Trains.com

Roundhouses and Turntables (and transfer tables)

124912 views
583 replies
1 rating 2 rating 3 rating 4 rating 5 rating
  • Member since
    April 2007
  • From: Iowa
  • 3,293 posts
Posted by Semper Vaporo on Tuesday, December 27, 2011 1:51 PM

Every once in a while someone finds a new item to add to the list that makes me go, "How'd I miss THAT!"  Your Altoona find is one of those.

Google Earth shows White River Junction as a name of a city in that area, so I kept that name.

There should be a decimal point in the Lat. for Knoxville,  35 59.109N 83 56.569W

I updated my list for Tiny Town to be Turkey Creek.

New files were uploaded for anyone to download:

Excel file (comes as two sheets in one file, 1 for U.S. and 1 for Non-U.S.; includes some other comments and info in more columns than what I have shown here):

http://1stclass.mylargescale.com/sempervaporo/Trainsdotcom/Roundhouse%20and%20Turntables.xls

PDF file of Non-U.S. locations (has a couple of updates and some location name corrections):

http://1stclass.mylargescale.com/sempervaporo/Trainsdotcom/Non%20US%20Roundhouses%20and%20Turntables.pdf

PDF file of U.S. Locations (has latest updates and corrections):

http://1stclass.mylargescale.com/sempervaporo/Trainsdotcom/Non%20US%20Roundhouses%20and%20Turntables.pdf

 

Semper Vaporo

Pkgs.

  • Member since
    September 2011
  • 29 posts
Posted by DPRNRRColorado on Tuesday, December 27, 2011 10:31 AM

For all interested I've found what may be some not on your current list.  They are:

Altoona, PA   (a 4th!?)  40 31.493N 78 23.453W  [I didn't see this on the last list downloaded]

White River Junction, VT (Hartford, VT as WRJ is not a town but the place on the rivers)  The old roundhouse burned totally in 11/08.  A new lookalike has been built and opened in2010.  It isn't real it just looks like the old one from the air.  All tracks and the turntable have been removed.  The new building can be seen on Bing's aerial view only.  43 39.212N 72 19.763W

Lackawana, NY    42 48.865N 78 50.176W

Knoxville, TN    35 59109N 83 56.569W  The turntable has been wiped out by a new commercial bldg. but it can be seen on the Google Earth historical photo of 1992.

Fort Smith, AR    35 23.934N 94 25.048W

As to Tiny Town RR & Town, CO -- It should more correctly be tied to the community of Turkey Creek.  Though not an incorporated entity it is best known as being there.

Question -- In viewing the aerials of Fargo, ND I noticed there is a second passenger station S of the one used today by Amtrak.  Does anyone have any further info on it.  I've been so busy with personal stuff lately I haven't had time to research it?

  • Member since
    September 2011
  • 29 posts
Posted by DPRNRRColorado on Tuesday, December 27, 2011 10:30 AM

For all interested I've found what may be some not on your current list.  They are:

Altoona, PA   (a 4th!?)  40 31.493N 78 23.453W  [I didn't see this on the last list downloaded]

White River Junction, VT (Hartford, VT as WRJ is not a town but the place on the rivers)  The old roundhouse burned totally in 11/08.  A new lookalike has been built and opened in2010.  It isn't real it just looks like the old one from the air.  All tracks and the turntable have been removed.  The new building can be seen on Bing's aerial view only.  43 39.212N 72 19.763W

Lackawana, NY    42 48.865N 78 50.176W

Knoxville, TN    35 59109N 83 56.569W  The turntable has been wiped out by a new commercial bldg. but it can be seen on the Google Earth historical photo of 1992.

Fort Smith, AR    35 23.934N 94 25.048W

As to Tiny Town RR & Town, CO -- It should more correctly be tied to the community of Turkey Creek.  Though not an incorporated entity it is best known as being there.

Question -- In viewing the aerials of Fargo, ND I noticed there is a second passenger station S of the one used today by Amtrak.  Does anyone have any further info on it.  I've been so busy with personal stuff lately I haven't had time to research it?

blx
  • Member since
    September 2011
  • 6 posts
Posted by blx on Saturday, December 24, 2011 2:35 AM

 The Roundhouse Manor apartment building is in Kaukauna, WI.

