Your link says, "Topic does not exist."
I have the pie shaped building in line with Forest St. across the tracks from the intersection with Main St. (U.S. 302). (As listed in my post, above: 44° 4'36.23"N, 71°17'13.49"W.)
Semper Vaporo
Pkgs.
There was a turntable at Bartlett, NH, but it was removed when they got bigger locos:
http://www.rypn.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4926
Puffy:
See if the following matches your understanding of where your sites are, or if your knowledge is of sites not in my list already: (The two paragraphs that lead with "**" are the only ones that I cannot find evidence of what you listed... If you can provide more info for those, I could search more.)
I have two sites in Concord, NH. A turntable is still visible on Google Earth just east of the intersection of Hall St. and Poplar Ave ( 43°11'18.16"N, 71°31'39.78"W). The location of the other was provided to me as a reference to Historic Aerials that I was able to locate on G.E. as being just south of the "Rainbow Buffet" in a shopping center on Stores St. near the intersection with Hills Ave. ( 43°12'10.50"N, 71°31'56.94"W).
I have one site in Portsmouth, NH on the south shore of North Mill Pond north of the intersection of Dover St and McDonough St. ( 43° 4'25.06"N, 70°46'10.36"W). But that is pretty much in the middle of town.
I have one in Plymouth, NH also provided by triangulation from a Historic Aerials image, near the southern intersection of Main St, and Railroad Square (Railroad Square meets Main St. at 3 places!). ( 43°45'7.50"N, 71°41'8.70"W).
** Although I can see what appears to be a long abandoned rail yard south of Woodsville, it is not an industrial park and I cannot see any evidence of a RH or TT. More info is necessary.
In my list there is a pie shaped building in Bartlett, NH ( 44° 4'36.23"N, 71°17'13.49"W).
Already in the list is the pie shaped building just east of I-91 in what I have listed as "Hartford, White River Junction, VT ( 43°39'12.77"N, 72°19'45.63"W). And just across the river to the east-southeast, another site listed as Lebanon, NH ( 43°38'41.71"N, 72°18'40.02"W).
A Turntable is visible in the Historical Imagery of G.E. near the intersection of state 253 and county 1 (the 253 is in an oval and the 1 is in a rectangle and I am assuming the oval designates a state road and the rectangle is a county road) or the intersection just north of Christian Hill and East St, in Beecher Falls, VT.
There is a lonely turntable pit showing in the Historical Imagery of G.E. east of North Stratford, NH along U.S. 3, north of the intersection with Covey Rd ( 44°45'18.80"N, 71°37'4.19"W).
** I don't have anything I can associate with a site in my list in Lakeport, NH. I have followed the only rail line I can see, using the Historical Imagery of G.E. from the oldest images available up to the present. Although I can see many buildings that were obviously built to take advantage of being near the RR, I see only one that MIGHT be an engine house. It is on the east side of Messer St, between Wallace Ct. and Irving St. The buildings are parallel to Messer St. and at an angle to the RR tracks, but that angle would fit with a possible spur from the track. I first thought I could see evidence in the space south of the buildings to the RR tracks that might be remnants of where the tracks to the buildings were, but on closer examination with the Street View feature of G.E. are probably shadows of power lines! (RATZ!) A sign on one of the buildings seems to have the words "Oil and Coal" on it. Could that be the buildings you mean?
castle4073, at its peak in the 1920s, there was 240,000+ miles of railroad lines in the US. In the days of steam, 100 miles was a "day" for a crew, so there was at least a roundhouse every 100 miles. Sometimes there were others at junctions or terminals or in helper districts, sometimes just a turntable. And as SV said, more along shortlines.
Jewett, OH: I'm not surprised you didn't find the turntable & roundhouse foundations. The trees obscure them in overhead views. But the foundations could be seen from the ground when I traipsed through the area several years ago. I suspect the same situation might be true at the old Erie yard in Kent, Ohio, but I have not been able to access the location in a long, long time.
Hagerstown: I think there was a transfer table in the W.M. complex, but I'm not sure. I live here now, but am not a native. It was before I got here.
