Some years ago a company was formed for the purpose of utilizing, to some extent, this greatest of all water-powers. A tunnel of large capacity was run from a point a short distance below the falls on a level a little above the river at that point. The general direction of this tunnel is up the river; it is about a mile and one-half in length, terminating at a point near the bank of the river a mile or more above the falls. Above the end of this tunnel an upright pit comes to the surface, where a power-house of large dimensions has been constructed of solid masonry. It is long enough at present to contain ten dynamos of mammoth size. Along the side of this power-house a deep broad canal is cut, which communicates with the river at that point, and through which flows the water that is to furnish the power. Of course the water level of this canal is the same as that of the river.

The foundations of the power-house extend to the bottom of the tunnel, which at that point is 180 feet below the surface of the ground. To put it in other words, the cellar or pit under the power-house is 180 feet deep and communicates with the great tunnel, which has its outlet below the falls.

Each of the ten dynamos is driven by a turbine water-wheel situated near the bottom of the pit heretofore described. The turbine-wheel is on the lower end of a continuous shaft, which reaches from a point near the bottom of the tunnel to a point ten or fifteen feet above the floor of the power-house (which is about on a level with the surface of the ground).

This shaft is incased in a water-tight cylinder of such diameter as will admit a sufficient amount of water, and connects with the turbine wheel at the bottom in the ordinary way. The water is admitted into the top of this cylinder from the canal, so that the wheel is under the pressure of a falling column of water over 140 feet high. The water, forcing its way out at the bottom through the turbine, revolves it and its long, upward-reaching shaft with great power, and enables it to work the dynamos in the power-house above, as will be described. The water discharges through the wheel in such a manner as to lift the whole shaft, thus taking away the tremendous end-thrust downward that would otherwise interfere greatly with the running of the machine through friction. After the water has done its work it flows off through the tunnel into the river below the falls.

To the upper end of the power-shaft is attached a great revolving umbrella-shaped hood; to the periphery (circumference) of this hood is attached a forged steel ring, 5 inches in thickness, about 12 feet in diameter and from 4 to 5 feet in width. The whole of the revolving portion—including the ring upon which are mounted the field-magnets, the hood, and the shaft running to the bottom of the pit, where the turbine wheel is attached—weighs about thirty-five tons.

The dynamos belong to the alternating type, and are comparatively simple in construction. In a previous chapter upon the dynamo it was stated that the fundamental feature was the relation that the field-magnet and the armature sustained to each other, and that in some cases the field-magnet revolves while the part that is technically called the armature remains stationary. In other cases the armature revolves and the field-magnets are stationary. In the latter case brushes and commutators are used, to catch and transfer the generated electricity, while in the former these are not needed, which simplifies the construction of the machine.

As we have stated, the dynamos used at Niagara are constructed with revolving field-magnets that are bolted on to the inner surface of the steel ring that is carried by the hood, so that there are no brushes connected with the machine except the small ones used to carry the current to the field-magnets.

The current for power purposes is generated in a large stationary armature about ten feet in diameter and of the same depth as the revolving ring. The revolutions of the ring send out currents of alternating polarity, and each of the ten machines will furnish electrical energy equal to 5000 horse-power, so that when the work that is now under way is completed 50,000 horse-power can be furnished in the form of electricity. About 35,000 horse-power is now actually delivered to the various industrial enterprises. The dynamos are set horizontally, since the shaft which connects them with the turbine wheel stands in a perpendicular position.

Not all of the energy that is developed by the water-wheel is converted into electricity, but some of it appears as heat. In order to prevent the heat from becoming so great as to be dangerous to the machine it must be constructed in such a way as to admit of sufficient ventilation for cooling purposes. The armature is so constructed that there are air-passages running all through it, and on top of the revolving hood are two bonnet-shaped air-tubes set in such a way as to force the air down through the armature, which carries off the heat and warms the power-house, on the principle of a hot-air furnace. This great machine—which, in a way, is so simple in its construction—when in action conveys to the mind of the beholder a sense of wonderful power. It is only when we stand in the presence of such exhibitions as may be seen in this power-house, devised and executed by the genius of man, and in that greater presence, the mighty Falls of Niagara, that we get something of a conception of the power of the silent yet potent energy of the great king of daylight, the sun.

