Silent Monoliths: The Coaling Tower Project

A beautifully arresting photographic record of North American coaling towers, which once fueled steam locomotives and powered the country.

A fine art photography must-have for railroad enthusiasts and anyone interested in the industrial golden era.

In 1906, America commenced a major railroad modernization project, driven by massive industrial era investment and development. A lasting symbol of this time in history remains today: the imposing coaling towers that pepper the country and which once held the coal that powered steam locomotives. Over the course of five years and 20,000 miles, photographer Jeff Brouws documented these towers. Silent Monoliths tells their story.

The towers, built of concrete, a modern material with historical roots traceable to the Roman aqueducts, were constructed to replace aging (and less fire-retardant and less efficient) wooden coaling wharves and chutes. As the railroads transitioned from steam to diesel in the late 1940s and throughout the 1950s, most of these coaling towers slipped into obsolescence—some demolished, others “retired-in-place” and left standing. As a result of the latter, many examples of these sculptural, architectonic remnants of industrial brawn stand in silence across North America—from Flomaton, Alabama, to the northernmost reaches of Ontario, Canada; as far west as Glenns Ferry, Idaho, to the eastern seaboard in New Haven, Connecticut.

Essays from industrial and railroad historian John Hankey and art historian Marcella Hackbardt illuminate the significance of these otherworldly relics. In the spirit of Hilla and Bernd Becher, Brouws’ photographic portfolio presents over 105 examples of these austere monoliths, conveying their unique place in cultural history.