Todays adventure takes us to the Schoellkopf Power Plant Ruins Site in Niagara Falls New York. Thank you to @Dave Jeffery NF for Letting me know about this site. / @davejefferynf
Hi I am actually in Niagara Falls tour guide the power plant collapsed in 1956 only half of it came down it shorted out the other half but it was restored and ran until 1960 then it was decommissioned when the new plants were built further down the runes he's looking at behind the fence is the side of the power plant that collapsed the turbines are still in there along with the turbine at the bottom on top of the runes is a giant Crater where the water ate its way through they knew the plant was coming down and they got everybody out of there except Richard Draper he perished the other side of the power plant was still operational but decommissioned in 1960 and tore down he is walking on top of tunnels that still exist underneath that let out the water after it went through the turbines there is actually movie footage of the collapse of the power plant in 1956 it was filmed from the Canadian side again they knew it was coming down a crack developed in the back of the plant in the morning and continue to get bigger
The original Maid of the Mist diesel boat is still there because occasionally one of the two new electric boats has some sort of problem every now and then they will send out the old diesel boat when there is a problem with one of the electric boats
Before the Maid of the Mist developed that area I explored the whole thing several times if he would have made it to the top of all that debris which was old wall and turbines he would have found a massive crater the crater along with the tunnels he's exploring go right underneath the city of Niagara Falls it was installed later on when they first had the canal that went right through the city that is still there it is all filled in years later they added a canal underneath the canal subterranean those tunnels go right underneath the city of Niagara Falls all the way to the Upper Niagara River it can be accessed from the mass of crater on top where the water broke through the wall was already very unstable because of the water powered industry that was there that and a minor Tremor in Niagara Falls loosened the back wall and the water begin to break through during the winter months when the water level is lower because the power plants Downriver are taking 75% of the water a massive turbine is exposed in the water near the shoreline I highly recommend if you're going to hike down there you wear tall boots there are plenty of snakes
@@Headead5231 Lol - It was built between 1905 and 1924. Plenty of photography & documentation of the construction and interviews with the men who worked on it. I mean, the Civil War and Lincoln had been covered by photography a half century earlier. It's only 100 years ago lol, your great grandparents would have been alive.
My father was there the day the plant fell down into the river. Dad worked there from about 1933 until 1956 when the collapse happened. I have photos of him working there. We could hear the crash 15 miles away in Cambria at 104 and 425 Streeters corners. I remember hearing the crash as a kid.
Great video!!! Exactly what I like to see in videos like these. Everything off the path usually ends up being much cooler than what they “allow” you to see
Well done video, it highlights this little known tourist hot spot on the American Side. As I've often heard from people in NIagara Falls N.Y. "The Canadian Side has the flowers...and we got the weeds"
Unfortunately, I must add, that when the Maid of the Mist came in and cleaned up a lot of the debris to build there Dry Dock, they had to remove a lot of what was there. Sad, but I'm sure necessary. Most has been moved around and leveled out... so there's not much there to see now of what once was. Mainly only the gorge wall and the south side wall of Power Station 3B by the elevator is still there. There are a few outside walls above where the tailraces were of all three buildings, but only 3A has the Tailraces exposed. I'm still searching for the exact location of those in the other 2 stations. Hard to be sure since they leveled out so much. They will be closing up that site for the winter pretty soon. Once the MOTM boats come out of the water, this site will be off limits until spring. The end of the season is 10-24... and the boats will be on the dry dock that next week.
Glad to see you made it there. Thanks for the shout out (relative lol) Just a little hike from the Comfort Inn The point. But not a bad one. Anyone visiting take a moment to read the history wall. In matter of seconds it the area was gone
The power plant ruins site is kind of creepy to look inside, imagining the giant gush of water coming out from there. This place is absolutely interesting to see, thank you for taking us along, did a mega smash to the button!
Glad to find your channel.. the videos are outstanding woww3w... Loved it soo much... Amazing Amazing Amazing..... May God give you lot of success.. Best wishes for you and full support from my side till you become a top UA-camr........................................... New friend here....
