Among the attractive summer homes on the shores of Lake George is
that of Mr. Stephen Loines of Brooklyn, located at the upper end of
Northwest bay, about four miles above Bolton Landing. On his property
there was a small lake known as Wing pond, having an area of about
seven acres and situated at an elevation of about 180 feet above Lake
George. The outlet was a small brook, which runs through Mr. Loines’
property and flows into Northwest bay.
In the summer of 1902, Mr. Loines built a dam across the outlet of Wing
pond, raising its surface about two feet. He ran a galvanized iron pipe
line from the dam, down the side of the hill and along the brook. It
was four inches in diameter for a short distance, then reduced to three
inches and finally to two inches, and was about 1200 feet long in all,
with a fall of about 110 feet. A twenty-four-inch waterwheel of the
impulse type was installed in a small power house to which the pipe
line was run. The waterwheel developed about three horsepower and was
belted to an electric generator.
[Illustration: Dam at Outlet of Wing Pond]
The power was found to be insufficient to supply Mr. Loines’ needs
at that time. He desired to burn thirty-five 16-candle-power carbon
filament lamps and to charge a 40-cell battery for an electric launch.
Accordingly, in the fall of 1908, Mr. Loines raised his dam two feet
higher and installed a six-inch spiral riveted steel pipe line, running
from the dam down a gulley on the surface of the ground, for about
1600 feet, to a point a short distance from the place where the creek
flows into Lake George. At this point he built a small power house and
installed a twenty-four-inch waterwheel of the impulse type. This wheel
operates under a head of 165 feet and is directly connected by a
shaft to a six and one-half kilowatt generator, which operates at 500
revolutions per minute. This generator supplies a 60-cell house battery
(45 lamps), an 84-cell battery for a 35-foot cabin launch, a 48-cell
battery for a 20-foot open launch and a 40-cell battery for an electric
roadster, all of which are in pretty continuous use from about the
first of June to the first of November of each year.
[Illustration: Power Transmission Line, Northwest Bay, Lake George]
As this new development superseded the older one and proved entirely
adequate for the needs of Mr. Loines’ country place, the old
development was made over so that it could be utilized for sawing
firewood to supply the superintendent’s cottage and the other buildings
during the winter. A countershaft was erected on the wall of the old
power house, which is a building 7 feet by 10 feet in plan and about
8 feet high. This countershaft has three counterpulleys, by means of
which the speed of the waterwheel may be doubled or trebled. For the
purpose of sawing firewood a leather belt is placed on one of the
pulleys of the countershaft and run through a small aperture in the
side of the power house to the driving pulley of a circular saw, which
stands on a small porch at one end of the power house building.
Mr. Loines’ superintendent stated that by operating the saw
continuously for eight hours it would be possible to saw twelve cords
of wood, which he estimated to be sufficient to supply his cottage, and
such other of the buildings as need wood, for the entire winter. This
illustrates very aptly the large amount of work that a small power is
capable of doing in a short time.
In addition to lighting his house and buildings by means of the power
developed at his new power house, Mr. Loines also has a rather unusual
application of power on his summer place. He is an enthusiastic student
of astronomy and has built a small but elaborately equipped observatory
on the hillside above the cottage. The observatory is so constructed
that the roof can be removed entirely from the building to a support
at the back of the observatory. The roof is mounted on wheels and Mr.
Loines uses his electric power to do the work of moving the roof when
he wishes to make astronomical observations with his telescope. This is
accomplished by means of a small 1½-horsepower motor which operates at
1275 revolutions per minute and is connected by belt to a countershaft,
which in turn is connected by a worm gear and a chain drive to the
carriage on which the roof is supported. In this manner the roof may be
moved the required distance in two or three minutes by simply throwing
the switch which is inside the observatory building.
[Illustration: Stephen Loines’ Power House, Northwest Bay, Lake George