Roundhouse - History

History

Probably the first railway roundhouse was built in 1839 at Derby, England by the North Midland Railway. Some private workshops, such as that of Fenton, Murray and Jackson in Leeds (1831–1843), may previously have been laid out in a radial pattern. In a guidebook of the time we are told "The engine-house is a polygon of sixteen sides, and 190 feet (58 m) in diameter, lighted from a dome-shaped roof, of the height of 50 feet (15 m). It contains 16 lines of rails, radiating from a single turn-table in the centre: the engines, on their arrival, are taken in there, placed upon the turn-table, and wheeled into any stall that may be vacant. Each of the 16 stalls will hold two, or perhaps more, engines." This roundhouse narrowly escaped demolition when the works closed down, and was classified as a listed building. The Derby roundhouse was restored in 2010, being converted into a brand new site for Derby College, with a new addition called the 'Stephenson Building' including the other survival of demolition - the original Midland Counties Railway workshop. The new site was opened in September 2009. Tours can be arranged through Derby Tourist Information Centre.

Since the great dieselisation era of the 1940s and 1950s, many roundhouses have been demolished or put to other uses, but a few still stand and remain in use on the railroads. Early roundhouses were too small for later locomotives: The Roundhouse, Chalk Farm, London was built in 1847, but was too small for its function within 20 years (it is now an arts centre). The unusual shape of the buildings can make them difficult to adapt to new uses, but can also be aesthetically appealing.

The B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore, Maryland is located in the restored roundhouse of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. It is said to be the world's largest 22-sided building.

The Steam Whistle Brewing brewery in Toronto, Ontario is located in the building known as the John Street Roundhouse, a former Canadian Pacific Railway steam locomotive repair facility.

The roundhouse located on the BNSF line, with the last stop in Aurora, Illinois, was purchased by NFL football player Walter Payton and has become Walter Payton's Roundhouse Brewery and Restaurant.

The Canadian National Railways roundhouse at the Turcot Yard in Montreal, built in 1906, was the largest ever built in Canada. Its demolition in 1962 to make way for the Turcot Interchange illustrated a profound change in transportation habits across North America.

Valley Heights roundhouse, 75 km west of Sydney NSW, is the oldest surviving roundhouse in Australia, and has been preserved as a railway museum.

The roundhouse in Wolsztyn, in western Poland, continues to supply steam locomotives for regular national rail services (as of 2011).