# water scoop



## cole226 (Feb 8, 2013)

Here's an interesting link about water scoops for anyone curious.:dunno:

https://nycshs.files.wordpress.com/2015/11/waterscoops.pdf


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## rkenney (Aug 10, 2013)

That's a keeper! Great article, lot's of detail and pictures. Just goes to show most things are not as simple as they appear.:smilie_daumenpos:


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## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

Interesting article. Thanks for posting. I knew of the water pans and have seen videos
of scooping. I did not know of the problems incurred or the fix. Maybe I missed it, how
were the pans filled with water? Wow, to even come up with water scooping they were 
really trying to cut down every minute on a run.


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## Old_Hobo (Feb 20, 2014)

I wonder if they worried about the water in the pans ever freezing solid, or was it heated to prevent freezing?


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## rkenney (Aug 10, 2013)

Old_Hobo said:


> I wonder if they worried about the water in the pans ever freezing solid, or was it heated to prevent freezing?


Doubtful this technology was ever used in the middle of winter; what would they possibly 'heat' it with?


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## cole226 (Feb 8, 2013)

steam heat.

more of a problem of overflow of tenders freezing than water pans.
the vent spray coming of tenders in sub zero weather was known to freeze hobo's to death.


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## mesenteria (Oct 29, 2015)

rkenney said:


> Doubtful this technology was ever used in the middle of winter; what would they possibly 'heat' it with?


Steam pipes can be seen running beside the pans. Trains ran all winter, same schedules, same consists, same need for transport, same needs for the steam locomotives and crews. So, what they used in summer was also used in winter.

How about the large 40K gallon water tanks on stilts with their articulated pipe and counterweights? They were slow to freeze because the water didn't stay in them long after coming up out of the below-ground pipes. Where very cold winds whipped the sides of the tanks, some roads build chimneys through the centers of the tanks' supporting pylons and shrouded fires below the tanks, between the pylons. Notably, the Canadian Pacific Railway did this. If you google it, you'll find images of octagonal tanks with cladding around the pylons like skirts to help keep the fire's warmth from being blown away.

Some of the tanks had smaller chimney-like boxed-in central heating conduits with no skirt-like cladding outside of the pylons. These were the traditional round and banded tanks. One of the google images shows an image of a Kanamodel wooden version of this latter type that is mine.


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## 89Suburban (Jan 4, 2017)

Holy mackerel I never even knew anything about water scoops. I learn't sumptin today .


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## ebtnut (Mar 9, 2017)

Just as any FYI, besides the NYC, the Pennsy and the B&O also used track pans. I'm sure there were other roads as well.


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