There are very many interesting details that work in connection with this great power-plant, some of which we will describe, in a general way.

Standing within a few feet of each one of the great dynamos is a very beautifully constructed piece of machinery called the governor. The governor regulates the speed of the dynamos by partially opening and closing the water-gates that regulate the flow of water into the turbines. The question may be asked, why is there any regulation needed, if there is always an even head of water? There are two reasons—one because the load on the dynamo is constantly changing, and another that the head of water changes, although this latter fluctuation is in long periods. If the circuit leading out from the dynamo is broken, the rotating part of the dynamo will move with great ease and little power, as compared with what is required when the circuit is closed, and the current is going out and doing work. The increased amount of energy that will be required to keep the dynamo moving at a certain rate of speed when the load is on—in other words, when the circuit is closed—will depend upon the amount of current that is going out from the dynamo to perform work at other points. As the amount of current used outside for the various purposes is constantly changing, it follows that the load on the dynamo is constantly changing also. As the load changes, the speed will change, unless the amount of water that is flowing into the turbine is changed in a like proportion; hence the necessity for a governor that will perform this work. You can easily imagine that it will require a great amount of power to move the gate up or down with such a pressure of water behind it. It is not possible here to explain the operation of the governor in detail, as that could not be done without elaborate drawings; suffice it to say that the whole thing is controlled by a small ball governor such as we see used in ordinary steam-engines for regulating steam-pressure.

The rising or falling of the balls of this governor to only a very slight extent will bring into action a power that is driven by the turbine itself, which is able to move the water-gate in either direction according as the balls rise or fall. For instance, if the balls rise beyond their normal position, it shows that the dynamo is increasing in speed, and immediately machinery is brought into action that shuts the water off in a small degree, just enough to bring the speed back to normal. If the balls drop to any extent, it shows that the load is too great for the amount of water, and that the dynamo is decreasing in speed; immediately the power is brought into action, now in the opposite direction, and the water-gate is opened wider. These slight variations of speed are constantly going on, and the constant opening and closing of the gate follows with them. It is a beautiful piece of machinery, and is beautifully adapted to the work it has to perform. It is continually standing guard over this greater piece of machinery that is exerting an energy of 5000 horse-power and prevents it from going wrong, both in doing "that which it should not do and leaving undone that which it should do." It is a machine that, when in action, points a moral to every thinking person who beholds it. Every man has such a governor if he only has the inclination to use it.

I have said further back that the water-head varies, but usually at long periods. This variation is chiefly caused by changes of wind, and it is very much greater than one would suppose without studying the causes. Lake Erie lies in an easterly and westerly direction, and when the wind blows constantly for a time from the west, with considerable force, the water piles up at the eastern end of the lake, which causes the level of the Niagara River to rise to a very sensible extent. It is not so noticeable above the falls as below, because of the great difference in the width of the river at these two points. Sometimes the river below the falls, as it flows through the narrow gorge, will vary in height from twenty to forty feet. When the wind stops blowing from the west and suddenly changes and blows from the east, it carries the water of the lake away from the east toward the west end, which will produce a corresponding depression in the Niagara River. No doubt there is an effect produced by the difference of annual rainfall, but the effect from this cause is not so marked as that from the changing winds.

Another appliance used in the power-house, chiefly for handling heavy loads and transferring them from one point to another, is called the electric crane. It is mounted upon tracks located on each side of the power-house. The crane spans the whole distance, and runs on this track by means of trucks from one end of the power-house to the other. Running across this crane is another track which carries the lifting-machinery, consisting of block and tackle, able to sustain a weight of fifty tons. Situated at one end of the crane are one or more electric motors, which are able, under the control of the engineer, to produce a motion in any direction, which is the resultant of a compound motion of the two cars acting crosswise to each other together with the perpendicular motion of the lifting-rope connected with the block and tackle. It seems like a thing endowed with human reason, when we see it move off to a distant part of the building, reach down and pick up a piece of metal weighing several tons, carry it to some other portion of the building and lower it into place, to the fraction of an inch. While the machine itself does not reason, there is a reasoning being at the helm, who controls it and makes it subservient to his will. The machine is to the engineer who manipulates it what a man's brain is to the man himself. The brain is the instrument through which the unseen man expresses his will and impresses his work upon men and things in the visible world.