I know that the ASME designated the old HY.NH.&H. Cos Cob power plant as a engineering landmark, but whatever happened to the plant? I passed through the are back in the mid 1990s and saw from the interstate a dilapaded building by the Metro North tracks, could this have been the plant?

I now that that PRR purchased its power from commercial suppliers, is this now true for the ex NH section of the NEc? Also, did the frequency change occur that would allow the use of commercial frequency power without conversion?

david.wilkins@bardstown.com

> As of at least 2 years ago, the plant had been demolished, with a chain link fence surrounding the site. An abandoned motor-generator set was the only item remaining.

artschwartz@sprintmail.com

That's too bad! It was still standing when I was in graduate school in Connecticut--a neat industrial building with a very distincitive facade. It would have been a great building for adaptive re-use.

eledbetter@rypn.org

> That's too bad! It was still standing when I
> was in graduate school in Connecticut--a
> neat industrial building with a very
> distincitive facade. It would have been a
> great building for adaptive re-use.

Reality check: Cos Cob Power Plant is (was) in Greenwich, CT.... one of the three or four wealthiest towns in the entire US. And, it was right on the water. VERY expensive, very desirable real estate. Those people do not want to live in old industrial buildings, however "unique" they may be. Let's not forget the various environmental issues there, some of them blown out of proportion to scare off the few preservationists, but some of them real.

The boat yards adjacent to the plant hated it for years-- coal dust on nice white paint and freshly varnished teak decks is a bit too much "texture" for the wealthy!!


hpincus@mindspring.com

To be sure, it would have been an uphill struggle. I really only meant that the building itself was a charmer that had a lot of raw potential. I can certainly appreciate the obstacles to that potential being realized on that site.

Still, nice things have happened to some lucky old powerplants--witness the United Railway & Electric power plant in Baltimore, and the Bankside Power Plant in London, now the Tate Modern.

eledbetter@rypn.org

> I now that that PRR purchased its power from
> commercial suppliers, is this now true for
> the ex NH section of the NEc? Also, did the
> frequency change occur that would allow the
> use of commercial frequency power without
> conversion?

Yes, at least some and probably all of the ex-New Haven is 60Hz, and all the new Amtrak electrification north of New Haven is 60Hz, 25kV. All of the Amtrak electric motors and Metro North MU's switch back and forth automatically between 25Hz and 60Hz at the section breaks where the frequency changes occur.


pjslks@ix.netcom.com

> To be sure, it would have been an uphill
> struggle. I really only meant that the
> building itself was a charmer that had a lot
> of raw potential. I can certainly appreciate
> the obstacles to that potential being
> realized on that site.

Cos Cob would have made a helluva restaurant!!!

hpincus@mindspring.com

> Still, nice things have happened to some
> lucky old powerplants--witness the United
> Railway & Electric power plant in
> Baltimore, and the Bankside Power Plant in
> London, now the Tate Modern.

Add to your list an old LCRA power plant north of Austin, Texas; I believe plans have gone forward for converting it to a hotel.

On the negative side, Battersea Power Plant in London (which became famous to the general public after appearing on Pink Floyd's album cover) had it's roof removed and much of the equipment gutted. But plans to adaptively reuse it have fallen through, leaving it a derelict mess.

Any more news on the powerplant on Jersey shore that was facing demolition by the Port Authory?

-James Hefner
Hebrews 10:20a

james1@pernet.net

How about the fact that the core of the NEC is one of the oldest railroads in the US and functioning as the most modern at the same time.

Check out most of the NEC and you will find all sorts of great preservation along the way. How about many of the old stations that have been restored? How about some of the great bridges? There are historic shops and yards as well. The coach yard is almost a thing of the past. How about changing locomotives from electric to diesel?

I can point out a dozen or more interesting and historic things about the NEC in the short section that runs through Delaware. I am sure that many of you can do the same in your areas as well.

Don't overlook what we already have, there is much to be learned everywhere.

Tom Gears

Wilmington and Western RR