The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-10-10
GUARDING AGAINST
ANOTHER SHUT-OFF
Street Car Company Installing
Enormous Storage Battery
at Power-IIousc.
NO GREAT PROPERTY LOSS
Damage to Machinery Will Not
Equal Loss From Sus-
pended Service.
70 GREAT PROPERTY LOSS

The shut-oft Of light and power all
over Richmond on Wednesday, night.
which caused practical suspension of
street car service to and from the FAIR
Grounds was due to a combination or
circumstances that would not occur
once in ten thousand times. according
to General Manager c. B. Buchanan, OF
the Virginia Railway ana Power Com
pany. Even at that. machinery Is now
being installed which will take care
Of that remote contingency. Within
ten days or two weeks the company
believes 1t viii be in n position TO as
sure the public that such a condition
could not happen again.
While tho immediate cause Of tho
accident. as explained by Mr.. Buch-
ahan in The Times Dispatch OF yes
terday. was the burning out of II cable
under the direct current switchboard.
which In turn burned several other
cables and finally set the switchboa rti
on fire, the public would never have
noticed IL. nor would the service have
suffered, had not an immense storage
battery at the Twelfth Street power
house been down for repairs.
Bnttcry Being Rebuilt.
principle OF water in a reservoir. When
the pumps cease for moment the res
crNo!r takes UP the load. and the aver
age water taker knows nothing Of tho
TACT that the pumps arc not running
IN order to afford absolute protection
- elevators and commercial power
users through the business section the
Virginia Railway and Power Company
mace n contract recently with n Phila
deiphia concern 10 rebuild this storage
plant entirely at cost OF approx
inately 10000. Actual work began
ABOUT Two weeks ago. and will be com
picted IN bout ten days. Had the bar :
terry been in operation on "Wednesday
night II would have at once assume a
me load without the public knowing
the difference, and carried IL until other
generators could be excited. Even as
~ was the big alternating current
plant was started up in seven minutes
~ the official record nj the plant and
furnished light. and very soon after
wards power. The longest DELAY in
car service was occasioncd In the West
End and on the Fair Grounds loon.
"here service was practically sus-
pended for one hour and twelve min
utes The reason for this was ex
planned BY officials of the company ms
follows:
Stalled Cars Caused Overload.
street cars use a 500-volt direct cur
~. men current IL supplied from
the alternating current generators as
II was within seven minutes after the
ACCIDENT, II passes through certain
transformers, the machinery for tho
west End supply being located at In,
booster station on North Harrison
| Street.
/ As soon as that plant started -,
hundreds of stalled cars All over ~.
| West End began pulling at once. The
shoVe overloaded the plant. and en-,
the current off again and again IL he
ing some time before The booster sta
Ton acquired sufficient momentum IN
carry the whole load with tho large
number of extra cars in operation. hi
rect current could not be supplied for
elevators ana business purposes until
workmen had cut away one OF the
burned cables and spliced in n rev
piece, the work OF more than an hour
being done by candlelight ms tho
power-housc itself was in darkness
Rad the storage plant been In opera
ton this service would have suffered
no interruption.
Mr. Buchanan said yesterday that he
was not able as Yet 70 estimate the
money damage 10 machinery by rea-
son Of the blow He did not think
| 1t would be Very extensive. the loss
TO the company from suspended service
probably exceeding the actual money
damage TO machinery
Plenty of Generating Capacity.
! IL was never a question of suflicie nj
generating capacity he explained as
the power station here has a capacity
OF three times the normal load. In
| fact. the new alternating current
power house. equipped with the very
latest appliances, has a 9.000-horse-
! power unit capable of carrying the
whole normal load. and has space pro.
vided In the building for the futare
! installation OF a $4,000 horsepower
unit whenever the business of Rich
mond may demand IT.
/ To show that the contingency OF ),
I further breakdown during the ten DAYS
or two weeks necessary TO complete
the rebuilding of the storage battery
plant is remote Mr.. buchanan said tina,
/ in the past seven years the storage
| battery had only been called on TO as
sumo the load four or five times and
then only when sudden freshet con
ditions had caused the shutting down
/ OF water generators before there was
l sufficient steam TO carry the load on
Gals Of the company are greatly wor-
+ in years should have come at a critical
/ time during Fair Week, but reports
/ from all sources show that little ac.
! tual harm was done, that no effort was
made to take advantage of the dark
ness, and that the travelling public took
! the DELAY In street