Two Methods of Filling Locomotive Tenders with Water

[W. Gray]

Here are the Piedmont and Moline photos again.



A tank similar to the Piedmont tank is still standing in Beaumont a few miles to the west.

At Moline, there was what was called a plug that was installed between a pair of tracks. The plug had a water column attached. In the Moline photo, a water column is filling a locomotive tender. That same column arm can swing around 180 degrees and water another locomotive tender standing on a parallel track. Water columns were fed by underground pipe from a larger water tank.

[Diane Amberg]

Thanks.I wondered what that thing was for .I should have guessed.

[flintauqua]

Here are the Piedmont and Moline photos again.



A tank similar to the Piedmont tank is still standing in Beaumont a few miles to the west.

At Moline, there was what was called a plug that was installed between a pair of tracks. The plug had a water column attached. In the Moline photo, a water column is filling a locomotive tender. That same column arm can swing around 180 degrees and water another locomotive tender standing on a parallel track. Water columns were fed by underground pipe from a larger water tank.

The east end of the pair of tanks that fed the plug is just barely visible on the left side of the picture.  The two tanks were filled by gravity from the Santa Fe Lake located a mile and a half west and half-mile north.  After they were no longer needed for water storage for trains, the tanks were converted into grain storage with the 'new' elevator built around them.  If the sump pump in the bottom of the elevator fails to kick on from time to time, the place begins to slowly fill with water as there are enough pipe and valve leaks, and enough 'natural flow' along that line from the lake to create a bit of an artificial spring under the elevator.

[flintauqua]

In what year was the Moline Santa Fe Lake built?

[frawin]

Waldo, when we lived in Bartlesville, sometimes we would take Myrna's Mother to the Beaumont Hotel For Diinner. She loved the rides thru the Flint Hills, especially when the Bluestem Pastures were Lush with the Grass and Lots of Cattle Grazing.  When we were up there once, she wanted pictures of Myrna and I under the Water Tower and we took pictures of her  under the Water Tower. The Squires Family was one of the areas biggest Landowners and Ranchers, they are who bought the old Hotel and cleaned it up and made it like a Bed and Breakfast. It is still going strong.

[W. Gray]

Waldo, when we lived in Bartlesville, sometimes we would take Myrna's Mother to the Beaumont Hotel For Diinner. She loved the rides thru the Flint Hills, especially when the Bluestem Pastures were Lush with the Grass and Lots of Cattle Grazing.  When we were up there once, she wanted pictures of Myrna and I under the Water Tower and we took pictures of her  under the Water Tower. The Squires Family was one of the areas biggest Landowners and Ranchers, they are who bought the old Hotel and cleaned it up and made it like a Bed and Breakfast. It is still going strong.

In the 70s, as a passenger in a four seater, I flew into the Beaumont airstrip. The plane taxied on city streets observing stop signs as it went and parked in the airplane parking lot across from the hotel. The airplane lot was designated by a propeller bolted or nailed to a tree.

Ate lunch, and then taxied back to the airstrip and flew out.

A couple years ago, I drove off U.S 400 to take a look. A lot has changed around there. There is one parking area and I did not see anything to indicate "airplanes."