Views of electric light plant and electric light inside Hoosac Tunnel

Collection Summary

Lot includes three different views of the exterior of this very early electric light plant; view of two employees and dynamo inside the plant; and an intriguing view of an electric light in operation inside the tunnel! The technical difficulties of taking photographs indoors were formidable during the 1890s, yet here, the Fitchburg photographer produced two tremendous interior views. The "high tech" machinery inside the power plan must have been the pride of the railroad, but the electric light illuminating the tunnel was the cutting edge. Early documentation of the use of electric lighting in an unusual industrial setting. Written in the Hoosac Tunnel

Collection Details

GLC#: GLC05235.01-View header record
Type: Header Record
Date: 1893 ca.
Title: Views of electric light plant and electric light inside Hoosac Tunnel
Place Written: Florida, Massachusetts
Pagination: 5 cyanotypes.

Time Period

Primary time period: Rise of Industrial America, 1877-1900

Sub-Era: The Gilded Age

Subjects

Science and Technology

Showing 5 of 5 records

Collection Item

Photograph

Electric light plant, Hoosac Tunnel

1893 ca.

Fitchburg Railroad Company

Two sets of tracks visible in front of building. Chimney on opposite side of the building. Written in the Hoosac Tunnel

GLC05235.01.01

Collection Item

Photograph

Electric light plant, Hoosac Tunnel

1893 ca.

Fitchburg Railroad Company

View from the cimney side of the building. A deck with a pile of rubble on it is visible in the front of the building. One set of tracks are also visible. Written in the Hoosac Tunnel

GLC05235.01.02

Collection Item

Photograph

Hoosac Tunnel Power Plant

1893 ca.

Fitchburg Railroad Company

Landscape view of power plant in winter, seen from a distance. Two sets of tracks run along side of the building. Water tower on tracks behind the building. Written in the Hoosac Tunnel

GLC05235.01.03

Collection Item

Photograph

Interior of the electric light station for the Hoosac Tunnel, F.R.R.

1893 ca.

Fitchburg Railroad Company

Shows two men standing inside a brick building. Three turbine generators with belt going up to the ceiling. Written in the Hoosac Tunnel

GLC05235.01.04

Collection Item

Photograph

Electric light in Hoosac Tunnel, F.R.R.

1893 ca.