Turntable and Roundhouse locations.

[Semper Vaporo]

I edited the first post to contain an updated list.  It now contains 218 sites.  I also fixed some typos, and corrected some of the names of places, etc.

I want to thank Dough for his help in compiling the list to this point.  He has added most of the new sites.

"Transfer Tables" are now to be included in the list.

Dough is still perusing the RRPhotos site to add more and I am checking out some more sites that people have mentioned here and in e-mails.

I am only adding things "I" can actually verify some way so some of the anecdotal info is not included (yet).

If you find errors, please let me know.

I make no guarantee that the list is accurate in any case!  You know, typos, bleary eyes staring at fuzzy images, misinterpreting names or just plain oopsies.  There is no intent to leave out any particular site arbitrarily.

 

[SFbrkmn]

The former Santa Fe turntable continues to be in use by BNSF @ Newton,KS. The old roundhouse was built in 1897 and torn down in 1955. The turntable was constructed in 1935 and I believe is 89 feet long. Along w/engs being turned, every so often, a yd job will bring a car uptown to be turned.

[Lost World]

Here are two you don't have yet:

Lehigh & New England roundhouse and shops, Pen Argyl PA.  Both buildings are still intact.  This is in Northhampton County, located on the west end of town.

Chesapeake & Ohio roundhouse, Handley WV.  The building is gone, but the pit was still there last time I checked, and the concrete coal dock was still standing.  The CSX main runs right past it.

[rrandb]

 In downtown Kansas City MO just west of union station off the kansas city terminal line is an old roundhouse that was recently renovated for either office space or upscale condo's. The original profile or somthing close to it should be visable fron above. It still looks very much like a roundhouse from the highway only with expensive aluminum and glass walls where the stall doors were before. There are I beleive new roofs and open rear walls i.e. more windows. It is still the original brick side walls. Good hunting and as always enjoy.

[dredmann]

The New Orleans Public Belt Railroad has a roundhouse adjacent to its headquarters at 4822 Tchoupitoulas St., New Orleans, LA. It was built in 1925 IIRC, and it is still in use. Actually, they are renovating the complex right now, although the use will remain railroad. I'm not sure whether there's a turntable there.

[Modelcar]

.....The turntable appears to still be in position at Orbisonia, Pa., at the East Broad Top RR round house.  I was present many years ago and saw it being used and it was "man powered", that is to turn it....!

Another unique feature of it, of course it is of 3' gauge.

I used "Flash Earth" to pull up the image.

[Randy Stahl]

There are 2 working turntables in Fond du lac Wisconsin, both have working roundhouses. One is used by the locomotive dept, the other by the maintenence of way dept.

There is a working turntable and is/was a partial roundhouse in Green Bay Wi.

Stevens Point Wi still has a working roundhouse and turntable.

Gladstone Mi has a working turntable and a NEW roundhouse to replace the one lost in a tornado in the 80s.

Herman Maine still has the roundhouse standing. 

Derby Maine has a turntable in service and the roundhouse for storage.

Millinocket Maine has a working turntable and remains of the unused roundhouse.

Guilford has a working turntable in Waterville Me.

CN has a turntable and roundhouse in Fulton Ky and one in Memphis Tn.

 

[jdkuehn]

There are/were several additional Colorado locations.  The locomotive shops at BNSF's 38th Street Yard in Denver - at least a couple of years ago had a working turntable and the machine shop from the old roundhouse still in existance off the turntable.

The Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden has a working turntable and roundhouse.  The roundhouse is not historic and was built maybe 5-7 years ago.  The turntable may be historic, but I don't know where it came from.  The track is narrow gauge.

Como, Colorado has the old C&S roundhouse (stone construction) and division headquarters/depot building still there and in pretty good shape.  There is a turntable also there, but it is not operational, and I do not think it is the original turntable.

The Cumbres and Toltec engine house in Chama, NM has two original roundhouse stalls, but the turntable was removed many years ago, and replaced with regular track.

The old Colorado Midland Roundhouse (stone structure) still exists at Colorado City (just outside of Colorado Springs on the road to Manitou Springs), but without a turntable.  It is now a pottery plant and store I think for Van Briggle (it may be one of the ones on your list). 

The other one on the list is probably the old Rock Island roundhouse and turntable just north of Colorado Springs (a part of CS called Roswell).  It is not a warehouse exactly, but houses a number of PCC cars for a trolley system once proposed for CS.  I don't know much about the status of the PCC cars and the proposed system. 

