Steam Loco Tenders - Extended Bunkers

[engineeral]

It looks like most of the DAR ten-wheelers (at least) had coal bunkers extended with wood planks. Was there a problem with coaling facilities only being available at some locations? Lots of other railways did fine without extended bunkers. Or was this a CPR practice also? Even then they knew that dragging around extra fuel wasted steam.

BTW, where were the coaling facilities around, say, 1940?

[Dan Conlin]

Good question. I have always wondered about those towering wooden tender extensions - which are very annoying to add to a model. It seems to have been a CPR thing as I have seen them photographed on other CPR branchline operations. I wonder if larger locomotives needed bigger coaling facilities so the DAR cut the smaller coaling facilities at places like Annapolis Royal and Windsor. Coaling by 1940 was - I think - only done at Halifax (from the CNR), Kentville and Yarmouth. I'd like to hear what others think.
It has always amazed me that the DAR got by without any coaling towers until 1940 when they built the one at Kentville. I guess bucket loading was OK for 4-4-0s.

Dan Conlin

[Frogmore]

During the 1940's and early 1950's the two wayfreights met and spent the night at Annapolis Royal. Coaling of the two D-10's was accomplished by positioning a gondola of coal on an elevated ramp beside the locomotive and shoveling the coal into the tenders by hand! Hostler at the time was Roy Acker and with the assistance of his two sons they often moved as much as 12 tons by this method!

Doug