21st Century Green Power Rises from Early ElectricRailway—Part 2 [History]

The Albany and Hudson Railway and Power Company opened its electric railroad on 22 November 1900. The railway derived its 600-V dc power from a unique combination of steam and hydroelectric generation delivered from a dam and power station on Kinderhook Creek at Stuyvesant Falls, New York. The railroad company also built a steam plant integral to the hydroelectric plant to generate supplemental electric power. The Stuyvesant Falls power plant has come a long way since its debut in 1900. It has weathered major changes in transportation and survived two World Wars, the Great Depression, and the Blackout of 1965. It withstood the discovery and realization of nuclear power and is about to enjoy the renaissance of renewable green energy. In 2011, when it has been reconnected to the grid, "the little plant that could" will have found its renewed place in history. Having spanned three centuries, once again the Stuyvesant Falls hydroelectric plant will light up the night sky.