There also was a roundhouse in Eastern Colorado along the UP's KP line that was in derelict condition, but I don't recall the town. 

I think there are also remains of a roundhouse at Texline on the FW&D line between Trinidad Colorado and Amarillo, TX.  There was no turntable anymore.

 There is also a very nice three-stall roundhouse and turntable in Victoria, BC at the south end of the E&N railroad.  Technically the roundhouse might be in Esquimault, BC.  There is a group active with an internet site, I think trying to preserve this site.

[canazar]

There is a turntable in Phoenix at the BNSF yard.  It is still used to pretty actively.  You can look it up on the sat maps too.  It is roughly 19th Ave and McDowell.

[snagletooth]

Semper Vaporo, I'm not sure if you got my response on the burning roundhouse thread, so at the risk of reapting myself... The "working" turntable is at Eola and still working, and the footprints of the roundhouse are still there, even in person. The "gazebo, residential" turntable is long gone. That's the CB&Q shops, an historical landmark, now The Walter Payton Roundhouse Resturant. The  other building attach to it is the Transportation center. There were two completely round roundhouse way back, long before my day, and from what I understand, one of them never had a turntable in it at all. I believe the one still standing is that one, but I'm not sure. Stories told to me by people older than me, but still not old enough to know either. I never remember seeing one in there in my younger days exploring it, nor ever seeing even any sign that there ever was.  There was another turntable at the "old" (not "original")station south of there. I barely remember seeing the outline, kind of a depression in the ground, really. You won't see it on any satellite photo, i've tried. It was in the SE corner, past what was the boiler house, backed by the alley near North Ave. They got rid of that when they replaced the steamers with the E's. No need to turn them, and they wouldn't have fit, anyway. Most of the parts were salvaged for the Eola TT, guess they were pretty similar.

[nanaimo73]

 All:
I will try to update the list on a weekly basis until I run out of information from others and after that only when I happen to find more.  Does anybody know how long I can "edit" the first post I made?  Can I edit it 'always' or only within some number of day after it is posted?  I'd rather update it in one place (and maybe post a note at the end of the thread to indicate I have done so) rather than keep adding long lists to the thread.

 

I have a few "lists" next door on the Trackside Guide Forum which I've edited several hundred times over the last two years. I don't think you have anything to worry about.

Have you read the Turntable thread over there ? It has 158 posts on it,

http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/308669/ShowPost.aspx

[Southwest Chief]

You can add the turntable in Winslow Arizona to your list.  I see it every time I pass by on the Southwest Chief.  It was there the last time I checked.  Here is a sat image that shows it:

Winslow Turntable

[Dough]

Got another one:

Buffalo, NY's Frontier Yard:  42° 53' 58"N 78° 48' 38"W  The turntable is completely gone, and it is used as a warehouse.  (Very good resolution in Google Earth)

Edit:  Ok, now I'm confused.  The one above may have been an old roundhouse, but it wasn't in use in the 1950's?  And I think the big one from the 1950's was torn down for yard expansion, but the original one is still there?  http://www.railfan.net/maps/1950usgs/bison50.jpg

I'm going to try to search out the ones listed on the maps of this page.

http://www.railfan.net/maps/1950usgs/

Wow there were a bunch of turntables and roundhouses in Buffalo!!!  I'll give details of which road they belonged to whenever you can send me the excel file.  Also, I'm going to keep editing this reply for a while.

This one for sure:  Buffalo, NY 42° 52' 43"N 78° 49' 13" W Ruins of both roundhouse and turntable

[Dough]

Semper Vaporo:

Try searching roundhouse again, and make sure that you haven't selected any of the drop down menus like particular states.  There are a lot.

Also, do you want to include transfer tables such as the one at GE's locomotive plant in Erie, PA.  These slid up and down instead of spinning in a circle.  I am having a hard time finding a good aerial picture, but Trains September 1999 addition has a picture of it on page 51.

And finally yes I do have excel.  You can email me the excel file, and I'll just add on.  I don't care which end I start at.

deepspire:

The one thing that I really do like about that interface is that you can switch between modes quickly.  I found this useful when looking at maps of different eras.  Apparently Microsoft has some really old maps, so it is cool to switch between the then and now.  I did this with the GE plant in Erie, PA and you can see the downsizing pretty well!

[Semper Vaporo]

deepspire:
It sure helps when a person knows the area and exactly where thing were.  Sometimes the outline is recognizable if you KNOW it is there, even in the low resolutions. 
I will try other map sites when I have more time. 

