In my
mind, for out of state visitors, no trip to Vegas would be
complete without seeing Red Rock Canyon and Hoover Dam.
Red Rock is beautiful, but not unlike most of southern
Utah. Interesting and scenic, but not stunning.
Hoover Dam, on the other hand, is stunning. Built during
the early 1930's during the depths of the depression, it is still
today, almost 100 years later, a monument to focus and
tenacity. When the dam was constructed, Las Vegas was a
whistle stop for the railroad. The path from Vegas to the
dam site was non-existent. All facilities had to be
constructed by the companies that were awarded the construction
contract ("Six Companies"). Remarkably, the dam was built
under budget and ahead of schedule. Many years of planning
and design went into contract, but the dam was finished in only
5 years.
Since
the last time I had visited the dam, the visitor's facilities had
been greatly enhanced. The dam gets hundreds of thousands
of visitors every year, many from out of the country.
The photos below are what we saw.
The new
visitor facilities include a parking structure build into a side
canyon. From the parking area, I got the shot above of the
new bridge and the face of the dam.
The structure
above is the Nevada side of the cableway that was used to
construct the dam and lower heavy equipment into the
canyon. This is the original equipment and has been in
continuous use since the early days of dam construction in 1931.
The face
of the dam shows the pattern of the "blocks" of concrete that
were poured to form the dam.
At the
base of the dam is the powerhouse.
The
rectangular structures house the turbines, generating equipment
and controls.
From an
overlook on the Nevada side, we could see the powerhouse and
overflow release structures. Also visible near the top of
the photo above is the lower access road that goes down the
canyon wall to allow access for trucks.
The
structure with the "holes" houses butterfly valves that control
the flow of the bypass (if needed). Also visible are the
tunnels in the canyon wall that provide access to the facility.
A new
bridge had been constructed that allows travel without going
over the crest of the dam. Since 9/11 the security at the
dam has been tightened significantly. There were plenty of
armed guards, metal detectors and X-ray machines.
A sample
of the electrical insulators that are used to hang power cables
from the towers. Very old-school but effective.
When the
dam was completed in 1935 Art Deco was the style of the
day. Twin bronze statues were commissioned and were
installed next to the roadway that crosses the crest of the dam.
We paid
the $30 for the dam tour and went inside to see the penstocks
that carry the water to the turbines. Shot hand-held and
without a flash, the photo above was .4 seconds long.
While a bit fuzzy by my standards, the fact that the camera was
able to capture a usable photo at all was impressive to me.
The
Nevada-side turbine gallery. Only the far 2 turbines are
in use, as indicated by the lights on top.
A DC
generator based on a Pelton Wheel turbine. The output of
the generator is used to create the "exciter" current needed to
drive the generators. Note a sample of the pelton wheel
cup just to the right of the generator shaft. Controls for
the water flow are the red hydraulic cylinders to the rear of
the generator.
Twin 300
ton overhead cranes are used during turbine service actions.
Art Deco
designs in the turbine visitor's gallery.
A view
looking down river through a vent tunnel.
On each
side of the dam is an inspection shaft that goes from the bottom
to the top of the dam - 700+ steps and not for the weak of
stomach.
The
inspection tunnel looking up.
The tour
returned us top-side where we could get a clear view of Freedom
Bridge and the tail-race infrastructure.
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Photos and Text Copyright Bill Caid 2017, all rights
reserved.
For your enjoyment only, not for commercial use.