Semper Vaporo,
I've enjoyed your posts and hard work gathering all of this information in one spot. Until a couple months ago, I thought I was the only one looking for old roundhouses and turntable locations. In my spare time at night, I get on Google Earth and follow the rails until I find one, then put a pin in it. During a search for some town I thought there should be a roundhouse foundation in, I came across this thread and your files. Nice!
I think I have a few U.S. locations not in your list. Would it be O.K. to post them here?
Thanks again.
MR.
HEY! A kindred spirit! I felt the same way, that I was alone in my interests until I started this thread and others joined in.
Please, post your findings here. I will add them to my list and update the ones I have on-line.
Although I am no longer as actively looking for them as I once was I have a couple to add to the posted lists, also! This would be a good excuse to make a major update to the lists.
Semper Vaporo
Pkgs.
MossRoadI think I have a few U.S. locations not in your list. Would it be O.K. to post them here?
There is almost no better place.
(And incidentally, this is a good example of when you would re-activate a 'zombie' thread rather than start up a new one with the same general topic. This thread may not be as Wagnerian as a K.P.Harrier two-tracking thread, but it shares the same desirable continuity in one place...)
MossRoad Semper Vaporo, I've enjoyed your posts and hard work gathering all of this information in one spot. Until a couple months ago, I thought I was the only one looking for old roundhouses and turntable locations. In my spare time at night, I get on Google Earth and follow the rails until I find one, then put a pin in it. During a search for some town I thought there should be a roundhouse foundation in, I came across this thread and your files. Nice! I think I have a few U.S. locations not in your list. Would it be O.K. to post them here? Thanks again. My grandfather ran a Roundhouse in Clintonville, WI and my Mom, who is 98, can probably tell me where it was - but certainly no geographic coordinates. How should I proceed to get it a place on your database? Mary
My grandfather ran a Roundhouse in Clintonville, WI and my Mom, who is 98, can probably tell me where it was - but certainly no geographic coordinates. How should I proceed to get it a place on your database?
Mary
Personal recollections are not usually acceptable, but if there is any corroborative evidence then it sure helps to have someone that can remember the general location.
One anecdote was that the turntable was right at the end of a certain street. There was absolutely no evidence left on the ground that a railroad ever serviced the town. But what clinched it was that there a photo of a house with the roundhouse in the background. I was able to find the same house on Google Earth’s “Street View” and could determine where the roundhouse used to be by adjusting the Street View position to nearly the same point view of the house in the photo. Then I could triangulate that view with the anecdotal evidence that the turntable was at the end of that certain street.
I have included others because there was evidence from other sources (other than the generally available satellite views such as Google Earth). Sanborn maps (fire insurance mapping) have provided some evidence and some “city plat maps” have provided other evidence.
If someone knows a general location, please list what is remembered here and I (or others) will do some searches of the available documentation of the area involved and we will see if we can find it. It certainly helps to have knowledge of the place to know where to start looking! But, understand, it sometimes takes a long time to do the searches,so it is not something that will get added in just a few days (or months!).
Looking at Clintonville, WI, I can see where a RR used to come in from the Southeast and another from the Northeast, and possibly where one might have entered from the west. I can see where an East/West oriented railyard might have been, and where there might have been a North/South yard. A Roundhouse might have been in or near either of those, but I'd need to know which yard and where within the yard the Roundhouse was. Triangulation off of known streets helps, too. (Like: "If you drove south on 'X' street, you would be looking directly at the turntable"). Other evidence can help too, (Like: "The city built the present municipal water tower right in the middle of the turntable pit", etc.) All information helps.
Semper Vaporo HEY! A kindred spirit! I felt the same way, that I was alone in my interests until I started this thread and others joined in. Please, post your findings here. I will add them to my list and update the ones I have on-line. Although I am no longer as actively looking for them as I once was I have a couple to add to the posted lists, also! This would be a good excuse to make a major update to the lists.
Thanks. I'll try to put them in a usable format to google earth before I post them. May take a few days.
I've used the Historical Imagery time slider in google earth quite extensively to see things that are long gone. I'll put a year next to the coordinates to help folks see the images that I'm seeing where applicable.
For example, in lots of visible images from current dates, we can only see that telltale wagon-wheel pattern from a roundhouse foundation. If we slide back the historical image control in google earth, the turntable may appear 10-15 years ago, and farther back in time, the roundhouse is still standing.