  • Member since
    September 2011
  • 6,449 posts
Posted by MidlandMike on Friday, December 23, 2011 8:51 PM

DPRNRRColorado

... Also, as I mentioned in a previous post, I've noticed a couple of RR ferry loading docks in San Francisco Bay and would like to mark others if any of you find them.  Please fell free to forward them to me.  Thanks, the Trainmaster at DPRNRR.

If you open up your own thread, and maybe list the parameters of what you are looking for, I could give you RR ferry loading docks in other parts of the country.  You would also get more response from people on that specific topic when they see  "...RR Ferry Dock..."  in the thread title.  Thanks.

  • Member since
    April 2007
  • From: Iowa
  • 3,293 posts
Posted by Semper Vaporo on Friday, December 23, 2011 8:34 PM

I had a really hard time finding the one at La Junta, CO.  The balloon track there and the general layout really begs to have a Roundhouse there, and I finally see some very vague outlines of the radial tracks.  I pinpointed the center a bit to the ENE of the coords you gave.

Kentville and Halifax were already in my database.

I have given up repeating other's listings when I add them to my database, so for those of you that are putting the data into Google Earth to follow along, you can do a copy and paste of DPRNRRColorado's coordinates and then delete the "X" and all but one space between the Lat and Lon and Google Earth will accept the data when you paste the data into the Search text box.

I included TinyTown in my database as I have been fooled already into including some of other amusement parks and other "toy" or miniature RRs, so what the hey, may as well include it.  But I am wondering what "City" to associate with it?  Indian Hills seems to be the closest community, but I can't tell if that is the best match for location info.

 

Semper Vaporo

Pkgs.

  • Member since
    September 2011
  • 29 posts
Posted by DPRNRRColorado on Friday, December 23, 2011 7:18 PM

I appreciate the the info but you didn't mention just which location you were referring to.  Please forward it.  Thanks, Trainmaster, DPRNRR

blx
  • Member since
    September 2011
  • 6 posts
Posted by blx on Friday, December 23, 2011 7:03 PM

The Roundhouse Manor apartment building is also built where the roundhouse had been.

  • Member since
    September 2011
  • 29 posts
Posted by DPRNRRColorado on Friday, December 23, 2011 6:25 PM

Guys, a batch of new ones and a correction.  I started thinking about my listing of St. Johnsbury, VT and seemed to remember that there was some visible evidence of the Rh, so I checked on Bing to see if their view was clearer.  It was and there is a partial outline of the Rh with the Tt.  The new ones:

LaSalle, CO -  40 20.908N  X  104 42.260W   Outline of Tt only, no Bldg.

La Junta, CO -  37 59.492N  X  103 32.537W   Partial outline of ATSF Rh only

* Tiny Town RR, CO - 39 36.186N  X  105 13.43W  This is a small scale tourist RR and town of small bldgs.  The Tt & Rh are real and fully functional.

Cranbrook, BC, Canada - 49 30.640N  X  115 46.602W  A large and fully functioning RH & Tt, CPRR

Kentville, NS, Canada - 45 4.755N  X  64 30.221W  Tt barely visible, Rh saved but unused

Halifax, NS, Canada - 44 39.508N  X  63 37.44W  Tt & Rh still there

Moncton, NB, Canada - 46 5.375N  X  64 48.841W  Just a shadow of the Rh; hint only of Tt

St. John, NB, Canada - 45 14.92N  X  66 4.415W  A shadow only of the Rh

* - I included this little "kids" RR as it is unique and has been around for a long time.  They are open only during the better weather months of the year and are very popular with Colorado residents and visitors (better known as "touristas")

I will be reviewing my database to see if I have more that are not on the listings and as I find more will pass them on to all of you.  Also, as I mentioned in a previous post, I've noticed a couple of RR ferry loading docks in San Francisco Bay and would like to mark others if any of you find them.  Please fell free to forward them to me.  Thanks, the Trainmaster at DPRNRR.

  • Member since
    September 2011
  • 6,449 posts
Posted by MidlandMike on Thursday, December 22, 2011 8:34 PM

This turntable is in Kentucky, no roundhouse.  It may have been moved here, topo map shows different location within the yard.

