Cole’s Station Enclosed Water Tower

Kept the Water Flowing to Railroad Steam Locomotives During Harsh Pennsylvania Winters

Now the Last Survivor on the East Broad Top Narrow Gauge Railroad

water tower, enclosed, railroad, East Broad Top, narrow gauge, free plans, trackside, building, structure — Now overgrown, the Cole’s Station enclosed water tower once kept East Broad Top steam locomotives supplied as they climbed the South Central Pennsylvania hills.

water tower, enclosed, East Broad Top, Railroad, narrow gauge, steam era, front view — The structure enclosing the water tank allowed a small stove to keep the water from freezing.

Located at mile marker 24.3, one-half mile east of Coles Valley Road, near the town of Saltillo in Huntingdon County, the Coles Station, Pennsylvania, water tank is the last surviving enclosed water station along the East Broad Top narrow gauge railroad. The tanks were enclosed so that the water could be kept from freezing during winter months by use of a small stove.

This tank was built in 1919 to replace an older tank that had deteriorated beyond use. The structure includes a tub-style wood tank of approximately 8,000 gallons capacity that is elevated on heavy wood framing set in a concrete foundation.

water tower, enclosed, railroad, East Broad Top, narrow gauge, free plans, trackside, building, structure, south elevation — South side of Cole’s Station enclosed water tower showing addition covering water cistern.

The two-story building features vertical board-and-batten siding over a wood frame, covered by a square hip roof. A small addition covers the stone-lined subterranian cistern that is spring-fed. This structure originally housed a pump powered by a gasoline engine, used to fill the tank.

A small coal stove inside the tank house provided enough heat to keep the water from freezing during cold Pennsylvania winters.

water tower, enclosed, railroad, East Broad Top, narrow gauge, free plans, trackside, building, structure, east elevation — Rear (east elevation) view of Cole’s Station enclosed water tower showing building addition covering the water cistern.

These plans, part of the National Park Service’s Historic American Engineering Record, were delineated by John R. Bowie. The project, conducted by the Friends of the East Broad Top, Inc. was funded by grants from the Society for Industrial Archeology and the Amherst Railway Society, Inc. Photographs were made by A. Pierce Bounds, with additional assistance by William L. Adams. Henry F. Inman, president of the Friends of the East Broad Top provided editorial and technical oversight of the project.