Customer Reviews

History of the Philadelphia Electric Company, 1881-1961

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From Chapter 1 which proceeds by author Wainwright to compare the non-events in Philadelphia from 1700-1800(when wood was the fuel,candles and oil lamps were the light,water often contaminated was drawn from private wells,refrigration was non-existent,no advances had been made in sanitation,and medicine had yet to unravel the "mystery of yellow fever"..it mentions the "old Philadelphian of 1880" who marvel at how change had begun in 1802(public works system when Schuylkill Rver water was pumped into the city..the river 'damming' at Fairmount in 1820's ..its first railroad(the Philadelphia,Germantown,norristown) in 1832 with horses pulling it in rainy weather since the locomotive was not allowed out in the rain.Gas-lit buildings and streets followed by the end of the 1830's with the "Dawn of the Electric Age" (Chapter 2) with the modern merchant John Wanamaker,whose store stood next to the new city hall building on Penn Square in Philadelphia.The book evolves interestingly through "its evolution" and on Page 370 is followed by "Appendices" which includes the names of all 'Directors & Officers from 1899-1961,PECO's history highlights(4/1/1852-10/7/60).incl of its "blackouts[4/4/1937--01/22/1947--10/15/1954--3/19-3/20 of 1958--9/12/1960('54 was caused by Hurricane Hazel,'58 was called "Operation Snowdrop;'60 was caused by Hurricane Donna)..while the 1st in '37 was caused when a 66,000 volt ciruit breaker exploded during a clearing of a "fault" at the Plymouth Meeting Substation; and the '1947 blackout caused by the rupture of high-pressure gas main in compression room at West Conshochocken Gas Plant (with a serious fire lasting 2 1/2 hous) kept Norristown without service approximately 24 hours;Pgs 387-391 contain accounting statements and/or graphs re sales and service ,Pgs 392-394 list 53 "Utility Companies" incl of 'PhiladelphiaElectric Company'associated with HTRDA{High Temperature Reactor Development Associates,Inc.(inc. 11/13/1958) ,listed alphabetically the 53 are Alabama Power Company --West Texas Utilities Comany]The story of the Company ends with an "Index"after Page 394(alphabetically from "Academy of Music"--"Zoo").Its leaf pages(all 4) are beautifully sketched maps of its gas & electric service areas:inked in blue (in the front(2) labeled PECO System "Electric Service Area" and before the back book jacket (2)labeled PECO(without the word 'system"-"Gas Service Area" Pictures of workman at "Operation Snowdrop are on Page 306...and even the original employment record of Horace P. Liversidge(PECO president 1938-1947) on Page 115(with his initial employment being at the age of 21 as "wiring inspector".