Rankin Coaling Tower – A Memory of the Steam Era.


when i was a kid fishing this was a background building that was always there in the distance and my mom was always telling me not to go there b/c it was haunted so i went today while i was out railfaning so thought i would share also found this web site on the same coaling tower:

http://intoruin.wordpress.com/2010/11/14/rankin-coaling-tower/

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thanks for looking......
 
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Cool find! Even though they were no longer actively used, many concrete coaling towers lasted well into the 1970s. That's why I still plan on getting a kit of one of those and putting it in my loco terminal.
 
To bad that coaling tower couldn't be restored and possibly made a part of a state park or some equivalent. It is an excellent example of a bygone era in our country's history and an integral part of a past technology that revolutionized the world. However, given this time of extremely tight budgets there is very little chance that something of that sort will ever happen.

It's just a matter of time before the only way to see things of this nature will be in pictures. That, to me, is a sad state of affairs.

Thanks for posting these really cool pictures! If anybody has pictures similar to these, I urge you to post them on the board for our enjoyment. Maybe we could have a thread devoted entirely to this subject.
 
What a cool coaling tower! Last Fall we attended the L&N Historical Society convention in Harlan, Ky. On the way home (Birmingham) we stopped by the coaling tower at night. Here are some of the resulting images... Hope someone enjoys them.

http://ericmcferrin.smugmug.com/IndustrialHistory-1/Railroad-Coaling-Towers-1/20830816_Rt53GP#!i=1499561269&k=3G7gGgq&lb=1&s=XL

http://ericmcferrin.smugmug.com/IndustrialHistory-1/Railroad-Coaling-Towers-1/20830816_Rt53GP#!i=1499627977&k=kwcL93g&lb=1&s=XL


think i have been there before :D
 
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To bad that coaling tower couldn't be restored and possibly made a part of a state park or some equivalent. It is an excellent example of a bygone era in our country's history and an integral part of a past technology that revolutionized the world. However, given this time of extremely tight budgets there is very little chance that something of that sort will ever happen.

It's just a matter of time before the only way to see things of this nature will be in pictures. That, to me, is a sad state of affairs.

Thanks for posting these really cool pictures! If anybody has pictures similar to these, I urge you to post them on the board for our enjoyment. Maybe we could have a thread devoted entirely to this subject.

well that one is right on the lake if it rains hard this hole area go's under water its all part of the tva area they moved the tracks about a hundered yards to the left of the tower on higher ground the road that leads to the tower is a good place to go fishing but has a big tn wild life sign saying its a state boat launch at the end of the road there's some old left over bridge pillars
 
well that one is right on the lake if it rains hard this hole area go's under water its all part of the tva area they moved the tracks about a hundered yards to the left of the tower on higher ground the road that leads to the tower is a good place to go fishing but has a big tn wild life sign saying its a state boat launch at the end of the road there's some old left over bridge pillars

It once occurred to me to go shoot under a full moon in the flooded conditions. Waders and cool weather (ie, no snakes) would be a must... The images could potentially look really cool, but I never got around to driving back up to do it.
 
It once occurred to me to go shoot under a full moon in the flooded conditions. Waders and cool weather (ie, no snakes) would be a must... The images could potentially look really cool, but I never got around to driving back up to do it.

well the only bad thing is that in winter they dont let the water get up that far it's only in the summer mnths that the water even floods high for you to be able to get a shoot like that. In winter douglas dam water release is almost never they uses the water for citys in the surounding area's and the lake's dry up and the lake's are left to a small river about a hundred yards across in most spots......
 
well the only bad thing is that in winter they dont let the water get up that far it's only in the summer mnths that the water even floods high for you to be able to get a shoot like that. In winter douglas dam water release is almost never they uses the water for citys in the surounding area's and the lake's dry up and the lake's are left to a small river about a hundred yards across in most spots......

Ah, thanks for the info. If the chance to shoot it ever comes around, I guess the snakes will just have to get outa my way. ;)

When flooded, how deep is the water? I'm guess in 2 feet of less???
 



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