Water tower base landscape?

All of the photographs that I have seen of water towers are in areas that are clear for personnel access. Usually gravel around the base, but not always.

Although, if it's not a yard operation, it may be different.

Make it how you like it for the location on the layout.

Ken,

If it next to the steel mill, you may find ore or cinders on the ground around the tower. If it is away from the mill, you would probably find the tower in an area where there is grass, dirt, and brush around the base.

Alan Graziano

Here's how I did mine.

The one I hung around as a kid had gravel and cinders around its base, with maybe a

few encroaching weeds, but ground was mostly clear   Underneath it there were small pools of water.  I most remember the frozen columns of ice hanging off it from several areas in the winter, and wondered how I could model that.

Here is what I did a little while back.  Bo 

Most every picture I have seen of filling a tender shows a significant amount of water leaking from the spout, and water gushing out off the air vents in the tender. So I suspect that there was wet ground under and around the water tower. Bull rushes and reeds would be appropriate as would lush green weeds.