KY, Corbin     36°55'47.60"N  84° 5'19.57"W     L&N     TT only

  • Member since
    September 2011
  • 29 posts
Posted by DPRNRRColorado on Thursday, December 22, 2011 5:42 PM

Thanks for the correction on the Portsmouth, NH location, all I can say is "fumble fingeritis" got me.  I now have a few more for your list but these are in NH, VT and Spain:

Sanbornville, NH   43 33.264 N  X  71 1.883 W  Turntable only, not working, no Bldg.

St. Johnsbury, VT   44 24.940 N  X  72 .871 W  Turntable only, working, no bldg.

Canfranc, Huesca, Aragon, Spain  42 44.783 N  X  0 30.808 W  --  Tt & Rh, neither in working condition.  Also the station just north of them is a c.1928 work of art (some 800' long) that is in the process of being restored to be used as a high end resort.

  • Member since
    April 2007
  • From: Iowa
  • 3,293 posts
Posted by Semper Vaporo on Wednesday, December 21, 2011 8:36 PM

Thanks... dunno why Boreas Pass was not in the list.

Updated the file on-line... same link as in previous post.

 

Semper Vaporo

Pkgs.

  • Member since
    September 2011
  • 6,449 posts
Posted by MidlandMike on Wednesday, December 21, 2011 7:31 PM

Thanks for the link to your list..  I have a couple more for Colorado.  The first one is a transfer table at the former Rio Grande's Burnham Shops in Denver.  Photos showing movement from different years indicate it's still working.  

The second one is a resubmittal of an earlier post for Boreas Pass.  I suspect the blurred Google Earth image was not convincing.  However, recent imagery is much clearer and shows the turntable pit outline within the enginehouse ruin.  As stated from the US Forest service trail guide:   "8.  SUMMIT....There was a stone engine house with a turntable, coal bin and water tank inside. This was destroyed in a 1909 fire, leaving only the quarried stones now scattered west of the few remaining buildings."       fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5210494.pdf

Denver, CO     39°43'51.73"N 105° 0'25.79"W     DRGW     Transfer Table    Burnham Shops

Boreas Pass, CO    39°24'38.30"N 105°58'7.64"W    C&S     TT pit in engine house ruin

 

  • Member since
    April 2007
  • From: Iowa
  • 3,293 posts
Posted by Semper Vaporo on Wednesday, December 21, 2011 3:07 PM

Already had some of those, but you did add a couple...

Note the Portsmouth, NH coordinents as given are out in the middle of the Atlantic... you are missing a "70" in front of the "46 1.72 W"

Additions to U.S. locations since the last update are:

USA IL Wood River  38°52'19.12"N  90° 6'22.15"W
USA OR Portland  45°32'45.49"N 122°41'3.07"W
USA WY Sherman Hill  41° 7'59.14"N 105°23'48.85"W
USA NM Raton  36°54'10.97"N 104°26'10.71"W

and Non-U.S. is:

Canada Saskatchewan Prince Albert  53°11'53.04"N 105°44'39.66"W

Since I am having trouble getting a copy of the datafiles on the web for others... how about I print the Excel sheet as a .PDF file?

Non-U.S. list: http://1stclass.mylargescale.com/sempervaporo/Trainsdotcom/Non%20US%20Roundhouses%20and%20Turntables.pdf

U.S. list: http://1stclass.mylargescale.com/sempervaporo/Trainsdotcom/US%20Roundhouses%20and%20Turntables.pdf

I hope I have spelled things correctly... if anyone finds an error please post the info here and I will make corrections.

As I add more to these lists I will notify here when I make a new pdf file.

If anyone wants the Google earth KMZ files, contact me via the forum by clicking on my name on the left and send me your e-mail address and I will respond with an e-mail with the files attached.

 

Semper Vaporo

Pkgs.

  • Member since
    November 2009
  • 422 posts
Posted by Dragoman on Wednesday, December 21, 2011 1:26 PM

RR ferry loading docks -- perhaps a whole new database?

There are certainly many more remnants to be found around the San Francisco Bay area -- and certainly in the Great Lakes area as well.