At Lorton, the turntable is sometimes used to turn locomotives. Traditionally, it is preferred to have the B end of a Superliner sleeper in the lead, with the A end trailing. So some years the cars have been turned so that this alignment can be maintained in the direction of the most business. The train tends to be most busy southbound in the fall and northbound in the spring. Also, the lounge cars were turned this spring when the elimination of the second lounge made it necessary to place the remaining lounge at the opposite end of the diner, so that lounge seats could be used for overflow dining. There is a wye at Sanford, but as far as I know it is still not usable, so the Lorton turntable is the only place where Auto Train equipment can be turned efficiently. The Lorton was newly built about a decade ago when widening of Interstate 95 took out the old wye at that location.
castle4073 Hi there, I do not believe I can add much to what seems your project of a world list, per se. Forty five years of research led to a friend and I publishing a two volume (plus two Supplements) Directory of every engine shed/depot/roundhouse that served steam locos on public railways in mainland Britain, 1825-1968. We have almost reached 2500 and with Britain's railways totalling 20000 miles at their zenith, a very rough rule of thumb gives one engine "facility" for every 8 miles. Correct me if I am wrong, but did not the USA's railways reach something like 70000 miles at their peak? If so and using the same rule of thumb, that gives a total of "roundhouses" approaching 9000. That is a staggering figure and I wonder if anybody, anywhere, has tried to catalogue them all?Anyway I am just off for 6 weeks escape from the heat of Cyprus, but in the autumn - sorry, Fall - I'll do what I can to bring you new information.
Hi there, I do not believe I can add much to what seems your project of a world list, per se. Forty five years of research led to a friend and I publishing a two volume (plus two Supplements) Directory of every engine shed/depot/roundhouse that served steam locos on public railways in mainland Britain, 1825-1968. We have almost reached 2500 and with Britain's railways totalling 20000 miles at their zenith, a very rough rule of thumb gives one engine "facility" for every 8 miles. Correct me if I am wrong, but did not the USA's railways reach something like 70000 miles at their peak? If so and using the same rule of thumb, that gives a total of "roundhouses" approaching 9000. That is a staggering figure and I wonder if anybody, anywhere, has tried to catalogue them all?Anyway I am just off for 6 weeks escape from the heat of Cyprus, but in the autumn - sorry, Fall - I'll do what I can to bring you new information.
Added the footprint of the roundhouse in Port Antonio, Jamaica.
And to address a Private Message list:
From: ACY
1.Jewett, Ohio: W&LE RR Site not visible from the air. Looks like a wooded lot. Foundations visible from the ground. West side of town, west of Webster Street. Between Route 35 on the North and railroad on the South.
I cannot find any evidence specific enough to pinpoint the center of the turntable. I do see in a couple of the historical images where the roundhouse might have been, but they are not in the same place and older images of the same areas don't show the same evidence, leading me to believe what I do see is not the actual location. If you can pinpoint the location, I would be glad to add it to the list.
2.Minerva, Ohio. Former NYC tracks (now OhiRail?) run in a SE direction from town. Track crosses road at the point where Murray Ave. and Arbor Road NW (County Rt. 14) meet Arrow Rd. NW (County Rt. 15). Engine terminal was in the angle formed by the RR and Arrow Road. Site is now an industrial complex, but the old roundhouse was evidently incorporated into the new complex. Its shape can be seen clearly among the angled walls,
Clearly a roundhouse that has been engulfed by add-on buildings around it. Added to list.
3.Information:The turntable at the Auto Train terminal, Lorton VA, was built within the past 15 years or so. It replaces a wye which was removed to make room for expansion of Interstate 95.
Already have one in Lorton and it appears to be at the north end of an Auto Train Terminal so I assume it is the one you refer to. I wonder what the turntable is used for... Do they have to turn the auto carriers sometimes?
4. Clearfield, PA: The curved footprint of the back of the NYC roundhouse backs up against a curve on the south bank of the West Branch of the Susquehanna River, at the NW end of the former NYC yard. This is a short distance east of the 3-span bridge over the river.
Slight evidence of a Roundhouse footprint. Added to list.
5.Canton (Gambrinus), OH:W&LE roundhouse & turntable were north of Gambrinus Yard. Traveling South on Gambrinus Ave, one passes 23rd st., then Timken Steel's track, then crosses the throat of Gambrinus yard on a bridge. The lead to the engine terminal left the main track under the bridge and ran NE. Footprint of roundhouse visible just south of Timken's track.
Already have a Roundhouse footprint in the list just south of the Marathon Canton Refinery. Seems to be the one you refer to.
6.Brewster, Ohio W&LE turntable at engine terminal. Access to the engine terminal is via a private road that runs west from Ohio Rt. 93, just north of the W&LE mainline. Follow the access road, and it points almost straight at the turntable.
Already have a TT in the list that fits your description.
