![\"Vertical](\"http:\/\/www.morgan-nj.org\/blog\/contentdir\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Turbine-Unit-1-Looking-East.jpg\")
<\/a>Interior View of the E. H. Werner Building Showing JCP&L\u2019s 1930 Vertical Compound Turbine-Generator Unit #1. Photo Courtesy of Sean McGrady.<\/p><\/div>\n
The majority of the content of this page has only been made possible primarily because of the generous efforts of two people.\u00a0 A huge thank you goes to my college friend Valerie for finding a copy of the July 15, 1930 issue of Power Plant Engineering which featured an article about South Amboy\u2019s then brand spanking \u201cNew Plant on Raritan Bay at South Amboy, N. J.\u201d\u00a0 Another huge thank you goes to Morgan-NJ.org reader Sean McGrady for his spectacular photos of the inside of that same soon-to-be leveled E H Werner Power Plant.\u00a0 Jason saw the <\/span>write-up about the history of the building<\/a> and contacted me to offer the usage of his photos. Yet another thank you goes to Holly Hughes Horning of the Historical Society of South Amboy for providing the exterior photo of the Intake Channel.<\/span><\/p>\n As well as I can and as non-technical as I can, I\u2019ll try to explain how this power plant operated in its early days primarily via translation of the content of the Power Plant Magazine article.\u00a0 This article is even too technical for me so I can\u2019t guarantee that this explanation will in all cases be done well enough.\u00a0 We\u2019ll try anyway.<\/p>\n Cut Away Side View of the E. H. Werner Building Looking West. Image Courtesy of the July 15, 1930 Issue of Power Plant Engineering Magazine.<\/p><\/div>\n On the big picture, the plant did what power plants the world over still do, that is, heat water to make steam to turn turbines which turn generators to make electricity; conceptually very simple. When it opened in 1930, this power plant used coal to heat water, obtained from deep wells and stored in underground storage tanks, to produce steam at a pressure of 1400 pounds per square inch at 750 degrees Fahrenheit. After the steam spun the turbines, it was cooled back to liquid form using water from Raritan Bay which was then returned to Raritan Bay. \u00a0The evaporated water then flowed back into the two 10,000 gallon underground water tanks outside the station.<\/span><\/p>\n It all started with coal.\u00a0 Delivered either via barges from Raritan Bay or via hopper bottom railroad cars, the coal would be brought to the \u201ccoal breaker\u201d which appears to have been located in the tower next to the coal dock (see this tower here<\/a>).\u00a0 In the coal breaker, coal was crushed and either sent down a chute to the storage area for later retrieval by the \u201cdrag scraper\u201d or moved by an elevated and enclosed conveyer belt into six 125 ton reinforced concrete silos located on the south side of the south wall.<\/p>\n Location of the Coal Silos of the E. H. Werner Building with a Tree Growing Out of One.<\/p><\/div>\n The area on the south side of the building, between the bay and what is now the four exterior diesel powered generators, used to be where the coal was stored. There was space for 25,000 tons of coal.<\/span><\/p>\n Inside the building, there were (and still are \u2013 so far) three boilers each with its own set of five \u201cair-swept ball type\u201d of coal pulverizing mills \u2013 one pulverizing mill for each burner in each boiler.\u00a0 Each pulverizing mill had a 5000 pound per hour capacity.\u00a0 15 mills times 5000 pounds per hour equals 75,000 pounds per hour or 37.5 tons per hour.\u00a0 In 24 hours that would be 900 tons of coal (1,800,000 pounds) \u2013 that\u2019s a lot of coal per day!\u00a0 Wonder if they ever hit that number?<\/p>\n View of the Input Channel of the E. H. Werner Building. Image Courtesy of The Historical Society of South Amboy and Holly Hughes Horning.<\/p><\/div>\n As previously mentioned, the water for the steam would come from wells and storage tanks, and the water for the condensing equipment would come from Raritan Bay via the Input Channel on the north side of the building.<\/span><\/p>\n Cut Away Basement Floor Plan for the Original E. H. Werner Building Looking West. Image Courtesy of the July 15, 1930 Issue of Power Plant Engineering Magazine.<\/p><\/div>\n Per Power Plant Engineering:<\/span><\/p>\n Sea water from Raritan Bay forms the cooling medium for the condensers.\u00a0 This water flows from the harbor to the plant through an open channel lined on the sides with interlocking sheet steel piling.\u00a0 After passing through the condensers, the circulating water flows back to the harbor through a similar channel and a precast concrete discharge tunnel on the other side of the power plant building, discharging into the harbor 200 ft. away from the intake channel.\u00a0 The intake canal and discharge canal are separated from each other by a stone breakwater.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n View of the Flood Gate to the Input Channel of the E. H. Werner Building.<\/p><\/div>\n The channels are 17 ft. 5 in. wide and at low tide allows 15 ft. of water necessary for the ultimate capacity of the station.\u00a0 The unusual trash racks are provided where the intake tunnels enter the building and a head of each condenser are two 45,000-g.p.m. [gallons per minute] traveling screens, provision being made in screen capacity for the third unit.