This drawing by Kathy Koebel of the second Byrne's mill building was on the cover of the Fall, 1988 edition of "Reflections." (An earlier structure was replaced by this one some time before 1888.) In that edition Della Lang authored this article:
The photos (below) of the turbine were taken by Grant MacLaren, November 3, 2008. Some of the following information was found on the Internet and edited by Grant.
The image above is from Google Maps. The red arrow points to the foundation of the Mill. The flow of the Big River is from South to North (or "up" in the picture.)
CLICK HERE for a larger image.
The turbine as seen here, was probably introduced in the late 1890's.
Similar to earlier wooden "tub" wheels, the turbine is made of iron; the round wooden tub replaced with an iron structure having numerous doors on hinges.
(CLICK HERE to see a drawing of a tub wheel drawn by David Macaulay in his book, "Mill.")
The miller could open the doors at varying degrees, allowing as much water as wanted to pass through the turbine.
The more water released into the turbine, the faster the shaft turned.
The less water he releases into the turbine the slower it turned.
With the advent of the turbine, many mills switched from wooden waterwheels to the new iron machines.
Wooden waterwheels consistently had to be repaired. Rotten wood had to be replaced and the wooden wheel always had to be maintained in order for it to keep its balance. If a waterwheel became unbalanced, it would shake and could vibrate the entire mill building.
The iron turbine required virtually no maintenance. Grease would have to be applied to the hinges every 2 or 3 years but otherwise, the turbine would last for 60 to 70 years before rusting through, needing to be replaced.
The turbine also was an excellent conductor for energy, transposing it from the water flow to the power train. The water turbine was efficient and powerful. Consequently, the turbine experienced a positive response from millers throughout the United States.
This photo looks upstream from the pool downstream from the mill. The mill's foundation is just left-of-center in the photo.
Here the camera is at the base of the mill's foundation, looking down at the turbine, which has flood debris piled against it -- as seen more clearly in the next photo.
The three photos immediately above are of the top of the turbine's main shaft.
This shaft, with its beveled gear may have transmitted power horizontally from the main vertical shaft.
A good view of the turbine's blades.
On Nov. 5, 2008 Dane Andree wrote:
Thanks Grant, Your research is great. I think we need to rescue the turbine
from the river. My understanding is that after the mill burned the turbine
was still cranking and could be heard a quarter mile away.
On Nov. 5, Tony Whitby told Grant that some of the mill's mechanism (a roller mill?) is stored at Byrnes Mill Public Works.
Diagram of a water turbine similar to the one that powered the Byrne's mill. (Found by Dane Andree on the Internet.)
The two photos above are by Ryan Calhoun, who posted them on "google maps."
Since 1862, The James Leffel & Co. has been making turbines. They have parts for, or will make parts for the The Byrne's Mill Turbine. More here.
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