I did try your link to Flash Earth.  Interesting to have the multiple systems on one interface, but Google seemed to be the best resolution in the few areas where I tried it. 

BUT, I sure don't appreciate their interface.  Really irritating the way it sometimes locks the "button down" when I try to pan long distances.  Click and drag and then release the button to move the mouse back to the starting edge and sometimes the map would pan with the mouse even though the button had been released.  A second click would make the place the mouse is pointing at jump to the center.  I'm trying to follow an obscure abandoned rail line and I lose track when those types of things happen.  Also, lots of the images from the other sites are "washed-out" or foggy and even the Google ones are affected if I zoom in too far... a "fog bank" rolls in from the Thames and a dozen slashed-circles show up distorting detail.  Please, no insult to you, tain't your fault... I am just irritated by it!  I could probably get used to it, but that may take longer than I am willing to put into it.  Yes, I am seeking instant gratification and Google Earth is coming closest to it so far.  I have a lot of "ground" to cover and there are still many higher resolution areas using Google that I have not looked at yet.  I have started a second section to my list that contains places to look at with the other map sites when I feel I have exhausted Google Earth's abilities.

Cordon:
Again, knowing WHERE to look is a great advantage, especially when the powers that be have paved it over with a parking lot!  Sad to lose them, but I guess that is progress and you can't save EVERYTHING.

mackb4:
Interesting to be sure, but what started out as a "Look!  I found a roundhouse!  I wonder how many more I can find?" has become almost overwhelming!  Sure is fun though.  I just hope no one is insulted if I can't find a particular site and don't add it to "my" list.
Thanks for the correction to the name of the Russell, Ky site.  I have to guess as to which nearby city is the appropriate one to use and it is sometimes difficult to decide which one is "closer" and even that may not produce the "correct" name.
I will go looking for the other places you list as I can.  I am getting quite a list of possibilities!

nanaimo73:
Thanks, even more to go after!

tree68:
Thanks for suppling "names" for the yards... I see another column for the list, aside from the "Comments".

youngengineer:
Ah!  Another column to add... Narrow/standard gauge, Traction, Ammusment Park, etc.  I may as well try to add anything somebody might be interested in.

All:
I will try to update the list on a weekly basis until I run out of information from others and after that only when I happen to find more.  Does anybody know how long I can "edit" the first post I made?  Can I edit it 'always' or only within some number of day after it is posted?  I'd rather update it in one place (and maybe post a note at the end of the thread to indicate I have done so) rather than keep adding long lists to the thread.

 

[youngengineer]

in Denver Co the old C & S roundhouse is partially there 2 stalls and the turntable,(the original narrow gauge turntable was at Six Flags Elitch's but I think has since ben removed) This is north of union staion and coors field, also I believe Burnham, former Rio Grande yards still have a turntable but no roundhouse, I'll try for some better directions later. If interseted in narrow gauge turntables and roundhouse, Como, Co has a partially restored roundhouse and tunrtable pit,(not sure how well map coverage is of this area though) I know of some others if interested in these.

[tree68]

Watertown:  A typo in your coordinates put me off about 15 miles east of Watertown, NY, (about a mile east of Carthage).  But that made me look around Watertown a bit!
I think you meant the outline of a very overgrown TT & RH at: 43°58'21.64"N, 75°55'50.34"W (west of Watertown). 

That's the one.   It's actually rather in the middle of town, but west of downtown.  The yard was also in that area at one time.  Probably couldn't read my own writing...

But, in looking around I also found a vague outline of a TT at: 43°57'19.49"N, 75°56'59.18"W (Southwest of Watertown).

I was going to check there (that's CSX's Massey Yard), but didn't.  The turntable appears to have been in the middle of the wye, or else the wye was built when the turntable was removed.  I don't have a ready resource for that kind of information, though.

I'm thinking there was also some sort of facility near where the tracks cross the Black River (north of the locations I gave), but I've never really researched it, so don't know for sure.  I think it supported a traction line.

