Drawing of the item to be patented
A cut-out comprising a base having a line terminal and an instrument terminal, a drop lever pivotally mounted on the base, line terminal being connected with the pivotally mounted drop lever, lever having its free end provided with a fork, a bracket to which the instrument terminal is connected, bracket being also provided with a fork, a fuse resting in the forks, and supporting the drop lever, and a carbon block having a ground connection connected with the cut-out adjacent to the end of the fuse which rests in the fork of the bracket.
PROCESS OF MAKING GAS. 884,655. Alexander M. Gow, Edgewood Park, Pa., assignor, by mesne assignments, to the Westinghouse Machine Company.
Drawing of the item to be patented
The process of making gas, which consists in blowing to incandescence the exterior portion of a body of fuel, forcing fresh fuel into the interior of the body, utilizing the sensible heat of the incandescent fuel in the destructive distillation of the fresh fuel, introducing steam into the interior portion of the body of fuel and causing it to pass, first through the fresh fuel and then through the heated exterior portion of the fuel bed.
ELECTRIC HEATER. 884,540. Elihu Thomson, Swampscott, Mass., assignor to General Electric Company.
Drawing of the item to be patented
An electric heater comprising a receptacle, containing oil having a high flashing point and means for circulating the same, a resistance conductor immersed in the oil and adapted to heat the same, and a heating system partially within the container and arranged to receive its heat from the circulating oil.
IMPACT WATER-WHEEL. 884,907. William A. Doble and Frederick Gfeller, San Francisco, Cal.
Drawing of the item to be patented
The combination with the body of an impact wheel, of buckets each having at separated points, one in advance of the other, a central and two parallel perforated ears, the perforations of the central ear of each bucket axially in line with those of the parallel ears of the contiguous bucket, and bolts passing transversely through perforations and through the body.
SYSTEM OF CONTROL FOR ELECTRIC MOTORS. 884,541. Leonard A. Tirrill, Lynn, Mass., assignor to General Electric Company.
Drawing of the item to be patented
The method of operating a compound-wound motor, which consists in supplying current to the armature and field windings, cutting out the armature and connecting the series field winding to the source of current supply, connecting the armature in reverse relation to the series field winding, and then inserting a high resistance in series with the shunt field winding.
In our advertising columns this week, announcement is made of the retirement from active business of the California Electrical Works of San Francisco and the continuance of that business under the name of the Western Electric Company, which has directed its operation since it assumed control in 1901.
With this change there passes into history a name so closely identified with the pioneer days that to write the history of the California Electrical Works is to write the history of the electrical business of the early days of California.
The year 1871 witnessed the incorporation of the Electrical Construction and Maintenance Company, afterward the California Electrical Works. The officers were George S. Ladd, president, John G. Ayres, business manager, and S. B. Field, electrician and secretary. Their location was on the top floor of a small frame building at the corner of Montgomery and Jackson Streets, San Francisco.
This company absorbed all the business formerly handled by outside electrical enterprise and acquired by purchase the interests of Lundberg & Marwedell, who had been carrying on a limited business in the manufacture of telephone apparatus and supplies, including the manufacture of all telegraph instruments used by the Western Union Telegraph Company on the Pacific Coast.
Previous to the incorporation of the Electrical Construction and Maintenance Company, electrical development on the Pacific Coast had been entirely confined to the operations of the California State Telegraph Company.
In the year 1863, three telegraph circuits entered the city of San Francisco, these being composed of No. 9 iron wire supported on redwood poles and insulated with hook insulators; but two of these circuits could be worked at the same time, the “cross fire” between conductors rendering a separate pole line for each conductor a necessity. In those days every trouble on the line was attributed to the fogs which were then as now very dense at certain periods of the year.
In the year 1865 the fire alarm telegraph was introduced in San Francisco, and Mr. Field was one of the operators of this system. The following year, 1866, the first private telegraph line was constructed between the offices of Kelly, Hewston & Company and their refinery about a mile away. This circuit was made of baling wire—about No. 14 plain iron—with a joint every 150 feet. The instruments, battery and dial (“A. B. C.”) were from A. T. & J. N. Chester & Company of New York. The success of this line was so immediate that quite a demand sprang up for such installations, numbers of which were constructed and installed by the Electrical Construction and Maintenance Company under the supervision of Mr. Field. It may be of interest to know that these instruments cost $125 each in greenbacks, which were then rated at about 50 to 80 cents on the dollar, and were sold in San Francisco for $250 each in gold.
