The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1922-01-24
EARTH DAM 200 FEET.
Continued from Page IL

rock by the use of electrically driven air
compressors and drills and dynamite
blasts. and the material will be removed
from the tunnel by the aid of small
steam shovelS. This work is to be com
pleted by July j. according TO the con-
tract and the general superintendent
for the contractors will be William
/ Thompson.
After the river has been diverted past
the site Of the dam the Power Go. will
begin hauling in dirt from borrow pits
on the neighboring hillsides by standard
gauge trains for building an earth dam
200 feet high and a quarter of mile
long. The base of the dam viii be
uuar,er Of a mile thick. that is, it will
extend that distance mp and down the
river bed and it. will narrow down grad
ually to 10 feet through at the top.
About 2.oOO0O0 yards of earth will
/ be required in making the fill for the
dam. and it will be excavated from the
.hillsides by steam Shovels The dam
win be of the same type of construction
as the Somerset dam built by the Power
/ Co.
This dam will set back the main
/ branch of the DeeFfield river over 10
miles, to the edge of Wilmington village
l. and viii flow out Nottingham station
/ and the Mountain Mills dam and pulp
lmiH near Wilmington. 1t has been de-
i cidpd To move the station about a mile
nearer the village, which viii make It
more convenient for Nottingham people
as the station will be close 10 the village.
The dam is To be located half mile
below Nottingham. ut Davis Bridge. and
the project is known as the Davis Bridge
deveIonment The site is in deep
notch. which makes an ideal spot for
creating the reservoir. The timber IS TO
he cleared off and some highways re-lo-
lcatod. and it Will be necessary TO re-lo-
Lotto miles pr of the ItOOSlC
Tunnel & Wilmington railroad Inc
former owners of the railroad have Sohl
the road to interests favorable to the de-
velopment project The track will be
laid on the shore of the reservoir.
/ In the fan of 1923 a power plant will
be huilt below the dam for developing
ll00O0 horse power. and the dam will
he completed early in 1924 so as to catch
, the spring food of that year. The pur-
; nose of building the dam, however, IS
: not so much to develop the 10000 horse
mower rs il is to create an immense Stor-
/, age reservoir To be drawn on for equal
= lizing the power at five other stations on
, the Deerlield river owned by the New
. England Power Co. which is the larg-
est distributor of electrical energy IN
a New England. These five plants are
: Nos. -. 3. and ut Shelburne Falls,
+ Mass. No > at Monroe Bridge. Mass.
and No ut Readsbor0, Vt. The prin-
! cipal benefit is TO be derived from stor-
. Many engineers have visited the Deer
: field valley looking for dam sites, for
a concerns other than the New England
i Power Co. but in each instance the es'
timated expense has been too high to
! warrant the undertaking as an indie
9 pendent proposition, but for the pur-
= pose of linking up the development with
the existing plants of the New England
/ Power Go. the project from inanclaI
:. noint of view apparently is justified, al,
q though no estimate of the probable cost
d is available at present.
Is The Power Co. some time ago began
n accommodating material and equipment
4 for constructing the dam and built q
a camp for the workmcn. The camp WilI
+ be greatly enlarged within short time
q With a reservoir 10 miles long ere
e ated. the town of Wilmington ought e
derive benefit as a summer resort. be
cause the lake. while it will be drawn
down to a certain extent never will be
tempted as some artificial lakes are.
4 In the next month the New England
: Power Go. viii complete development
! project in Searsburg, on the Deerhel6
river in Bennington county, where al
> earth dam 30 feet high and 800 Zee
e long has been constructed. Work OF
! this dam was begun June l. 1921, ani
at one time about $50 men were EN-
= ployed.
mile north of the site of the Searsbar:
poStoffice. which was burned recently
u There is a concrete spillway on the RICH
bank Of the river.
u At the dam tie river is diverte,
20 through pipe eight feet in diameter
built of wood slaves. This pipe is fou
miles long and runs along the hillside a
an easy grade. 1t crosses under tn
= Bennington and North Adams roads ant
4 terminates on a hillside near tn
/ Heather place From there a steel pen
3 stock leads down to power house o.
I the bank of the river, 500 feet away
ElThis power house contains one hydro
4 electrical unit of 5000 kilowatt capac
fiity. The development yields go feet c
effective head
4 From the point where the long w0odel
1 pipe line connects with the steel pen
I Stock a short line runs to large stee
I surge tank which serves to relieve tn
1 pressure and prevent water hammer i
1 case it becomes necessary to stop tn
4 flow quickly, as in an emergency.