XPost: rec.arts.sf.written, rec.arts.sf.science   
   From: genew@telus.net   
      
   On Mon, 03 Feb 2014 06:32:28 -0700, Greg Goss  wrote:   
      
   >"J. Clarke"  wrote:   
   >   
   >>Lots of towns came into existence because of the railroad.  Steam trains   
   >>needed watering stops every so many miles and there was a station with a   
   >>water tower at each of those locations.  The people who worked there   
   >>brought their families and there had to be services sufficient to   
   >>provide for their needs so towns grew up.  But few of them became large.   
   >>The railroads weren't built to service them, they were built to service   
   >>the railroads.   
   >   
   >How much staff does it take to service a watering stop?   
   >   
   >One of BC's major freeways is across the coast range along the   
   >Coquihalla River.  The freeway was built along the path of a   
   >now-defunct former steam train line.   
      
        The Kettle Valley Railway.   
      
   >There are "station names" announced along the highway, with various   
   >shakespearean names.  I presume that these were water stops.  As a   
      
        There was more to it than that.  Track maintenance was done from   
   them.   
      
   >very steep run, I expect that the Kettle Valley Railway over this   
   >route needed a LOT of water, and I presume that these names reflect   
   >former watering stops.  But there is no sign of a town or former town.   
      
        Brookmere, 43 Km from Merritt, is the only one I can think of. It   
   is not on the Coq, but is about 5 Km off it as the crow flies.   
      
   >Would these stops need ANY staff, or would someone just have to come   
   >by and check the water feed into the tanks every couple of weeks?   
      
        Yes, for track maintenance.  For much of the KVR, access would   
   have been by train.   
      
   Sincerely,   
      
   Gene Wirchenko   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)