The Skaguay Hydro Plant of Southern Colorado
by Mel Shootman
Reprinted from "INSULATORS - Crown Jewels of the Wire", April 1978, page 8
The region served by the Southern Colorado Power Company is split by the
boundary line that existed between the old Mexican state of Texas (later
Republic) and the French colony of Louisiana.
It was in this region that the
fabulous Skaguay Hydro Plant was built. The Skaguay Hydro Plant was the
brainstorm of Warren Woods, who with his two sons, Harry and Frank, blew into
Cripple Creek with the boom.
The Woods boys were real estate men and promoters
at the start. In the course of events, they promoted the building of a hotel in
Victor, one of the mining camps in the district. In the process of excavating
the basement, they struck a rich vein of gold, and the hotel project was
abandoned, becoming the Gold Coin Mine. Out of this came a flood of wealth that
gave them entry into many fields of business.
They organized the Pikes Peak
Power Company. This company owned and built the Skaguay Hydro Plant. They
built the plant at the cost of more than one million dollars, completing it in
1901.
According to records, the Skaguay Hydro Plant provided 30 cycle service to
principally mines in the Victor-Cripple Creek gold camp area. It also served
Pueblo and Canyon City to the south and southeast. It had a total generating
capacity of 1,500 KW.
When you look at the location of the Hydro plant,
perched on one quarter of an acre torn from solid rock, it is hard to believe
that every ounce of earth necessary to support the Hydro plant plus three homes
was transported from above the canyon over a tiny cable tramway which winds its
parlous descent 3,500 feet from the lip of a granite cliff to the Hydro plant
1,200 feet below. The tram car travels over the 5/8 mile course through a tunnel
1,500 feet long, which cuts through the shoulder of one of the mighty cliffs
ringing the canyon; over trestles, one of them 110 feet above the rock-strewn
stream below; then down the final plunge to the ledge. The last 700 feet drops
on a 55% grade.
From the reservoir a 30" wood stave pipeline snakes its way
toward the plant four or five miles away. In making the journey it crosses seven
bridges 50 to 360 feet long and ten to 35 feet high, at one point crawling
through a 1,500 foot 6x9 tunnel driven through solid granite.
From where the
wood stave line ends at the landing stage of the tram, a steel pipeline carries
the water to the plant, passing along the same route, but under the rails of the
tram. There is a lot of horsepower hidden in that 30" slug of water. When
it gets to the plant, the steel pipe is holding a pressure of 480 pounds per
square inch. In order to withstand this mighty surge of power, the thickness of
the pipe has been increased from 3/16 of an inch at the top to 7/8 inch at the
point of delivery.
When deep snow filled the canyon, the families at Skaguay were held captive
until it thawed. One stretch is on record in which nothing got in or out of
Skaguay from December 16 to March 20th.
The line that runs down the canyon from the Hydro plant is where the CD 342
Locke 25 all glass insulators were found. Most of the Locke 25's were broken by
the linemen. But some were found in mint condition. These should be considered
very rare insulators, as it is a hard place to find them. I have been down there
five times. After walking, crawling, falling and getting darn tired, I have
found only a Locke 25 base and a mustard unembossed Locke that was used as a
replacement for the Locke 25.
A noted insulator collector from Denver, Bob Aguire, met a bear on the line
one day. The bear helped Bob get up the mountain a little faster so he'd have
more time to look on the other side.
The Hydro plant was closed down in 1965.
| 
