![]() One would be on the top on the walkway to hand over needed equipment. Constant repairs required a two-man crew to work on the flume. On the top of the box flume were boards creating a 12” walkway. The box flumes had ‘racks’ which would help keep debris and ice from going into the Powerhouse. Box flumes were very different from the ‘V’ flumes for the logging industry. Farad’s highest flume was 36 feet off the ground. Power was first delivered to Virginia City from the Farad hydroelectric plant on September 12, 1900.įlumes were built on the edge of cliffs or high in the air on a trestle. The steep sides of the Truckee River canyon made it necessary to build a flume (of 2-inch thick native pine for nearly 2 miles), set on supports that clung to the walls of the canyon. The greater the fall and flow of water, the more electricity could be produced. The height of the pipe above the turbines and the flow of water in the pipe provide the force necessary to turn the turbines. The headpond fed into the penstock pipes (pressurized round wooden pipes with metal bands) and into the generating station. At Floriston a ‘diversion’ dam was built and Truckee River water was diverted into a canal and flume system which created the ‘headpond’. It had 2 turbines and generators and could supply 2800 KW (KiloWatts) to the mining companies and town of Virginia City. The first hydroelectric plant between Truckee and Reno was built at Farad in 1899. Steam-driven Cornish pumps were effective for a while but the expense of the electricity and drop in value of silver forced mine owners to find cheaper power alternatives. In some cases the air temperature would be 150☏ with the water reaching 170☏. The deeper into the earth the mines went, the hotter they became. By the late 1800s, Virginia City mines were so deep that they required constant pumping to remove groundwater. The reason for the hydroelectric plants was to replace expensive, soot-producing coal and wood power. The Virginia City mines needed this electric power desperately. With mining being Nevada’s primary industry in the late 1800’s, the installation of hydroelectric power was critical to the Silver State’s economy. The finding of the great Comstock Lode in Virginia City helped fuel the decision to cross over 40 miles of rugged desert to bring electricity to the mining operations. Even a hundred years ago the need for affordable electric power was apparent.
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