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Will helps to bring electricity to West Virginia...sort of.
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DISTRICT ENGINEER RECOMMENDS DAM PERMIT BE GRANTED
The following letter, which explains itself, cuts short all controversy existing relative to a preliminary permit asked of the Federal government by the Virginian Power Co., as it is practically a foregone conclusion that the Federal Power Commission will act favorably upon the recommendation of the district engineer and grant the permit requested in it:
WAR DEPARTMENT
United States Engineer Office
Huntington, W. Va., April 23, 1923.
CIRCULAR LETTER
To all Concerned:
Very careful study of the objections made to the proposed water power development on New River by the Virginian Power Company has shown that these objections are not sufficiently important to warrant withholding a preliminary permit on this development. Therefore, instead of continuing the hearings as was originally intended, it is expected to forward the record of the public hearing held at Hinton, W. Va., on April 16, 1923, to the Federal Power Commission, together with the recommendations of this office as to the granting of the Virginian Power Company's application.
W.P. STOKEY
Lieut. Col., Corps of Engineers,
District Engineer.
The following letter, which explains itself, cuts short all controversy existing relative to a preliminary permit asked of the Federal government by the Virginian Power Co., as it is practically a foregone conclusion that the Federal Power Commission will act favorably upon the recommendation of the district engineer and grant the permit requested in it:
WAR DEPARTMENT
United States Engineer Office
Huntington, W. Va., April 23, 1923.
CIRCULAR LETTER
To all Concerned:
Very careful study of the objections made to the proposed water power development on New River by the Virginian Power Company has shown that these objections are not sufficiently important to warrant withholding a preliminary permit on this development. Therefore, instead of continuing the hearings as was originally intended, it is expected to forward the record of the public hearing held at Hinton, W. Va., on April 16, 1923, to the Federal Power Commission, together with the recommendations of this office as to the granting of the Virginian Power Company's application.
W.P. STOKEY
Lieut. Col., Corps of Engineers,
District Engineer.
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1.
This is one of a series of newspaper and magazine items over the years about Will's work for the Army Corps of Engineers.
You can find the whole list here:
2.
Very careful study of the objections made to the proposed water power development on New River by the Virginian Power Company has shown that these objections are not sufficiently important to warrant withholding a preliminary permit on this development.
I didn't find the Virginian Power Company online, but I did find the Virginian Railway, which apparently created the Virginian Power Company. Here's what Wikipedia has:
The Virginian Railway (reporting mark VGN) was a Class I railroad located in Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The VGN was created to transport high quality "smokeless" bituminous coal from southern West Virginia to port at Hampton Roads.
Note that VGN is the Virginian Railway. Wikipedia has further down:
The VGN had a very major grade at Clark's Gap, West Virginia, and tried large steam locomotives before turning to an alternative already in use by one of its neighboring competitors, Norfolk & Western Railway: a railway electrification system. With work authorized beginning in 1922, a 134-mile portion of the railroad in the mountains from Mullens, West Virginia over Clark's Gap and several other major grades to Roanoke, Virginia was equipped with overhead wires supported by a catenary system at 11,000 volts. The VGN built its own power plant at Narrows, Virginia. The electrification was completed in 1925 at a cost of $15 million, equal to $268,946,869 today. A link was established with Norfolk & Western to share electricity from its nearby electrification during contingencies.
So VGN was using a railway electrification system for power to get their coal-laden trains up some steep West Virginia grades. The power plant at Narrows, Virginia seems to be the one that Will was talking about in his letter, since Wikipedia says in its article about Narrows, Virginia:
Narrows, named for the narrowing of the New River that flows through the town, is a town in Giles County, Virginia, United States.
It surprises me that Will's authority extended as far as Virginia, but it looks as though Narrows is only just inside the border with West Virginia.
3.
Therefore, instead of continuing the hearings as was originally intended, it is expected to forward the record of the public hearing held at Hinton, W. Va., on April 16, 1923, to the Federal Power Commission, together with the recommendations of this office as to the granting of the Virginian Power Company's application.
Here's what Wikipedia says about the Federal Power Commission:
The Federal Power Commission (FPC) was an independent commission of the United States government, originally organized on June 23, 1930, with five members nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. The FPC was originally created in 1920 by the Federal Water Power Act, which provided for the licensing by the FPC of hydroelectric projects on the land or navigable water owned by the federal government. The FPC has since been replaced by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
This is one of a series of newspaper and magazine items over the years about Will's work for the Army Corps of Engineers.
- The previous document in the series is: 1922-09-16 NEWSPAPER ITEM ABOUT WILL
- The next document in the series is: 1923-06-12 NEWSPAPER ITEM ABOUT WILL
You can find the whole list here:
2.
Very careful study of the objections made to the proposed water power development on New River by the Virginian Power Company has shown that these objections are not sufficiently important to warrant withholding a preliminary permit on this development.
I didn't find the Virginian Power Company online, but I did find the Virginian Railway, which apparently created the Virginian Power Company. Here's what Wikipedia has:
The Virginian Railway (reporting mark VGN) was a Class I railroad located in Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The VGN was created to transport high quality "smokeless" bituminous coal from southern West Virginia to port at Hampton Roads.
Note that VGN is the Virginian Railway. Wikipedia has further down:
The VGN had a very major grade at Clark's Gap, West Virginia, and tried large steam locomotives before turning to an alternative already in use by one of its neighboring competitors, Norfolk & Western Railway: a railway electrification system. With work authorized beginning in 1922, a 134-mile portion of the railroad in the mountains from Mullens, West Virginia over Clark's Gap and several other major grades to Roanoke, Virginia was equipped with overhead wires supported by a catenary system at 11,000 volts. The VGN built its own power plant at Narrows, Virginia. The electrification was completed in 1925 at a cost of $15 million, equal to $268,946,869 today. A link was established with Norfolk & Western to share electricity from its nearby electrification during contingencies.
So VGN was using a railway electrification system for power to get their coal-laden trains up some steep West Virginia grades. The power plant at Narrows, Virginia seems to be the one that Will was talking about in his letter, since Wikipedia says in its article about Narrows, Virginia:
Narrows, named for the narrowing of the New River that flows through the town, is a town in Giles County, Virginia, United States.
It surprises me that Will's authority extended as far as Virginia, but it looks as though Narrows is only just inside the border with West Virginia.
3.
Therefore, instead of continuing the hearings as was originally intended, it is expected to forward the record of the public hearing held at Hinton, W. Va., on April 16, 1923, to the Federal Power Commission, together with the recommendations of this office as to the granting of the Virginian Power Company's application.
Here's what Wikipedia says about the Federal Power Commission:
The Federal Power Commission (FPC) was an independent commission of the United States government, originally organized on June 23, 1930, with five members nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. The FPC was originally created in 1920 by the Federal Water Power Act, which provided for the licensing by the FPC of hydroelectric projects on the land or navigable water owned by the federal government. The FPC has since been replaced by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
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