Background information:
Waspik station (1886), part of the now defunct Halve Zolen line in North-Brabant, had a brick water tower. Water towers were often built this way in the Netherlands, they were meant to supply water to steam locomotives.
The towers were supplied with water by a specially drilled waterhole nearby. A pump was needed to actually get the water up into the tower. The transfer of water from the tower to the locomotives simply was done with a hose and gravity did the rest. It was essential that the reservoir in the tower was located higher than the reservoirs of the steam locomotives.
Architectural details:
The water tower is completely masoned in brick bond. Only brick walls (c.a. 20cm thick) were strong enough to hold the multi-ton tank actually seven meters above ground level. Bricklaying was a proven method for building strong towers, while steel was at that time more expensive than masonry. The reservoirs were sometimes made of wood but in this case of steel.
The ground floor consists of one room where they kept the necessary attributes, such as hoses and spare parts. The upper level was almost completely filled with the reservoir and around it a narrow space between the outer walls and the reservoir, so that a mechanic could approach.
