What was the purpose of these?

[Anonymous]

In a small town in the county I live in, I noticed a large tin coverede (appears to be water) tank next to the train tracks. These tracks have been there for 80+ years (according to county history book) and the track is a Union Pacific track today with two side tracks that run through a large grain terminal (over million bushel). The "water tank" appears to be from days gone by and is next to an a building of some sort. My question is, what were these tanks for and what was there purpose in regard to the railroad if any? Thanks for any help. Here are some pics to help:

Closeup of tank:


Building, tank, bridge and tracks:


This pic is from the grain terminal side. The tank sits in the trees on the upper-left corner of this pic:

[Junctionfan]

If it is near by a line with a steap grade, it might be a sand tower. I don't think it would be fuel or water because the structure doesn't look solid.

[wcfan4ever]

I was gonna say water, but it really doesnt look that wealthy. I would agree on a sand tower.

[Junctionfan]

QUOTE: Originally posted by M.W. Hemphill

The object in question has not a single characteristic of a railroad sand tower I have ever seen in person, in drawings, or in photographs.

It is difficult to verify from these photos, but this has many characteristics common to railroad water tanks -- size, shape, placement, construction materials, and age correspond with hundreds of railroad water tanks throughout North America. The building next to it is possibly a pump house -- there has to be some way for water to be charged into the tank -- but it is obscured by vegetation in these photos.

It looks like its still in use with the aluminum siding looking construction, I would have thought it would have been water-tight enough for a liquid. The pipe could be part of a pressure unloading system powered from the building near by.

[tree68]

While blowing it up made the picture pretty grainy, it did allow me to notice a hatch, or possibly even a door, which appears to be open, at the bottom of the structure. Together with the routing of the pipe, up and over the top, I put my vote in for a silo of some sort.

The hatch would be for either unloading the silo, or simply for access when cleaning the last of the product out. A door, together with what appears to be some sort of spout on the left side of the cylinder, leads me to think that the bottom of the product area may be above ground level. The spout may have been the outlet used to load cars, assuming there was a suitable siding there.

The pipe running up the side gives every indication of being for a blower, as is often used to put product in a silo. If it were an overflow (a common feature on water tanks) it would come out below the top of the cylinder. The attached building may be for processing the product before it's blown into the silo. The mechanism for blowing the grain into the silo may be inside the base.

Would make for an interesting visit. Location next to the RR may be coincidental, or, if the tracks are/were suitably placed, it may have been a small elevator, perhaps for a different type of product than the big elevator handled. Or it may have been a predecessor to the big elevator.

[jeaton]

Seems like a water tank to service steam locomotives would have been removed by now. Clearly there is no spout. I'm wondering if at some point the tank was used as part of a municiple water supply system or perhaps water storage for a local rural fire department.

Interesting.

Jay

[mudchicken]

It is either a treated water tank or a fuel tank (bunker "C") left in place. Santa Fe had many of a similar style and the tanks were interchangeable. Also please note that when steam was phased out, many small towns were sold or given the water tanks and treating facilities built by the railroads. Many hundreds of these are still at least partially in service today for various small town water supplies. Both the water treating plants and the fuel tanks were close to the tracks so that they could be resupplied by company service cars with alum, lime, chlorine, fuel, etc....

Case in point, on BNSF/ATSF at La Junta, CO is an 80+ year old steel diesel fuel tank of a similar size to the one in the photos that is currently idle. It began life as a water tank in San Marcial. NM [near Soccorro] and was moved to La Junta after that town was wiped out by a flood .

From the pictures provided, I think you are looking at a water treatment plant, pump house and storage tank. I'd bet a hot fudge sundae that the plant has an intake in the river as well as a deep well. If you were to go inside the attached building to the tank, I suspect you would find a clarifier and a deep well for adding dry chemical.

[tree68]

May have to reconsider the water tank angle. Two reasons: It does look like there was a spot for a spout (maybe one on each side) in the seventh course from the top. Second, next to the ladder is what may have been the level gauge (which appears to show the tank is empty).

The pipe to the top is not inconsistent with a water fill, despite my original feeling that it might have been for a blower.

It has been posited that what you are seeing is actually an outer shell. That could also be true - IIRC there were tanks that were so constructed so as to allow a heat source to keep the water from freezing in the winter.

[Junctionfan]

Good arguments gentlemen;of course I'm not sure what that thing is.

[Overmod]

This looks very much like some of the silos I have seen in the Midwest. Material is blown into them via compressed air, and removed through gates at the bottom.