You had mentioned about that piece of mechanical debris sticking up out of the ruins and said you didn't know what that was. I ALSO was intrigued and researched it and now I can honestly say, I DO know what it is... it's the top section of one of three 37,500 horsepower turbine that was in Power station 3B. Based on it's location, I'm assuming it was the middle (#2) generator. Power Station 3A had 13 - 10,000 Horse Power horizontal shaft generators... a few of which were damaged in the collapse. Power Station 3B had 3- 37,500 HP vertical shaft turbines and Power Station 3C had 70,000 HP vertical shaft turbines in it. They were larger. All six of these larger Generators were destroyed during the collapse. And the only one that I've ever seen exposed is the one you commented on. Underneath what you can see, is an approximate 28 ft in diameter generator that probably stood 30 feet high. It's all UNDER the rubble. I have a photo of it before it was totally covered up when they were cleaning up the rubble prior to the Maid of the Mist moving in. I first went to this site in June of 2021, when I discovered it was open to the public and I have been there probably 35+ visits since. I've photographed about everything I could find and researched much online. I'm not as agile as I once was and could not climb into the ruins as you had. I'm green with envy there, but I have been around the place quite a bit. I was also interested in the Tailraces and you climbed in one and show us what is inside. I'm very interested in seeing that myself. I'll need help getting up there though. But thanks for your video. I learned a few things from it.
My grandfather worked at the Schoellkopf #3 Station and also the Adams Station during his career. The original Station 3A buildings were what was called Rubble Stone Construction. They used the rock that they excavated for the exterior. The same method was used for the expansions. The rubble stone construction was not inferior. As was mentioned already, the failure of the plant was caused by hydraulic pressure building up and eroding the bank. The 3A and 3B stations had completely steel lined penstocks (the pipes that directed the water from the forebay down to the turbines) steel from the top to the bottom. I'm told that the 3C station construction saved money by using the bored raw rock as part of the penstock design. The 3C penstocks weren't steel pipe from top to bottom. The water eroded the unlined sections which allowed water to leak out and cause pressure behind the structure. They knew that there was a problem. Water was leaking out in various areas of the plant. The Niagara Falls Power Company had been pumping grout into the cracked areas in an attempt to stabilize the bank. In anticipation of possible problems new employees were given instructions as to some escape routes to get off to one side or the other. Howard Brennan was working in the control room at the top of the station when the collapse happened. His story was that he opened an outside door to see what was going on only to find that there was a sheer drop-off. Everything was gone.
As well the many seperate penstocks all began to comprimize each other and then some engineers decided to pour cement tubes from the surface like giant bars....these bars ment to strenthen the whole wall accually is said to weaken the whole escarpemt that was full of old small water wheel canals and penstocks from the 1860s etc..
@@rodpaget9796 As I believe has been revealed elsewhere, the collapse was probably a combination of many factors/conditions. Another story my grandfather related was that before the company starting pumping in grout or cement they were adding grain to the cracks to seal them. My Dad back from WW2 Navy service commented to Gramps that grain was a bad choice because it would expand and add to the pressure. Wet grain is known to be able to split a hull of a ship. After the collapse Howard and some other employees were found at a nearby tavern coping with the disaster by downing more than a few beers. I wish I could remember the name of the tavern, but that detail has faded from memory.
@@LarryW Goat Island though and all those bridges and stuff on your side where you can get so close to the water. Gotta get my passport and take a walk over there lol
It didn’t collapse it was dynamited you can look at the footage that they just happened to be filming by total coincidence ( wink wink ) you can see the explosions. And the big gap inside the tunnels is a air gap so the water flows out uninterrupted ei like a large juice box you put a extra hole in it to flow out instead of it gulping out
My family has lived here since 1849. If you study history of the City , you will know the facts. Additionally, I’m friends with the gentleman, whose father was the only one killed in the collapse. The generators were running at the time of the collapse.
"They made it out of stone, no wonder it collapsed?" Seriously. Do you know how many stone structures, holding and carrying water, are still standing after hundreds of years. And the stone wall part is STILL STANDING. Do a little research before you do these. I'll be sure to not watch any more of yours.
@@LarryW Nice! I gotta go back & check for the video, didn't see it. I will be on the Canadian side Niagara Falls tomorrow w my GoPro & will be dropping an episode soon after to showcase the footage.
