If you want to appreciate the impact of energy and power in your everyday life, I can’t recommend the book Energy and Civilization by Vaclav Smil highly enough.
Thank you for the story. Most people have a hard time wrapping their heads around the terms energy and power. Not surprisingly, as also many engineers struggke with the same.
And the irony of James Watt as the father of the term horsepower should not be lost on anyone.
My grandfather ran a gravel pit and a construction company from the 1920s into the 1950s. During WWII there were many improvements made to diesel engines, crawler tracks; even hydraulics were a new innovation. So, prior to WWII the earth-moving and grading was done with large teams of Belgian and Percheron horses -- very large, up to 40 horse teams. He built much of US85 north of Cheyenne, UPRR rail beds west of Cheyenne, local area dams and building foundations and even built the original runways that are now used by Cheyenne Regional Airport and Warren AFB, using horses. The horses were replaced with heavy equipment as soon as possible after the war -- the horses lived out their lives as pets on our place.
That equipment sat rusting at our ranch for decades. Long after I'd graduated HS in 1971. The equipment itself looked quite a lot like that used today. Road graders looked as they do now (open cockpit tho') except no motor or hydraulics (cranks and gears to set the blade) and there were spots to hitch up eveners for 4-horse teams, and extend these out to as many teams of 4 a fellow would need (or could handle). You can see what a 3-horse evener looks like at this site.
The harder equipment for horses to power were the "slips" which are similar to the "Fresno" but larger to accommodate real construction. Like what are now called "scrapers". They would scrape up a large bucket of earth in one spot and move it to another to dump it. There were also very heavy rollers to compact what the graders managed to spread nicely.
My grandfather had only a first-grade education (he could read well, and do figures in his head), but learned civil engineering, earthwork and construction in his engineering battalion during WWI in France. They were responsible for operating munitions trains and constantly moving tracks. Despite the horror of the war he said the Army saved him from a life of poverty.
My father was a rancher…horses were essential in the ranch…round up cattle, take him to look at troughs, or go from A to B. And he could fall asleep in it, and would arrive back to the ranch a felt nonetheless. He fondly described the friendship the cowboys had with horses. And yes, they cud run very fast which was exhilarating.
I usually refer to that particular smudge on the surface of the earth as Mordor or the Dark Side myself, but Twin Shitties is much better. Thanks for the new nickname.
Well if one wanted to have fun with this, compare the coal burning power stations that were built to last 20 years and in some cases are still running, and the “new” wind projects that are coming into the 20 year mark. Not trying for a nano second to compare the regal status of the equine world to that of the skeletons in the air doing their best to add costs to the grid and ergo the rate payer. But when it comes to watts which, would you rather have, “old paint” faithfully chugging along pulling that plow, hoeing that row, or a modern siege tower, with 3, 385 foot surfboards attached to a goblins nose? One works reliably, humbly on a ready must run basis even, and the other? Hmmm, regardless, this writer recalls the farm up the road from his own circa early 1960’s, two massive pulling horses, always regal, slow and elegant, though the farm had a couple of tractors too! Nothing wrong with both kinds of horse power!
There is nothing at all wrong with some intermittent resources as long as a utility of balancing authority has enough reliable power to fill in any gaps. For many years, the WECC had more than enough, helping Clifornia build out all of its win without losing much reliability. I am not aware of any utility yet 'selling' some service other than "as much as you want, whenever you want it" kWhs. Is anyone else aware this is happening somewhere?
Intermittent..grid operates in all ISO’s and even ERCOT on the basis of 60Hz unity in the lines. A drop or surge is not accretive to grid operations or its security. If you’re making the case for wind, solar, batteries, flywheels and so forth, you will not find support for it at this writers end. Built over 600 mega watts of utility scale a wind and was owner representative for the Path 15 high voltages transmission line in California. Saw too much to agree with the notion of intermittent.
It is inherent in what you wrote, but it bears stating explicitly that when one has livestock such as horses, one never, ever gets a day off. No matter what, the animals need feeding and care.
The horses can have babies, which can be sold or used as replacements. Feed can be grown on the farm, gasoline cannot. Read Small Farmer's Journal for a lot more on horsepowered farms.
