A "Deep Dive" into the Chama New Mexico Coaling Tower!

Take a "Deep Dive" into the Chama New Mexico Coaling Tower! Every little detail, modeling tips, and the operation demonstrated by the Friends of the Cumbres and Toltec!

As part of the "Gathering of Victorian Locomotives," the Friends of the Cumbres and Toltec scenic steam railroad demonstrated the operation of the Classic Denver and Rio Grande Western coaling tower in Chama New Mexico. This is the only survivor of this type of coaling tower. Often called a Fairbanks Morse type coaling tower, they were equipped with a Fairbanks Morse "Y" diesel engine. The Chama coaling tower was built in 1924 by Fairbanks Morse, and while there were powerful electric motors available then, most of the locations where the Rio Grande needed coaling towers didn't have access to the electrical grid. In 1937, when electricity came to Chama, the coaling tower was converted to electric motor operation. The Fairbanks Morse Y engine was left intact as the structure had been built around it and there was no way to remove this valuable engine. It still runs, because the Friends of the Cumbres and Toltec have checked it out and managed to get it to start. But it was not started as part of the demonstration as, well, it's a handful!!! The air-powered starter is connected to the air line on one of the steam locomotives via a long hose with a "glad hand" connector to the locomotive's air brakes. As the diesel fuel tank, located outside in an underground bunker is no longer connected to the engine, fuel must be fed from a fuel can inside the building. Sooooo, it wasn't started!

The 1937 electric motor makes operation "simple". Turn on the breaker, hit the start button, and TA DA!! The buckets run from a transition operated from handles located near the rear windows. The rear windows are set at ground level so the operator(s) can see the buckets as they descend to the bottom of the shafts. When one bucket hits the bottom, the other bucket is landing in the coal shute at the top. The operator cannot see the top and must assume when the south bucket is at the bottom, the north bucket is now dumping into the main coal bin. And well, they will hear a ton of coal dumping into the bin over their head!

Coal is loaded into the bucket at the bottom of the shaft. Huge wheels, which look like ships wheels, are used to open heavy iron gates at the bottom of the shaft pulled up by a chain that runs over a pulley to a winder on the end of the shaft with the "ships wheel" on the other end. The wheel is large so that the operator can get the torque needed to lift the heavy gate.

The handle on the transition is then operated to cause the loaded bucket to climb the tower as the empty bucket lowers to the bottom of its' shaft. And so it goes until some 150? tons of coal are loaded into the bin.

I was able to bag one of the two Ozark Miniatures 1:20.3 coaling tower kits, however, as the kit was never actually released, it had "issues". No instructions. Good plans but in different scales. And worst of all.. the bottom hoist house was laser cut in 1:22.5 scale. Anyway, I wanted to redo and super detail but didn't know what many of the prototype details are. SO... When I found out the Friends were going to demonstrate the tower... Well, one more reason to attend the Gathering of Victorian Locomotives.

I also want to have a sound system on my model, as we have done with Strebel Springs on the logging railroad, I wanted to record audio of the mechanism running. So as part of the video, we are providing clean audio of both the coal buckets and hoist. It may be of use to someone?