  • Member since
    September 2011
  • 29 posts
Posted by DPRNRRColorado on Wednesday, December 21, 2011 10:26 AM

It's been fun digging around the west and other places to find who knows what.  I have a few new ones for you that I couldn't find on any of your postings,

Portsmouth, NH     Tt/Rh   @  43 4.4177N X 46 1.72W

Sherman Hill, WY     Tt/Rh   @  41 7.986N X 105 23.814W  (Historic Site)  This is a helper station along the original Sherman Hill grade and is located just feet N of the Ames monument.

Segundo, CO     Tt/Rh    @ 37 7.277N X 104 43.709W

Trinidad, CO     Rh    @ 37 10.85N X 104 29.788W

Raton, NM     Rh/Tt   @  36 54.181N X 104 26.175W

Las Vegas, NM     @ 35 35.213N X 105 12.951W

Cheyenne, WY     @ 41 8.190N X 104 50.086W

 

Another Curious Category -- RR Ferry loading points

Richmond Point, CA     @   37 54.56N X 122 23.429W

San Francisco, CA     @   37 46.265N X 122 23.138W

 

  • Member since
    April 2007
  • From: Iowa
  • 3,293 posts
Posted by Semper Vaporo on Thursday, December 15, 2011 5:16 PM

I have added some more:

USA CA El Portal  37°40'27.82"N 119°47'9.99"W
USA CA Sonoma  38°16'38.23"N 122°27'34.06"W
USA HI Hilo  19°43'12.35"N 155° 3'59.42"W
USA IL Joliet  41°31'32.99"N  88° 3'34.81"W
USA IN Tipton  40°17'25.75"N  86° 3'7.35"W
USA NV Virginia City  39°18'4.42"N 119°38'56.34"W

that makes 637 in the U.S.

 

I uploaded the Google Earth native (".KMZ") files to a web site I use for storing photos, but when I tried to access them, they were "not found"!  Seems the web site is oriented to certain file types and ".KMZ" ain't one of them!

I renamed them to have a ".TXT" extension (instead of ",KMZ") and then could find and download them (to another computer) but they came as compressed (".ZIP") files, which, when expanded, became a file named "DOC.KML".  That file I could open in Google Earth and it created a new folder in the "Temporary Places" folder and in that folder was a folder with a double dot extension of "..KMZ" and in that folder was the one I had uploaded!  Which I can then "click and drag" out of the Temporary Places folder to be a folder unto itself in the whole list.  YEOUTCH what a convoluted mess.

I will try to clean that up a bit before I post the links here.

 

Semper Vaporo

Pkgs.

  • Member since
    September 2003
  • 297 posts
Posted by Zwingle on Thursday, December 15, 2011 6:00 AM

Looking around the old photo I posted, I see an apparent Rock Island roundhouse between the EJ&E diamonds and the AT&SF diamonds. The filled pit remains. That should make four so far from Joliet on the master list.

In California, the Caspar, South fork and Eastern Railroad had at least two 50' turntables. After 1910 the railroad constructed wyes to handle larger locomotives, but the Caspar turntable was never taken up, and remains today in a filled pit, part of the Caspar Headlands state park. The turntable at Camp 20, (Dunlop) was removed years ago, but the filled pit remains almost next to the old machine shop, which is still standing, but in a state of decay.

In 1921, the Hawaii Consolidated Railroad built an eight-stall roundhouse in Hilo, which still stands, but is currently listed on the Hawaii Most Endangered historic sites list.

Just ran across this: All-Time New York State Roundhouse & Turntable List. It's huge.

 

  • Member since
    September 2003
  • 297 posts
Posted by Zwingle on Monday, December 12, 2011 5:36 PM

Xerxes1138

I've copied a lot of the locations from the original posters list and did find one that they can eliminate now. 

IL, Joliet  88° 3'29.95"W, 41°32'10.58"N 

Those coordinates are correct. There were two nearly adjacent EJ&E roundhouses in Joliet. The smaller southern roundhouse was torn down long ago. While there may have been a blacksmith shop there later, the footprint from that roundhouse is still visible today, which is why it's included on the list.

This aerial photo from 1938 clearly shows both EJ&E roundhouses.

  • Member since
    September 2011
  • From: Bronzeville, Chicago, IL, USA
  • 5 posts
Posted by Xerxes1138 on Saturday, December 10, 2011 9:36 PM

So I had been building a list of my own before I found this thread. 

