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roads, amounts to about £350 per mile, and the cost of the cables is
according to the size employed. The largest main employed costs
about £100 per mile, this being the highest class of cable obtainable.
There are at present about 24,000 8 c.p. lamps connected to the mains,
the greatest number lighted at any one time being about 12,000.
The Station covers an area of 3, 133 square yards, and is so designed
that it can ho extended at any time to the capacity of supplying
40,000 8 c.p. lamps burning, or (say) 100,000 lamps connected. Tho
machinery omployod in tho Station consists of 4 Babcock boilers and
1 Lancashire boiler working to a maximum pressure of 140 lbs.;
4 non-condensing engines of 200 h.p., by John Fowler & Co., of
Leeds, and 1 engine of 100 h.p., by the same maker. The small
engine is sufficient for the work during the time of the day, when
light is nut much required, viz., from midnight to about 3 in tho
afternoon. There are 4 dynamos, of the Lowrie-Parker typo, of
100 kilowatts, and 1 dynamo, of the same type, of 50 kilowatts.
The transformers are of the Lowrie-Hall typo, and those at present
employed represent 1,600 h.p., at a cost of about £4,900, Schallenberger
motors are used, and are hired out by consumers at 5/- per
quarter. The charge made for current is at the rate of 8d. per
Board of Trade unit, and discounts are allowed varying from 20 to 35
per cent., reducing the price in certain instances as low as 5½d.
per unit.
Your Sub-Committee was very much impressed with the steady and noiseloss
working of this Station, and by the arrangements of all the
apparatus and machinery. The members wore specially struck with
the method of running the dynamos in parallel, by which means it
is claimed that absolute steadiness of light is secured, no variations
being apparent when a largo number of lights were suddenly switched
on or off. The dynamos can bo worked separately or combined on
any one main, or on the whole group of mains. Although the Station
contains everything necessary for the complete control, not only of
the Station itself, but also of the mains, your Committee particularly
noticed the absence of any complicated automatic arrangements, the
switching apparatus being of the simplest character.
Messrs. Hammond & Co., who very kindly conducted your Sub-Committee
over the works, constructed this station. This firm have also
erected similar Supply Stations at Eastbourne, Hastings, Brighton,