I posted awhile back inquiring if anyone knew what these tanks were in regard to the use by railroads of the past, if any. Here was the original post:
http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=21138
Anyway, I was able to get closer and take some better pics. If anyone views these and has any comments, let’s hear them. Here are the pics:
Building "attached to North side of tower base:
looking up at the South side:
Need even better close-up pix and observations of a couple of details:
What’s inside the open hatch door at lower right of picture 3, and what’s that little rectangular plate on the tank wall over that door? I assume those are electrical switches or breakers in the center – what does the conduit going from them lead to?
What is the round device at ground level at left, and what is the small protrusion a couple of feet above it? Do I see large welded patches immediately to the left, and if so, can you tell how thick they are? Can you tell what the two dark protrusions on the left side in picture 1 are (the lower one appears to be an angled spout)?
If I understand the smaller ladder’s construction correctly, it has ‘horizontal’ wheels to allow it to be swung around the tank like a library ladder, perhaps for inspection or painting.
Something I notice about this tank is that there are substantial riveted joints in the circumference, but very little vertical jointing between horizontal ‘rings’ or courses. This indicates to me that there was substantial hoop stress expected, but very little vertical stress… to me, this rules out liquid in the tank. Indicates, rather, that you have a dry material with comparatively high grain or particle size, like pellets. The pipe running up to the top comes down a bit further than I’d expect for a pressure-loading duct, and does not appear to have a ring or other fitting for attachment, but I can’t think of anything else it would be (a relief valve on a pressure vessel with a directed blowdown is the only thing I have seen that resembles this layout!)
I think the principal answer to this mystery lies inside the attached building… where I’d expect you would find a large set of doors and perhaps hoppers and loading equipment for dry pelleted material, perhaps fertilizer or feed pellets (I am laughably ignorant about practical farming, but at least admit it freely and humbly!) There might be some ‘samples’ o
It’s a spike puller.
Ooops. Wrong thread…[:P]
No, I think it is YOU who is pulling MY spike… ;-}
Looks like a sandhouse to me !
Randy
Hello Mark !! I shoveled many scoops of sand into buildings that looked like that… Besides playing geussing games is alot more fun than talking about Amtrak !!!
Randy
It looks alot like the old MILW sand house in Janesville Wi. Ed Ellis was right… It needed to be torn down !
Ok, so why does it have a pressure hatch on the left side, at the base, and a hinged door just to the left of that?
And I’ll be darned in the pole in the center of the photos dosnt look like it has been used as a dip stick…the pipe beside the ladder has threaded ends…
Old oil tank?
The seams running up and down are rivited, but the horizonal ones are welded…
How about a water tank inside?
Weird…
Ed
I don’t know.!!!.. I’m just trying to get 500 posts !!
Randy
A lot of you all know a lot more than I do about such things,but with its proximity
to the creek (or small river) I am still going with the water tank route.
I’d say its a water storage with a water treatment house next to it. Used lots of places where the well water had a lot of minerals in it so the water had to be treated for steam boilers.
Dave H.
This is driving me nuts. I guess I am going to have to email someone who knows. Besides, Larry needs to get another one right.
Jay