I've actually been placing markers in a Google map. You can find the link to the map here, it also has a brief explanation of what each pin signifies. http://vjande.com/maps/ 

I've copied a lot of the locations from the original posters list and did find one that they can eliminate now. 

IL, Joliet  88° 3'29.95"W, 41°32'10.58"N 

If you follow this link ( http://www.ejearchive.com/images_maps_65/joliet.jpg ) you will see a map of the old EJ&E yard and there was a Roundhouse in the list already, bu the long & lat above are for the entrance to the blacksmith shop.

Cheers,
Vincent

http://www.VJandE.com 

Tags: Roundhouse

Working on an N Scale EJ&E layout. My son got me into choo choo's. He's 2.

  • Member since
    September 2003
  • 297 posts
Posted by Zwingle on Thursday, December 8, 2011 11:34 PM

Here are a few more.

El Portal, CA - turntable - Yosemite Valley RR - formerly the Bagby turntable

Virginia City, NV - turntable pit - here's a reconstructed 1938 view.

Sanoma, CA - turntable/roundhouse for the tourist 1/4 scale TrainTown Railroad.

  • Member since
    September 2011
  • 6,449 posts
Posted by MidlandMike on Wednesday, November 30, 2011 8:00 PM

The new Trains (Jan) has an article on Missoula, MT with a map indicating a turntable.  I didn't see it on the original list.  Google Earth shows the turntable still there, plus the footprint of a former roundhouse.

Missoula, MT      46°52'32.93"N 113°59'25.03"W     MRL (NP)     TT&RH     TT exists, RH footprint

  • Member since
    April 2002
  • 3 posts
Posted by WMflatcar1007 on Monday, November 28, 2011 11:17 AM

Thanks for posting these. I saw the listing for Vancouver, BC and since I was going there for Thanksgiving weekend I took a look on Google earth and saw that it was about 10 blocks from my hotel and was able to convince my wife to wander that way on one of our walks. Nice preservation as a pedestrian plaza.

  • Member since
    April 2007
  • From: Iowa
  • 3,293 posts
Posted by Semper Vaporo on Tuesday, November 22, 2011 2:11 PM

Sorry, been busy with some other fun stuff and haven't been keeping up with the suggested additions.

Here are some new ones, some I found by accident when looking for something else and some from the suggestions in this thread.

Non-U.S.:

Canada Ontario Fort Erie North  42°55'34.16"N  78°55'26.53"W
Canada Ontario North Bay  46°17'57.24"N  79°27'16.20"W
China Jiayuguan  39°46'45.36"N  98°14'36.09"E
China Kumul  42°50'32.23"N  93°31'23.14"E

 

U.S.A.:

USA CO Segundo  37° 7'16.66"N 104°43'42.57"W
USA CO Trinidad  37°10'51.09"N 104°29'48.21"W
USA IN Evansville  38° 0'34.48"N  87°32'36.15"W
USA MT Bowdoin  48°23'48.24"N 107°35'53.57"W
USA NM Albuqueque  35° 4'27.43"N 106°39'0.71"W
USA NY Buffalo  42°51'19.00"N  78°51'46.09"W
USA NY Buffalo  42°51'26.20"N  78°50'53.79"W
USA NY Chatham  42°21'34.59"N  73°35'59.80"W
USA NY Elmira  42° 6'20.59"N  76°48'36.34"W
USA NY Elmira  42° 6'38.22"N  76°48'51.98"W
USA NY Lake Placid  44°16'32.52"N  73°59'13.23"W
USA NY Maybrook  41°29'34.33"N  74°12'26.91"W
USA NY Oneonta  42°26'56.80"N  75° 5'0.54"W
USA NY Oswego  43°27'59.31"N  76°29'32.25"W
USA NY Perry  42°43'0.54"N  78° 0'28.56"W
USA NY Remsen  43°19'51.78"N  75°11'8.68"W
USA NY Salamanca  42° 9'52.82"N  78°41'26.84"W
USA NY Utica  43° 6'27.62"N  75°14'32.77"W
USA TX San Antonio  29°22'28.64"N  98°32'56.76"W

 

I know there are lots more to look for from the suggestions here, and I will get to them as I can.  If anyone wants to undertake some research on their own, please do.  If you want to pick a state or country and do an indepth search, post here what you are doing so there is less duplication of effort and then have some fun searching.

