I have seen many photos of both actual and modeled roundhouses. Many of them have doors and quite a few of them are without doors. I am scratchbuilding a 5 stall roundhouse and am wondering how realistic it would be to not have doors. Is a doorless roundhous more prototypical in certain geographical areas? What variables were taken into account in the decision to have/not have doors in the construction of a protypical roundhouse? All input will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
wdcrvr
Doorless ones might not be good in northern areas! The DM&IR roundhouse in Proctor, MN has roll-up doors.
It dosen’t seem to be very common, but it’s not unheard of. Here are several examples: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Roundhouses_in_the_United_States#/media/File:Bob_Julian_Roundhouse_NC_Transportation_Museum.jpg
I hope this helps. Happy building!
I’m with Jim, if your modeling a north country railroad, you want doors, even if your time period is summer time, as I do, you need to show that doors are there.
Mike.
I recall my first visit to Florida and being surprized at how many “open-air” structures there were.
Here’s a view of an Atlantic Coast Line, Lakeland, Florida, roundhouse sans doors:
Atlantic Coast Line, 1947 by Fred Clark, Jr., on Flickr
In fact, there isn’t much in the way of walls, either.
Good Luck, Ed
You need doors to warm the place up.
