I’m looking for a fairly large capacity coal tower in HO. The Fine Scale Miniatures #145 looks “right” to me. Does anyone know what the capacity is for that structure? The Walthers wooden tower (933-2922) seems a bit too small or my needs. I’m interested in a wooden structure.
Thanks,
Roger Huber
Roger, I would be surprised to find that the structure you mention could keep stored more than about 20 tons of coal, but maybe it was closer to 25. It’s an old structure, probably designed and built pre-1900, so it would have filled tenders holding perhaps 10 tons of coal at a time…smaller steamers, not the larger ones that came after 1905.
If you look at its working face, with the chutes, you can see that what lies below the chutes is just clad support framing. Above the chutes, and now obviously quite modest in size, is the bunker or hopper for storing the coal. It’s tiny compared the the much larger ones in service in the Depression and beyond in WW II.
I have the FSM kit and it doesn’t say capacity on it but I think its quite a bit more than 20 tons the walthers kit is close to 100 ton cap take a look at this one http://home.earthlink.net/~railroad_towers_railroadmania/coal_towers_steam_locomotives/lockhavenillinois.htm
Selector,
Not trying to be argumentative but I’m sure the FSM kit I mentioned has a much larger capacity than 20tons. FSM made (I think) about 3 or 4 different coaling facilities so maybe you aren’t thinking of the kit #145. It’s modeled after a CN prototype from what they said and serves tracks on both sides with the receiving track in the center under the structure. There are 2 chutes on each side and it also has sanding capability with a detatched sand drying house and bin. I wish I could add links or pictures as I could show you what I’m talking about.
Life Like copied a nice 100ton tower from Alexander Models and it’s much smaller than the FSM. It certainly looks larger than the wooden one by Walthers too but smaller than their modern concrete one.
My estimate would be closer to 250-300tons for the FSM but I was just wondering if anyone had better information on the kit.
It’s just typical of a lot of products made for us modelers…no important information or dates supplied by the manufacturers. I never understood how someone could produce a vehicle and not tell us what year it was made or used or the capacity of a building used to hold something. Just very strange to me!
Roger Huber
Roger, I went to the site and only looked at the image. It’s an old structure by all appearances, but I didn’t see that it has chutes on both sides. I saw several chutes on the one side facing the camera which tells me that the designers built several cribs or hoppers inside, each served by a chute. The cribbing is probably to help support the structure, if it exists at all.
You could be right. Still, I doubt that it could carry more than, say, 50 tons, without seeing, as you indicate, some hard numbers for inner capacity, and I double my estimate only because I can’t really establish how deep the structure is, but accept that it has chutes on its other side.
On the FSM model the coal bunker section scales to about 30 x 20 x 12 to 14 ft about 7500 cu ft that could hold about 250 tons of coal
Well, I finally found my folder with plans for coaling towers I’ve accumulated from various modeling magazines over the years. Comparing the overall size and the shape and size of the coal pockets with these plans I’m convinced it must be in the 250-300 ton capacity I originally figured. The folder had the instructions from the FSM kit and it had no information at all.
There was a similar CN tower that was almost exactly the same outside dimensions as the kit but the bunkers were different as well as the coal elevator enclosure. It stated 150 tons but I think this one with the differences is of larger capacity.
Thanks to everyone for the help. Maybe I should email George Sellios? I wonder if he hangs here?
Roger Huber
Roger,
I did a Google search on Jock Oliphant who built the model of the Winnipeg coaling tower that FSM did as a model. All information I found suggests it is a 300 ton capacity structure.
i searched Jock Oliphant Coal Tower, and the first item led me to what I hope is the correct information you were searching for.
Kris
Kris,
I did the same search and the stuff that came up is not the same structure. I wish I could add pictures of the kit. It was on the cover of an older Walthers catalog with a couple CN hoppers. I called George Sellios today after a search showed his number and left a message. Maybe he can fill me in.
Your search brought up a lot of neat stuff though. Many thanks for the help.
I was just trying to match the tower capacity to my loco use for a more realistic engine terminal.
Roger Huber
Ok…so I called FSM the other day and asked about the kit. I was told that the kit was about 40 years old and he didn’t remember exactly. He said it was copied from plans for a CN 300ton structure. He made it slightly smaller to fit a certain layout space but he said it was at least 250tons and somewhere between 250-300tons.
That’s closer to what I figured just sizing it to plans and photos I have of various coal towers.
Here’s a place to find the exact kit I’m talking about. If you ever wanted any FSM kit info this is the site to go to!
http://fsmkits.homestead.com/files/coalTower_145.jpg
Thanks to all of you trying to help me out here!
Roger Huber