Check to see if there are gates at the bottom, and if there appears to be a flange or fitting at the bottom of the pipe that goes up the side and then into the top.

[DPD1]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jamison1

In a small town in the county I live in, I noticed a large tin coverede (appears to be water) tank next to the train tracks. These tracks have been there for 80+ years (according to county history book) and the track is a Union Pacific track today with two side tracks that run through a large grain terminal (over million bushel).

I don't have an answer, but I'm curious where that is? Looks to be a very picturesque little spot. I didn't see the location named anywhere.

Dave
Los Angeles, CA
-Rail Radio Online-Home of the "TrainTenna" RR Monitoring Antenna-
http://eje.railfan.net/railradioonline

[edblysard]

Wife grew up on a farm,
Its either a rice or grain elevator for a local co op or small town..
It has a fill guage on the side, beside the enclosed ladder and a air vent on the roof.
Where was the photo shot?
Look at the fields around it.

Ed

[Junctionfan]

Here is an interesting thing that I thought of.

Grain isn't shipped by tank cars are they? I noticed in that picture that there was a farmer's field with a crop growing in it. I don't believe it is a water tank.

What if it is a farmer's fertilizer storage tank? Liquid fertilizer comes in and put into the tank from rail and than the farmer when he needs it, fills up the spreader attached to the tractor and than away he goes.

Probably not, but maybe.

[Anonymous]

Thanks to everyone for the input. It seems this was a hard to figure item!
As to where this is, it is in Alton, Iowa. Alton is a small town in Northwest, Iowa.
I'll try to get back there again and shoot some close-ups if anyone is interested from all sides.

[locomutt]

The speculation on this has been great,but has anybody mentioned that it is
right by a stream,or small river? My vote is for a water tank.

[mudchicken]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jamison1

Thanks to everyone for the input. It seems this was a hard to figure item!
As to where this is, it is in Alton, Iowa. Alton is a small town in Northwest, Iowa.
I'll try to get back there again and shoot some close-ups if anyone is interested from all sides.

Next time by, I'm gonna look at that thing. Must have been having Ice Cream withdrawls(Le Mars/ Blue Bunny central) last time I went by.[:D][:D][:D]

[Anonymous]

i'm gonna have to go with the liquid fertilizer theory...liquid nitrogen in on the rail into the storage tank, mixed with water from the river/stream down below and loaded onto a truck or tractor and the building being the office/scalehouse etc. where your dry product might be stored. must be an old school co-op and not in use anymore, as almost all of these plants were/are located along tracks or what was once a set of tracks.

[Anonymous]

Well, not having enough to keep my mind from wandering back to my real work, I looked up Alton, IA on both an online map and the terraserver site. (Actually, I enjoy silly "research projects.") If I'm not mistaken the location seems to be on the Floyd River just above what seems to be a narrowing of the river, possibly a by a dam? Though the photos suggest a site out in the prairie, if I picked the correct location, it is only a stone's throw from town. A water tank would best be located where a steady and reliable water source exists and that is found just above a dam.

My vote is for an old municipal or railroad water tank. Old tanks were often reworked over the years, converting to other uses, re-sided as necessary, etc. and its original state may not be recognizable.

Here's the aerial photo of what I suppose to be the location.
http://terraserver.microsoft.com/image.aspx?t=1&s=10&x=3720&y=23820&z=14&w=2
The diagonals are a road on the left and the tracks on the right. The structure in question is just right of the center. It seems to be at the very end of Penn Street, if you happen to know someone in town who can run out and poke around.

Hope this helps to muddy the question.

Wayne

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by mudchicken

QUOTE: Originally posted by jamison1

Thanks to everyone for the input. It seems this was a hard to figure item!
As to where this is, it is in Alton, Iowa. Alton is a small town in Northwest, Iowa.
I'll try to get back there again and shoot some close-ups if anyone is interested from all sides.

Next time by, I'm gonna look at that thing. Must have been having Ice Cream withdrawls(Le Mars/ Blue Bunny central) last time I went by.[:D][:D][:D]

Mudchicken, When you come thorugh Alton from the South, as you are crossing the Floyd River bridge on the North end of Alton, Look west about 1/5 mile. The tower is pretty obscured by trees but you should see it on the south bank of the river. If you have time, you can turn one block further south of the elevator. If you find an old Union Pacific depot (now used to store fertilizer) you'll be real close. Then this tower is only one block northeast of that point. Email me if you see it!

Muddy Creek, great satellite phot, That's the town!