As I was going through your list and collating it with mine, I was updating the push pins in my KMZ file for google earth to go to those dates where things were most visible. Its kind of nice to just click on a location and watch time run backwards.
Anyhow, thanks for the links and I'll hope to be posting soon.
MR
The one at the old Burnham shops in Denver you have listed is now being moved to the IL Railway Museum at Union IL for installation there. They made a huge announcement that they bought it and where going to install it up there. 130 footer and the Steam shop is already to dig a hole for it.
MossRoad Here's my first attempt. Alabama through Colorado. There's some items that aren't roundhouses, or turntables (like the Pike's Peak RR and some tunnels), but they might be intersting to someone. xxxxxxxxxxx
What follows is what you listed with my research about it. Some I have already, but I used a different name. We can discuss which name is more appropriate (I have changed many in the past... i just picked what I found to be the closest name on Google Earth and was sometimes way off base!)
A couple need more research or the opinions of others (majority rules unless someone has hard evidence!) Discussion is invited!
I did add some your your interesting places to another list I have but I am keeping this public list as strictly RR Roundhouses, turntables and transfer tables.
Thanks!
I knew some of the ones had different names. The names I used I got from the closest address I could find. Not too concerned about that. Most of the ones I found that you already had I changed in my list, but there's hundreds, so hey! I was cross-eyed by about the 2nd month into it. hahaha
CA, Los Angeles, TT 1994 34.10123441 N 118.2413583 W
If you scroll the Historical Imagery slider back to 1994 in Google Earth, the turntable and tracks are visible. At least I think that's a turntable and tracks. The next image is 2003 and the TT is gone by then.
Regarding CA, Los Angeles, TT 1994 34.10123441 N 118.2413583 W
As for Pike's Peak, no, no roundhouse or TT. Just an interesting cog railway. My wife and I rode that cog railway back around 1992. It winds all over the place up the mountain. Really neat. Anyone out that way should ride it if they have the chance. It was 70 degrees at the bottom and about 5 degrees and a blizzard at the top. Great scenery.
As for changes, I'll let you know when I'm done with everything I have. I'd hate to be a pest and keep saying "Oops, here's another one." Thanks for maintianing this list.
Semper Vapero CA, Los Angeles, TT and RH pre1994 34.0191324 N 118.225864 W I have this listed as in; Redondo, CA. (Not Redondo Beach either, but I have no idea where I got Redondo; again it might be from some else's data.)
I have this listed as in; Redondo, CA. (Not Redondo Beach either, but I have no idea where I got Redondo; again it might be from some else's data.)
This is in the Amtrak maintenence facility adjacent to Redondo Junction, presumably because the Santa Fe's line to Redondo Beach split off there.
Here's what I have for Georgia through Louisiana...
NorthWest Semper Vapero CA, Los Angeles, TT and RH pre1994 34.0191324 N 118.225864 W I have this listed as in; Redondo, CA. (Not Redondo Beach either, but I have no idea where I got Redondo; again it might be from some else's data.)
CA, Los Angeles, TT and RH pre1994 34.0191324 N 118.225864 W I have this listed as in; Redondo, CA. (Not Redondo Beach either, but I have no idea where I got Redondo; again it might be from some else's data.)
Shadow the Cats owner The one at the old Burnham shops in Denver you have listed is now being moved to the IL Railway Museum at Union IL for installation there. They made a huge announcement that they bought it and where going to install it up there. 130 footer and the Steam shop is already to dig a hole for it.
Is it the Turntable or the Transfer table being moved? I will note it in my comments in the Excel file.
It is the turntable that is being transferred.
Also, it's a Southwest plane. They only fly 737s.
I really should have done this a long time ago... save everyone from having to suggest possible locations and me from having to then go verify them only to find I already have them... maybe easier to check whether I have the correct names, too.
I posted my Google Earth KMZ file so anyone can download and add it to their Google Earth installation...
http://1stclass.mylargescale.com/sempervaporo/Trainsdotcom/U.S.%20RR%20Roundhouses.kmz
This is just the U.S. file and has all of my updates, up to just a few of MossRoad's second set of additions (still working on them!)... but I have not updated the PDF or Excel files yet. I will finish checking MR's additions and then update ALL of the files and re-list how to get them in another post to this thread. (I will also export the non-U.S. KMZ file then too.)