<\/i><\/p>\n Basement Floor Plan for the Original E. H. Werner Building (North Up). Image Courtesy of the July 15, 1930 Issue of Power Plant Engineering Magazine.<\/p><\/div>\n Two motor-driven condenser circulating pumps, each of 21,000 g.p.m. capacity, are provided to force the water through each condenser.\u00a0 The intake channel runs along close beside the building with bays at each end opposite the present generating units, Nos. 1 and 3, leading in to the traveling screen wells just inside the building wall\u2026\u00a0 Condenser circulating water discharges from the condensers through 48-in. pipe leading under the boiler house to the discharge channel\u2026<\/i><\/p>\n Cut Away View of the Babcock & Wilcox Co. Boiler for the Original E. H. Werner Building. Image Courtesy of the July 15, 1930 Issue of Power Plant Engineering Magazine.<\/p><\/div>\n The burners would of course heat the boilers to convert the water into steam.\u00a0 The three original 1930 boilers were pretty complex devices, more complex than will be elaborated on here. \u00a0Flue gas was discharged out through the three stacks present on the roof of the building.\u00a0 It is interesting to note that the cylindrical exterior shape of the stacks on the roof are actually ornamental and mask the true shape of the discharge channel.\u00a0 Per Power Plant Engineering:<\/span><\/p>\n Each stack is of the steel venture type, with the induced draft fans and gas passages designed as integral parts of the stack.\u00a0 It is 4 ft. 10 in. in diameter at the throat, 10 ft. in diameter at the top and 60 ft. high above the top of the boiler supporting steel on which it rests.\u00a0 A cylindrical casing was placed around each stack to give it the appearance of a straight steel stack but this has nothing to do with its operation.\u00a0 It was done solely because it was felt that the original shape of the stack did not accord with the design of the building itself.<\/i><\/p>\n The internal shape of the stacks can be seen above in Figure 7 from Power Plant Engineering.<\/p>\n Cut Away View of the General Electric Co. Vertical Compound Turbine-Generator for the Original E. H. Werner Building. Image Courtesy of the July 15, 1930 Issue of Power Plant Engineering Magazine.<\/p><\/div>\n The high pressure steam from the boilers was piped to the turbine blades of the two General Electric 25,000 kilowatt vertical compound turbo-generators (seen in the top photo of this page).\u00a0 Note that South Amboy had the very first installation of this new type of turbine-generator.\u00a0 After this, the steam was condensed back to water as previously mentioned.<\/span><\/p>\n There were three different voltages produced at this plant:\u00a0 33 kilovolt, 66 kilovolt and 132 kilovolt.\u00a0 Power was transmitted via the power lines along the right of way still used today which cut over what was once the Stevensdale Estate.<\/p>\n June 11, 1953 Advertisement in the Matawan Journal Newspaper.<\/p><\/div>\n In the 1950s, the plant was expanded to add one additional and more powerful General Electric generator.<\/span><\/p>\n Interior View of the E. H. Werner Building Showing JCP&L\u2019s 1953 General Electric Turbine Generator. Photo Courtesy of Sean McGrady.<\/p><\/div>\n As was touched on in the other <\/span>Morgan-NJ.org page about this power plant<\/a>, when one looks closely at this power station, it is actually quite a remarkable piece of architecture.\u00a0 Per Power Plant Magazine:<\/span><\/p>\n STATION IS EXAMPLE OF GOOD ARCHITECTURE<\/i><\/p>\n Both interior and exterior of the South Amboy station present a most pleasing appearance.\u00a0 As shown in the headpiece, the building design is simple; it is dependent on two principal masses, with good fenestration.\u00a0 The vertical lines of the pilasters, the conservative decoration at the top of each pilaster and the continuous horizontal lines of the stone trim at the top all contribute their parts to the total satisfactory effect.<\/i><\/p>\n The station is of light buff face brick and steel construction.\u00a0 As is evident, the wall space between pilasters is practically all window, providing splendid lighting and ventilation.\u00a0 This is especially noticeable in the boiler room, where the absence of overhead bunkers permits full advantage to the taken of the windows and the monitor over the firing aisle.<\/i><\/p>\n Interior View of the E. H. Werner Building Turbine Room Looking West Toward the Two 1930 Vertical Compound Turbine-Generators. Note the Glazed Tiled Walls. Photo Courtesy of Sean McGrady.<\/p><\/div>\n The interior of the boiler room is left in the original light colored brick of the building walls.\u00a0 In the turbine room, however, an unusually pleasing appearance is obtained by use of glazed tiled walls and panels outlined by rows of dark brown tile.\u00a0 The turbine room floor is of brown tile.<\/i><\/p>\n Interior View of the E. H. Werner Building Turbine Room Looking East Toward Turbine #1 From Near Turbine #3. Photo Courtesy of Sean McGrady.<\/p><\/div>\n It is evident from the foregoing description that South Amboy plant differs in many of its details from other power plants.\u00a0 Simplicity of operation and high economy with low first cost were the fundamental requirements that determined many of these details.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>