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\OL. I 0.5 DSCO ADVOCATE 50th Anniversary 1877.--1927 Ci"+.!> Fifty Years of Service tn Proving, Perfecting and Extending District Heating and the Underground TransmiS1ion of Heat JJ-ul,lished ~ t/,e ,AMERICAN DISTRICT STEA.'1 COMP.ANY . .. ... .... ,,,......,, NoR'm To>iAWANDA.N.Y: VOL.I NO. 5 ADVOCATE Edited aHd Published by AMERICAN DISTRICT SWAM COMPANY NORTH TONAWAND.\.NX Originators of District Heating and Underground Distribution of Steam for Heating and Power Purposes 1927 Marks Golden Anniversary of District Heating A Back Yard Experiment That Grew Into a Big Industry ~ ('7'! HIS year the American District Steam ACK in the early sixties Mr. criticism and pronounced by leading l.:J Company celebrates its fiftieth corpor, Birdsill Holly, who had in­ enginers, mechanics and trade papers ate birthday. B v e n t e d the great "Sybills" as "foolish, visionary and totally If we could invite all our good friends to a Steam Fire Engine and the Rotary impractical." Failing to obtain Pump, moved his machine manufac­ either financial or moral support, big birthday party, we could and would make turing business from Seneca Falls, Holly made experiments at his own you feel that we do appreciate the part you N. Y., to Lockport, N. Y., where he expense to demonstrate his theory. have played in our success. organized the Holly Manufacturing He improvised a small boiler in the While we are fifty years old today, we do Company for the manufacture of basement of his home on Chestnut sewing machines, skeins and boxes, Street in Lockport, N. Y ., and laid not "feel our age". Many of those who so flat irons, sinks and many other a continuous 700 foot line of 1~ " courageously backed MR. BrRDSILL HoLLY in articles of iron and brass. Later the pipe around his back yard and the what others considered a visionary venture, company took up the manufacture adjoining property. The pipe was have passed on; in their places we, as compar, of cistern pumps of all kinds and covered with layers of asbestos, atively young men, pledge to you our best began building rotary pumps on a felt, building paper and finally man­ large scale. This necessitated larger illa paper, secured with twine. As efforts in carrying on the work so ably started and more modern shops. no wood casing could be obtained, by HoLLY and his little group of far,sighted 2" x 10" planks were used to make a associates. Mr. Holly next perfected the sys­ wooden conduit. The trench was tem, now in universal use by water deep enough to provide a coverage works, of pumping water under of three and a half feet. pressure into mains laid underground. Officers - Directors The demand for this system became When steam was turned on, the and Employees of so great that shops for the manufac­ installation worked even better than ture of pumping machinery had to expected. Mr. Holly then had his AMERICAN DISTRICT STEAM COMPANY be more than doubled. residence fitted up with crude coils NoinH TONAWAND.\.NX So far, all of Holly's inventions of pipe. Steam was first taken to had met with instant success. How­ the attic into what he called a dis­ ever, when next he advanced the tributor. From here supply pipes scheme of heating buildings by steam took it to coils in the various rooms. from pipes laid underground, this A loop in the basement served as a newest idea was greeted with much trap and returned the condensation Page Three Page Two ADSCO~DVOCATE to the boiler. In spite of furnaces and were not this demonstration the greatly inconvenienced. critics refused to believe The company finally that steam could be struggled through the carried successfully for winter and at a loss. any considerable distance. Holly and his associates Holly, who had given were even more enthusi­ up the active manage­ astic and backed their ment of the Holly Manu­ confidence with cash and facturing Co., tried to courage. During the interest capital to develop summer more capital was his district heating scheme. called in and readily After much discourage­ supplied. The company ment he finally secured extended its mains 2,500 some financial help from feet. Another boiler men who, though with­ S'xl 6' made by the Holly out mechanical training, Manufacturing Co. was had imagination and fore­ installed. The same sum­ sight. It was some time mer the .company also before anyone with mech­ added to its prestige and anical ability considered revenue by installing the underground distri­ plants at Auburn, New bution of steamJas any­ York; Garden City, Long thing but a foolish ex­ Island, and at Soldier's periment. Home in Dayton, Ohio. In the spring of 1877, Very