Hi I am actually in Niagara Falls tour guide the power plant collapsed in 1956 only half of it came down it shorted out the other half but it was restored and ran until 1960 then it was decommissioned when the new plants were built further down the runes he's looking at behind the fence is the side of the power plant that collapsed the turbines are still in there along with the turbine at the bottom on top of the runes is a giant Crater where the water ate its way through they knew the plant was coming down and they got everybody out of there except Richard Draper he perished the other side of the power plant was still operational but decommissioned in 1960 and tore down he is walking on top of tunnels that still exist underneath that let out the water after it went through the turbines there is actually movie footage of the collapse of the power plant in 1956 it was filmed from the Canadian side again they knew it was coming down a crack developed in the back of the plant in the morning and continue to get bigger
The original Maid of the Mist diesel boat is still there because occasionally one of the two new electric boats has some sort of problem every now and then they will send out the old diesel boat when there is a problem with one of the electric boats
Before the Maid of the Mist developed that area I explored the whole thing several times if he would have made it to the top of all that debris which was old wall and turbines he would have found a massive crater the crater along with the tunnels he's exploring go right underneath the city of Niagara Falls it was installed later on when they first had the canal that went right through the city that is still there it is all filled in years later they added a canal underneath the canal subterranean those tunnels go right underneath the city of Niagara Falls all the way to the Upper Niagara River it can be accessed from the mass of crater on top where the water broke through the wall was already very unstable because of the water powered industry that was there that and a minor Tremor in Niagara Falls loosened the back wall and the water begin to break through during the winter months when the water level is lower because the power plants Downriver are taking 75% of the water a massive turbine is exposed in the water near the shoreline I highly recommend if you're going to hike down there you wear tall boots there are plenty of snakes
WOW, Thank you for the you're time to give me so much information. That is very nice of you!
Absurd to think they could've built this than. This was made way earlier by an advance people.
@@Headead5231 Lol - It was built between 1905 and 1924. Plenty of photography & documentation of the construction and interviews with the men who worked on it. I mean, the Civil War and Lincoln had been covered by photography a half century earlier. It's only 100 years ago lol, your great grandparents would have been alive.
My father was there the day the plant fell down into the river. Dad worked there from about 1933 until 1956 when the collapse happened. I have photos of him working there. We could hear the crash 15 miles away in Cambria at 104 and 425 Streeters corners. I remember hearing the crash as a kid.
wow, I bet it was a very exciting day for you as a kid.
Great video!!! Exactly what I like to see in videos like these. Everything off the path usually ends up being much cooler than what they “allow” you to see
Glad you enjoyed it! I will let you in on a secret. I am going to the Philippines in one month I am going to post lots off the path content.
Well done video, it highlights this little known tourist hot spot on the American Side. As I've often heard from people in NIagara Falls N.Y. "The Canadian Side has the flowers...and we got the weeds"
LOL... That is a good one!!
Thank you for the information about this old hydro sight...
You bet
What a NYer, I live it Oregon, your hiking shoes are whatever you have on 😆
I hope one day I can go hiking in Oregon it is very beautiful.
Your killing it bro.
Thank you lol
wow..hello,new friend here..very nice video..thanks for sharing..keep safe
Thanks for coming
Wow..the place is nice and seems like a green cozy atmosphere.nice driver my new friend...👌🌹🤗🙋🇮🇩
Thanks for visiting my friend
Great Vlog as always
Thank you so much 😊
Free and no one telling you what to do ,Priceless.
That was very nice
Beautiful 💜❤
Thank you! 😊
Beautifully captured!! I also recognized the hotel where we stayed during our visit 😊
I hope it gave you some nice memories
Cool place Larry. I saw the boats parked there from the other side and wondered why they were there. Nice place to explore. Thanks for sharing.👍👍😊🇨🇦
Thank you for always supporting me. I love all your Vlogs .
Sub-urban exploring, very cool.
