Thoughts on Coaling Towers- Pictures re added

Are you saying "coal silos" are being converted into townhomes?

What do you consider a "Coal Silo"? Do you mean those huge, cylindrical structures that flood-load railroad open-top hopper cars?

If used for building town homes, or anything else, inside of them, would be very expensive to do so just because of the hydro-carbon and particulate remediation.  Even if close by any development, the same would still apply within government EPA guidelines.  Still, an interesting aspect to model on a layout.

Jesse  TCA

You wouldn't happen to be referring to the old C&O coaling tower in Charlottesville, would you? It seems its only purpose now is to be a cell tower while being encroached on by some new high end townhouses. Even though there is talk about "rehabilitating" it I imagine the property its on is worth a lot of money and it will eventually be torn down.

https://www.cvilletomorrow.org...anel-defers-proposed

Ken

Right, sorry guys.. Coaling tower it is. The way it is situated with town homes on each side, hard to imagine it is coming down. Seems before the town homes went in would have been the time for removal. It is just sitting there in the middle of the development.

Just realized, Where did the pictures go? Let me repost, this will make more sense.

@kanawha,

the picture in the article you linked is an amazing contrast- I try to ignore anything local for obvious reasons and I missed that.  Interesting article.

Considering how those massive steam era coaling structures were constructed, I personally can NOT see how any one of them could be "converted" into some sort of condo.

Interesting ( slight drift) similar concept. I was in a newer subdivision for work called Silo Ridge. Here's the entrance:

@smd4 posted:

Are you saying "coal silos" are being converted into townhomes?

Why not.  In Akron, Ohio, the Quaker Oats silos were converted into a hotel which I stayed in in 1993.

Larry

@LLKJR posted:

 

Why not.  In Akron, Ohio, the Quaker Oats silos were converted into a hotel which I stayed in in 1993.

Larry

For what it's worth, grain silos are a whole lot different from steam locomotive coaling towers, and probably a lot larger.

Laquinta motor inns converted a old Lima bean silos to a hotel in California, the train goes by so often you never hear it. (Old Blues Brothers line) The rooms were hexagon shaped.

If the photo hadn't been with the article, I never would have believed that anyone would want to integrate an old coal tower into a brand new neighborhood without any real rehab to it.   Truth is stranger than fiction at times. 

I guess we can now use our coaling towers anywhere on layout where space is a premium as in real life. 

Not sure, but I have to ask...in order for the coal to be loaded into the tower, was there a conveyor belt machine used to load it?

@redjimmy1955 posted:

Not sure, but I have to ask...in order for the coal to be loaded into the tower, was there a conveyor belt machine used to load it?

No, not a conveyor. Generally, on one side of the coal dock, was a track which the hopper cars could dump the coal down through grating in the track. Then there was a "bucket/car" on a track that went vertically up the outside of the coal dock, and the "bucket/car" was pulled by a large cable. At the top of the track, the "bucket/car" was dumped into the interior of the coal dock, through an opening that could be opened & closed, to keep rain/snow out. Depending on the size of the coal dock, and how many steam locomotives were fueled per day, the process of re-filling the coal dock could be almost a continuous operation of raising and lowering the "bucket/car".

Some railroads, with massive multi track coal docks, even had a track built adjacent to the coal dock, on a VERY steep incline so that a switch engine could push 1 or 2 coal hoppers up the ramp at a time, and then the coal would be dumped directly into the coal dock.

Refilling the large coal docks was a major, almost, full time job.

@hokie71 posted:

I visited one of my favorite local coal towers and found its location has had a few changes.  My conclusions:

1) coal towers will be around long after current construction goes to the land fill.

2) coal towers are obviously the new in thing for architects and developers involved in high end town homes. In particular if you give the development a "train" name, the coal tower looks like it belongs. (not really?)

Seems like they're going to have to "doll up" that coaling tower some if they expect to get big bucks for the condo's.  Most of the people interested in buying would probably consider it an eyesore in its present state.

Rusty

The last time I went by the tower in Charlottesville must have been two years ago. At that time they had only built town homes on the east side of the tower. I can't believe they built on the other side also. I would think right now the tower is basically a huge concrete pigeon house. Yuk!

There was an concrete unloading shed on the back side. I can't tell from the pictures if it is still there.

Ken

Ken, the shed is there, I should have taken another picture.

Rusty, I was wondering the same thing but hard to imagine what would be done. According to one web site, prices start at over $ one million