Locomotive Servicing Terminals: Shared or Dedicated?

[fwheadon]

Here in Winnipeg, the Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie (the "Soo Line") had their locomotives serviced at the Canadian Pacific's Arlington Street roundhouse. These "foreign" locomotives ran between Winnipeg and Thief River Falls (first division point south) on Soo trackage via Glenwood to the Twin Cities. This practice evolved as each railway provided power for six-month periods each year for their freight (interchange) trains and for "The Winnipeger" passenger service. The practice included both steam and diesel power.
Great Northern and Northern Pacific power were serviced at the Midland Railway of Manitoba shop in south-west Winnipeg. The parent railways owned 50% of the Midland and both operated passenger trains into Winnipeg, with the GN also running their own power into the city on freight trains. The passenger trains were discontinued in the late 1060s, and the freight service was turned over to Canadian National locomotives and crews and it continues today. The Midland still uses a high-short hood GP9 painted in Heritage I for local switching.

[Anonymous]

My layout and engine terminal is based on this very idea. In Portland Maine up until the 80's there was a local terminal railroad call Portland Terminal. It was owned by both the Maine Central and the Boston & Maine. The yard in So. Portland called Rigby was home to PTM (Portland Terminal)'s S1-S3 switchers, along with Maine Central power that was being serviced. The Maine Central had 2 major routes to the north and east begin at this yard. The Boston & Maine ran to the south down to Boston. All three railroads were always present at any given time.

In 1982-87 the Boston and Maine and the Maine Central merged into Guilford Rail System, thus eliminating the need for a terminal railroad between them.

Josh

[WSOR 3801]

For the C&NW information...

Visit www.cnwhs.org

The Chicago & Northwestern Historical Society has two books out now on locomotive servicing facilites. Most of your questions will most likely be answered.

[dej716]

At NS's (formerly Conrail, formerly ???) Buckeye Yard in Columbus, OH, I've seen just about every modern day railroad and recent fallen flags on their "diesel pad". Sometimes, I see nothing but NS black, sometimes I see anything but. One time, I thought we'd been transported to Omaha -- there was nothing but UP power on the pad.[2c]

[locgg2020]

HB&T Milby Street roundhouse in Houston. In the 50's Santa Fe , Rock Island,FW&DC, and Mopac Psgr. engines were serviced.

[Anonymous]

At Buffalo, the New York Central met the Toronto Hudson & Buffalo (the only place the two met) and Canadian National, all in one spot. I have a picture showing them all in the same yard and roundhouse. Does that answer your question?

[Mark300]

Photos of the WM's yard in Hagerstown MD in the 50's showed B&O and Reading locos fueling and sharing the facilities; both late steam and early diesel. I believe the photo on pg 57 in Marty McGuirck's 'Model Railroader's Guide to Locomotive Servicing Terminals' shows such a scene though it doesn't give the location. There is set of WM 'F' units and a pair of B&O Alco PA's.

Mark

[Anonymous]

I am from Richmond, VA and teh RF&P had a larger facility there. There are photos showing engines from the RF&P, Seaboard Coast Line, Auto Train all at the same facility. After later mergers in the 80's you couls see Seaboard. Family Lines, and Chessie System at the facility, too along with the RF&P locomotives.

[Anonymous]

the trra of st.l.had engine service facilities at 14th street, in downtown saint louis. they were owned by 13 or 14 railroads that came into town. they serviced both steam and diesel. hope this helps. scotty4

[jrbarney]

QUOTE: Originally posted by nobullchitbids

Among sources often overlooked by modelers for the layout of engine-service facilities are older U.S. Geological Survey maps, available in some libraries (especially university libraries). I know that Yale has many of these maps dated around 1950.

I do not know if any of these older maps still are available from the Government, but one could write the Survey in Denver and ask.

As I've noted in some earlier threads, USGS Quadrangle maps are available from Maptech at:
http://historical.maptech.com/index.htm
Hope this helps.
Bob
NMRA Life 0543

[Anonymous]

Pre Conrail, the Bethlehem Pennsylvania Engine terminal was a home for Lehigh Valley RR and a service location for Reading Railroad engines. Also visiting was Lehigh and Hudson River RR.

[kevgos]

If nothing else, explain it away as your home RR leasing the foreign loco's!

[nobullchitbids]

Among sources often overlooked by modelers for the layout of engine-service facilities are older U.S. Geological Survey maps, available in some libraries (especially university libraries). I know that Yale has many of these maps dated around 1950.

I do not know if any of these older maps still are available from the Government, but one could write the Survey in Denver and ask.

[WmRBerg]

I see numerous railroads represented here in the BNSF Interbay Yard in Seattle. CSX, NS, Montana Raillink, CN, Amtrak, even UP now and then which has a small Intermodel yard south of Interbay. I model this yard and it's costing me a fortune! Everytime I see a different road here I just HAVE TO HAVE that on my layout as wel!!

[danahu]

Springfield, MA engine terminal on the New Haven's line from New Haven and Hartford, CT played host to both Boston & Maine and NH power; very colorful and interesting in the 1950s and 1960s.

[Pennsy58]

The Altoona shops in Pa. now run by NS have a lot of foreign power coming and going. I recall seeing an engine for the Alaska RR there for work.

[orsonroy]

The P&PU was/is the belt railray around the Peoria area. Their main engine service area, Roundhouse #1 near Bridge Junction, serviced their own fleet of steam and diesel switchers, as well as those of several roads: NKP, PRR, P&E (NYC), C&IM, IC, GM&O. In addition, due to the congestion of the area and the high levels of interchange traffic, you could see motive power for several other roads passing next to the ready tracks: C&NW, CB&Q, TP&W, PT Co., and Rock Island.

[ndbprr]

Pennsy Power 2 has a shot at Cincy with Baldwin passenger units of the PRR, L&N, C&O and PRR E units, N&W J, CUT steam switcher and several other engines I don't remember.

[whitman500]

Thanks for the info. This answered my question.

[jimrice4449]

Two more examples. Cincinnatti was host to C&O, N&W, B&O, PRR, L&N,and SR. I don't recall ever seeing a pic w/ all of them in the same shot, but there were lots with varying quantities of engines you might not expect to see together.
The IC psgr eng terminal in downtown Chicago was frequently host to a C&O Mike. With the smokebox mounted air pumps and feedwater heater and the Vanderbilt tender it sure stood out among all of the IC's rather "plain Jane' engines.

[Anonymous]

Foreign power also could be found at an engine terminal when:

--There were power pooling or run-through arrangements with the other road(s). These practices accounted for many foreign-road units at Union Pacific's North Platte diesel servicing facilities over the years;

--The foreign road(s) had trackage rights or overhead rights over the home road, which included the right to have power serviced at the home road's terminal. For many years, Soo Line had such an arrangement with Milwaukee Road in Milwaukee. I've seen many photos of Soo 4-8-2s, F units, Geeps and its sole SD9 at MILW's West Milwaukee engine terminal.

--Use of the engine terminal by foreign power may be incident to use of a union passenger station. Again using Milwaukee as an example, after the Milwaukee Union Station was completed in 1965, it was common to see CNW passenger power at the West Milwaukee (Milw. Road) engine terminal for turning and servicing.

[whitman500]

A quick question for the experts:

Were locomotive servicing facilities ever shared by more than one railroad (i.e., would you see locomotives from different roads parked next to each other in the same roundhouse)?

Where can I find out information on the locations of major servicing terminals? I'm particularly interested in the CB&Q and C&NW. Thanks.