LA, Shreveport, TT and RH foundation 32.50661316 N 93.73532811 W
Listed as "Shreveport, LA".
I will go update all the files now and post again when they are ready.
Here are links to 5 files for the Roundhouse and Turntable data.
Excel spreadsheet file (XML). This contains all the data in 2 sheets in one file. Click the tab at the bottom of the Excel window to select U.S. or non-U.S. data:
http://1stclass.mylargescale.com/sempervaporo/Trainsdotcom/Roundhouse%20and%20Turntables.xls
The Non-U.S. data is duplicated in two files. One is a printable PDF text file:
http://1stclass.mylargescale.com/sempervaporo/Trainsdotcom/Non%20US%20Roundhouses%20and%20Turntables.pdf
The other is a Google Earth KMZ file:
http://1stclass.mylargescale.com/sempervaporo/Trainsdotcom/Non-U.S.%20RR%20Roundhouses.kmz
The U.S. data is also duplicated in two files. One is a printable PDF text file:
http://1stclass.mylargescale.com/sempervaporo/Trainsdotcom/US%20Roundhouses%20and%20Turntables.pdf
Use them as you see fit.
That jet is too funny. Thanks.
That geodesic dome may have been some sort of rail car repair facility(tank cars come to mind, for some reason). I thought I recalled seeing another domed one somewhere else as well.
Regarding an earlier post:
Added.
and from the latest post:
ME, Brownville Jct, RH foundation 45.34863338 N 69.05828724 W
Added... funny how the foundation doesn't show up on earlier images.
ME, Calais, TT and RH 2007 45.17718633 N 67.29252557 W
I have this as “Milltown, ME”. I suppose the river is the separation between the towns. It just seems so far from Calais and much closer to Milltown. Does anybody know for sure?
ME, Hermon, TT and RH 2004 44.7904421 N 68.86536844 W
I have this as "Northern Maine Jct, ME"... it seems to be mid way between Mermon and Bangor. I am sure that what I have is the RR name for the location, but I don't know which of the other names actually to use.
ME, Houlton, TT and RH 1996 46.12506422 N 67.84938843 W
Already listed.
MI, Detroit, RH foundation 2002 42.41111969 N 83.03679887 W
Added...
This was the Ottawa Yard just north of Toledo. I’ve read a couple stories about a roundhouse in this yard, but cannot find a trace of it. Anyone else know?
MI, Erie, Ottawa Yard, RH somewhere in here? 41.76873131 N 83.51928061 W
Not confirmed. The 1993 image does sort of show a couple of concentric circles, but I have been fooled by "sort of" before.
MN, Currie, TT and Engine house, EndOLine RR Park and Museum 44.07527084 N 95.66551415 W
Added... is this a museum? I see a steam loco, but the track is really short and goes nowhere!
Another one I read a story about, but no confirmation
MN, Melrose, RH and TT foundations 1991 unconfirmed 45.68101119 N 94.82464068 W
Another of those "Sort of" looks. More info needed to confirm it.
MO, Chillicothe, RH and TT foundations 2012 39.79170137 N 93.54118923 W
This one really bothers me. The earlier images show nothing... even show the area as having been plowed and smoothed, yet the 2012 image shows a vague outline and radial pattern. But the radial pattern is not as round as it should be, nor do all the radials point at the center. I need more "proof"... anybody else have an opinion? I will concede to the majority!
MO, Kansas City, Turntable Knoche/Joint Agency 39.12977943 N 94.54297421 W
MT, Malta, RH and TT foundations 48.39658523 N 107.5970476 W
I have this as Bodoin, MT... I have no idea why! Probably from someone else's database. I do see a Bowdoin Rd on the south side of the tracks.
ND, Grand Forks, Roundhouse and Turntable 47.9178129 N 97.045741 W
Already have it.
NE, Mitchell, Transfer Table 41.93288279 N 103.8828472 W
Added... but where did you get the name Mitchell?
NH, Berlin, Engine house unconfirmed 1994 44.4746852 N 71.16727823 W
Unconfirmed.
NJ, Landing, TT and RH foundations 40.9044637 N 74.68259774 W
Listed as "Port Morris, NJ". I don't know where I got the name, but there is a church nearby named "Port Morris United Methodist Church". And a "park" named, "River Saint Row/Port Morris Pa"... (but this is no where near Pennsylvania!).
