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The Story of Electrical Energy, Pt.19 Electricity for electric traction came to Sydney over a century ago. In the early days, all electric power was DC and much of it came from the Ultimo power station. By BRYAN MAHER After a disastrous start in 1861 with George Train's horse-drawn trams in Pitt Street in 1879, Sydney substituted steam tram locomotives to haul passenger cars in city streets. The steam tramway depot at Randwick, then called the Locomotive Workshop, was in fact a part of the Railway De82 SILICON CHIP partment. There, at the corner of Randwick and Darley Roads , is where our story begins. On 22nd May 1886, the New South Wales Railways opened a cable tramline from Milson's Point ferry wharf. It ran 2.4km up the hill to Ridge Street, where the steam driven winding en- gine was located. Seven years later, it was extended 1200 metres to Crows Nest. A similar service on the city side in 1894 encompassed King Street, Queens Square, College and William Streets, King's Cross, and terminated in Ocean Avenue, Edgecliff. This 4km line was powered by a steam engine at Rushcutters Bay. In 1895, the Public Works Department saw Ridge Street and Rushcutters Bay as the nuclei of future electric tram systems. Thus, these short-lived cable lines were vital to our story. First electric traction The first electric traction in Australia was a trial trip by a Julien accumulator tramcar on the Sydney to This is one of the three experimental electric tramcars used in Sydney from Randwick to Waverley from November 1890 to August 1892. It carried 26 passengers. Each axle was initially driven by a 550V 10HP (7 .5kW) high speed DC motor through double reduction gears. (Photo from SRA/UTA archives). Botany steam tram lines on 1st June 1888. The rechargeable battery proved too expensive for a permanent system, however. The first powered system was the demonstration tram provided by the Thompson Houston Electric Co. of Boston, USA. It ran at the' Melbourne Exhibition from 1st August 1888 until 11 March the next year. After that, the machinery was sold to a development company which operated the tram as a land sales incentive on the Box Hill to Doncaster (Melbourne suburbs) line in 1889. This ceased running after seven years, leaving Victoria without a service for another decade. Facing page: taken in 1899, this photo shows one of the original steam driven generators in the Ultimo power station. Primarily installed to power Sydney's electric trams, the system underwent major expansion over many years to eventually supply most of Sydney's demands for power. By that same year, 1889, Sydneysiders had grown tired of the dirt, noise, cinders and smoke from their steam engines. Subsequent to the visit by a Randwick engineer to the United States, the first Sydney electric trams ran on Sunday afternoon 15th November, 1890. Heavy passenger traffic was carried the next day, it being a public holiday. This experimental service was planned to run on the existing crosscountry Waverley to Coogee steamtram tracks. But the railway commissioners voted only 5000 pounds for the project, sufficient only to electrify the Rand wick Workshops to Waverley section via Randwick and Frenchmans Roads. This 3.3kmroutehadgradesof5.5% and curves of 33-metre radius. The overhead trolley wire was suspended from poles, with four different types of timbers - ironbark, turpentine, grey and blue gum - being used to assess the most suitable. All rails were bonded to an 0-gauge buried copper conductor running throughout the route. Three 26-passenger cars were 1 provided by the Thompson Houston Company, each a four-wheeler C Class. Each axle was initially driven by a 550 volt 10 horsepower (7.5kW) high speed DC motor through double reduction gears. Carbon brushes, as patented by C. V. Depoele in 1888, were used. Later, 25hp (19kW) motors were substituted. The driver and the equipment were in a very exposed position. The original flat face controller was mounted under the floor, operated from either end by a chained sprocket mechanism. Series-parallel resistance starting was used even then. All under-floor switchgear was later replaced by rainproof direct drum controllers mounted at both ends. In this type, copper strips mounted on avertical rotating spider assembly contacted sprung fingers connected to starting resistances. To stop the car the driver could "plug" the motors ie, switcp. them into low power reverse or he could apply the hand brake. (True regenerative braking came many decades later). The Thompson Houston F30 motors, each weighing 896kg, were primitive. On a 550V DC supply and running at 1000 RPM, they consumed 25 amperes. The armatures were surface wound and the gears, field coils, cornAUGUST 1992 83 This drawing shows the details of the 4-wheel base used on Sydney's first electric trams. The motors were of completely open