shed, in the small settlement of Ames where the Howard Fork and Lake Fork streams joined to form the San Miguel River, just outside Ophir. Used as a generator, it produced 3000 volt, 133 Hertz, single-phase AC. It was driven by a six-foot Pelton wheel under a head of water carried in a 2 ft diameter steel pipe supplied by the Howard Fork and Lake Fork as well as natural reservoirs up hill from the plant. The electricity was transmitted up the mountain to the mine via two bare copper wires mounted on poles using Western Union cross-arms with insulators. Total wire costs were about US $700, about 1% of the cost estimated for a direct-current line. At the mine the second 100-hp Westinghouse alternator was installed in the role of a synchronous AC motor to drive the stamping mill. A smaller single-phase induction motor (a new type of motor developed from patents Westinghouse had licensed from inventor Nikola Tesla) was installed as a starter motor to spin the larger alternator up to match the synchronous speed of the generator. The power system became operational on 19 June 1891 and was run continuously for the first 30 days. The entire plant required 15 to 20 attendants for its operation. The instruments and controls were rudimentary, solenoid type gravity balance Voltmeters and ammeters mounted on lacquered wooden boards. Workers had to take special care because of the high voltages used. Power was connected by closing simple knife switches and the system was shut down (the electrical circuit "opened") by a worker grabbing a connecting line at the power pole and pulling it out of the arc-light style plug mounted on the pole (a sometime dangerous maneuver that produced 6 to 8 foot (1.83-m to 2.44-m) long high voltage arcs). One continual problem was repairing damage from lightning strikes, a common occurrence at the mountainous location. The alternators were set on paraffin-soaked oak platforms to add insulation and Westinghouse engineers tried various types of lightning arrestors. The alternators were designed with removable parts making the task of repairing them a little easier. With the success of the plant the Nunns started installing similar systems at their other mining operations. In 1896 the Ames plant was rebuilt with a new two-phase system with new generators and induction motors along with step-up transformers to boost the power to 10,000 volts for longer distance transmission.