APPLIANCE PARTS TULSA

I don't have to go very far to get a glimpse of an alternate reality where steampunk technology rules the day...

In 19th century Melbourne, July 1889, Melbourne became only the fourth city in the world to have its own public hydraulic power utility, an honour it would share with. amongst others, London, Hull, Liverpool, Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow, Sydney, Antwerp and Buenos Aires.

Essentially, a hydraulic power network consisted of pipes through which water was pumped under very high pressure, which could then be tapped to drive a range of devices including: lifts, presses, cranes, small power tools and appliances (even hotel vacuum cleaners!) railway turntables, theatrical effects, dock gates and even the mechanisms of London's Tower Bridge. The system was powered by a central, coal fired steam engine, which was a considerable improvement over the noisy and dirty individual steam engines that were installed in each factory. Even with the introduction of electrical motors and oil burning engines (the former eventually replaced the central steam engine) the hydraulic power network itself remained competitive for many applications until well into the mid 20th Century. The Melbourne service didn't close until 1967, the London one as late as 1977.

In some places the network was also used to pressurise fire hydrants, and after the network closed the sturdy pipes were sometimes retrofitted to contain telecommunications cables. The pipes, of course, had to be strong to contain the pressure, which was in some cases at least as high as 800 pounds per square inch...leaks were rare but correspondingly spectacular!

You can still see the access covers around Melbourne. This well worn one is set into the footpath on the Eastern side of Queen Street between Bourke and Little Bourke Streets. I walked over this for years before I finally found out what it was for...

Nov. 10, 1902 the name of the Consolidated Water Power Co. was changed by amendment of the articles of incorporation to Consolidated Water Power & Paper Co. and this is signed by N. Johnson as President, and Geo. W. Mead as Secretary.

Dec. 17, Nels Johnson, then president of the Consolidated died suddenly at the hotel at Wilmington, Del. He was on a trip to buy machinery for the new Consolidated mill. Immediately after his death F. Mackinnon was elected president and Geo. W. Mead Vice-president, and manager of the Consolidated Water Power & Paper Co.

One remarkable and up to then unheard of operation, was the application of variable speed motors, to handle the paper machines. The customary method of handling paper machines was by use of steam power controls.

Mr. Mead's electrical engineer Mr. V. D. Simons prepared plans for variable speed controlled motors and though it sounded revolutionary, Mr. Mead ordered the steam engines and appliances to be kept housed on the unloading tracks and the purchase of the necessary electrical equipment. This method is followed elsewhere.

Under Mr. Mead's guidance the "Consolidated" has reached far in its place with the other large successful paper and pulp mill manufacturing plants.