construction and used double reduction gears. mutators and live brush gear were all exposed to road dirt and wet weather, causing numerous breakdowns . Power came from the Randwick workshops where an Armington Sims 120hp (90kW) steam engine was direct coupled to a Thompson Houston shunt wound DC generator. At 300 RPM, this 60kW machine was supposed to generate 550 volts but because the steam supply was insufficient, it never put out more than 500 volts at best, leaving the trams underpowered. Though these first three cars gave good experience to the engineers, their problems and running costs caused suspension of service in August 1892. In its eight months of running, this first electric service carried 132,240 paying passengers! Eventually, in 1893, the generating plant and cars were transferred to Ridge Street, North Sydney where they initiated the Military Road run. A trial electric tram attempt was also made at Rushcutters Bay. Electric lighting Electric lighting had been used in Sydney many years before the first traction experiments. One solitary arc lamp at the Observatory lit up the sky on 11 June 1863 for the Prince's visit. The next occasion was in 1878 when the hurried construction of the Exhibition Building saw the builders working at night under temporary electric arc lamps. The first permanent installation was at Eveleigh railway sheds in June 1882. Three Edison bipolar DC generators 84 SILICON CHIP and some Brush arc lighting machines were driven by two Westinghouse single acting steam engines. Line shafts and long flat belt drives were state of the art in those days. The generators powered brilliant arc lamps with two carbon electrodes. This new Eveleigh plant illuminated the loco sheds and surrounds, the extensive Darling Harbour goods yards, and Sydney's original railway terminal station which was Redfern. Out in the west, Clyde railway yards were lit in 1896 using Brockie-Pell type arc lamps. These were powered by a 30kW bipolar Crompton series machine generating 3000 volts DC. All the arc lamps were connected in one big series circuit in which 6.6 amps circulated. (Much later, the arc lamps were replaced by 6.6 amp incandescent lamps). Also at Clyde was a 6kW 110 volt machine made by the Mather and Platt company. The success of this venture prompted the building in the same year of the first electricity transmission line in the state. This ran from the Clyde generators to Flemington stockyards (now the site of the Sydney markets). Early staff In January 1891, the entire staff of the railways electric lighting section consisted of three men and a boy, accommodateJ in an old railway van parked in Sydney yard. In that same year, Mr P. B. Elwell was appointed Railways Electrical Engineer. Given charge of all lighting equipment plus the Randwick enterprise, this man went on to design and direct much of Sydney's early electrical development. His original little section mushroomed into the huge Railway Electrical Branch of which he became first Chief Electrical Engineer. Rushcutters Bay power house Initially, the New South Wales Public Works Department proposed a tramway electric power station on the shores of Rushcutters Bay. Coal was to be brought in by barge on the harbour. The government's plan was to electrify the King Street cable tram line using the existing depot at the Bay as the power station. They had similar plans for another electric power house at Ridge Street. Mr Elwell had other ideas and proposed a much larger central power station to be built in Harris Street, Ultimo, between William Henry and Macarthur Streets. Rail transport for coal supply and ash disposal was already available via the existing Darling Harbour goods yard and there was ample land for expansion. Mr Elwell selected a 4.5-acre site for the planned power station and tram car sheds. This land was purchased for the princely sum 7727 pounds 12 shillings and 11 pence. However, the authority for this action came in a rather devious way. The Public Works Department had recommended in 1896 that the George and Harris Street tramlines be electrified but that the power house be at Rushcutters Bay. Attempts to change the Public Works plan would require, by law, further long drawn out investigations by committees. But the Rail- Another view of Ultimo power house, taken in 1899. This shows the classic construction of those early machines and the extensive switchboard which occupied most of the 30-metre wide north wall. The platform was elevated 4.27 metres above the floor, thus giving the operator a clear view of all machinery way Commissioners, unfettered by any such regulation, were legally able to proceed immediately. So they did, invoking their choice of the Ultimo site. Mr Elwell envisioned far more than· the electrification of just a few streets. He and his successors foresaw the whole of Sydney being served by fast, clean electric trams. And