Friday Facts and Fotos – 14 28 October ’22
The water tower is the well-known landmark just inside the main gate entrance to the workshops in Champion Road. It was constructed as part of the original workshops and opened in December 1888. It provided a reservoir of water at high head initially to supply fire-fighting hydrants and later connected to the fire sprinkler system throughout the workshops.
The tower was originally designed to also serve as a store. The ground floor saw regular use as a store for flammable fuels and lubricants. My brother-in-law worked there in the 1970’s as a storeman. This store provided fuel and oils for every vehicle and machine in the whole workshops. The four upper floors provided storage for little-used items that didn’t require regular access. Each floor has a doorway on the north side, for personnel access on the ground floor, and for hoisting up goods to the upper levels. A series of steep internal iron ladders give access to the upper floors. A separate iron ladder runs from the top floor up through a narrow cylindrical tube built into the tank, to give access to the top of the tank.
The 100,000-gallon tank is made of riveted steel plates, and has a deeply dished base. A large cast-iron pipe extends centrally from the base to connect with the mains below ground level. This large pipe also acts as a central support column for the upper floors. All upper floors have a rectangular hole adjacent to the loading doorway, permitting loads to be hoisted within the building as well as outside.
The tower is 12 metres diameter at ground level. The walls are 2’3″ at the base reducing to 1’1″ at the top. The masonry tower is 60 feet high, plus another 16 feet to the top of the tank. This 76 feet high tower is a prominent major local landmark and could provide excellent views of the city and down the bay to Mt Matha and the Geelong area. The tower could become a major feature of a future Railworks rail heritage precinct.
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