Roundhouses

The hubs of steam rail transportation.

© John Crandall

Mar 19, 2007

Roundhouses were very important to steam railways. They were both maintainance facilities, and turnaround points.

A roundhouse is a large round building,usually of brick or stone. They were built by steam railroads to house their locomotives, and to serve as maintainance facilities. They were most often built around a turntable for turning the locomotives around. They tended to have a number of bays each of which could hold one or two locomotives on a short siding or track. They were absolutely essential at the end of steam lines for turning the locomotives around for the return trip since most early steam locomotives lacked a reverse, and later models were unweildy to drive in reverse due to their tenders even if reverse capabilities were built into them.

Roundhouses are often architectural wonders, and some are simply beautiful. The two roundhouses at Martinsburg West Virgina are visible from the current Amtrak station, and are very interesting to ponder while waiting for a train (which sometimes takes awhile). These roundhouses were originally built by the B&O railroad in the mid 19th century. They were captured and recaptured several times during the Civil War by troops from both sides. They were totally rebuilt in 1866 with a metal superstructure to support large cupola roofs made to catch and vent the smoke and steam of the locomotives housed there. They had a longer service life than most roundhouses, but are currently out of service and being rennovated as a local community project. One roundhouse is fully standing, but the other is missing part of its outer walls.

Most roundhouses still standing serve as museums, arts facilities, concert venues, or even factories. The diesel locomotive put an end to the need for roundhouses by being able to drive in either direction. Railroads still build maintainence facilities for their locomotives, and even call them roundhouses, but they are hardly ever round anymore. Real roundhouses are now a part of railroad history, but they are a very colorful part. Roundhouses across America and throughout Eurpoe were the hubs of steam railway operations. Roundhouses were also central locations for organizing many early rail strikes which are among the earliest American labor movements. A historical marker at the station in Martinsburg claims that workers at those roundhouses were a leading force in strikes that eventually led to improved labor conditions for railway workers.


The copyright of the article Roundhouses in Rail History is owned by John Crandall. Permission to republish Roundhouses must be granted by the author in writing.




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Here's the follow-up discussion on this article: View all related messages
1.   Jun 14, 2007 6:35 PM

The roundhouse of the old D L & W, more recently Erie Lackawanna located in Kingston, PA will soon be no more. It is slated for demo by the end of the month.

-- posted by trestletramp

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