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Engineers at the Cobb power station had dismantled a small turbine and were overhauling it recently, when the penstock valve opened automatically, releasing the full pressure of water in one of the pipe lines into the dismantled machine. Ever seen what happens when 900 lbs of pressure per square inch goes wild? The answer is on this page. Richard Challies, who was taking photographs at the time, caught this scene as the water, under tremendous pressure, blew back through the machine. The jet of water smashed through the side of the power house, scoured out the hillside and knocked over a tree 60 to 70 yards away. A push of a button stopped the flow of water at the tunnel portal, 1¼ miles above the power house. This striking picture shows the tremendous energy normally stored for power generation.

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This second picture, also taken by Richard Challies, shows the jet of water shooting out of the power house through the great hole it made in the side.