E&N Railway Water Tower - Parksville, Vancouver Island. BC. Canada. SCO 11,712.
Built in the early 1900's (around 1910 to 1912) this wooden stave water tower supplied water to the steam locomotives that were used to move freight and passengers on Vancouver Island during that time period. The tower used to be closer to the train station, about 150 metres further down the roadway. A few years ago, the operators of the railway decided that the tower was becoming a liability issue due to the conditions of the timbers the tower was installed on. The company was just about to dismantle the tower, they had a crew and equipment on site, when the tenants of the train station inquired as to what the crew were doing. Thankfully, they immediately phoned some key persons and plans were initiated to save the tower. It took a couple of years to come to an agreement and raise the funds but it was done and the results are before you. One of the requirements was to move the tower off of the railway property so a park was created beside Highway 4A and the tower was installed there on a new base. These towers were at every stop on the E&N but now there are only 2 known towers remaining. The poll on top, it looks like a flag pole, was actually the water level indicator. The big ball two thirds of the way down the pole would move up and down the pole with the water level in the tank. This would indicate to the engineer of the locomotive the amount of water available and he would take the amount he needed without draining the tank for the next train. You have to remember that back then water was supplied by springs or pumped from shallow wells, so filling these large tanks could take a long time while emptying them was easy as the large discharge tube allowed a high flow rate. (The silver tube at the bottom of the tank)
Size: 6055px × 4042px
Location: Highway 4a and 19 Parksville, Vancouver Island. BC. Canada.
Photo credit: © David Gowans / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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