furthermore, Ultimo was closer (than Rushcutters Bay) to the centre of the existing tramway network. That was important to minimise feeder length. Long lines at 600V DC, the only technology available at the time , would be plagued by serious voltage drop problems. Initially, Ultimo was seen as a 20,000hp (15MW) station. Sadly, Mr Elwell died in September 1899 before his dream was fulfilled. But he was ably succeeded by his deputy Mr 0. W. Brain. The speed of construction in those days was amazing, especially by today's standards. On the 16th November 1896, Parliament voted 150,000 pounds towards the electrification of tramlines. Three weeks previously, the Railway Commissioners were given authority to provide electric traction on all present and future lines. By June 1898, the site for the power station was excavated, tenders for machinery accepted and the chimney construction well advanced. First test run On 22nd November, 1899, the power station was built and running, and the first test run of an electric tramcar through Harris and George streets was successful. During the following week, members of Parliament rode on the cars and the power station was completed and opened for inspection. Nine days later, Sydney celebrated the official opening with ceremony and fanfare . Prior to that, on 12th July 1897, a tender was accepted from Kingsway Co of Sydney, representing General Electric of USA, for the supply of four complete steam engines with direct coupled 550V DC generators. The original specification of 800kW each was raised to 850kW at 600V at GE's suggestion. The first four Ultimo machines were 2-cylinder double expansion double acting horizontal steam engines. After the steam did its expanding in the large 660mm-diameter high pressure cylinder, it passed to the even larger low pressure cylinder. Though the steam was then at lower pressure, because of the huge 1219mm diameter of the low pressure cylinder, both cylinders did equal work. In each ep.gine, the two cylinders were mounted parallel to one another, a construction known as cross-compounding. Piston rods, slides and connecting rods delivered the power to two cranks on a single crankshaft. Between the cranks were mounted the enormous flywheel and the generator armature, both pressed and keyed onto the shaft. The engines develop ed 1212hp (905kW) when running at 100 RPM. At this speed, the 6.1 metre diameter 45-tonne flywheel was fairly flying around with nearly 20 megajoules of stored rotational energy - the "spinning reserve" . The engines were manufactured by E. P. Allis and ComAUG UST 1992 85 This strange looking contraption helped early Sydney trams up the steep hill from Balmain wharf. This was a dummy truck which was pushed downhill by trams. It was connected to a heavy counterweight truck which ran on rails underne_ath the road. The heavy counterweight then gave assistance to the trams when they climbed back up the hill. pany (later Allis Chalmers) of Milwaukee, USA. Huge for their time, the 12-pole 850kW generators were a fascinating sight. The twelve sets of brush gear around the commutator were adjustable for minimum sparking under the 1545 amperes full load current. The armatures were enormous, being 2.75 metres (9ft) in diameter. Two governors were fitted to each engine. One was belt-driven and was a low speed centrifugal type. This controller adjusted the steam valve, to maintain shaft speed between 98 and 102 RPM at any load. However should the belt break or slip off, all control would be lost. Therefore a second regulator, driven at high speed by eccentrics on the main shaft, would shut off all steam if the shaft speed exceeded 105 RPM. These centrifugal controls were after the 1849 designs ofT. H. Corliss of the USA - designs which were progressively improved by the inventor and the Reynolds company. Electrical switchgear The first switchboard gallery was a massive assembly of fireproof insulating slate panels mounted on steel 86 SILICON CHIP frames . Occupying most of the 30metre wide north wall of the engine house, the platform was elevated 4.27 metres above the engine room floor, giving the operator a clear view of all machinery. The Cedar timber handrails and the white-tiled walls and floor attested to the artistic flair of the designers. Five large panels in the centre of the switchboard contained one section for each generator plus a summation panel. Each generator board held a dynamic ammeter, a magnetic blowout circuit breaker, hand-operated switches and a recording ammeter, each rated at 2000 amperes. Other panels controlled batteries, lighting, and 10 outgoing 600V DC distribution feeders. Voltmeters showed the generated potentials. All this switchgear, supplied hy H. H. Kingsway and Co of Sydney, wc1s hand operated by staff who became accustomed to working and walking close to live 600 volt equipment. The original Ultimo boilers were a world apart from today's monsters. Fourteen "Colonial" horizontal firetube boilers were arranged in two batteries of seven. These were manufactured by G.