little trouble was fifty years ago, Holly and experienced the second his enthusiastic backers winter. The upright organized The Holly boiler in the station was Steam Combination equipped with new tubes Company, Limited, with but was used only when a capital of twenty-five cleaning the horizontal thousand dollars. Their The town of Lockport was all astir when the new compan11 began digging up the streets for the installation of its mains. boiler. Several extensions plan was to heat a sec­ were made the following ti on of Lockport. The town of feet of mains laid connecting with pounds. This was a revelation to the spring. The winter had been a good Lockport willingly granted the new the principal residences, churches, skeptical. one; encouraging and profitable. company a franchise to open the hotels and other buildings in the Everything ran smoothly for a few News of this radical departure in streets for the laying of steam pipes. district. The service lines were three days; then trouble began. Foreign heating began to spread. Commit­ quarters or one inch pipe. With the The company built a small boiler matter in the canal, such as small tees from other cities came to Lock­ house and coil shed and a chimney mains in and connections made, the fish, lizzards, eelgrass and paper stage was set. port to investigate District Heating. 30" square by 30' high. The station stopped the boiler feed pumps. New York capitalists sent Charles was~equipped with one second-hand There was considerable excitement Screens were placed before the pumps G. Emery, a noted engineer, to make upright boiler about seven feet in in Lockport the day steam was but even these permitted much of experiments and tests. His report diameter and ten feet high with drop turned on. One of Mr. Holly's young the finer matter to find its way into to his principals resulted in the in­ tubes. Drawings made by Holly on sons turned a valve and the mains the drop tubes of the boiler- and as stallation of what is today the scraps of paper were used for making were quickly filled with steam at they were solid on the ends over the largest plant in the world for the the expansion joints and other fit­ thirty pounds pressure. In less than fire, they could not be cleaned. The distribution of steam for power and tings. Bored-out wooden water pipe an hour the coils were hot in every accumulated matter baked in, caus­ heating purposes. was used for the insulation and con­ building. The first chapter in dis­ ing the tubes to bum off and put duit covering the iron pipes. Guesses trict heating history had been written. out the fires. This caused a number Up to this time very little was were made as to the proper size pipes The system was pronounced a suc­ of embarrassing shut-downs for re­ thought of heating by exhaust steam, to lay. The pipe sizes selected cess. Steam gauges in the buildings pairs during the first winter. How­ but in the winter of 1880 the com­ ranged from four inches down to two heated by the new system showed a ever, none of the buildings on the pany contracted with capitalists in inches. The first season saw 2350 loss in pressure of only two or three line had abandoned their stoves or an Eastern city for a large installation Paae Four ADSCO~DVOCA.TE Page Five lace C. Andrews, wealthy capitalist the folly of this procedure and solved of Cleveland, Chas. Emery, noted the problem by designing a meter. Engineer of New York City, Na­ The meter showed that many cus­ thaniel Lerch, prosperous farmer near tomers were using twice as much Lockport and Rufus E. Rockwell, steam as they required for satisfac­ Samuel Rogers and Alfred E. Ten­ tory service. The installation of ant, prominent business men of meters stopped waste and for some Lockport. The new company was time it was possible to dispense with capitalized at ten million dollars. the use of one boiler at the Lockport At the time of its reorganization plant. Other improvements were the company was busy installing a also made, one of which was a varia­ number of plants both in Pennsyl­ tor which took the place of the junc­ vania and in the West, the profits tion box. The variator, being a from which were used to buy more closed or packless expansion joint, boilers for the Lockport plant. The eliminated the need for many man­ company decided, however, not to holes in the streets. extend its lines until those already The manufacture of traps, regula­ laid were better loaded. This was a tors, meters and other equipment wise move because that winter proved required by the company kept the that many of the pipes were entirely Lockport machine shops busy.

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