Grand Trunk Western Coaling Tower (Tipple)
…After the Civil War, railroads began to burn coal. In Michigan, local coal was mined in several areas including Saginaw and Jackson. The coal from southern Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia was superior to coal found locally and this was mined and transported to Michigan. This coal was stocked in piles and coal shutes(sic) in towns where trains originated or where yard engines switched rail yards and industrial spurs. But the larger railroads such as the Michigan Central, Pere Marquette and the Grand Trunk had on-line coaling towers which straddles the main tracks so that the locomotives of through trains could simply pull under, load a new tender of coal, and proceed with minimal delay…
For more information on Coaling and Fueling See:
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A coaling tower, coal stage or coaling station is a facility used to load coal as fuel into railway steam locomotives. Coaling towers were often sited at motive power depots or locomotive maintenance shops.
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Coaling Towers, Keeping Steam Locomotives Fueled
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This Coaling Tower (Tipple) was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on 09/06/2016 with a reference number of 16000583:
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Inscription on Information Kiosk:
The coal tipple is a concrete structure that is not only recognizable as a
monument of the Grand Haven skyline, but as a vestige of the railroad era
that played a major role in the development of the Tri-Cities.
Seated at the mouth of the Grand River, Grand Haven became a major port
for transporting passengers and freight and propelled the development of
the railroad system and stations in the area. The railroad was synonymous
with prosperity as it improved accessibility and communications, and the
train depot became the social and business center of town. The coal tipple
was built in 1925, an expensive endeavor that only the most prosperous
railroads could afford to build.
Railroad freight cars, also known as hopper cars, were loaded with coal
and pushed under the tipple’s arches. The coal was dumped into a large pit
beneath the rails and conveyed to the storage vault at the top of the tower.
The coal could then be loaded into the coal car behind the engine through
metal chutes on either side of the tower. Two trains could be loaded at one
time.
The coal tipple is the only structure of its kind in Michigan that is readily
accessible to the public. It remains an historic resource of our community,
and in 1994, was placed on the Grand Haven Historic Register.