A Harnessed Hooksett Pool

As a railfan I'd often heard and seen the long dedicated coal trains that stoked the boilers of the 520 megawatt Merrimack Station electric generating plant in Bow, NH.  During the 1970s the Bow facility was the destination for many unit coal trains hauling bituminous product from mines in West Virginia.  Back then the trains consisted of about a hundred 100-ton cars and were pulled by 5 or 6 locomotives.  A very informative article Bituminous to Bow by H. Bentley Crouch appeared in the Boston and Maine Historical Society's  Fall 1977 Bulletin.  According to Crouch the facility was built by Public Service Company of New Hampshire in stages between 1957 and 1968.  The first stage was completed in late 1960.  "When Unit No. 1 first went on line coal was delivered as needed in carload lots.  Anywhere from two to three cars at a time to several dozen would show up at Bow for unloading.  This was certainly not the most desirable, reliable, efficient, nor the cheapest method of supplying fuel and the concept of a "unit train" took hold.  After considerable planning, the logistics of such a concept were resolved and in the spring of 1962 the very first unit coal train in New England was sent north from West Virginia to the Merrimack Station.  At 2:30 P.M. on Thursday, May 10, 1962, the so-called "Coal Flyer" completed loading 5000 tons of coal at the Pittston Clinchfield mine in Dola, W. Va., and moved out to Keezar for weighing.  It left Clarksburg W. Va., at 1:00 P.M. on Saturday May 12 and arrived in Bow the afternoon of Monday, May 14....On Hand at Bow were President Patrick B. McGinnis of the B&M (Boston and Maine RR) and President Avery R. Schiller of Public Service Company of New Hampshire as well as the usual complement of public servants and politicians.  The media were also well represented by TV, radio and newspaper reporters for this was a significant factor in the burgeoning growth of industry in New Hampshire.  Following the customary remarks President Schiller pushed the ceremonial button actuating the 600-ton-per-hour coal handling system."  (A couple of photographs from that occasion can be seen here.)

At the time of Crouch's article (1977) Merrimack Station was operating at full capacity and receiving two unit coal trains per week.  These days it seems the plant isn't operating at full capacity but retains the ability to do so if necessary.  The huge coal pile at the site appears to still be maintained, though I'm not sure the unit coal trains are still operating.

Paddling upriver the facility looms large...

One way in which the facility directly impacts the Merrimack River is thermally.  Cooling water is taken from the river (possibly as much as 256 million gallons a day), used in absorbing generated heat, and then discharged back into the river where the absorbed heat is released.  Environmental advocates have recommended that cooling towers be built which would eliminate the thermal impact on the river.

Besides seeing Merrimack Station my other goals were to see Garvins Falls and the two "cooks"...the Soucook and Suncook rivers.  All are within a 5.6 mile stretch of the upper Merrimack River which begins at Garvins Falls and ends at Hooksett Dam and is known as the "Hooksett Pool".

On my way upriver to Garvins Falls I passed the White Sands Conservation Area...

...and took a quick peek into the Soucook River entering from the east...

The stone bridge abutments once carried trains of the Suncook Valley RR over the Soucook.

Not far past the Soucook, Garvins Falls came into view...

Garvin Falls Hydro produces 12.4 megawatts of electricity.

The actual falls...

...and a resident eagle...

After paddling back down to where I'd launched from I ventured a little further south and into the Suncook River.  A short way in from the confluence is what I believe to be the China Mill...

This mill was one of several in the last mile or so of the Suncook that harnessed energy from this relatively small river.

The boat launch where I started...

...is on the west side of the river and maintained by the present owner of Merrimack Station.

At the southern end of Hooksett Pool is the run-of-the-river Hooksett Hydro which generates 1.6 megawatts of electricity.