COLLECTION NAME:
NNRy Equipment and Building Roster
Record
Title:
Coaling Tower
Category:
Structures
Disposition:
Display
Building Category:
Servicing Facilities
Building Number:
28
Building Location:
East Ely Yard
Building Description:
All the mainline steam locomotives burned coal, so a coaling tower was needed to replenish the supply in the locomotive tenders. When locomotive #81 was fitted with a mechanical stoker, a special grade of coal was needed, so the wooden bin was added to the tower in the 1920s.
Hoppers loaded with coal would be pushed up the spur track behind the tower and emptied into a bin. One hoist carried coal to a second hoist that would lift the coal to the top of the tower. At the top, the hoist bucket would tip over dumping the coal down a chute into the coal bin directly over the track. Coal would then flow through chutes by gravity into the locomotive tenders. The tower could load coal into two locomotive tenders simultaneously.
In addition to coal, the engine crew would top off the sand in the locomotives sand dome. The sand was processed through a dryer and sent to a barrel in the top of the tower by compressed air. The sand would be used on slick track to get additional traction.
Once the steam locomotives were retired, there was no use for the tower. In the 1970s the railroad attempted to use the coal bin for sand. The experiment failed and the tower was completely abandoned. Today, the steam locomotive tenders are filled using a front end loader at a ramp near the ice house.
All the original equipment is preserved in the tower and the signatures of railroaders that worked here dating back to 1917 can be seen on the walls throughout the structure.
Hoppers loaded with coal would be pushed up the spur track behind the tower and emptied into a bin. One hoist carried coal to a second hoist that would lift the coal to the top of the tower. At the top, the hoist bucket would tip over dumping the coal down a chute into the coal bin directly over the track. Coal would then flow through chutes by gravity into the locomotive tenders. The tower could load coal into two locomotive tenders simultaneously.
In addition to coal, the engine crew would top off the sand in the locomotives sand dome. The sand was processed through a dryer and sent to a barrel in the top of the tower by compressed air. The sand would be used on slick track to get additional traction.
Once the steam locomotives were retired, there was no use for the tower. In the 1970s the railroad attempted to use the coal bin for sand. The experiment failed and the tower was completely abandoned. Today, the steam locomotive tenders are filled using a front end loader at a ramp near the ice house.
All the original equipment is preserved in the tower and the signatures of railroaders that worked here dating back to 1917 can be seen on the walls throughout the structure.
Historic Use:
Coaling and sand tower for steam locomotives.
Current Use:
Preserved building.
Construction Date:
1917
Rebuild Date:
1920s
Construction Method:
The concrete bin was constructed in one continuous concrete pour and stands approximately 75 feet tall. Six-light windows are placed in the shaft holding a cast-iron spiral staircase and in the maintenance areas at the top of the tower. The wooden bin constructed in the 1920s is set on a reinforced concrete foundation and is attached to the concrete bin.
Coaling Tower