NY, Bronx, TT foundation 1995 40.80766651 N 73.89860109 W
Listed as "Barretto Cove, NY"... I don't know why!
NY, Lackawanna, RH 42.81431368 N 78.83627558 W
This one you have a question mark by pit? Scroll back to 7/23/2009 and its pretty clear.
NY, Buffalo, TT and RH foundations 2009 42.87853312 N 78.82007517 W
Took the ? out.
Not relative, but old steam engine and snowplow
NY, Croghan, RR Society of Northern NY, Steam engine and snow plow 43.89378235 N 75.39249007 W
N/A
Could be a TT or could be an oil tank. Not confirmed. Anyone got info on it?
NY, Long Island City, TT foundation 1994 40.75141925 N 73.92727646 W
Not confirmed.
NY, Selkirk, RH and TT foundations 2004 42.54129876 N 73.81932561 W
Listed as "South Albany, NY". Probably the name of the Rail yard there.
OH, Akron, RH foundation 41.08619418 N 81.48825989 W
Added, but I see no evidence of a TT... may have just been a switched fan of tracks to an engine house.
OH, Brewster, Transfer Table 40.71746646 N 81.60461885 W
OH, Cincinnati, TT and RH foundation pre 1994 39.146075 N 84.54264796 W
OH, Conneaut, RH foundation 1993 41.94729836 N 80.56851066 W
OH, Flushing, RH foundation 1994 40.15652984 N 81.11781532 W
Listed as “Holloway, OH”… where’d you get Flushing.
OH, Hubbard, TT and RH foundations 2005 41.16654947 N 80.58548261 W
This is another unconfirmed TT or oil tank. Anyone know?
Unrelated, but interesting, look at the tracks to the south and north of this location over many years with the slider. Someone is scrapping out hundreds of locos.
OH, McDonald, TT foundation 2005 41.17087956 N 80.73257138 W
Unconfirmed. Telltale marks on the ground move around too much from year to year, in relation to the tracks and other things.
OH, Montpelier, RH foundation 41.57835298 N 84.60899127 W
This one is listed on yours as Toledo. I think it’s Northwood, OH, which may just be a suburb of Toledo? I don’t know….
OH, Northwood, RH foundation 2004 41.61170737 N 83.51769467 W
“Oregon” and “Walbridge” are just about as close. Need some consensus or comments by those that live there.
OH, Van Wert, RH and TT foundations 2012 40.87611951 N 84.58891016 W
Oopsies! I had that in Indiana! (Sorry to insult the folk in both states!)
OR, Hermiston, TT 45.79545258 N 119.3004557 W
Listed as “Hinkle, OR”. Probably the RR name.
This one is on your list as Portland, OR but I think it’s across the river from Portland, OR in WA state in a town called Vancouver, WA. What’s interesting about this turn table is it was at this location before 2014, then they moved it about 250 yards northwest across the highway in 2014. I’ll put them with my WA items when I get there.
USA OR Portland 45° 38' 58"N 122° 41' 10"W
That got fixed before, but I don’t remember just when. Dunno about the move, but I see it in images from 2000. Looks like they were preparing to install it in 1990.
Just need some others to chime in on some of the unconfirmed ones.
HELP! Please... anyone.
I will update the files Monday, after some others have a chance to comment.
And THANK YOU for your work.
MossRoad That jet is too funny. Thanks. That geodesic dome may have been some sort of rail car repair facility(tank cars come to mind, for some reason). I thought I recalled seeing another domed one somewhere else as well.
Yes, it was a tank car repair facility.
_____________
"A stranger's just a friend you ain't met yet." --- Dave Gardner
Semper VaporoIA, Council Bluffs, Steam Locos of some sort not relevant, but neat. 41.24772481 N 95.85226232 W I added to my other list of "RR stuff". Thanks!
Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com
While you are wandering around the midwest area, there is a remnant at Falls City, NE 40.047180, -95.594538.
There were 2 at St. Joseph MO, 40.047180, -95.594538 and 39.747885, -94.852157
All except the first Coords are the same. ???
Check the coords of the first one... same as the Falls City one.
The other one; do you have any other evidence? All that roadwork (I-229) that occurred sometime before 1991 seems to have wiped-out evidence of RR in the area
Semper Vaparo, are you aware of http://historicaerials.com/?
It is quite the useful site for historic research.
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