Syd Schofield
Editors note: Welcome to the twelfth article of a series on narrow gauge by Syd Schofield. The previous article is available by clicking here, or by filtering with the category “Narrow Gauge”. Syd welcomes discussions and feedback, which can be made by clicking on the comment link at the bottom of the post.
Most of the narrow gauge railroad models are based on steam powered locomotives. Since most of these steam systems are total loss, sources of water for the steam systems need to be strategically located for ready access. In later years some larger locomotives and longer trains brought the facilities requirements up to par with the standard gauge railroads. For locomotives based on other power plants (for example internal combustion and electric), incidental need for water as a coolant was much less of a problem. So the need for adequate water supplies available to the locomotive and along the route of operation require special consideration.
The weight of water in the boiler and the tender add to the burden of carriage. This is partially offset by the adhesion gained by the driving wheels of the locomotive but is purely dead weight in the tender. Curiously, where the configuration has driving wheels supporting the supply water (e.g. a saddle tank locomotive) there is diminishing adhesion offsetting the additional load with full tanks.
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