London Locks and Dam on the Kanawha River

(Satellite)

While looking for the coaling tower in Handley, WV, I noticed there was a lock and dam nearby. I learned with the Kaskaskia River in Illinois that the USACE also makes smaller rivers navigable.  This was a WPA project. The normal lift is 24'.

Since the principal use of these locks was serving the coal mines, I wonder how much they are still used. [WestVirginia]

USACE
TWO PARALLEL LOCK CHAMBERS:
Landward lock is 56' wide by 360' long, with miter gates.
Riverward lock is 56' wide by 407' long, with miter gates.
[The dam was completed in May 1934 and the Riverward chamber was extended 47' in 2003. The head of navigation is at the end of the upper pool, whcih is 7.8 miles upstream.]

National Archives Record Group 69-PWA via LivingNewDeal

Street View

I think this is the first time I have seen windows in the piers of a dam.

Street View

The powerhouse is on the opposite (South) side of the river.

Street View

The dam uses roller gates.

Street View

(new window) That is a really heavy truss for the service crane. And judging from the above construction photo, it has been replaced at least once.



The hydropower plant has a design capacity of 14Mw [GlobalEnergyObservatory].

2011 Water Quality Study

USACE via River-Management

The London development consists of:
 a 26-foot-high London dam gated with five roller gates
 screened intake structures
 a concrete powerhouse integral to the dam containing three turbinegenerator units with a total installed capacity of 14.4 MW
 a tailrace 420 feet long
 a substation containing two, 3-phase transformers and two auxiliary transformers; and
 two 46-kilovolt (kV) transmission lines within a 0.38-mile-long transmission line corridor.
 Recreation facilities at the London Development include a tailrace fishing pier and parking area.
[River-Management]

When I tried to get a street view of those 46kV towers, I was skunked by a coal train. But the existence of a CSX coal train has become noteworthy in itself (in the year 2020). Then I noticed that the image capture date is Nov, 2008.

Street View

These tracks on the south bank were C&O and are now used by CSX and Amtrak. According to my 2005 SPV Map, the tracks on the north bank were K&M, which is listed as Kanawaha & Michigan, a NYC subsidiary. They are now used by NS.

The reason why I was looking for the power towers is that 46kV is a reminder that 14Mw is a drop in the bucket compared to a modern coal plant which can produce around a gigawatt. To put 48kV in perspective, the distribution wires going down my backyard are probably around 12kV.  And the wires feeding the neighborhood would be at least 69kV. [ComEd Voltages]


This river also has the Winfield Locks and Dam and the Marmet Locks and Dam, which also has a powerhouse.

The Marmet development consists of:
 a 34-foot-high dam gated with five roller gates
 screened intake structures
 a concrete powerhouse integral to the dam containing three turbinegenerator units with a total installed capacity of 14.4 MW
 a tailrace 450 feet long
 a substation containing two, 3-phase transformers and two auxiliary transformers;
 and two, 46-kV transmission lines within a 0.78-mile-long transmission line corridor.
 Project recreation facilities at the Marmet Development include a tailrace fishing pier and parking area.