First off, I dropped in on a “distant” LHS today to pick up a few items and ended up buying a Tichy Sheffield water column kit, like the one pictured below:
It’s a very nicely detailed kit and should look quite at home on the opposite side of the track, opposite my large freight station.
Even though you can’t really see it from the posted picture above, the water column sits on a platform with a grate at the opposite end. This leads me to my question(s):
Was the water column platform usually situated underneath the track so that the grate was directly underneath the tender, as it was being filled?
Was it open - i.e. could you see the grating - or did the RRs place ballast over the top of them?
Were the platforms themselves ever entirely along side of the track instead of mostly underneath them?
Thanks for the help.
First answer: they were called “penstocks” by the NYC. Beats me where the term comes from, but it shows up in official paperwork, so that’s the term I use!
Nice, aren’t they? I use the Tichy penstocks for my own layouts!
Beats me: I’ve never seen a penstock with a grate. As you well know, I’ve got LOTS of NYC and NKP photos, many of which are around engine service areas. None of those photos show penstocks with such large bases. Usually, they just sit atop a concrete base, sort of like the footings of a water tank.
Additionally, the Ohio Central has an operational penstock at Sugarcreek, OH. I had the chance to study it in detail in 2004, and it doesn’t have a grate either.
My previous comments sort of make these unanswerable…!
Let me know if you’d like a few photos of NYC/NKP penstocks, and I’ll see what I can send your way.
Tom, if these columns are anything like the ones we had here, the platform sits parallel to the track. When you close the valve, remove the spout from the tender, and return it to the stowed position, the remaining water in spout drains into the grate. It’s interesting that you ask this question, I was using a water column only yesterday to water two engines on an excursion.
Like Ray, I knew these as penstocks too - perhaps it was because the NYC was part-owner of the TH&B, in my hometown of Hamilton, Ontario.
As Mark noted, the concrete pad is positioned parallel to the track. Most of the CNR ones that I’ve seen were mounted on a plank-covered base, with what looked like a vertically-mounted brake wheel protruding from it. This was most likely a shut-off, for preventing freeze-ups in the colder months.
Here’s a view of one of my Tichy penstocks:
And here’s the same one, along with one that I scratchbuilt for use on a doubletracked line. I used a Grandt Line spout, which is a bit longer than the Tichy one, and built the rest out of styrene tubing and strip, along with some wire, chain, and a piece of fine mesh for the grate. The base of the pipe is the tip from the barrel of a Bic pen.