Housetop line construction cost $125 per mile and pole line construction about $250 per mile.
About 1874, the American District Telegraph System was introduced in San Francisco, the promoters being the various stockholders of the Electrical Construction and Maintenance Company, although the business was carried on under a separate incorporation.
On June 14, 1876, the company consolidated with Mr. Paul Seiler and Dr. Hirsch and incorporated under the name of the California Electrical Works, changing their location to the third floor of a brick building on Sutter Street.
In the year 1877 the telephone was introduced on the Pacific Coast, the first exchange being opened in the District Telegraph office on Sansome Street, San Francisco. In the summer of 1878 the first long-distance telephone line was constructed for the North Bloomfield Gravel Mining Company and various other adjacent claims commenced at French Corrall in Yuba County. It extended to nearly the summit of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, the total length of the line being about sixty miles with twenty-four stations. This line was installed by the California Electrical Works, the principal work being done by Mr. John O’Neil. In this connection it will no doubt be of interest to know that he is still in the employ of the company and we are indebted to him for much of the information contained in this article.
During these early years the California Electrical Works wired most of the principal buildings and residences in San Francisco, including the old Palace Hotel, the James B. Haggin residence, the Goad residence, the Concordia Club, General Colgan’s residence, the Mark Hopkins’ Institute, the Leland Stanford residence, the Chas. Crocker residence and many others. These names represent many of the most prominent early pioneers in California. Most of the wiring was for call bells and the wire used on the first installations was insulated with cotton braid and afterwards varnished, the work being done in the shop of the California Electrical Works.
The first drop annunciator on the Pacific Coast was installed by the California Electrical Works in the office of the Grand Hotel which was directly across the street from the old Palace Hotel. This annunciator remained in service until the earthquake and fire of 1906.
In 1877 the company installed the first electric light power station on the Coast. The old California Theater and Auction House, once so famous, was nightly illuminated with “Jarblokoff” candles. During the year 1878 the company obtained from Mr. Thos. A. Edison the first generator for incandescent lights seen in the West, this machine being one of the historical bi-polars with a capacity of about 160 lights. It was installed in the H. S. Crocker building on Bush Street, as an exhibit, and attracted a great deal of attention. The sockets for the lamps were very cumbersome and had no keys and there was only one switch on the line, this being placed on the frame of the generator. Shortly afterwards, this machine was installed as a permanent exhibit in the old Mechanics’ Pavilion on Larkin Street, and as a result the California Electrical Works installed quite a number of them during the next two years.
In 1886 the business was moved to 35 Market Street, where better accommodations and increased floor space were obtained. In 1890 they again moved to 409 Market Street, where, owing to the increased volume of the business, they occupied three floors. On December 16, 1901, the Western Electric Company acquired the controlling interest in the company and located at 547 Mission Street, where three floors and a basement were occupied for offices and stock. They remained in these quarters until the completion of their present building at 642 Folsom Street, where they moved in January, 1906, three months before the catastrophe which visited San Francisco.
Farewell to the California Electrical Works. Welcome to the Western Electric Company.
The accompanying illustrations show the new home of the Brooks-Follis Electric Corporation, 44-46 Second Street, San Francisco, Cal. Mr. Frank Fowden, President of the company, has clearly demonstrated what can be accomplished through perseverance, will and optimism in San Francisco’s future.
EXTERIOR.
EXTERIOR.
At the time of the fire in 1906, this firm was located on Mission Street. The business was apparently demolished, but April 24th found the Brooks-Follis Electric Corporation bobbing up serenely at 563 Thirteenth Street, Oakland, where shipments were made as rapidly as material could be obtained.
INTERIOR.
INTERIOR.
In July, 1906, a corrugated iron building at 212-214 First Street, became the temporary San Francisco home of the firm, where all orders were handled to the best possible advantage under the conditions existing at that time. These quarters were acceptable while San Francisco was being settled and the business growing.
At the present central location all the electrical men from the interior can take a Market Street car and drop in at 44-46 Second Street, take a seat in Mr. Fowden’s office, read the “Electrical Journals,” use the telephone and make themselves quite at home.
No less than ten machines, aggregating 25,000 horsepower, are included in a large shipment of Westinghouse turbo-electric power equipment from East Pittsburg to the Far East. Most of these machines will go to Japan for the equipment of railway, lighting, and manufacturing plants.
