Niagara Falls 



1904 (The) Niagara Falls electrical handbook. Being a guide for visitors 



from abroad attending the international electrical congress, St. Louis, Mo. 

 September, 1 904. Published under the auspices of the Am. inst. of elec. 

 engrs. Niagara Falls. 1904. 



A well-written little book, profusely illustrated with views and dia- 

 grams of the scenic and industrial features of the Niagara region. The 

 first thirty-six pages are given up to an account of the history and geology 

 of the Falls and the various points of interest on both sides of the river. 

 The remainder of the book is devoted to a detailed and scientific account 

 of power development, American and Canadian, and a brief but clear 

 account of each of the various industries using the power in question. 



The utilization of the power of Niagara Falls has for years 

 been the dream of engineers and of all those interested in indus- 

 trial development. In the past many schemes for this purpose 

 have been suggested by engineers and inventors, but never, until 

 the advent of the modern era in electrical engineering, has the 

 proposition, on a large scale, been able to stand upon a basis 

 attractive to the capitalist. The difficulty in the past has not 

 been to apply the waters of Niagara for the turning of a water 

 wheel, for many of the schemes then suggested would have 

 accomplished this successfully; but what to do with the power 

 when thus developed at the water wheel shaft was the problem 

 before the engineer. Obviously here the question of transmission 

 arose as of prime importance. 



Among the numerous early plans suggested will be found 

 extensive systems of pneumatic tubes operated by turbine driven 

 air compressors, the air pipes leading therefrom to factories 

 located in the vicinity of a power house, each factory having its 

 own air motors thus operated. It may be of interest to note that 

 one of these early plans contemplated the transmission of power 

 to Buffalo by this means. 



Another plan consisted in lines of countershafting bracketed 

 on columns, extending radially from a central power station, this 

 long shafting to be driven by water wheels at the power station 

 through a system of gearing. Factories were to be located along 



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