Identifier: pacificservicema1627paci (find matches)
Title: Pacific service magazine
Year: 1912 (1910s)
Authors: Pacific Gas and Electric Company
Subjects: Pacific Gas and Electric Company Electric utilities Electrical engineering Public utilities
Publisher: San Francisco : Pacific Gas and Electric Company
Contributing Library: San Francisco Public Library
Digitizing Sponsor: San Francisco Public Library

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t he not only made gas there for domestic purposes but he had bladdersfilled with it to carry at night, with whichand his little steam carriage running on theroad he used to astonish the people there.Shortly after that Murdock moved to Bir-mingham where at the Soho foundry heconstructed an apparatus which enabledhim to exhibit his plan on a larger scalethan any previously attempted. The wholepopulation of Birmingham poured out togaze at this extraordinary spectacle. Thatwas in 1802. But the way was hard. Notonly had Murdock to overcome many diffi-culties before he could give practical proofof the commercial value of gas, but, whenthis had been accomplished, he had to con-vince an obstinate British Parliament thathis proposal to light the streets of Londonwas anything better than a beautiful dream.It is said that Sir Walter Scott openlydenounced the idea, saying: There is amadman in London proposing to light Lon-don with—what do you think? Smoke!People could not be brought to see the
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Torro Point Lighthouse, Panama Canal. Insert —a completed lighthouse lens. (Courtesy Dr. M. Luckiesh and the Century Company.) i Pacific Service Magazine 49 practicability of bringing coal gas througha cold iron pipe and burning it at the end.They thought the pipes would be hotthroughout and set the buildings on fire.A report of the inquiry held by a committeeof the House of Commons on the first ap-plication of the Chartered Gas, Light &Coke Company for an Act of Parliamentpermitting it to incorporate, in 1809, affordsmost interesting reading. Murdock has always been termed thefather of gas lighting. Other scientists,however, joined the pioneer circle, amongthem Le Bon of France, Becher of Munichand one Winzler or Winsor, a German.In 1803 Winsor publicly exhibited his im-proved plan of lighting by means of coalgas at the Lyceum Theatre in London. In1807 he lighted a street in Pall Mall. In 1812 all doubts upon the part of theBritish authorities were resolved in favorof the new d

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