Here is  a  page from the Bulletin No. 15 from Roberts and Schaefer Co. of Chicago. Bulletin dates Circa 1912. Photo date 1909 Holmen Type Elevating capacity 75 tons per hour. Storage capacity 500 tons. 36 foot receiving hopper. Steam power. Coaling facilities on two tracks. On of two holmen plants on this road.

 
The C. C. C. & St Louis Railway was organized through consolidation of other lines in 1889. It was head quartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, at 105 S. Meridian St. The building was originally known as the Big Four Building, and is now a hotel. New York Central Railroad acquired the Big Four in 1906. For specifics you can check this website - http://madisonrails.railfan.net/bigfour.html -



 
 

"We are always in advance of other engineers when it comes to improvements in the handling of coal... We claim the credit of promoting and bringing to its high point of efficiency, the Holmen or Balanced Bucket Type of Locomotive Coaling Station..." Roberts and Schaefer Co.  Consulting Engineers and Contractors Old Colony Building Chicago, U.S.A. Coaling stations/towers were designed to fuel steam locomotives.  They came in all sizes and shapes.  Some were behemoth structures, while others consisted of a pile of coal, and a power shovel along a sidetrack. In the 19th and early 20th century, coaling stations were an integral part of every railroad. There were numerous coal stations; most towns with locally based locomotives had some type of coal facility.  There were also coaling stations located at intervals along routes, so that locomotives of through trains could fill up quickly, and maintain their schedules. Some were combined with water and sand holding structures. The introduction of diesel locomotives, led to the replacement or abandonment of these structures, and the use of  smaller overhead tanks holding diesel fuel.

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