Power Plant at Canon City in Operation

The Canon City-Cripple Creek Power Trans-

mission Plant in Operation—Mines Run

by Electricity.

AT noon on August 17 Governor Alva Adams pressed the button which was the means of putting in motion the massive machinery of the Colorado Electric Power Company, at Canon City, Col. The electric current was transmitted to motors at the Cripple Creek gold mines, twenty-four miles distant, where arrangements have been carried out to have electricity talc the place of the usual steam power equipment that has heretofore been in use. This means the successful accomplishment of another big undertaking which adds to Cripple Creek's claim as the foremost gold producing camp in the United States, and at the same time records another instance where electricity was considered as the power par excellence for mining purposes by a community of practical men.

In brief, the scheme is to generate electricity at Canon City, which is in the midst of extensive coal fields, and transmit the power to Cripple Creek, where coal sells at a high figure. This will enable mines to be operated at a profit that have heretofore been close to losing propositions, and at the same time effect a very great saving in running expenses with the large producers. This promises to be a very important point in the future development of the camp.

The plant is one of the largest and best equipped electric power concerns in the West. The equipment consists of three Hamilton-Corliss engines, with a combined capacity of 9,000 h. p. direct connected to three Westinghouse three-phase generators of 2,100 kilowatts capacity, wound for 500 volts, making three separate generating units, one of which will always be kept as a reserve in case of emergency. For exciting the fields of the main dynamos there are two "Kodak" exciter outfits, each of which is capable of exciting all three of the main dynamos.

The engines are supplied from a battery of Heine safety tube boilers, and the exhaust steam is taken care of in a surface condenser. The air and circulating pumps and feed pumps are all of the "Snow" make.

There have been installed at the main station four transformers that step up from 500 to 20,000 volts, at which pressure the current is delivered to the transmission line. The first sub-station is near Victor, on the saddle between Battle Mountain and Bull Hill. The location of the second sub-station is on the saddle between Gold Hill and Globe Hill, near Cripple Creek. At each of the sub-stations the current steps down by means of transformers to 500 volts, at which pressure it is delivered to the motors in the mines. In addition, lights are to be supplied from the same wires used to furnish power.

The construction of the transmission line is most substantial; particular pains have been taken in protecting it from lightning troubles. In addition to the lightning arresters in the generating station at Canon City and in the sub-stations lightning arresters have been installed at a number of points along the transmission line, the "Wurts" arrester being adopted throughout the installation.

It should be mentioned that in addition to the twenty-four miles of line between Canon City and Cripple Creek there is about six miles of line over the camp, which will make the total length of the system about thirty miles. The work of constructing this system was commenced last September, and after nearly twelve months everything is in readiness. The entire line is patrolled by experienced linemen; they carry with them a telephone specially adapted for their work, which they connect with the main line at any point, and send in word wherever they find a break. Western Union call boxes are stationed along the line, and through them the patrolman must report where he is every hour.

The main station of the Colorado Electric Power plant is a substantial structure, 140x106 feet, constructed of brick, stone and cement, with steel trusses and corrugated iron roofing, and allowance has been made so that the entire plant can be duplicated without the addition of another smokestack or extra condensers.

This plant has cost probably not less than $750,000. The company has among its stockholders Mr. John D. Rockefeller, Mr. Andrew Carnegie, and others of like prominence.

The transmission line was erected under the supervision of the Mountain Electric Company, in Denver, for which they used a specially designed insulator, gotten up by them. This company by careful and painstaking work has gained a reputation as being second to none in this section for transmission construction work. The generating apparatus was installed by the Westinghouse Company and the steam equipment was put in under the supervision of the Stearns-Rogers Company, in Denver.

It has been carefully computed that there will be a saving of 25 per cent. in the operating expenses of the mines if electricity is used, in so far as the matter of hoisting the ore, running drills and doing whatever steam can do is concerned. Then, again, there can be no question as to the superior convenience.