as the first to "cross the tape." It was specially suited for
a trial plant also, in the early days when a yield of six or eight lamps
to the horse-power was considered subject for congratulation. The town
being situated in the coal region of Pennsylvania, good coal could then
be obtained there at seventy-five cents a ton.

The Sunbury generating plant consisted of an Armington & Sims engine
driving two small Edison dynamos having a total capacity of about four
hundred lamps of 16 c.p. The indicating instruments were of the crudest
construction, consisting of two voltmeters connected by "pressure wires"
to the centre of electrical distribution. One ammeter, for measuring
the quantity of current output, was interpolated in the "neutral bus" or
third-wire return circuit to indicate when the load on the two machines
was out of balance. The circuits were opened and closed by means of
about half a dozen roughly made plug-switches. [14] The "bus-bars" to
receive the current from the dynamos were made of No. 000 copper line
wire, straightened out and fastened to the wooden sheathing of the
station by iron staples without any presence to insulation. Commenting
upon this Mr. W. S. Andrews, detailed from the central staff, says: "The
interior winding of the Sunbury station, including the running of two
three-wire feeders the entire length of the building from back to
front, the wiring up of the dynamos and switchboard and all instruments,
together with bus-bars, etc.--in fact, all labor and material used
in the electrical wiring installation--amounted to the sum of $90. I
received a rather sharp letter from the New York office expostulating
for this EXTRAVAGANT EXPENDITURE, and stating that great economy must
be observed in future!" The street conductors were of the overhead
pole-line construction, and were installed by the construction company
that had been organized by Edison to build and equip central stations.
A special type of street pole had been devised by him for the three-wire
system.

[Footnote 14: By reason of the experience gained at this
station through the use of these crude plug-switches, Mr.
Edison started a competition among a few of his assistants
to devise something better. The result was the invention of
a "breakdown" switch by Mr. W. S. Andrews, which was
accepted by Mr. Edison as the best of the devices suggested,
and was developed and used for a great many years
a