[nanaimo73]

In daily use by RDCs-

http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=48.429777,-123.381057&spn=0.001659,0.004742&t=k&z=17&om=0

Others-

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=wabasha,+mn&ie=UTF8&ll=44.383977,-92.048779&spn=0.001787,0.004742&t=k&z=17&om=0

http://terraserver.microsoft.com/image.aspx?T=1&S=10&Z=15&X=1700&Y=24993&W=1&qs=%7cwillmar%7c%7c

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=sharonville,+oh&ie=UTF8&ll=39.268087,-84.41843&spn=0.001935,0.004742&t=k&z=17&om=0

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/srchThumbs.aspx?srch=turntable&search=Search

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/srchThumbs.aspx?srch=roundhouse&search=Search

 

[mackb4]

 First.This is a very interesting search and one that will take a while to complete.

 Second.The listing you show for Worthington,Ky should show Russell,Ky.This is at the mechanical facility of CSX.It is a working up to date turntable.The old wooden roundhouse and coal tipple were razed a few years back.The engine "house" and ready track are very active.Russell is a GE warranty shop.

 Now for some information I didn't see but may have over looked.

 The NS has a turntable,longhouse and roundhouse in Williamson,WVa (N&W).They both are used by the car shop and not the mechanical department.The roundhouse has two shifts that repair cars.The turntable is used to move the cars around to the different stalls for repair.

 

 Although the turntable is in service,it is not up-to-date to turn locomotives.I was told by an official that he has been trying to get the turntable in the budget to update it to handle locomotives.

 Portsmouth,Ohio (N&W),only has a longhouse and some of the car repair buildings left.A portion of the roundhouse foundation and tracks are all that remain.

 At one time Kenova,WVa (N&W) had some sort of roundhouse and turntable.I've never seen pictures of either one and am only going by what the "old heads" told me when I hired on  .But there is a track over the hill that's called "the roundhouse lead".

 Hope this information helps you out .     

[cordon]

Bridge Street/Washington Street, Salem, MA.  The building marked Salem Depot on Google Maps is where the control tower used to be.  There are two parking lots in the satellite photo.  The one to the left has been there for many years, while the one directly to the north covers the location of the turntable and the roundhouse.  I can't see any hint of their existence in the current image.  In the early 1950s my friends and I used to walk around there on the turntable and in the roundhouse.  The tower operator showed us how everything worked in the tower and let us operate the mechanical switch and signal levers.

Salem Depot was an imposing gray granite structure at the south end of the RR tunnel under downtown Salem.  I'm not sure how people came to name the control tower Salem Depot.

 

[Zwingle]

Semper,

While the Google Resolution for Savanna is poor, the Yahoo one is decent enough for me to tell the Milwaukee roundhouse is completely gone. (I later remembered the problems they had removing it and redeveloping because of toxic soil.)  The old Q roundhouse footprint I can tell is barely there, but so overgrown its impossible to discern.  I just remember where it was.  A winter shot would capture it in this case.

This site allows you to interchange between several different image places. (Yahoo, Google, Virtual Earth, etc.)  I use it in situations where Google Earth is poor. It works very well and is quite useful: Flash Earth .. 

 This is going to be a good thread, and an important one too, I think..

[Semper Vaporo]

I am very tempted to say, "You take the results of a search for 'Turntable' and I'll take the result of a search for 'Roundhouse".  But since it found only ONE (read it right, "1") 'Roundhouse' that would not really be fair!

Take off from either end of the list (I think it said there were 298 photos of "Turntable") and I'll start at the other end.  Which end do you want to start from?

Do you have microsoft "Excel"?  I could send you the list I have now in that form as a starting place.  Or you can make your own list and share it back to me and I'll figure out how to blend it with my list and then send it back to you.

 

[Dough]

Yikes!  Go to http://www.railpictures.net/.  Do a search for turntable and then roundhouse.  It comes up with a BUNCH of hits.  Even if you only look at the ones in the US I already see some that aren't on your list.  I could help if you need it, as it would take quite a while to search that list.

[Semper Vaporo]

Dough: 
Yes, I started with a list on one of the Google forums, but it dissappeared on me, and then I lost the ability to access the forum altogether, so I gave up several weeks ago. 
I tried your link and it works again.  Go fig! 
(I hate cornpewters!  And I made my living programming them for 40 years!!!!!  By which I have come up with the following adage:  "Computers are neither smart, nor dumb... they are mean, just plain ol' mean!")
Anyway, I still can't find the original list that was there but I am looking for some of the individual items that are listed in 49 threads with "Roundhouse" in a title on the "Transportation (unmoderated)" forum; I could not find any threads about Roundhouses on the "Transportation (moderated)" forum.

Dough: 
The TT looks like it could work, but I "see" no tracks to it. 
The only indication of tracks are what appear to be abandoned roadbeds to the north and the west.

