I was recently reading a nice article on the Winters in Colorado and how harsh some of them were to the railroads. I read a story about how 3 steam locomotives were pushing a rotary and became stuck in the snow. They said they had to keep a fire in the locomotives or drain them to keep them from freezing. If the water in a locomotive boiler could freeze over couldn't the water in a water tower do the same? I know some of those water towers were pretty small and made of metal. They also said they were in altitudes in excess of 11,000 feet (Rollins pass).
They can and did freeze on occasion. Seems like I remember a steam tourist line out west that stopped using some of theirs just for that reason and switched to underground tanks with standpipes at some more remote watering stations (The Cumbres & Toltec, perhaps?). Might've even been in the old days when the D&RGW was operating.
Many were kept from freezing since they were heated, such as by steam from a pump house that would keep the water from freezing or a coal stove under an enclosed base. Also their physical shape was designed to help keep the water from freezing ( I think lines like the Canadian Northern sometimes used octagonal shaped water tanks designed specifically because the shape helped them not freeze; I recall reading that I think in a issue of Railroad Model Craftsman in the 1990's). And some, at least, were insulated in colder climates with what was essentially a tank within a tank, with insulation filling the gap between the two.
And of course the periodic filling and emptying of the tanks during regular service would keep the water moving while also adding warmer water to the tank.
Leo_AmesAlso their physical shape was designed to help keep the water from freezing ( I think lines like the Canadian Northern sometimes used octagonal shaped water tanks designed specifically because the shape helped them not freeze
How does the shape help?
An octagonal tank exposes less surface area than a rectangular tank of the same capacity. Less surface area retards heat transfer.
In Maine the water tanks were in fully enclosed and insulated buildings and had coal heaters, you didnt need to keep the space a toasty 72 degrees, you just had to keep the ambient tempurature above freezing, so as long as you can keep the enclosed space at say 40 degrees, your fine.
Have fun with your trains
LaurenFan Leo_Ames: Also their physical shape was designed to help keep the water from freezing ( I think lines like the Canadian Northern sometimes used octagonal shaped water tanks designed specifically because the shape helped them not freeze How does the shape help?
Leo_Ames: Also their physical shape was designed to help keep the water from freezing ( I think lines like the Canadian Northern sometimes used octagonal shaped water tanks designed specifically because the shape helped them not freeze
The tank was in fact round usually, likely always, made of wood. The CPR version I investigated was probably typical. The tank was like a huge round, open top barrel. It was supported on large vertical wooden posts. The geometry was similar to exposed water tanks, except for the lack of a top on the tank. The exterior octagonal shape was a separate structure that enclosed the tank, and included a stove that could be lit in winter to keep the interior temperature above, or at least closer to the freezing temperature.
Why octagonal? It is very much easier to build flat sides for a structure. Making it square would also work, but then the space to be heated would be much greater. It was desired to keep the outside walls reasonably close to the enclosed tank. While no doubt having, say, 32 sides would do an even better job of matching the interior circle, I presume 8 sides was deemed to be the best compromise between ease of construction and function.
John
Leo_Ames They can and did freeze on occasion. Seems like I remember a steam tourist line out west that stopped using some of theirs just for that reason and switched to underground tanks with standpipes at some more remote watering stations (The Cumbres & Toltec, perhaps?). Might've even been in the old days when the D&RGW was operating.
Indeed a standpipe was in place at Cumbres in D&RGW days as shown by the picture on p.334 in Beebe's Rio Grande, Mainline of the Rockies, published in 1962.
Leo_AmesAlso their physical shape was designed to help keep the water from freezing ( I think lines like the Canadian Northern sometimes used octagonal shaped water tanks designed specifically because the shape helped them not freeze; I recall reading that I think in a issue of Railroad Model Craftsman in the 1990's).
Like cx500 said, the tank itself was not octagonal. The tank was _inside_ the octagonal building.
This design was used on most Canadian railways.
Chris van der Heide
My Algoma Central Railway Modeling Blog
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