Thanks for recognizing the true value of mechanization, and that one of the greatest benefits is the lake of cost when machines are not in use, so that they are ready to go at a moment's notice. The similarity between our means of powering the electrical grid is inescapable. Shovel some more coal, open the dam spigots, or pump in a bit more natural gas and load following becomes a piece of cake. A radical difference from waiting for the sun to rise or the wind to blow.
In case you weren't able to connect, the theme of the essay is that it's easy to release chemical energy. Mankind started doing that when we first left the swamp and lit fires to dry ourselves in a cave. Human prosperity is the story of learning how to contain the forces of energy release by inventing ever-improving containers.
And that green worshipping is virtue signalling that human alterations of the environment are detrimental to life, the most blatant lie one could conceive of.
There is a marvelous Michael Lind piece answering this very question about AI and explaining that while jobs have changed a number of times over the decades/centuries, the ability to find work has not. Humans have way more things they can do for each other of which more automation and the use of AI will only allow the pursuit of a fraction. I suspect this may be even more true because basic living continues to become more and more complex, necessitating the use of 'experts' to help someone navigate something that previously was either not an option or not so hard to understand.
Quite interesting! I feel like it is easier to have 729 HP in my car but it would be cool to experience being pulled a say 50 hours for a short distance (50X15)!!
Nice article. As a mechanical engineer who has spent his life with large machines and power plants, you put the whole thing into perspective. My grandfather , who was a sawyer in the Redwood Empire of California, had a saying: "never own anything that eats”; hence, according to my Dad, they only had one horse for their fruit ranch of 1200 acres.
Thank you for the story. Most people have a hard time wrapping their heads around the terms energy and power. Not surprisingly, as also many engineers struggke with the same.
And the irony of James Watt as the father of the term horsepower should not be lost on anyone.
It's surprising how many "watts" are needed for one horsepower!
746
Irony, or genuine surprise?
Irony, sir.
My grandfather ran a gravel pit and a construction company from the 1920s into the 1950s. During WWII there were many improvements made to diesel engines, crawler tracks; even hydraulics were a new innovation. So, prior to WWII the earth-moving and grading was done with large teams of Belgian and Percheron horses -- very large, up to 40 horse teams. He built much of US85 north of Cheyenne, UPRR rail beds west of Cheyenne, local area dams and building foundations and even built the original runways that are now used by Cheyenne Regional Airport and Warren AFB, using horses. The horses were replaced with heavy equipment as soon as possible after the war -- the horses lived out their lives as pets on our place.
Imagine the amounts of horse manure to handle...
Thanks for sharing this great story!
Wow. I would love to see 40 Belgian and Percheron horses pulling heavy construction equipment. It must have been quite a sight to see!
That equipment sat rusting at our ranch for decades. Long after I'd graduated HS in 1971. The equipment itself looked quite a lot like that used today. Road graders looked as they do now (open cockpit tho') except no motor or hydraulics (cranks and gears to set the blade) and there were spots to hitch up eveners for 4-horse teams, and extend these out to as many teams of 4 a fellow would need (or could handle). You can see what a 3-horse evener looks like at this site.
https://meadersupply.com/collections/horse-drawn-equipment/products/complete-evener-sets?variant=14686187815027
The harder equipment for horses to power were the "slips" which are similar to the "Fresno" but larger to accommodate real construction. Like what are now called "scrapers". They would scrape up a large bucket of earth in one spot and move it to another to dump it. There were also very heavy rollers to compact what the graders managed to spread nicely.
My grandfather had only a first-grade education (he could read well, and do figures in his head), but learned civil engineering, earthwork and construction in his engineering battalion during WWI in France. They were responsible for operating munitions trains and constantly moving tracks. Despite the horror of the war he said the Army saved him from a life of poverty.
Love this. Your grandpa sounds like a good role model. Everyone needs one of those
I have always liked this post from about 7 years ago.
https://humanprogress.org/technological-progress-liberated-kids-from-hard-labor/
My father was a rancher…horses were essential in the ranch…round up cattle, take him to look at troughs, or go from A to B. And he could fall asleep in it, and would arrive back to the ranch a felt nonetheless. He fondly described the friendship the cowboys had with horses. And yes, they cud run very fast which was exhilarating.
Thanks for posting. I’m sure your grandfather would be amazed to see what farming is like now.
PS- Smil’s book should be ready by everyone.
It should be required reading in schools
And you have to read it twice if the teacher insists on showing An Inconvenient Truth.
Exactly!
