Discussion on “automatically controlled substations” (Allen and Taylor), San Francisco, Cal., Sept. 16, 1915. (see proceedings for Sept., 1915)

A. H. Babcock: Some years ago when a rather large mountain railway electrification was being studied, an attempt was made to lay out two substations so that they could be operated only when the trains might demand the power. At that time automatic operation had not been suggested. The idea was merely to save substation apparatus, in order that the machines might have time to cool down, having planned to overload them very heavily as the trains went by. The automatic control of such substations, considering the machine capacities there involved, is a little startling, particularly when one has been brought up with the old-fashioned machinery that required the very best of attention.