The penstock ran diagonally down the hill into the centre of the rear of the power station where it channeled in to successively smaller pipes and finally to eight Siemens turbines.

The Duck Reach Power Station first operated on a trial basis on the evening of the 10th of December 1895, when it was used to illuminate some of Launceston's streets using arc lights.

The turbines were manufactured by Gilbert Gilkes and Co., Kendal, whilst the dynamos and alternators were built by Siemens Bros. and Co.. All of the alternating-current (AC) supply was single-phase.

This was achieved by removing much of the original equipment and replacing it with four horizontal shaft 445 hp Francis turbines manufactured by Kolben and Co. of Prague, each coupled to a single 300 kW three-phase 50 c.p.s.

Again by circa 1915, this had become inadequate, and to ease the problem a new 0.88-megawatt (1,180 hp) turbine coupled to an American 800 kW alternator was added alongside the existing machinery at the eastern end of the machine hall in 1921/2.

The suggestion to create a museum at Duck Reach was first mooted in December 1956 in a letter to the editor of Examiner by Mr Michael Sharland of Hobart.

In his letter of 17 December 1956 he suggested that the Duck Reach Power Station, with state backing of the Launceston City Council, be established as a technological museum.

Some twenty years later the ‘Launceston National Conservation Study’ suggested that the building could be used as a museum of industrial archaeology related to its history.

In the ‘Riveredge Study’ by Donald Goldsworthy 1980, it is suggested that: a) the power station be rehabilitated b) the suspension bridge be reconstructed c) the stone cottages be re-evaluated d) the site be developed and that the Trevallyn State Recreational Area be improved.

In 1995 on the centenary of its first opening, the power station was made weatherproof, the suspension bridge restored and the building re-opened as a museum.