A quick question for the experts:
Were locomotive servicing facilities ever shared by more than one railroad (i.e., would you see locomotives from different roads parked next to each other in the same roundhouse)?
Where can I find out information on the locations of major servicing terminals? I’m particularly interested in the CB&Q and C&NW. Thanks.
Foreign power also could be found at an engine terminal when:
–There were power pooling or run-through arrangements with the other road(s). These practices accounted for many foreign-road units at Union Pacific’s North Platte diesel servicing facilities over the years;
–The foreign road(s) had trackage rights or overhead rights over the home road, which included the right to have power serviced at the home road’s terminal. For many years, Soo Line had such an arrangement with Milwaukee Road in Milwaukee. I’ve seen many photos of Soo 4-8-2s, F units, Geeps and its sole SD9 at MILW’s West Milwaukee engine terminal.
–Use of the engine terminal by foreign power may be incident to use of a union passenger station. Again using Milwaukee as an example, after the Milwaukee Union Station was completed in 1965, it was common to see CNW passenger power at the West Milwaukee (Milw. Road) engine terminal for turning and servicing.
Two more examples. Cincinnatti was host to C&O, N&W, B&O, PRR, L&N,and SR. I don’t recall ever seeing a pic w/ all of them in the same shot, but there were lots with varying quantities of engines you might not expect to see together.
The IC psgr eng terminal in downtown Chicago was frequently host to a C&O Mike. With the smokebox mounted air pumps and feedwater heater and the Vanderbilt tender it sure stood out among all of the IC’s rather "plain Jane’ engines.
Thanks for the info. This answered my question.
Pennsy Power 2 has a shot at Cincy with Baldwin passenger units of the PRR, L&N, C&O and PRR E units, N&W J, CUT steam switcher and several other engines I don’t remember.
The P&PU was/is the belt railray around the Peoria area. Their main engine service area, Roundhouse #1 near Bridge Junction, serviced their own fleet of steam and diesel switchers, as well as those of several roads: NKP, PRR, P&E (NYC), C&IM, IC, GM&O. In addition, due to the congestion of the area and the high levels of interchange traffic, you could see motive power for several other roads passing next to the ready tracks: C&NW, CB&Q, TP&W, PT Co., and Rock Island.
The Altoona shops in Pa. now run by NS have a lot of foreign power coming and going. I recall seeing an engine for the Alaska RR there for work.
Springfield, MA engine terminal on the New Haven’s line from New Haven and Hartford, CT played host to both Boston & Maine and NH power; very colorful and interesting in the 1950s and 1960s.
I see numerous railroads represented here in the BNSF Interbay Yard in Seattle. CSX, NS, Montana Raillink, CN, Amtrak, even UP now and then which has a small Intermodel yard south of Interbay. I model this yard and it’s costing me a fortune! Everytime I see a different road here I just HAVE TO HAVE that on my layout as wel!!
Among sources often overlooked by modelers for the layout of engine-service facilities are older U.S. Geological Survey maps, available in some libraries (especially university libraries). I know that Yale has many of these maps dated around 1950.
I do not know if any of these older maps still are available from the Government, but one could write the Survey in Denver and ask.
If nothing else, explain it away as your home RR leasing the foreign loco’s!
Pre Conrail, the Bethlehem Pennsylvania Engine terminal was a home for Lehigh Valley RR and a service location for Reading Railroad engines. Also visiting was Lehigh and Hudson River RR.
As I’ve noted in some earlier threads, USGS Quadrangle maps are available from Maptech at:
http://historical.maptech.com/index.htm
Hope this helps.
Bob
NMRA Life 0543
the trra of st.l.had engine service facilities at 14th street, in downtown saint louis. they were owned by 13 or 14 railroads that came into town. they serviced both steam and diesel. hope this helps. scotty4
I am from Richmond, VA and teh RF&P had a larger facility there. There are photos showing engines from the RF&P, Seaboard Coast Line, Auto Train all at the same facility. After later mergers in the 80’s you couls see Seaboard. Family Lines, and Chessie System at the facility, too along with the RF&P locomotives.
Photos of the WM’s yard in Hagerstown MD in the 50’s showed B&O and Reading locos fueling and sharing the facilities; both late steam and early diesel. I believe the photo on pg 57 in Marty McGuirck’s ‘Model Railroader’s Guide to Locomotive Servicing Terminals’ shows such a scene though it doesn’t give the location. There is set of WM ‘F’ units and a pair of B&O Alco PA’s.
Mark
At Buffalo, the New York Central met the Toronto Hudson & Buffalo (the only place the two met) and Canadian National, all in one spot. I have a picture showing them all in the same yard and roundhouse. Does that answer your question?
HB&T Milby Street roundhouse in Houston. In the 50’s Santa Fe , Rock Island,FW&DC, and Mopac Psgr. engines were serviced.
At NS’s (formerly Conrail, formerly ???) Buckeye Yard in Columbus, OH, I’ve seen just about every modern day railroad and recent fallen flags on their “diesel pad”. Sometimes, I see nothing but NS black, sometimes I see anything but. One time, I thought we’d been transported to Omaha – there was nothing but UP power on the pad.[2c]
For the C&NW information…
Visit www.cnwhs.org
The Chicago & Northwestern Historical Society has two books out now on locomotive servicing facilites. Most of your questions will most likely be answered.