& C. Hoskins of Sydney. Coal, delivered by railway hoppers, was dumped into a bin from which wheelbarrows and handcarts on small rails delivered the fuel to the boiler room. Firemen hand shovelled the coal into the furnace in the same manner as would a steam loco fireman. With no windows provided, the boiler room was a very hot, dirty, exhausting workplace. Ash handling was an horrific occupation in the ash tunnel below the boilers. Sweating men heaved the red hot ashes into trucks for disposal and broke up clinker with iron bars which caused hot ash to fly. Burns to the face and arms were common. Exit steam from the engines condensed to water in cylindrical condensers cooled by salt water. This was pumped 305 metres from Darling Harbour in two conduits, each a metre diameter. Each centrifugal pump was driven by a 4-pole 600V DC motor, an advanced feature for that time. The 30hp (22kW) motor driven pumps could shift 150 litres of water per second. Boiler feed water, distilled from the town supply, was pumped into the boilers by two 3-cylinder plunger pumps, each driven by a 19kW electric motor, with an emergency steam driven pump on standby. Today, all this seems easy but in 1898 it was state of the art technology. The electric tram system expanded rapidly. By mid July 1900, there were 50km of electrified tram tracks in Sydney, including both sides of the harbour. To supply the system with 600V DC, positive and negative feeder cables fanned out to all electrified lines. The positive feeders joined to the sectionalized overhead trolley wires. The grounded negative (more properly "zero") cables were connected to the running rails, all of which were bonded together. In the city underground, feeder cables were laid in Callender-Webber bitumen casing under the footpaths of Liverpool Street and between tracks in George Street. Junctions were made in brick or cast iron pits which gave trouble because of water entry. The cables were manufactured by Callender & Co of England and insulated by vulcanised bitumen! A small fraction of the power for the North Shore line was generated initially at the Ridge Street engine house. But for the most part, Ultimo This early bipolar generator is similar to those used before Ultimo power station was built. This particular unit is on view in Sydney's Powerhouse Museum and has its armature missing, provided the current. Three underground 600V DC cables ran from the . power station to Dawes Point, From there, the current was carried to Milsons Point via a submarine cable laid on the harbour floor. The cables then ran as aerials to Ridge street to feed the whole North Shore system as it existed in 1900. Balmain tram Sydney was a notoriously difficult place for tram traction, with the worst grades and curves near the harbour. So steep was the drop down to the ferry wharf at Balmain that for retardation the trams pushed a counterweighted dummy truck down the hill to the wharf. The counterweight was a second heavy truck on narrow gauge tracks in a tunnel below the road, the two trucks joined by a towline running around a pulley at the top of the hill. To return up the hill, assistance was provided by the counterweight running downhill in the tunnel. Fast expansion Meanwhile, at Ultimo power station, engine generator sets 1 and 3 were tested in September 1899 before flooring and lagging were completed. Two months later, on 8th December 1899, with passengers using the George and Harris streets tram service, Ultimo power house was one of the wonders of Sydney. Indeed nothing in the whole continent surpassed it in size, power and engineering flair. In 1899, only one generator was required to supply the load. But by mid-March 1900, just three months later, two machines were needed. So fast did the electrification of tramlines progress that one year from opening three machines were needed to supply the peak hour load. Immediately the planning of massive extensions to Ultimo power house commenced, ushering in the age of alternating current (AC). Ultimo was enlarged many times over its 66-year working lifetime, eventually growing into a huge 80 megawatt installation. Its charm was that at one time or another, Ultimo contained almost every power generation technology that has ever been invented. Today, Sydneysiders know it as the Powerhouse Museum. Acknowledgements Grateful thanks for photographs donated by SRA Archives and the Trustees- of the Sydney Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences. Acknowledgements to Don Godden et al in "Ultimo Power House; Report on its History and Technology"; also to Victor Poljanski, Troy Thomas, Ken McCarthy in "Trolley Wire", Arthur Perry, John Keating, P. Smythe, P. Tweedie, J. Brearley and Public Works Department of NSW. SC AUGUST 1992 87