Copyright – Product of Jamaica Magazine
The Bog Walk hydro station is a part of Jamaican history stands in ruins with many people passing it daily as they traverse too and fro through the gorge, being absolutely oblivious to this structure and it’s history in Jamaica. This hydroelectric plant is an important part of Jamaica’s history and needs to be remembered.
The electric tram cars were once a familiar site on the streets of Kingston. Many Jamaicans maybe have never thought about how they were powered. After all most people just take for granted what happens around them.
The electric tram cars where however powered from electricity that was generated by the hydro station that now stands in ruins in the Gorge.
Normally the power house would be built close to the dam but in this case the dam was built at a distance of 6,200 feet from the power house. The dam is not the one that we are used to seeing as we enter the Gorge from Spanish Town but is actually one that was built across from the mouth of the Railway tunnel near the Bog Walk Station. The dam was built nine feet high with the option to raise it by three more feet by placing flash boards between steel posts built in the concrete dam specifically for that purpose.
“The electric tram cars where however powered from electricity that was generated by the hydroelectric plant that used to stand in the Gorge.”
The steel conduit, or pipe was said to be the largest in the world at the time and measured ten feet in diameter at the dam. The entrance was protected by a double screen to prevent weeds or other debri from entering. After the pipe left the dam it was eight feet in length and extended the whole 6,200 feet to the power house with some of it embedded in rock or compacted earth. At some places the pipe was supported by concrete piers. The pipe weighed 1,742,894 pounds and was solid steel which was held together by 252,102 rivets. The pipe arrived in Jamaica in the shape of curved plates and then transported to Bog Walk by railway and taken to the site by teams. The plates were assembled and placed in position, erected and then riveted by Jamaicans. Only one white man worked on it and he was a supervisor named Mr. Peppard. This shows that Jamaicans can learn to do anything they put their minds to.
The power house was built entirely of steel and concrete and was fifteen feet above the river. The building was only 70 feet long and 36 feet wide. As small as it was, it contained about 270,000 pounds of steel.
It was an amazing feat to have the electricity come all the way from that plant and into Kingston to power the Tram Cars that were used almost by everyone.
On June 24, 1904, tragedy struck when 33 men were drowned while cleaning the huge pipes in a freak accident. The plant was permanently closed on June 24, 1904.
Copyright – Product of Jamaica Magazine
The power house now stands in ruins with most people driving by and not knowing about the history that took place there. The place needs to be cleaned up regularly and signs put up with information about this plant.
If you go by the dam you can see remnants of the massive pipes that once carried the water to the power house. These parts of history need to be maintained for generations to come and for tourist to see.
