MHM Former CPR Water Tower - Glenboro MB - Manitoba Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

A replica of the water tower is beside the plaque. The original was even closer to the railway tracks about 100 meters southeast of this plaque.
In September, 1996, this tower was declared a provincial heritage site as one of the few remaining water towers in Canada. The plaque was placed in 2000. Unfortunately, in April, 2008, vandals set a fire that destroyed the water tower. It was 104 years old when it was destroyed.

Marker Name: Former Canadian Pacific Railway Water Tower-Glenboro Agency: Manitoba Heritage Council Languages: English, French Location: Park Railway Avenue opposite Duncan Street Glenboro, Manitoba Marker Text: Former Canadian Pacific Railway Water Tower-Glenboro This octagonal wooden railway tower is a rare vestige from the age of the steam-powered locomotive. This design, the Standard No. 1 Plan, was pioneered by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) in 1903 to replace the low, round, wooden water tower in use since 1882. It quickly became part of the Manitoba landscape, with 75 water towers constructed by the CPR from 1904 to 1925. Towers, pumphouses, coal sheds, and sidings were constructed approximately every 50 miles (80 kilometres), the distance a steam locomotive could safely travel between water refills. Constructed in 1904, the Glenboro structure is the best surviving example of an intact, fully-equipped water tower in Manitoba. The adjacent pumphouse fed water to the tank inside the water tower. A coal-burning boiler powered an interior water pump and prevented the water in the tank from freezing. In 1939 this pumping mechanism was replaced by an electric motor and pump installed inside the tower. A ball, or "float", glided along a pole atop the tower to indicate the level of the water in the tank. The cedar water tank, with a capacity of 40,000 gallons (181,840 litres) of water, rests upon a framework of large wooden support timbers. By the late 1950s, the railway companies converted to diesel-powered locomotives which made the water structures obsolete. This tower once stored the community water supply for the Village of Glenboro. Website: [Web Link] Link to HistoricPlaces.ca or mhs.mb.ca: [Web Link]

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Date Logged Log User Rating   09/27/2011 PeterNoG visited it