Thank you
Beautiful , special in the Autumn🍁🍂🍁🍂 season🍁 🤩 thank you for sharing 🤗🙏🏾
You are so welcome
Unfortunately, I must add, that when the Maid of the Mist came in and cleaned up a lot of the debris to build there Dry Dock, they had to remove a lot of what was there. Sad, but I'm sure necessary. Most has been moved around and leveled out... so there's not much there to see now of what once was. Mainly only the gorge wall and the south side wall of Power Station 3B by the elevator is still there. There are a few outside walls above where the tailraces were of all three buildings, but only 3A has the Tailraces exposed. I'm still searching for the exact location of those in the other 2 stations. Hard to be sure since they leveled out so much. They will be closing up that site for the winter pretty soon. Once the MOTM boats come out of the water, this site will be off limits until spring. The end of the season is 10-24... and the boats will be on the dry dock that next week.
Thank you, Larry. Excellent video.
Very welcome Dave...Thank you!
Have a nice day
Thanks for sharing your great vedio
Sending my full support
New friend from phillipines
Thanks for coming
Glad to see you made it there. Thanks for the shout out (relative lol) Just a little hike from the Comfort Inn The point. But not a bad one. Anyone visiting take a moment to read the history wall. In matter of seconds it the area was gone
Good stuff!
The power plant ruins site is kind of creepy to look inside, imagining the giant gush of water coming out from there. This place is absolutely interesting to see, thank you for taking us along, did a mega smash to the button!
Great, love it Guys
Glad you enjoyed it
Glad to find your channel.. the videos are outstanding woww3w... Loved it soo much... Amazing Amazing Amazing..... May God give you lot of success.. Best wishes for you and full support from my side till you become a top UA-camr........................................... New friend here....
Thank you so much 😀
Hello, I'm a new friend. Thank you for sharing the video. Your channel is great. Have a nice evening
Thanks for visiting
That was great, i just finished it. Thanks for taking us to the outlet discharge. Cheers. A great hike. Avoiding the authorities. 😂
Glad you enjoyed it
Beautiful ❤️❤️
Thank you! 😊
I hope to go there one day.
I hope so also it is very nice.
I would love to explore these ruins.. There is so much history to find there.
Thank you for watching and commenting.
You had mentioned about that piece of mechanical debris sticking up out of the ruins and said you didn't know what that was. I ALSO was intrigued and researched it and now I can honestly say, I DO know what it is... it's the top section of one of three 37,500 horsepower turbine that was in Power station 3B. Based on it's location, I'm assuming it was the middle (#2) generator.
Power Station 3A had 13 - 10,000 Horse Power horizontal shaft generators... a few of which were damaged in the collapse. Power Station 3B had 3- 37,500 HP vertical shaft turbines and Power Station 3C had 70,000 HP vertical shaft turbines in it. They were larger. All six of these larger Generators were destroyed during the collapse. And the only one that I've ever seen exposed is the one you commented on. Underneath what you can see, is an approximate 28 ft in diameter generator that probably stood 30 feet high. It's all UNDER the rubble. I have a photo of it before it was totally covered up when they were cleaning up the rubble prior to the Maid of the Mist moving in.
I first went to this site in June of 2021, when I discovered it was open to the public and I have been there probably 35+ visits since. I've photographed about everything I could find and researched much online. I'm not as agile as I once was and could not climb into the ruins as you had. I'm green with envy there, but I have been around the place quite a bit. I was also interested in the Tailraces and you climbed in one and show us what is inside. I'm very interested in seeing that myself. I'll need help getting up there though. But thanks for your video. I learned a few things from it.
will definitely visit soon
You should!
what a beautiful view iot is :)
thank you
Very good Larry I enjoyed that didn't know that existed
I did not know also
Love Niagara Falls!
So do I
Thanks for the video. From the netherlands myself so saved me a long trip haha
You're welcome! LOL
Cool video and tour very informative!
Glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for watching!!
