Arboles Water Tank

This is one of the Rio Grande original facilities remain along its route in Colorado; the water tank at Arboles.


The water supply facilities here at Arboles is quite simple compared with that at Cisco, Utah. The source is a few feet from the track. Moreover, they have no coalhouse or pumper’s dwelling since 1962, as the facilities were relocated that year due to the construction of Navajo Dam.


The unusual water tank was made from the tender of M-75 class steam locomotive #1600[1]. As the locomotive was scrapped in 1949, the tank seems the product of that time.

According to the barely remaining flying Rio Grande logo on it, the crew chopped the coal bunker and front-end off, then tucked engineer’s side into and formed the new front-end. Inside the wall under the tank contains only piping. The paint color is later alteration.


Wood frame structure lapped with brick pattern tarpaper seems the shed, not the pump house because of its position: it also lacks marks of the smoke stack. The structure was also relocated. According to the old photo, it originally stood next to the tank on the same side of main track[2]. The facilities were retired collectively in 1968.

All photos were taken on Sep. 7, 2017

[1] Holmes, Nathan (2007) “Arboles, CO”, DRGW.NET;
[2] photo of the tank before relocation found at Friend of Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad webpage;
* photo of M-75 class steam locomotive with flying Rio Grande logo;


　
　　
コロラド州に現存するRio Grande狭軌線の遺構である。保存鉄道の拠点として有名なDurangoおよびChamaの間にあったArbolesという駅の給水塔である。1962年、ダム工事に伴い路線ごと移設された。移設後の水源は、先に紹介したユタ州・シスコの給水施設とは異なり、目と鼻の先にある。よって付帯施設の少ない簡素な設備である。

水槽本体は、1949年に廃車になった標準軌蒸気機関車の炭水車を改造・転用している。わずかに遺るレタリングから推測すると、炭水車の炭庫部分および水槽前端を切り取り、残した機関士側の側面を折り曲げて新しい妻面に仕立てたようだ。赤い塗装は由来不明。

旧線路敷きである砂利道を挟んだ向かいに建つ小屋もRio Grande由来の倉庫である。現役時代、移設前に撮られた写真にも写っている。ポンプ小屋とする記述もあるが、煙突の痕跡がなく、水源・タンクとの位置関係から考えてもそれは間違いだと思われる。