A water tower is an elevated structure supporting a water tank constructed at a height sufficient to pressurize a distribution system for potable water, and to provide emergency storage for fire protection. Water towers often operate in conjunction with underground or surface service reservoirs, which store treated water close to where it will be used. Other types of water towers may only store raw (non-potable) water for fire protection or industrial purposes, and may not necessarily be connected to a public water supply.
A tender or coal-car is a special rail vehicle hauled by a steam locomotive containing its fuel and water. Steam locomotives consume large quantities of water compared to the quantity of fuel, so their tenders are necessary to keep them running over long distances. A locomotive that pulls a tender is called a tender locomotive. Locomotives that do not have tenders and carry all their fuel and water on board the locomotive itself are called tank locomotives.
The Missouri Pacific Railroad, commonly abbreviated as MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers. In 1967, the railroad operated 9,041 miles of road and 13,318 miles of track, not including DK&S, NO&LC, T&P, and its subsidiaries C&EI and Missouri-Illinois.
Early Electro-Motive Corporation switcher locomotives were built with Winton 201-A engines. A total of 175 were built between February 1935 and January 1939. Two main series of locomotives were built, distinguished by engine size and output: the straight-8, 600 hp (450 kW) 'S' series, and the V12, 900 hp (670 kW) 'N' series. Both were offered with either one-piece cast underframes from General Steel Castings of Granite City, Illinois, denoted by 'C' after the power identifier, and fabricated, welded underframes built by EMC themselves, denoted by 'W'. This gave four model series: SC, SW, NC and NW. Further developments of the 900 hp (670 kW) models gave model numbers NC1, NC2, NW1, and NW1A, all of which were practically indistinguishable externally from the others, as well as a pair of unique NW4 models for the Missouri Pacific Railroad and a solitary, twin-engined T transfer locomotive model built for the Illinois Central Railroad.
The St. Louis–San Francisco Railway, commonly known as the "Frisco", was a railroad that operated in the Midwest and South Central United States from 1876 to April 17, 1980. At the end of 1970, it operated 4,547 miles (7,318 km) of road on 6,574 miles (10,580 km) of track, not including subsidiaries Quanah, Acme and Pacific Railway and the Alabama, Tennessee and Northern Railroad; that year, it reported 12,795 million ton-miles of revenue freight and no passengers. It was purchased and absorbed into the Burlington Northern Railroad in 1980. Despite its name, it never came close to San Francisco.
The Arizona Railway Museum is a railroad museum located in Chandler, Arizona.
The Niles Canyon Railway (NCRy) is a heritage railway running on the first transcontinental railroad alignment through Niles Canyon, between Sunol and the Niles district of Fremont in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area, in California, United States. The railway is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Niles Canyon Transcontinental Railroad Historic District. The railroad is operated and maintained by the Pacific Locomotive Association which preserves, restores and operates historic railroad equipment. The NCRy features public excursions with both steam and diesel locomotives along a well-preserved portion of the first transcontinental railroad.
Richmond Locomotive Works was a steam locomotive manufacturing firm located in Richmond, Virginia.
Beaumont is an unincorporated community in Butler County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the community and nearby areas was 36.
A water stop or water station on a railroad is a place where steam trains stop to replenish water. The stopping of the train itself is also referred to as a "water stop". The term originates from the times of steam engines when large amounts of water were essential. Also known as wood and water stops or coal and water stops, since it was reasonable to replenish engines with fuel as well when adding water to the boiler.
The Great Plains Transportation Museum is a railroad museum in Wichita, Kansas, United States.
The Belton, Grandview and Kansas City Railroad (SHRX) is short line passenger railroad and museum located in Belton, Missouri. It operates as a heritage railroad, on what was once the St. Louis and San Francisco Railway (Frisco), on the Kansas City to Springfield branch. With the merger of the Frisco with the Burlington Northern, the line was partially sold to the Kansas City Southern Railway north of 155th Street. The north of the line is used once a year when tree trimming/weed spraying takes place, and the tracks are bad though can still can be used. The bridge is still there past Markey Road but with missing ties, while the southernmost portion from Peculiar, MO. to Clinton, MO. has been scrapped and abandoned. This left the remaining trackage of a few miles connecting Grandview and Belton, Missouri. The railroad currently operates a 1952 GM GP 9 locomotive, which is used to pull an excursion train. Also included in the railroad's collection are various locomotives, cars and equipment.
St. Louis–San Francisco 4003 is a 2-8-2, Mikado type, standard gauge steam railway locomotive built by the American Locomotive Company in 1919 as a standard USRA Light Mikado for the Pennsylvania Railroad. The PRR, for unknown reasons, rejected 33 of 38 locomotives in the order. The United States Railroad Administration reassigned 23 of them to the St. Louis–San Francisco Railway (SLSF), also known as the "Frisco". The Frisco also received 10 sisters from the Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad, making 33 in all. The locomotive is now on display at the Fort Smith Trolley Museum in Fort Smith, Arkansas.
Chartered on June 6, 1903, the St. Louis, Brownsville & Mexico Railway was a 200-mile (321 km) U.S. railroad that operated from Brownsville, Texas, to Gulf Coast Junction in Houston, Texas. It served numerous towns and cities along its routes and operated a rail bridge between Brownsville and Matamoros, Tamaulipas, in junction with the Mexican government. The Brownie connected the citizens of Brownsville to nearby Corpus Christi for the first time on land rather than using water transportation.
The Beaumont St. Louis and San Francisco Railroad Water Tank is a railroad water tank or water tower constructed in 1875, in Beaumont, Kansas. It served the St. Louis, Wichita & Western Railway, and was used to refill the boilers of steam locomotives on that line. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1993. A sign at the site claims it was the last water tank used in regular railway operations in the United States.
Harris Switch Tower, also known as HG Tower or Harris Tower, is an interlocking tower in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in the United States. The tower was built in 1929 by the Pennsylvania Railroad and remained in operation until it was closed in 1991 by Amtrak. Harris was purchased by the local chapter of the National Railway Historical Society in 1992 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.
The Beaumont Hotel is a former railroad hotel constructed in 1879 in Beaumont, Kansas. It originally opened and operated as the "Summit Hotel". It currently operates as a bed and breakfast, RV Park and restaurant.
The Rutland Railroad Pumping Station is a historic water pumping facility at 43 Lake Street in the town of Alburgh, Vermont. Built in 1903, it is a rare example in Vermont of an early railroad-related water pumping facility. In use until the 1940s, it provided water needed for steam engines at rail facilities elsewhere in Alburgh. It is now owned by the town, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.
The Grand Trunk Western Railroad Grand Haven Coal Tipple is a coaling tower designed to feed coal to steam locomotives located on the 300 block of North Harbor Drive in Grand Haven, Michigan. It is the tallest structure in the city. The coal tipple was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.
The Santa Fe Railway Water Tank, or Sedalia Water Tank, on the railway through Sedalia, Colorado in Douglas County, Colorado, is a historic object listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
