Friend of mine sent me this picture from his collection asking purpose of locomotive bell atop NKP trackside water column in town of North East, PA.
Any idea?
Thanks. Walter M Matuch
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Well, that's not a locomotive bell.
I believe it's part of the water shutoff valve mechanism (the long arm jutting out from it).
smd4 posted:Well, that's not a locomotive bell.
I believe it's part of the water shutoff valve mechanism (the long arm jutting out from it).
Correct.
I thought I read somewhere that it deflects rain off the spout to protect the column in freezing weather. I could be wrong here.
Vacume breaker.
Lenny the Lion posted:I thought I read somewhere that it deflects rain off the spout to protect the column in freezing weather. I could be wrong here.
It would have to be a LOT wider to do that.
To expand on the replies above...
It's a weight for returning the water valve to its closed position and holding it there when the crew member releases the actuating lever. The valve is actually located in the pit below the column. When you pull down on the lever up top it lifts up a rod that runs through the center of the pipe and into the valve itself which then obviously picks the valve up off of its seat. The "bell" weight also rises up when the lever is actuated then helps close the valve back up when finished. It's been awhile since I've seen one apart, so I can't quite remember if there are any linkages I'm forgetting about but I believe it's a fairly straightforward setup. Unfortunately due to its design, maintenance to the valve itself is difficult as anything that can't be serviced through the small access ports on the sides of the valve body require lifting the whole column up to gain access through the top.
If you look up Poage Water Columns you'll likely find more information about them. We have a functional example in daily service at Greenfield Village in Dearborn, MI.