Great piece! Out here 40 miles NE of the Twin Shitties... Just had our threshing show.
I usually refer to that particular smudge on the surface of the earth as Mordor or the Dark Side myself, but Twin Shitties is much better. Thanks for the new nickname.
Had to look up Mordor :-D
Well if one wanted to have fun with this, compare the coal burning power stations that were built to last 20 years and in some cases are still running, and the “new” wind projects that are coming into the 20 year mark. Not trying for a nano second to compare the regal status of the equine world to that of the skeletons in the air doing their best to add costs to the grid and ergo the rate payer. But when it comes to watts which, would you rather have, “old paint” faithfully chugging along pulling that plow, hoeing that row, or a modern siege tower, with 3, 385 foot surfboards attached to a goblins nose? One works reliably, humbly on a ready must run basis even, and the other? Hmmm, regardless, this writer recalls the farm up the road from his own circa early 1960’s, two massive pulling horses, always regal, slow and elegant, though the farm had a couple of tractors too! Nothing wrong with both kinds of horse power!
There is nothing at all wrong with some intermittent resources as long as a utility of balancing authority has enough reliable power to fill in any gaps. For many years, the WECC had more than enough, helping Clifornia build out all of its win without losing much reliability. I am not aware of any utility yet 'selling' some service other than "as much as you want, whenever you want it" kWhs. Is anyone else aware this is happening somewhere?
All renewables are a cost.
Intermittent..grid operates in all ISO’s and even ERCOT on the basis of 60Hz unity in the lines. A drop or surge is not accretive to grid operations or its security. If you’re making the case for wind, solar, batteries, flywheels and so forth, you will not find support for it at this writers end. Built over 600 mega watts of utility scale a wind and was owner representative for the Path 15 high voltages transmission line in California. Saw too much to agree with the notion of intermittent.
It is inherent in what you wrote, but it bears stating explicitly that when one has livestock such as horses, one never, ever gets a day off. No matter what, the animals need feeding and care.
Where we live a good quality square bale of hay runs $10-12. Farming is not cheap!
My dad is selling small squares and rounds now. All you need to do is pick them up in Wisconsin
The horses can have babies, which can be sold or used as replacements. Feed can be grown on the farm, gasoline cannot. Read Small Farmer's Journal for a lot more on horsepowered farms.
Thanks for recognizing the true value of mechanization, and that one of the greatest benefits is the lake of cost when machines are not in use, so that they are ready to go at a moment's notice. The similarity between our means of powering the electrical grid is inescapable. Shovel some more coal, open the dam spigots, or pump in a bit more natural gas and load following becomes a piece of cake. A radical difference from waiting for the sun to rise or the wind to blow.
As an aside, I wrote some 5000 words on power and life a few years ago that you might find interesting. It's here; https://gseine.com/2011/09/26/on-power-and-life/
Link didn't work for me. Help?
I tried sending you a direct message with the link. Hope that works for you and ... thanks for your interest.
In case you weren't able to connect, the theme of the essay is that it's easy to release chemical energy. Mankind started doing that when we first left the swamp and lit fires to dry ourselves in a cave. Human prosperity is the story of learning how to contain the forces of energy release by inventing ever-improving containers.
And that green worshipping is virtue signalling that human alterations of the environment are detrimental to life, the most blatant lie one could conceive of.
Brilliant Isaac - many thanks! Will AI's view of us humans be "they were once quite useful"?
There is a marvelous Michael Lind piece answering this very question about AI and explaining that while jobs have changed a number of times over the decades/centuries, the ability to find work has not. Humans have way more things they can do for each other of which more automation and the use of AI will only allow the pursuit of a fraction. I suspect this may be even more true because basic living continues to become more and more complex, necessitating the use of 'experts' to help someone navigate something that previously was either not an option or not so hard to understand.
Amazing take on farming. Thank you for the insight
Quite interesting! I feel like it is easier to have 729 HP in my car but it would be cool to experience being pulled a say 50 hours for a short distance (50X15)!!
Nice article. As a mechanical engineer who has spent his life with large machines and power plants, you put the whole thing into perspective. My grandfather , who was a sawyer in the Redwood Empire of California, had a saying: "never own anything that eats”; hence, according to my Dad, they only had one horse for their fruit ranch of 1200 acres.
Thanks for this one
I deal in hp and motors every day and I never looked into the basis.
Momentary vs continuous over a day.