And again, I plead, if you know where one was and want to suggest it, a bit more information would greatly help those of us that are doing the searching for the exact locations; street names, compass directions from a landmark... something else to go by more than just a general city name.

Feel free to load Google Earth on your computer (its real easy!) and search for yourself, You'd be surprized how much time can elapse while you are finding a whole lot more than just RR stuff.  It is a form of tourism, only bested by traveling to the cities and other locations in person.  There is lots of stuff to see and even more fun to try to figure out what some of the things are (the unusual view from above can make some things quite unrecognizable!).  Yahoo and Bing (and I think there are others) that also have aerial views of the earth, so use them if you are a mind to.  If you have a problem getting started, ask questions here, I am sure those of us that do it all the time can help you get into the fun.

 

I have some cleaning to do to my spreadsheet and the Google Earth KML file.  After I am done with that I will post them on the web and provide a link here... soon, I promise.

Question:  Does anyone know of a program that can copy the KML file to a spreadsheet AND back so I can do some mass edits to the KML file?  Doing them all one at a time is quite boring and tedious.

 

 

Semper Vaporo

Pkgs.

  • Member since
    April 2007
  • 11 posts
Posted by MoJo on Tuesday, November 22, 2011 12:34 PM

Wow, I had no idea this conversation was taking place out here.  Just about the time this conversations started, I had, on my own, started to put together a database of exactly what you are talking about, with the only addition of coaling towers thrown in.  The most prized jewel is finding locations where 1. there's a roundhouse ( maybe even in use) 2. the turntable is intact, and 3. there's a coaling tower still standing.  Believe it or not there are several locations like this. 

I was limiting myself to North America.

I had stopped working the database, simply because lack of time, but I may start it up again...

Ideally, but quite unrealistically, I would like to see some more preservation efforts.  There are a lot of these structures that we are losing, and who has money these days?  Fortunately there are some that are preserved. 

 

Thanks for this effort.

Joe

  • Member since
    April 2005
  • From: Holland, MI
  • 11 posts
Posted by gentletaz on Tuesday, November 22, 2011 9:49 AM

You ask about a Waverly, MI. The rail yard just north of Holland, MI has been called Waverly Yard for as long as I can remember. It is located south of Lakewood Blvd. and west of 120th Avenue and west of US-31. 

  • Member since
    February 2009
  • 59 posts
Posted by jumper on Monday, November 21, 2011 7:22 PM

I don't know if you've looked in Kingston Ontario or Ottawa Ontario, but I'm sure there are/were tables of one sort or another. Possibly something in Brockville Ontario. Maybe Sudbury as well up north of Lake Huron east of north Bay. Lots of transcon stuff up that way. Cochrane has east/west lines and also the ONR line up to James Bay and Moosenee. Maybe Churchill Manitoba on Hudson Bay. Sorry I don't have the gps stuff you guys do. All I have to say is this is a marvelous endeavour by all who have contributed. Many thanks!

  • Member since
    February 2009
  • 59 posts
Posted by jumper on Monday, November 21, 2011 7:05 PM

Try St. Thomas Ontario where there is a transfer table at the east end of the Michigan Central shop, Fort Erie, Ontario, Stratford Ontario whee CN had a shop and possibly Palmerston Ontario where again there was a shop. Also head up north to North Bay, Sault St. Marie, and Cochcrane Ontario.

  • Member since
    February 2008
  • From: Huntsville, AL
  • 24 posts
Posted by Fox2! on Monday, November 21, 2011 6:14 PM

The Long Island Rail Road facility at Jamaica was (and still is, I believe) called the Morris Park yard. 

  • Member since
    June 2008
  • 10 posts
Posted by co2716ehp on Monday, November 21, 2011 4:58 AM

 

Hartwell, Ga. 34° 21' 10.35" N. 82° 56' 16.02" W.
Short table, 60 to 70 foot. Installed sometime in the late 70's
for the tourist railroad that ran there for a while. Hard to see
but still there among the trees.

Join our Community!

Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.

Search the Community

Newsletter Sign-Up

By signing up you may also receive occasional reader surveys and special offers from Trains magazine.Please view our privacy policy