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Western Maryland RR Plum Orchard Saint Marys Laurel History Index

Plum Orchard


As part of the work on Plum Orchard, an emergency generator is being installed. Jack Bryant (R&L Enterprises) starts preparing the Kohler generator for service.	Meanwhile, in the basement of the mansion there rests a small engine on a platform. The name on the radiator is Kohler. In the background are the massive transfer switches for the new generator.	This is what the new transfer switches look like.

The older model sits and waits.	Apparently, this generator was installed during the electrification of the mansion around 1899 when Dungeness was electrified by General Electric. At that time, there was a big fight between General Electric (DC current) and Westinghouse (AC current). General Electric was the contractor for electrifying all the mansions of the Carnegies. The house was converted over to AC when power from the mainland was made available to the Island.	On the generator part, the tag reads (as best I can tell) Kohler Electric Model 5A1 RPM 1200 AMP 44 Volts 115 DC

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