12 UTILIZATION OF WATER POWER AT NIAGARA FALLS. 



installations could thus draw water from the canal and discharge 

 into the tunnel. This was a wise provision but fortunately it has 

 not been necessary to take advantage of it and no tenant of the 

 Power Co. develops its own hydraulic power except the Interna- 

 tional Paper Co. whose plant was built before electric power was 

 installed. 



Before the commencement of their operations the Niagara Falls 

 Power Co. and Cataract Construction Co. had purchased tracts of 

 land on which their future tenants could locate, such holdings em- 

 bracing 1 58 1 acres or 2^ square miles, most of which is now 

 within the city limits of Niagara Falls. A part of these holdings 

 were taken over by the Niagara Development Co. for a model 

 town and by the Niagara Junction Railway Co. for a terminal rail- 

 way to transport raw material and finished products to and from 

 the several factories, connections being planned with all trunk rail- 

 roads entering the city. The Power Company's property has a 

 river frontage of about two miles and the acquisition of lands 

 under water gives dockage facilities for this entire length. A rail- 

 way dock was built in 1893 and material can thus be transported 

 by water and the Niagara Junction Railway to the doors of any 

 tenant. Ample land and transportation facilities were thus provi- 

 ded by the company for all factories using their power. 



The construction of the tunnel itself was a matter of no small' 

 moment even in these days of large numbers, involving as it did 

 the removal of 300,000 tons of excavated material, the use of 

 16,000,000 bricks and an expenditure of over one million dollars. 

 Ground was broken for shaft excavation in September 1890 and 

 the contract for the construction of the first 6700 feet was comple- 

 ted in January 1893. Work was prosecuted from the portal shaft 

 and from two intermediate shafts. The roof of the excavation is 

 secured with timbers for most of its length and it is lined with 

 i6^£" of brick work, the height and width inside of brickwork 

 being 21 feet and 18 feet 10 inches respectively. The slope of the 

 tunnel is 7 feet in 1000 for 5000 feet and 4 feet in 1000 the remain- 

 ing distance to the wheelpit. An interesting feature of the tunnel 

 is the steel-lined ogee at the portal, a drop of 10^ feet occuringin 

 a distance of 95 feet. This provision renders the tunnel accessible 

 for inspection to the top of the ogee at all ordinary stages of the 

 lower river. It may be remarked in this connection that on June 

 1st last all power was shut off from the plant and a thorough in- 

 spection was made of the tunnel. The masonry was found to be 

 in perfect condition after seven years of service. 



