Niagara Falls 



1903 snoe form as the American tunnel, but four feet greater depth. 

 Van Cleve The most interesting feature of the plant is the size of the units. 

 The original plans contemplated the use of 5000 H. P. machines, 

 but it was found that both the turbine designers and the 

 electrical manufacturers were willing to undertake the building of 

 units of double that size, although nothing of the kind had ever 

 been done successfully. The advantages of the plan are evident 

 as a reduction of nearly 50% is made in the length of the wheel- 

 pit, canal, and power house per given amount of power develop- 

 ment. The result of the designers skill will be machines of mon- 

 strous size. Imagine if you can, a single machine capable of 

 generating 1 % times the entire amount of electricity employed 

 for all purposes at the late lamented Pan-American Exposition. 

 A penstock 1 0' 2" diameter conducts the water to a wheel case 

 1 3 feet diameter and 1 4 feet high, discharging water through two 

 Jonval type turbine wheels with draft tubes, the total head being 

 136 feet. This monster when fully loaded will use four times 

 the quantity of water in a given length of time that is supplied to 

 the entire city of Buffalo from all its enormous pumps. 



The next company to engage in power development on the 

 Canadian side was the Ontario Power Co. in which Buffalo 

 capital is so largely interested. This company entered into an 

 agreement with the Park Commissioners April 1 1 th, 1 900, by 

 which they were given rights for two forms of development. The 

 first method was to bring water through an open canal from the 

 Welland River near its junction with the Niagara River to the 

 top of the high bluff west of the park, where a fall of about 50 

 feet was available upon wheels in a power house located within 

 the Park at the foot of the bluff. The discharge water was to 

 be at first conducted to the upper river but at a later time to flow 

 in a canal to the high bank of the lower river near the Table 

 Rock House, where it would enter penstocks and there be led 

 to wheels in a power house situated in the gorge on the bank of 

 the lower river. The powers of the Ontario Power Co. have 



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