IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - January/February 2014 - 91

line to the Gold King Mine. on 19 June 1891, water from
the San Miguel River was unleashed onto the 6-ft (1.83-m)
Pelton water wheel. The wheel was attached by belt to the
Westinghouse generator, whose armature began to rotate as
the water wheel turned. The ac produced by the rotating armature was transmitted 3 mi (4.83 km) to successfully operate the 40-stamp ore crushing mill at the Gold King Mine.
This was arguably the first use of ac for industrial use in the
United States.
The plant ran continuously for 30 days without any
problems. It became an entertaining event for the local
citizens to go out to the Ames plant and observe it in
operation. A common question asked by spectators was
"How long does the electricity take to get to the Gold
King Mine?" If fortunate with their timing, spectators
could observe some of the 6-8-ft (1.83-m to 2.44-m) vicious arcs drawn when the circuit was opened.
Another serious challenge for these early pioneers was
the lightning activity that frequently occurred at this altitude, causing damage to the equipment. It was not uncommon for workers to spend painstaking hours replacing
generator or motor coils damaged by lightning surges. fortunately, the design of the generator and motor was such
that the armature windings were segmented into removable
coils that could be replaced individually when damaged.
During summer months, it was standard operating procedure upon the approach of a thunderstorm to lay out, ready
for instant use, an extra armature coil, together with all the
tools for immediate replacement.
one of the first lightning-protection measures involved raising the generator and motor and placing insulated platforms made of 4-in2 (10.2-cm2) oak boiled in
paraffin for added insulation underneath them. In addition, a variety of trial-and-error lightning arrester designs
(mostly utilizing choke coils) were experimented with
(see figure 11). Alexander J. Wurts of the Westinghouse
Electric Company ultimately came up with a nonarcing
metal arrester design that, for the most part, protected the
equipment until more effective arresters were developed.
A problem that developed in the infancy of hydroelectric power generation was the lack of a reliable governor
that was sensitive and responsive to insure a constant
speed. At the Ames plant and other very early plants, the
"one-man automatic regulator method" had to be used.
This method required the operator to sit with his hand on
the lever of the deflecting nozzle and his eye continually
observing the voltmeter or tachometer. He would make adjustments as necessary to maintain the proper rotation and
frequency. This method was soon replaced with an automated version developed by the Westinghouse Company.

High-Voltage Experiments at Telluride
In 1895, L.L. Nunn (now general manager of the Telluride Power Company) recognized the need for more
research and development regarding longer-distance

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - January/February 2014