POWER DEVELOPMENT AT NIAGARA. 619 



comparatively short time. A traveling crane of this description, 

 as most of our readers are aware, consists of a long carriage hav- 

 ing a pair of rails on which runs the crane truck carrying the 

 lifting machinery. The long carriage, which is supported a suit- 

 able height above the floor, stretches across the width of space to 

 be commanded, and itself has a sideway movement on several 

 supporting rails which run the length of the space to be operated 

 over. Thus by a combination of the two movements the crane 

 truck commands the whole floor. 



During the work of assembling the penstocks, wheel cases, 

 turbines, etc., at the wheel pit, a view of this great slot with its 

 contents was wonderfully impressive in giving an idea of the 

 vastness of the whole enterprise. The great depth of this long, 

 narrow pit, which made it impossible to see to the bottom except 

 with the assistance of lamps in the lower part, the mysterious- 

 looking pipes (the penstocks) rising vertically, new sections being 

 constantly added much in the same way that a stovepipe is put 

 together, except for the permanence given by the heavy riveted 

 seams, and the enormous power and flexibility of operation of the 

 immense traveling crane which rapidly conveyed in every direc- 

 tion great masses of iron and steel obedient to the turn of a switch, 

 made a combination of impressive efi^ects not quickly forgotten. 



To obtain an idea of just what the relation to each other of 

 the various parts in the installation is, the reader is referred to 

 the sketches numbered G, 7, and 8. 



It may be mentioned that, to withstand the very considerable 

 hydraulic pressure at the lower part of the penstocks, these tubes 

 are built of thicker and thicker plates from the top downward. 



There has been very little criticism of the mechanical details 

 of construction so far referred to ; on the contrary, very little can 

 be said except in praise of the fertility of resource and high gen- 

 eral competence of the engineers who have had this work in 

 hand. With regard, however, to the particular design of the 

 generators from an electrical rather than a mechanical standpoint 

 much and lavish criticism, if not condemnation, has appeared in 

 various quarters. Whether the grounds for this criticism are 

 well founded or not it would be presumptuous at this time to at- 

 tempt to declare, but we may say that where, as in this case, one 

 man has had practically the entire control of the design of the 

 electrical apparatus, we may usually look for, rather than be sur- 

 prised at, a great amount of setting up of individual opinion 

 against the views which he may embody in practice, often a good 

 deal irrespective of the probably cogent reasons which may have 

 induced him to adopt the course in question. 



Without attempting to decide between the various views 

 which are plentifully to hand in criticism of certain electrical 



