Water scoops......
Author: Rolland A. Meyers
Date: 08-24-2009 - 17:19
A rather odd question here. But in the days of steam there were some railroads that had a section of track with a metal trough between the rails on top of the ties filled with water so the faster steam trains could scoop water from this trough "on the fly" and fill the tender without stopping. My questions are: Was this a common practice used by most Class One railroads or was this practice limited to a few railroads? Was there a specific name for this operation and, if there was a "normal" length for this section of track, what was it?
Thanks for any information.
Regards,
Rolland A. Meyers