One of the first machines to be put in service will be a 1,500-kilowatt turbine unit for Manila, to be installed in a station with four other machines of like construction put into service several years ago. Past experience with these machines has resulted in the recent extension. It will be recalled that this railway system was engineered and constructed by the American engineering firm of J. G. White & Co.
Hardly second in importance is the large turbine station of the Osaka Electric Company, Osaka, Japan, now building. This will be one of the largest power stations in Japanese territory, and will contain, for the present, 15,000 kilowatts in five units. Three of these machines are now being shipped from East Pittsburg. The remainder will follow as fast as they can be built and tested. The Osaka installation is under direct charge of Messrs. Takata & Co., of New York and Tokio.
In the strictly manufacturing field, there are two installations in process of erection, for the Imperial Steel Works of the Japanese government and the ship yards of the Hakkaido Tanko Steamship Company. Two 500-kilowatt Westinghouse-Parsons turbo units will comprise an initial installation in each of these plants. This gratifying reception of American motive-power machinery in the Far East, especially Japan, may be regarded as an index of future operations where government inspection is exceedingly rigid and is exercised along lines much more detailed than in this country.
The General Electric Company has obtained very satisfactory results with the tungsten lamp. They have shipped over 75,000 to all parts of the country, and the breakage in shipment is below one and one-half per cent. They state that they are issuing a new bulletin covering tungsten lamps, both series and multiple, and have a large production, good stocks, and are in position to make prompt shipment, particularly of the 100-watt and all types of tungsten lamps which they have standardized.
The American Automatic Telephone Co., formerly of Rochester, N. Y., and the Select Telephone Mfg. Co., formerly of Springfield, Ohio, are now located in their new plant at Urbania, Ohio, under the name of the American Automatic Telephone Co.
Meadow Lake, Wash.—The Washington Water Power Company will build a power-house.
Eugene, Ore.—It is reported that the Willamette Valley company which supplies Eugene with electric light and power is soon to install an entirely new equipment of engines and dynamos in the generating plant at this place.
Republic, Wash.—The county commissioners granted to Arthur Phillips and H. D. Merritt franchises, each for a period of thirty-five years, to lay water mains from Deer Creek to the town of Orient, water pipes throughout the town, and for a pole line and wiring lighting the town and furnishing heat and power.
Twin Bridges, Mont.—Henry Pankey, superintendent of the Easton and Pacific mines, above Virginia City, has returned from California and will at once push matters connected with the erection of an electric power plant at Blaine Springs, which is intended to furnish electric power for the lighting of the county seat.
New Westminster, B. C.—Managing Director Buntzen, of the British Columbia Electric Railway, held a conference with the city council recently to discuss the necessity of erecting a new dam at Lake Coquitlam. Mr. Buntzen agreed that it was necessary, the present one being but a temporary affair. He will recommend the erection of a dam of the best construction to be put up this year.
Cranbrook, B. C.—The mining and general industries of southeast Kootenai will be vigorously stimulated by the fact that Wisconsin capital has now been secured to put through and fully equip the undertaking of the Bull River Power and Light Company on Bull River, near Fort Steele. The enterprise involves the production of over 10,000 horsepower of electrical energy from the river.
Lewiston, Ida.—Development of power on the Clearwater River at Lewiston is at last to become a reality. Work has begun on a power plant within the city limits of Lewiston, which will eventually develop more than 50,000 horsepower. The North Coast Power Company, represented in this field by Engineer Frank McKean and George W. Tannahill, is the concern undertaking the work, and it is understood that the power so developed is to be used for an extensive system of interurban lines connecting Lewiston and vicinity with Clarkston, Asotin, Anatone, Cloverland, and Pomeroy, and extending into the Craig Mountain timber belt and to the cement, lime, and coal deposits on the Snake River above Lewiston.
Tacoma, Wash.—With the granting of a franchise by the county commissioners to Donald Fletcher, the electric power plant to be established on the Teanaway River, at Cle Elum, in Kittitas County, is expected to be a reality. The franchise calls for the beginning of work within two years, a completion of one-fourth of it in five years, and operation in ten years. By the franchise, permission is granted to Mr. Fletcher to string his electric cable along all of the roads in Pierce County. The line will also have to pass through King and Kittitas Counties. Mr. Fletcher’s plan is to build his power plant below the government dam on the Teanaway River, where he believes that at least 110,000 horsepower can be developed. The current brought from the river will be used in supplying light and power in Buckley, Puyallup, Sumner, and Tacoma, and other cities in Pierce and King Counties, according to present plans.
