between ktokuk and Montrose.
II required half day 10 send the first
ship IN ough TIL. great locks at Gatun.
This lock was put into operation within
forty eight minutes after it was COM
pleted, and the first ship worked
through 1t III less than fifteen minutes.
The Reoktik lock is wider than the locks
Al Gatun. Ii is not 50 long as the Mis-
s5sstppl steamers are short. The actual
dimensions are: Width, ITO feet: length
on the inside. 400 feet: lift. 40 feet. with
concrete walls y feet high and from
To- So feet in thickness. The dry-dock is
Ia feet wide ~ 463 feet long.
Thee is a wall from the canal lock
which runs 10 the powernouse. We pass
along this wall and gradually reach d
9 eat building or concrete, which looks
Ike a mighty factory, or perhaps more
like d marble palace. far out in the river.
Ii is, however, only one-third OF the width
Of the river from the Missouri shore, the
dam extending from one end of ii to the
Illinois shore, which is more than nine
tenths OF a mile away The powerhouse is
built parallel with the river. Its foun
dations are in the bedrock about twenty
five feet below the su face Of the lime
stone bottom of the Mississippi. and the
height is that Of seventeen-story fiat.
The building has four floors, and it has q
floor space OF something like twenty
acres. The ceilings are exceedingly high
on account Of tie mighty machinery, and
ON the bottom floor, where the generators
are [ saw a travelling crane which can
lift an entire turbine and carry it from
one end OF the powerhousc TO the other.
<
We first enter the generating room
This is filled with the mighty electric
generators. Each Of these is as big
as a naystacl, and it rests over and
is set in a great well Of concrete and
steel, eighteen feet in diameter. This
well contains the mighty turbine water
wheel which is moved by the force OF
the Mississippi. The water is admitted
10 each turbine by four different open
ings. each OF which il protected by q
screen aud guarded BY gate. Inc
water 50 strikes the wheel tnat IL mas
q spiral motion, ana as the turbine
fl.es around it in turn moves the gen
orator above. producing a continuous
current of electricity equal to 10,o0o
horsepower. Or to the force or le,Vou
horses all pulling together W men tue
works are completed there VIII lie
thirty Of these great turbines and their
generators and their aggregate force
will be more than 100000 horsepower.
Eaen Of these generators creates
enough electricity 10 light automo-
bile road around the world and alto
gether they would keep bright milky
way from the earth to the moon.
tt is hard to conceive the size and
single turbine weighs 10000 pounds
aud the wheel and the machinery
above il. all Of which rest on sin
sie bearing. weigh more than half
million pounds. Think Of balancing
ESQ tens on single bearing. and MAX
ing it work with the uniformity and ex-
actness of a watch and YOU have some
conception Of this turbine construction.
Moreover the whole is So carefully
regulated that the machinery auto
matically PRODUCES just the amount of
power required. Or. Barr tells me that
a lew tons OF more or less wo,k Ut any
point along the line Will affect the
generators producing it. lie says that
whenever a woman stops street car
in 81 Louis the effect of that stoppage
IS felt and the regulation changed
here in this power plant more than
100 miles away. When the street car
stops the speed of these turbines be
comes infinite finally slower, and when
it starts gain they increase. The gen
eral regulation is done by the water
load which is regulated by raising or
lowering the gates to the dam, and