Mile Post 33 Thompsonville & Fife

Fife Water Tank foundations are almost exactly opposite the new townhomes being built along ValleyBrook Rd. There is a bench and trash can along the Trail - the 4 foundation footers & the central column base are right next to the Trail - just in the edge of the weeds now. It is right where the hillside slopes down and meets the Right-of-Way elevation.

Foundations are just past the trash can on the left side of the trail. Right at the end of the curve.

Looking west - this is the center column base & one of the leg footers is to the right - you can see it is only a few feet off the trail. Page 32 in Gene's first book (The Old Testament) shows the tank taken at about the same photo location as the top photo here. You can see how the old farm lands have filled in with trees - making the scene look entirely different now. You can also see how close to the tracks / trail the tank sat & thus where the foundation footers are still located. The tank was just east of the east end switch for Thompsonville siding & a hundred yards or so west of the turkey farm where the house still stands. 

There was some question whether this tank was moved to the location at Hills Station along the transfer track there - but if it was, the base was rebuilt. Fife had 4 legs - the one at Hills has 6 footers (I am pretty sure I remember - will check it out for sure) The footers are still on the hillside at Hills Station. The water pipe at Hills went under the transfer tracks & the main line and a column with a spout was located next to the main line on the loaded yard side of the tracks. If I remember right - RJ told me that column was a victim of a derailment at one time by one of the senior Lane's. Don't remember if it was RJ's dad or Uncle Jim. Good ol' Page 10 shows a tank at Hills in 1947 but does not list one at Thompsonville - so perhaps it was re-located???
The track chart from 1932 also shows water at Hills but not Fife/Thompsonville
Sorry - kind of drifted away from Fife here.......
Bryan Seip

The water spout was taken out by my dad (R.D. Lane) in a derailment. The cars derailed back by the phone booth and put themselves back on at the main line frog at the west end #4 (the loaded yard and the main track) RJ Lane.