Assalamualicum 🙏👍Nice sharing
Thanks for visiting
Very good content 👍
Thank you 👍
My grandfather worked at the Schoellkopf #3 Station and also the Adams Station during his career. The original Station 3A buildings were what was called Rubble Stone Construction. They used the rock that they excavated for the exterior. The same method was used for the expansions. The rubble stone construction was not inferior. As was mentioned already, the failure of the plant was caused by hydraulic pressure building up and eroding the bank. The 3A and 3B stations had completely steel lined penstocks (the pipes that directed the water from the forebay down to the turbines) steel from the top to the bottom. I'm told that the 3C station construction saved money by using the bored raw rock as part of the penstock design. The 3C penstocks weren't steel pipe from top to bottom. The water eroded the unlined sections which allowed water to leak out and cause pressure behind the structure. They knew that there was a problem. Water was leaking out in various areas of the plant. The Niagara Falls Power Company had been pumping grout into the cracked areas in an attempt to stabilize the bank. In anticipation of possible problems new employees were given instructions as to some escape routes to get off to one side or the other. Howard Brennan was working in the control room at the top of the station when the collapse happened. His story was that he opened an outside door to see what was going on only to find that there was a sheer drop-off. Everything was gone.
As well the many seperate penstocks all began to comprimize each other and then some engineers decided to pour cement tubes from the surface like giant bars....these bars ment to strenthen the whole wall accually is said to weaken the whole escarpemt that was full of old small water wheel canals and penstocks from the 1860s etc..
@@rodpaget9796 As I believe has been revealed elsewhere, the collapse was probably a combination of many factors/conditions. Another story my grandfather related was that before the company starting pumping in grout or cement they were adding grain to the cracks to seal them. My Dad back from WW2 Navy service commented to Gramps that grain was a bad choice because it would expand and add to the pressure. Wet grain is known to be able to split a hull of a ship. After the collapse Howard and some other employees were found at a nearby tavern coping with the disaster by downing more than a few beers. I wish I could remember the name of the tavern, but that detail has faded from memory.
@@vv5171 Wow GRAIN.....wtf
I live across the river and I've never had a chance to walk around the NY side before.
Your side is better LOL
@@LarryW Goat Island though and all those bridges and stuff on your side where you can get so close to the water. Gotta get my passport and take a walk over there lol
You're in the Batcave bro 🤣👍😎
I was really hunting for Bat Woman
@@LarryW Nice👍I think I saw her in there, but she's looking a little moldy🤣🤣
@@rona-husky9019 😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣
awesome video
Thanks for the visit
Gave good Bumfights vibes!!
thanks for watching
@@LarryW BFK4LYFE!!!
Great video!
Glad you enjoyed it
very cool Lar
my friends andi used to camp overnight in those ruins, underground lol
That would be fun. I don't think you can stay over night now....... Legally hahahahahah
@@LarryW you never could lol
It didn’t collapse it was dynamited you can look at the footage that they just happened to be filming by total coincidence ( wink wink ) you can see the explosions.
And the big gap inside the tunnels is a air gap so the water flows out uninterrupted ei like a large juice box you put a extra hole in it to flow out instead of it gulping out
Dude, research before you spout nonsense. It was a historic collapse after water eroded the back wall from the canal side.
Cool
Those were explosions from the electrical equipment running at the time. It was not blown up
@@michaelfederspiel6284 lol yeah electrical explosion from the rock lmao yeah ok
My family has lived here since 1849. If you study history of the City , you will know the facts. Additionally, I’m friends with the gentleman, whose father was the only one killed in the collapse. The generators were running at the time of the collapse.
you did say the last name wrong i am related to the man that built the power station. the name is pronunced shell cough
Thank you for letting me know.
Interesting 🤨
Thank you so much
The pic at 2:00 is probably 1905 or so.
thank you for the information
🙏👍🥰🥰🥰
Hi my new friend
you have superbbbb video quality which camera you are using?
Gopro hero 9
"They made it out of stone, no wonder it collapsed?" Seriously. Do you know how many stone structures, holding and carrying water, are still standing after hundreds of years. And the stone wall part is STILL STANDING. Do a little research before you do these. I'll be sure to not watch any more of yours.
Cool
Hadiah HP dan UANG ramaikan semua give away
thank you
The thumbnail worked. It made me click on the video. Also, I’m double vaxxed and I still got Covid.
Thank you for the information. I am happy the thumbnail worked. I am also double vaxxed.
thank you
Did you go back?
Yes I did
@@LarryW Nice! I gotta go back & check for the video, didn't see it. I will be on the Canadian side Niagara Falls tomorrow w my GoPro & will be dropping an episode soon after to showcase the footage.
@@theScrupulousBerserker I will be looking for your vlog