7.Hagerstown, MD Turntable is gone. Bridge sold to Jerry Joe Jacobson for use at Age of Steam Roundhouse, Sugarcreek, Ohio.Partial footprint of roundhouse can be seen East of Burhans Blvd., just east of the place where Center Street intersects.
Already have this one (I assume). From the markings on the ground south of the Roundhouse footprint it appears there may also have been a Transfer Table at one time. True?
8.(South of) Sugarcreek, Ohio. Age of Steam Roundhouse. Smokey Lane Rd. & Seldenright Rd. SW, on the Holmes/Tuscarawas County line. My current map shows the area under construction. Actually, the major construction is completed. Eighteen stall brick roundhouse & shop, served by 115' turntable from Hagerstown, MD. Wood water tank completed. Coal facility to be constructed. Earlier post implied or stated that the turntable is a replica, but this is not the case.
Gorgeous Roundhouse! Already in the list. It took a while for Google Earth to show this, since it was recently built, but I added it as soon as the images could confirm the location!
9. Carey, Ohio: NYC (Big Four - CCC&StL) track ran NE to SW through town. NYC yard was on SE side, parallel to and on the east side of Vance St (US Rt. 23; OH Rt. 103).Engine terminal was on north end of yard, between Vance and the mainline. This is just north of the point where Vance turns westerly, just north of a small reservoir. Round shape of a turntable pit can be seen, plus footprint of pie-shaped roundhouse. Other foundations also visible.
I had already found a Transfer Table to the east of Canton, but have added this Roundhouse footprint to the list now. (I really feel like there should have been a Turntable near that Transfer Table, but cannot find any evidence of it.)
So, in the Non-U.S. list: one new one.
And, in the U.S. list: Five already in the list, Three new added to the list and one I cannot confirm.
I will update the online files sometime next week.
Maybe I mentioned it before, a few years ago (yes I did, on 01-15-2012, near the bottom of page 14 of this thread), but do you have the one in Kingston, Jamaica on your list ?
I believe it is / was at these Lat./ Long. coordinates: N 17 58.248' W 76 48.043'
See also: http://wikimapia.org/6344959/Railway-Turntable-Disused
Might be pictured in this article:
I might have a slide of it from when I was there in Feb. 1977 ?
Might be others elsewhere on that island and in the Caribbean tropics, too. Certainly appears to have been one at Port Antonio, Jamaica:
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/columns/Jamaica-and-its-railroad-history_8865003?fb_ref=storypage
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Port-Antonio-Mayor-stops-old-railway-removal_8807173
- Paul North.
I followed the tracks up the coast (NE) all the way to a terminus in Denia, a distance of about 45 miles (as the crow flies... probably 75 rail miles) and find nothing else of interest. Not to say that I am anywhere near what you are referring to.
Well... I should not say "nothing of interest"... there is an interesting balloon track that runs through a business district south of Benimagrell (some sort of commuter or shopper route) and some tunnels in the more mountainous areas south of Denia where the tracks deviate from hugging the coastline.
At least I have added a turntable to the list! There is no "pie shaped" building that appears to be serviced by the turntable I found.
This would not be the 1st time that I found something different than what was suggested by someone!
Do you have any other info as to location... maybe some road intersection or a distance and compass direction from some landmark that Google Earth might show. My not knowing the length of the RR you refer to does not lead me to understanding "midway".
Here are the coords of what I found:
Added a Meter Gauge turntable in Alicante to the list. It seems to be associated with a subway, but I cannot tell where it goes once underground (Google Earth does not show the underground portion). The turntable is along the coast NE of the city and the tracks also run quite a ways up the coast (I didn't follow it very far). I can see a couple of nice shop buildings, but no "ROUND"house is evident.
I have several other places to look for, sent to me via Private Message and will add this one to the lists when I get those resolved and update the lists on-line. (But don't go holding yer breath!... I'll get to it, but I don't want anybody to turn blue! )
Thanks.
I remember a 2 stall roundhouse and a turntable on a narrow gauge railroad that ran out of Alicante, Spain. It was about halfway on the route and still contained a steam engine used of special occasions.
Already have this one in the list:
Rockland, Maine has an active turntable for the Maine Eastern.
Ed
Okay, that was enough goad to get me to go look and update the files.
New U.S. sites added:
New Non-U.S. site added:
Files have been updated and are available to download from:
Non-U.S.:
http://1stclass.mylargescale.com/sempervaporo/Trainsdotcom/Non%20US%20Roundhouses%20and%20Turntables.pdf
U.S:
http://1stclass.mylargescale.com/sempervaporo/Trainsdotcom/US%20Roundhouses%20and%20Turntables.pdf
Excel spreadsheet:
http://1stclass.mylargescale.com/sempervaporo/Trainsdotcom/Roundhouse%20and%20Turntables.xls
Thanks for the input!