Columbus, Mont.—There will be an electric railroad built between Columbus and Cooke City, a distance of sixty miles, and work on the proposition will commence within the next two months.
Helena, Mont.—It is possible that the Helena Light and Railway Company will expend $70,000 in constructing a new car line to the fair grounds this summer, and in purchasing cars and equipment for handling the crowds which attend the annual State fair.
Turner, Ore.—The Oregon Electric has just finished its survey from Salem to this place, and Turner people confidently expect an electric railroad in a short time. There is an impression that the road will continue on south to Albany or that a branch line will be built east into the Stayton neighborhood.
Okanogan, Wash.—The financial aid of English capitalists, who will take over an issue of $3,000,000 in bonds at 85 cents net, practically has assured the construction of the Okanogan electric railway, a road 75 miles long, which will pass directly through the Okanogan country, according to A. M. Dewey, who has offices in the Empire State Building, Spokane.
Woodburn, Ore.—A standard-gauge electric railroad will be built by the Valley Railway Company from West Woodburn to Woodburn, three miles, and thence through Monitor to Scotts Mills, and on up into the foothills to Wilhoit Springs, a health resort in the Cascades. A branch will be extended from Monitor to Silverton. Construction work will be commenced May 15.
Portland, Ore.—An electric railway company organized by Portland and Seattle men will build a line from Condon to Bend, crossing the John Day River and securing power from that stream, also erecting a dam 200 feet high in the Deschutes River and developing power there. Among those who are engineering the deal are Dr. H. I. Keeney, George C. Mason, and Mark W. Gill.
Pendleton, Ore.—An electric line from Pendleton to Irrigon, touching at Echo, Fosters, Hermiston, and Umatilla, and tapping all that vast section of country now being reclaimed by the government and other private irrigation concerns, is one of the plans of Dr. H. W. Coe, of Portland, who is promoting lands under the Furnish project. A preliminary survey has already been made. The proposed road will be a little more than 50 miles long. It will also eventually be connected with the Milton-Walla Walla electric line.
Santa Barbara.—The Monterey Oil and Development Company has been incorporated with a capital stock of $100,000 by Santa Maria people.
Bakersfield.—The Golden Gate Oil Company has been incorporated with a capitalization of $500,000. The directors are E. D. Gillette, G. R. Neill, W. H. P. McDonald, H. Lucas, and M. S. Platz.
Santa Ana.—Articles of incorporation have been filed by the Consolidated Petroleum Corporation. The incorporators are A. W. Casey, K. A. Snyder, James McDonald, and others, all of Los Angeles. The corporation is capitalized at $1,000,000.
Modesto.—Articles of incorporation have been filed by the Tuolumne Water and Power Company. The capital stock is $1,000,000. The incorporators are Warren Gregory and H. H. Rolfe, of San Francisco; Geo. Whipple, of Alameda; Winfield Dorn, of Oakland; and J. L. Lamson, of Berkeley.
Douglas, Ariz.—Douglas and Bisbee are to be connected by an interurban traction line, which is being projected by Cochise County capitalists under the name of the Cochise County Electric Railroad Company. The men interested in the project are James S. Douglas, W. H. Brophy, and George H. Neale. The capital stock is $500,000.
Walla Walla, Wash.—The County Commissioners have granted a franchise to the Mt. Hood Electric Railway Company to construct and operate an electric railway along the edge of the cemetery. The only condition attached is that the company start construction by the first of the year and have the road completed by January 1, 1910.
Los Angeles.—The City Council has passed ordinance 16,320, granting the Los Angeles Railway Company the right to construct and, for a period of 21 years, to operate and maintain a double-track electric street railroad, commencing at the intersection of San Pedro and Thirtieth Streets, thence southerly along San Pedro Street to its intersection with South Park Avenue.
Pasadena.—The City Council has agreed to turn down the request of the Pacific Electric Company for a franchise from Lake Avenue to east city limits on California Street and to turn down the proposition of the company to vacate rights to build on several streets in Pasadena, but voted to grant a franchise on East California Street for a short strip of railway between Mentor Avenue and Tournament Park, where the company has no franchise.
