Power to the Biolab

the Biolab generators

Above, the two Caterpillar D333 100kw generators on the ground floor of the Biolab...the prime power for the station
until the larger 150kw D342 generators in GWR were commissioned a couple years later. The above undated photo
was discovered on station by Will Brubaker in 2009. Generator #2 is at left.

biolab switchgear
A 1968-69 photo of the Biolab switchgear...a US Navy photo from the Emmett Herbst historical collection. At the far left is the original Biolab main distribution breaker panel.
Biolab generator #2
A 1975 photo from Gary Bennett..by this time Generator 1 had already gone away.

During the 1988 winter when we replaced the GWR generators, during the day we would power the station using the Biolab generator...we would parallel the GWR and BIO generators using the sync lights and radios and two people on the manual breakers. Also of interest...the original BIO and GWR switchgear included a bunch of 24 volt IBM relays from the 60s...when we redid the GWR plant all of the relays there were replaced with more modern (but probably obsolete now) relays...leaving a bunch of spares for the Biolab switchgear. The following season we removed the unused Biolab generator 1 cubicle, moved the generator 2 cubicle to the left to make more room, and also replaced the Biolab breaker panel with a Square D panel.