how to model water supply for dual tracks

Well, you can have a water tower between tracks with a spout on each side, a water plug between a pair of tracks or a water tower and a water plug.  I chose the latter:

Realistically speaking, I could have had the water plug in a location to access both tracks and left the spout off the water tower.  I just liked this arrangement better.

Rusty

Rusty Traque posted:

Well, you can have a water tower between tracks with a spout on each side, a water plug between a pair of tracks or a water tower and a water plug.  I chose the latter:

Rusty

ok, a water "plug" as you say.  is that a commonly available product?  how about a water tower with two spouts?

MTH has (or had) a water plug in O , I believe.  (My railroad is S scale...) I don't recall seeing a double spouted water tower in any scale.  It would be a minor kitbashing project.

Rusty

You may want to look at some yard photos from your favorite railroad. Sometimes the water tank is in a different location all together, where the locomotive would be moved to a different location for water.

Or there might be more than one water tower such as this photo on the NP in Missoula Montana.

Walters cornerstone had the 30K tower and water plug kit. I don't know when Atlas O will rerelease this kit.  You could find the MTH water plug and a weaver 50K water tower which will work great!

Depending on how much room you have between the tracks, l used kitbashed Lionel tanks, twinned against each other with spouts to each track.  There are a lot of O scale steam standpipe kits out there on the net....l have at least two different ones 

Here's a question or two, since we're talking about water supplies.  In the desert or other relatively dry areas, how would the RR find and pump water into the tanks, in quantities large enough always to be able to provide adequate amounts on an instantaneous basis?  Did they rely on gravity fed pipes from streams, or steam (?) powered pumps on very deep wells?  During droughts, did they replenish the tanks from rail cars filled with water? Or did they add tank cars to a train, if they thought that the water supply along the line might be inadequate?

The Great Western had a "famous" tank with spouts on both sides, that set been diverging tracks and served both.

Some railroads used wooden water mains from streams, with pitch and tar to seal them until permanent water towers cold be made...

The vast majority of steam locomotive servicing facilities, and even main line fueling & watering facilities, had an external water tank (50,000 gallons or more), with underground 8" or 10" water mains to the water supply stand pipes (water plugs). The stand pipes could be swung to either track in order to add water to a tender.

Here is one view of our steam locomotive servicing facility. Note the water stand pipe in the foreground, behind the two 55 gal drums. The second stand pipe (blocking the cab window) is for fueling oil burning steam locomotive tenders. Both stand pipes shown are either Kentron or PSC brass pieces, which haven't been offered in O Scale for many decades. I just kept searching eBay, for many years until one or two would pope up. They originally sold for around $5, back in the 1960s, but since they are apparently so rare, and in demand, they bring a pretty penny on eBay!

So, would it be possible for the water to be added at the same time as coal?  Parallel processing would minimize time spent replenishing.

If not, was there a line of thinking that a stand pipe should be placed X feet from the coaling tower to minimize the distance the locomotive would have to move from coaling position to water position?  What there ever standards published about how to arrange coaling towers, sand towers, water plugs, ash pits, etc?  I would think some railroads would have planned that out and published standards for service yard standardization or modernization

Garrett76 posted:

So, would it be possible for the water to be added at the same time as coal? 

Yes, it could have, depending on the layout of the servicing facility. For main line fueling & watering, the priority would have been for resupply coal, and THEN water.

Parallel processing would minimize time spent replenishing.

Within steam servicing terminals, that usually would NOT have been a factor, as just prior to a locomotive departing the out-bound "ready tracks", water was usually "topped off".

If not, was there a line of thinking that a stand pipe should be placed X feet from the coaling tower to minimize the distance the locomotive would have to move from coaling position to water position? 

That would of course be dependent on the various sizes of the locomotives on any railroad's roster.

What there ever standards published about how to arrange coaling towers, sand towers, water plugs, ash pits, etc? 

Yes, but can't recall where I've seen them.

I would think some railroads would have planned that out and published standards for service yard standardization or modernization

Maybe, maybe not, as most railroads were NOT that prone to sharing information with their competitors. 

Great answers, thanks!

So, when USRA took over locomotive design, did they also manage service yard design as well?

Garrett76 posted:

Great answers, thanks!

So, when USRA took over locomotive design, did they also manage service yard design as well?

No.

So for what it's worth...

Kalmbach has a nice reference book, Locomotive Servicing Terminals, #12228, which has lots of facts/photos appropriate for this thread.

Among which, on page 21, in chapter two, Water Tanks and Columns, is a photo of a double-spout wooden water tank servicing two tracks.  It's a photo of an 1894 arrangement in Mississippi, but it's a prototype!

Then, on page 23 in the same chapter is a photo of a water column servicing two adjacent tracks.

Nice reference book for anyone constructing an engine servicing terminal....especially for the steamers.

And, BTW, you can get water tank spout castings from a couple of sources...metal or plastic...which could be added to one of the several common single-spout tank models.

Just some thoughts....

KD

dkdkrd posted:

So for what it's worth...

Kalmbach has a nice reference book, Locomotive Servicing Terminals, #12228, which has lots of facts/photos appropriate for this thread.

Among which, on page 21, in chapter two, Water Tanks and Columns, is a photo of a double-spout wooden water tank servicing two tracks.  It's a photo of an 1894 arrangement in Mississippi, but it's a prototype!

Then, on page 23 in the same chapter is a photo of a water column servicing two adjacent tracks.

Nice reference book for anyone constructing an engine servicing terminal....especially for the steamers.

And, BTW, you can get water tank spout castings from a couple of sources...metal or plastic...which could be added to one of the several common single-spout tank models.

Just some thoughts....

KD

Yes, I have that book and was looking at it this morning.  Picture on the cover got me wondering about the water plug between the tracks and I realized I had never noticed that in a layout before.  Maybe I saw it but it just didn't register.  Also wondering if there are off the shelf water plugs.  I'm not really into the making stuff/kitbash side of the hobby

Thanks

Custom built by Dave Duhamel of Crescent Locomotive Works.

This pic was on Switcher Sat. . The pic was of a Pennsy switcher. I thought the water column was really cool. I'm guessing thIs was a busy terminal with multiple service tracks.

saw this first thing when I walked into LHS.  Was probably always there but now I noticed since reading up on water spouts

Dave_C posted:

This pic was on Switcher Sat. . The pic was of a Pennsy switcher. I thought the water column was really cool. I'm guessing thIs was a busy terminal with multiple service tracks.

I do not believe that is a "water column" in the photo. The PRR had special "exhaust smoke scavenging" systems in some terminals, which collected the exhaust smoke when fires were either been cleaned or relayed. Note how large the diameter is of the vertical "suction pipe" assembly, and also how the tip of the "spout" would fit down into the exhaust stack. The black smoke was sucked into & through a water bath, to remove the solids, and then exhausted to atmosphere away from the immediate terminal work area. The N&W had such facilities at their Shaffers Crossing Terminal.