Coaling Tower

[Randy]

This is a picture of the 700 Ton Coaling tower in Frankfort Indiana. This is at the former Nickel Plate Road locomotive servicing facility. There was a roundhouse and a turntable here, (still here) that was home to many steam locomotives in years gone. This coaling tower stands 14 stories high and held 700 tons of coal. Steam locomotives would pull underneath to take on as much as 22 tons of coal. A steam locomotive had to be serviced every 150 miles or so, that meant coaling, lubing, taking on water, and cleaning of the firebox. There was a facility much like this in my town, but it has been gone since 1968, victim of the times and the shortsightedness of the Norfolk & Western Railway that took over the Nickel Plate Ocotber 16, 1964.



Camera: Minolta XG-1n with 55mm lens on Kodak VRG100.