CShaveRR: 
I have heard about Proviso Yard many times but never knew just where it was.  Thanks. 
And yes, those are the names of all the "cities" that Giggle lists in the area.

WSOR 3801: 
Janesville and Horicon are too low of resolution to see anything. 
If the Madison RH is on the east side of the big lake then that is the one I have listed. 
No Turntable and no tracks to it (faces away from the only track in the area). 
If what you are thinking of is on the west side then the resolution is not good enough to see anything (the city is split right down the middle, high res on the east, low res on the west).

deepspire:
Savanna, IL... too low of resolution. 
Iowa City... that one is really obscure since there are no RR Tracks near it.  Thanks.

Tree68:
Watertown:  A typo in your coordinates put me off about 15 miles east of Watertown, NY, (about a mile east of Carthage).  But that made me look around Watertown a bit!
I think you meant the outline of a very overgrown TT & RH at: 43°58'21.64"N, 75°55'50.34"W (west of Watertown). 
But, in looking around I also found a vague outline of a TT at: 43°57'19.49"N, 75°56'59.18"W (Southwest of Watertown).
Utica, Nice building, but no evidence of the TT pit anymore.
Rome, Yes, the roof looks in bad shape.

All:
I will also look up all these places that are too low res on Giggle Erp on some of the other map/photo sites to see if they are any better.  I'll have to add another column in my list for which web site the TT & RH can be "Seen" on.

Also, I never figured I'd find more than a dozen active, working roundhouses, nor more than maybe a hundred ruins in obscure places.  From what I have found so far, I bet there are hundreds of active, working roundhouses and thousands of ruins still visible from the aerial photos, even in just the high resolution ones.

 

[Anonymous]

I beleive the 2 yards you are refering to is the one one the west side is the large TZPR railroad Yard.  The one in East peoria is the TPw yard where the turntable is.

[tree68]

Watertown, NY, NYC, 43 58'21.63"N, 75 35'50.30"W - buildings long gone.  Just east of current county jail.  You can still pick out the pit and most of the tracks.

Utica, NY, DL&W, 43 06'28.90"N 75 14' 01.40W.  Tracks are gone, believe the building is now a private concern.  Pit may still be there, but has been filled in. 

Rome, NY, NYO&W, 43 11' 55.92"N 75 27'14.15"W.  Tracks long, long gone, two or three stall roundhouse still stands, but satellite image looks like roof has collapsed.

[Zwingle]

I recall there being a couple of turntables in Savanna, Illinois years ago.  At least the Milwaukee one was in use when I was in high school, but that was 1982.  Not sure their current status.

The old two-stall BCR&N roundhouse is still standing in Iowa City, although the turntable is long gone.  Its obvious shape is easier to see up close, but here's a sat link.  Its the middle building standing askew. The engines entered from the northeast.  Back in the 1980's it was a Suds N Duds, but I have no idea what it might be today.  Iowa City, IA, USA - Google Maps

I'll bet there are a lot more roundhouse "footprints" out there.  Seems I'm always finding them when I research abandoned lines.

[WSOR 3801]

Janesville, WI.  The WSOR roundhouse and turntable.  Try 203 S. Pearl St. 

Horicon, WI.  The enginehouse is called the roundhouse.  Might have had a turntable in the past, not sure.   Rectangular building with 3 tracks going inside.

Madison, WI.  Former CNW roundhouse.  Recently had a fire in the building.  Used to be a caboose inside, not sure how well it survived the fire.

That is all I can think of for now.  Good luck! 

[CShaveRR]

You may be right.  The yard is an East/West yard and the TT is on the North side.  I almost called this one "Berkeley" as that city name is closer to the yard, but the TT is on the Stone Park side.  Melrose Park is farther (not much) away to the East.  There is another, smaller North/South yard closer to Melrose Park on the North side between Melrose Park and Franklin Park, but I can find no TTs in that area.

Yep--sounds like Proviso.  Melrose Park virtually surrounds Stone Park.  The yard has been my "home away from home" for 36-plus years, so I'm somewhat familiar with it. Confirm with the street address of 5050 W. Lake St., Melrose Park.

Portions of Proviso are within the limits of six area suburbs:  Franklin Park, Northlake, Melrose Park, Bellwood, Berkeley, and Elmhurst.

[Dough]

Also, everything that I have read about the Savannaha turntable says that it is operable.  I guess that I need to go down there and see for myself!

http://railga.com/oddend/roundhouse.html