Construction of Hume Dam, 1919-1936-Part 7
At a time when horsepower often referred to the four-legged variety, some remarkable machines using steam helped build Hume Dam.
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The Bucyrus steam shovel could shift three-cubic-metre loads and ran on caterpillar tracks. Cranes, diggers and scoops - mostly wood-fired - were deployed. Both quarries made use of rail on which to run their cranes. Steam locos were used extensively. Steam crushers processed thousands of tons of stone to make concrete. Both states used steam to generate electricity.
The 10-ton Lidgerwood flying fox spanned the river with a large, high-tensile steel cable, 393m point to point. On the Victorian bank, the cable was attached to a static 20m oregon pylon and securely anchored. On the NSW side, it was attached to a 20m mobile pylon located well back from the river from which it was operated. Mounted on four parallel rails along the arc of a circle, it could travel 115m, allowing coverage of most of the spillway worksite.
Communication between the operator and the work site men was done by phone. External links were via a line from the Albury phone exchange to an exchange at the NSW Public Works Office at the dam. From there, various parts of the works, including Victoria, could be connected.
Brought to Hume from Burrinjuck, the flying fox was virtually the first piece of equipment installed and the last to be removed before it saw service at Yarrawonga Weir from 1937.
