Great Falls tribune., 1921-12-25
CANADA s GREATEST
ELECTRIC DITCH IS
LINKED To NIAGARA
Falls Horsepower Reaches
Point Saving 100000
Tons Coal a Year.

Niagara Falls. Ont. Dec. "a
| Queenstown power canal of the On
| tario hydro electric commission at 4
| o'clock Saturday morning. The de-
| relopment of power at the Queens
| ton generating plant will begin next
Wednesday. Representative Of the
Canadian and American governments
will attend the ceremonies that will
mark the opening of the dominion's s
greatest power plant.
Construction work has been IN
progress on the power plant since
1914.
Completion of the 1917 mile Chip
pewa- Queenstown channel by the On
tario hydro commission brings water
power development at Niagara Falls
to the threshold Of 100000 horse
power. equivalent in steam generated
electricity to coal consumption of
more than 100000 tons year. The
mighty cataract, long one of the won
der sights of the world. has become
electrical power.
Great Cuts In Rock
Dredges which have been cutting
through earth and rock north from
Chippewa and south from Queenston
for 31a years in a wide swing about
the falls, took out 100000 cubic
yards of earth and 4,1S2,OOO cubic
yards of rock, a total slightly more
than the French had removed from
Culebra cut at the time the Panama
route was taken over by the United
States. The maximum depth of the
~ lax OF nra
point the engineers were confronted
with rock cut S5 feet in depth.
They also had to change the course CT
Chippewa creek Its natural course
was southerly into the Niagara while
the completed canal will flow
northerly.
The Chippewa Queenstown canal
cost about $65, 100000 An additional
S15,OO0,0O0 will be required TO COM
plete installation of the 1O-unit gen
Grating machinery.
$4,000 HORSEPOWER
The output of the super power
plant will be 5000 horse power.
There are now three plants operating
on the Canadian side of the river. with
q total output of 450,o0 horse power,
SO that if all of them are continued
in operation, Canada's Niagara pro
duction alone will be over the 1,UO,- |
600 horsepower mark.
Existing and projected development |
on the American side has potential |
production of 10000 horsepower |
from upper river diversion. The Nj !
agara Falls Power company, in control |
there. has other hydro electric and |
steam plants giving it total mar
ketable output of $4,000 horse power,
but from the Niagara river alone the |
production is 100000 horsepower.
Under Government Control.
The reaching and passing Of the !
million horsepower mark has been ac-
.omplished in approximately quarter
,f a century, for it was in 1895 that
The wheels of the first industrial |
plant at Niagara Falls were turned
" hydro-electrical energy. The first
turbines on the Canadian side were
installed ten years later.
Power development on the Canadian
,ide has been under government con-
rol, while on the American side it has
,een largely in the hands of one cor
,oration. Canada's power has been
scattered over a wide field, serving
many municipalities within a radius
# $50 miles with current for light,
leat and power The policy on the
American side has been to concentrate
1sers of power at or near Niagara
Falls. Buffalo and cities rs far east
is Syracuse get sufficient power from
Niagara Falls to run street cars and
or a few industries, but the bulk of
power is used within short distance
,f the generating plant