Klamath Falls, Ore.—The Klamath Falls Electric Railway Company is making arrangements for the extension of its street car line this summer. C. N. Hawkins and W. K. Brown, directors of the company, will superintend the work. E. R. Reames, local manager, states that the Belt Line will likely be completed, as negotiations are now under way for enough steel for the entire circuit. The old horse car will be replaced by some kind of motor.
Portland, Ore.—The announcement has been made simultaneously with the increase of the capital stock of the Oregon Electric Company from $2,000,000 to $10,000,000 that the company would begin actual construction on the first of 283 miles of extension branches and laterals to the Portland-Salem electric line, which was placed in operation within the last few weeks. The roads mapped out are from Portland to Tillamook via Hillsboro; Portland to Eugene via Corvallis; Salem to Mill City, Salem to Dallas, Salem to Albany, and Albany to Cascadia.
Woodland.—T. C. Gregory, president of the Vallejo & Northern Railroad, states that he has taken up the condemnation proceedings against the Reed Orchard Company for the large tract of land which the company wishes to acquire opposite Sacramento. The promoters of the road say that they now have all the strategic positions, and a request has been filed with the attorney-general for permission to bring suit in the name of the State against the city of Sacramento, in order to obtain the freight franchise in that city, regarding which some trouble has been experienced.
Portland, Ore.—An electric railway company has been organized by Portland and Seattle capitalists, among them being Dr. H. I. Keeny, Geo. C. Mason, and Mark W. Gill, with Eastern capital also behind them, for the purpose of building an electric railway from Condon to Bend, crossing the John Day River. A dam 200 feet high will be erected in the Deschutes River and power developed there. It is proposed to tap the coal field near Madras and serve the Oregon King gold mine, controlled by Jack Edwards, near Ashwood. The concern will be known as the Portland Construction Company.
Oroville.—The new Humbug Valley power plant is but one of a number of plants that the Oro Water, Light and Power Company is preparing to construct.
Placerville.—James O’Brien and Robert Duncan have filed notice of the location and appropriation of 5,000 inches of water of the main fork of the Cosumnes River, for power, mining, and irrigation.
Lewiston, Idaho.—Commissioners Salsberg and Miller have reported favorably on the application of the North Coast Power Company for a tract of ground near the water plant for a period of three years, to be used as a site for a power plant.
Chihuahua, Mex.—The Aguila Amalgamated Mining Company, which has taken over eight properties in the Hostotipaquilla district in Jalisco, is planning to erect an electric power plant on Santiago River. J. Burpee Melly, of Boston, Mass., is president of the company.
Placerville.—R. H. Sterling, manager of the American River Electric Company, is at the company’s power-house near this place to inspect the recent work of repairs which has been going on at the power-house for the past two months. Four Pelton water wheels have been installed at a cost, including setting, of $10,000. The new wheels have a capacity of 6,000 horsepower and take the place of those placed five years ago. The large switchboard has also been received and other improvements made. Assistant Superintendent H. McGuirk and twenty-five men have been employed on the job.
San Francisco.—Agents of E. H. Harriman have secured valuable water rights in the Sierra Nevada and Siskiyou Mountains of California at four strategic points. Harriman is planning for the future, by means of these water rights, to generate electric power for the movement of Southern Pacific trains on various sections of its lines. The rights are located in the mountains of Kern County, east of Bakersfield; in Fresno County, east of Fresno; in El Dorado County, on the Rubicon River, and on the Klamath River, in Siskiyou County. It is stated that fully $15,000,000 ultimately will be spent in developing power at these points. The power generated on the Rubicon River will operate Southern Pacific trains between Sacramento and Reno, Nevada. When this electric power plant is completed, Harriman will have finished his proposed 35,000-foot tunnel in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
Porterville.—Z. G. Peck, representing the firm of Bennison & Bruntion, Los Angeles contractors, has asked for a franchise to lay gas pipes and mains.
Portland, Ore.—The County Commissioners have granted a franchise to C. L. Pritchard for an electric light system complete for the town of Washougal.
East Newport.—Test work has commenced on the natural gas locations in the big asphaltum beds just across the bay from this point, which were filed on recently by W. W. Wilson, P. T. Evans, and Archie Sharpe, of Riverside, and Lew W. Wallace, of Newport. If the supply of natural gas is found to be sufficiently large to warrant it, a plant will be established and pipe lines will be run to Newport and East Newport for lighting and cooking purposes.