Chatsworth - Water tower??

A friend of mine states there's the remains of what he believe is possibly a water tower close to the tracks just west of Chatsworth. Did the CNJ have a water tower in the vicinity of Chatsworth?

Thanks

Ken

I've never heard of a tower there but it's possible. The Trail of the Blue Comet has Chatsworth station being 18.4 miles south of Lakeurst, where there was a water tower pretty much from the first construction of the line. I wouldn't think another one would be needed so close.

As soon as you go southwest of the current station site you start to hit remnants of the DeMarco cranberry operation recenty abandoned. Something there could be mistaken for a tower foundation. Any better description of the specific location? I'm certainly curious.

Ken, German--On page 198 in the book "The Trail of the Blue Comet" you will see a picture of a water tower across from the Chatsworth Station. The station used to be close to the crossing in the center of town and since has been moved back further down the line where a private individual now owns it and lives there. Hope this helps.

Thanks for the replies.

I did see the station way back in 1990 in its new location. I didn't see any tower or remains of a tower though. I will find out more.

Thanks David. I just checked that pic and it is clear as day. I wonder if that is the foundation that Ken's friend found, or something else further back in the woods. Do you know if the station was in the area where the firehouse now is, or on the other side of Rt 563?

Going back to the random guesses in my previous post, does anyone know how far apart water towers would have been located? Or did they just build them wherever they could, so water would always be a short distance away when tenders needed filling?

German,

In early Novemeber, we are going to take a look at it if not sooner. If you or anyone else is in the area sooner, please show us a picture if you don't mind. I will be doing the same.

Thanks

German wrote:
.........Going back to the random guesses in my previous post, does anyone know how far apart water towers would have been located? Or did they just build them wherever they could, so water would always be a short distance away when tenders needed filling?

Water tower locations were more or less set on where the demand would be greatest. I know that sounds obvious,but the railroads didn't build or maintian any structure willy-nilly. The operating conditions were taken into account, as the harder an engine was working, the more water they would use. So if you had condition where trains were working against a ruling grade or running at high speed in passenger service, the water supplies would be set at locations for taking on water as safety concerns and equiupment would allow. Time frames of operation would also be a factor, as the earlier steam engines would have smaller capacity tenders,so there might be watering facilites that were taken out of operation as the tender capacities increased. The water tower at Chatsworth is an interesting item, as it's not really that far from Lakehurst (18 miles) or from Winslow Jct, which is only 20 miles down the road. There seems to be no logical reason for a watering faclility at Chatsworth other than it being halfway in between the above mentioned points. Even if working very hard, a CNJ Ten wheeler or Mike would be good for more than 20 miles on a tender full. A more logical location would be Atsion where there used to be a junction with the line that came from Atco .

Steam man wrote:

German wrote:
.........Going back to the random guesses in my previous post, does anyone know how far apart water towers would have been located? Or did they just build them wherever they could, so water would always be a short distance away when tenders needed filling?

Water tower locations were more or less set on where the demand would be greatest. I know that sounds obvious,but the railroads didn't build or maintian any structure willy-nilly. The operating conditions were taken into account, as the harder an engine was working, the more water they would use. So if you had condition where trains were working against a ruling grade or running at high speed in passenger service, the water supplies would be set at locations for taking on water as safety concerns and equiupment would allow. Time frames of operation would also be a factor, as the earlier steam engines would have smaller capacity tenders,so there might be watering facilites that were taken out of operation as the tender capacities increased. The water tower at Chatsworth is an interesting item, as it's not really that far from Lakehurst (18 miles) or from Winslow Jct, which is only 20 miles down the road. There seems to be no logical reason for a watering faclility at Chatsworth other than it being halfway in between the above mentioned points. Even if working very hard, a CNJ Ten wheeler or Mike would be good for more than 20 miles on a tender full. A more logical location would be Atsion where there used to be a junction with the line that came from Atco .

It does show the tower in Chatsworth on pg 198 as Dave had mentioned.

I understand about the grade as the issue. There were water towers here in Sussex County to accomodate the NYS&W up these grades like Beaver Lake and Sparta.