Old Railway Line Furniture

[twomax]

While out walking along a disused railway line recently, I saw a couple of these things at the side of where the tracks would once have been.

I suspect they may have been sources of water for locomotives, but I'd appreciate if you guys could confirm this or otherwise and give me any further info in relation to their use, what they would have looked like intact, etc.

Thanks! :-?

 

[PinzaC55]

It looks suspiciously new for an "old" closed line? It also looks like a gas outlet for a landfill site.

 

[twomax]

I'm pretty sure it's water, as there was a length of hose lying next to it which doesn't appear to have been used for a while either.
I found another one of these about half a mile away from this one.

Both are on what was originally the Scottish Midland Junction Railway between Stanley Junction, north of Perth, and Forfar. It was later taken over by the Caledonian Railway and was closed completely in 1982, so I suppose it's not that 'old'.

Cheers

 

[Bon Accord]

The valve/flange/bolts/pie look too modern to be steam age.
Was it near/in an old station and was/is there a tank nearby?
If not, then it won't be part of an old water column. Due to the volume of water required to refill a steam loco, to rely on the mains pressure would have taken forever to fill the tank, hence why most/all water columns were connected to a large storage tank which would always either be in a station/yard or on shed.
Perhaps it's a water standpoint connected to a main which is used by farmers to water the fields in Summer.

 

[PinzaC55]

I'm pretty sure it's water, as there was a length of hose lying next to it which doesn't appear to have been used for a while either.
I found another one of these about half a mile away from this one.

Both are on what was originally the Scottish Midland Junction Railway between Stanley Junction, north of Perth, and Forfar. It was later taken over by the Caledonian Railway and was closed completely in 1982, so I suppose it's not that 'old'.

Cheers

The fact that you found another on half a mile is more evidence against it being a water column. These were almost invariably at stations for obvious reasons and would be about 20 miles apart.
Part of the reason I thought it might be a landfill gas release pip is because the flange appears to be stainless steel. Occasionally they are lit to burn off the gas and SS would protect the end of the pipe against corrosion.

 

[Zamracene749]

It looks like a female bauer (ball and socket type) coupling to me.

These are normally used for low integrity hose connections eg for land pumps/ fire water/ slurry where slight leakage is less of an issue than speed of connection.

Any idea what the railway was last used for?

Was there a colliery/ sewage farm or such nearby?

 

[twomax]

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions - I've now learned that these are water outlets connected to underground pipes installed by the local farmer to help water the land and have nothing to do with the railway.
Thanks for your time anyway!