Water troughs between the rails were a common part of the steam era in the UK, allowing locomotives to replenish their tenders on the fly. However, they never really caught on here in North America. I was wondering why? Were they just too wasteful and hard to keep from freezing in the winter? Which railroads experimented with them over here? I seem to recall seeing a picture of a New York Central train running over a trough. Are there any preservation groups either here or in the UK operating with a demonstration water trough?

Thanks.

In my neighborhood near Pennsylvania, the PRR, Reading, and PRSL (former PRR controlled portion) had troughs. The B&O used the RDG trough when their equipped locos were running on that portion of a through trip.

This has been hashed over here more than once, and on the NY Central forums elswhere. There is a website that has more than you want to know about the subject, and I can't remember the URL. If you search under "track pans" or "taking water on the fly" you might find the old archives. The New York Central used them extensively.

While I'm not too sure if this is the REAL answer, I was told in the early '90s by a Lackawanna Railroader that the DL&W didn't use track pans because there were too many hills, and keeping a pan full on a hill was difficult. Very few curved track pans existed, also, and in much of the USA, at least, most rail lines involve hills and curves.