Etowah, TN 35 19'10.54"N and 84 31'27.71"W The roundhouse is long gone and the turntable was removed in the late 80s early 90s.
It might even be better that the SEARCH function worked on these forums.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
As far as I am concerned, all threads are capable of being "continued" by anybody at any time... I know there are people that think threads older than some imaginary time frame should be locked, but that just makes people start new threads when something new crops up on the old subject and fractionates the info.
I have not updated the afore mentioned files for quite some time, but I have stumbled upon some new sites to add to them, and maybe someday I will get the impetus to do so. I have to admit I got kind of "burned out" following RR tracks on Google Earth looking for sites to add to the lists.
If you have new info, please post it here. Maybe that will goad me into updating the lists! And when I do, I will post here that I have done so.
Hi Semper Vaporo, is this thread still going as I have only just come across it and am fascinated by the subject of steam loc sheds, depots, roundhouses, terminals, call them what you will. I am British and live on the island of Cyprus but would love to enter into a discussion on this massive worldwide, subject. I hope this works...
Yes, I have one listed for Belden, NM. That is an interesting and rather rare turntable, with the high girder sides.
I just tried the links in my posting about 3 above this one and they worked for me.
One is to download a PDF file of just the Non-U.S. sites and another is to download a PDF file of just the U.S. sites. if you wish to edit these files, you will need a program that can do so, otherwise your browser should be able to display it and also allow you to search the list. Adobe Reader is free and can display them also if you wish to download the files to your computer and view the files off-line.
The 3rd link is to download an Excel spreadsheet of the two lists combined. It is useable in Microsoft's Excel and should be just as usable in the FREE "Open Office" clone of Excel (there are no macros or VBA add-ons in the file).
Can't find the total list of U.S. turntables, there is one in Belen, New Mexico, I'm sure this must be on the list.
I'm pretty sure the gentleman you refer to is my grandfather, and I'm wondering if my late uncle participated in some of these posts. My grandfather was the Roundhouse Foreman in Clintonville. My mother is still living at age 95. This was her Dad, and she and I would very much enjoy seeing the article referring to grandpa. We are trying to find anything/everything about him that we can.
Your post is more than 1 1/2 yrs old so I do hope this message reaches you.
We live in Hawaii now.
Mary Lou
HA! And here you thought you'd never have to skip this thread again! HA HA HA!
I was looking for something else on Google Earth last night and in my befuddling way, I was spinning the earth wildly to get where I wanted to see and accidently got it to zoom in and stop on the north coast of Denmark and quite by accident there was a Turntable right in the middle of the view. So I checked and it was not on my list. I added it and then began to follow tracks around Denmark and found more than I ever expected to find there.
Here are the latest I have added to the non-U.S. list:
I do have question about 2 possibilities I found. They are, from the air, a semi-circular building and are near a rail yard or end of line, but I have no proof of them being what they appear. I am hoping someone here can provide some help with that.
I found one interesting site... the two items in Horsens (Turntable and Roundhouse) are at diagonally opposite ends of the railyard! There is no evidence of there ever being a Roundhouse at the Turntable and at the Roundhouse, there is no evidence of there ever being a Turntable to service... I am assumming that the Turntable pit at the roundhouse was filled in a long time ago. But I wonder if the turntable was moved to the other end and opposite side of the yard, but I can only speculate as to why that would be done (like, cars that needed turned were most often on the East side and it was disruptive to have to move them to the West side for turning.)
Here again are links to the two PDF files (Non-U.S. sites, and U.S. sites only) and to the Excel spreadsheet of all the data. The 2 questionable ones are included in the lists at this time and I will remove them if someone has information that they are not RR related.
The roundhouse at Keene, NH is real, built by the Cheshire RR and later used by the Boston & Maine. It now serves as factory outlet stores, with some new additions.
After I had fixed the first 3 errors I spent some time following rail lines and found the following additional sites in Italy (I'm pretty sure I got it right this time! ... hope hope hope).
I have also repaired the next one (I was close to being right, it is just across the border!). Again humblest apologies to both countries and the citizens of them both.
Files uploaded again...
Site labeled Austria - Freilassing is actually in Germany.
Well!... that's embarassing!
My apologies to both countries and the citizens thereof.
Fixed
The first three sites on the non-US list for Greece should be under Italy.
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