I want to scratchbuild a roundhouse. Can anyone direct me to a good source for pictures, drawings, measurements, etc. I have a book on “trackside structures” that includes a roundhouse which is somewhat helpful but I am looking for more to work from. The roundhouse in this book does not have doors on it. That does not seem prototypical to me or is it in some cases? I am looking for something that would give me a good idea of the size of lumber used to build the support structure before the addition of the siding, brick, or stone. This book shows the use of 12" x 12" uprights and cross beam but I don’t know if that would be right or not.
You can probably find plans, etc by searching the magazine index that Kalmbach has elsewhere on its website.
My roundhouse currently doesn’t have doors, but they’re planned, it just seemed like a big project apart from building the structure itself. A doorless roundhouse would likely only be somewhere that heat is not needed in the winter. After all, the protection a roundhouse provides is as much for those working on the locos as it is for the machinery itself.
12 x 12 lumber is about right. It could go larger, but probably not smaller for upright posts, etc.
Here’s a pic of my framing:
I used only one upright between the front and back of the stall. In reality, more posts would probably be needed for that long a span. I used double posts at the entrance so that each door has its own post to attach hinges to when I get back to finish them.
I agree with Mike that a search should turn up some plans.
I built my round house (not yet finished) from plans of the Yosemite Valley RR round house at Merced that Jack Burgess has for sale on the drawings CD at his website. The CD has lots of Drawings of YV structures that can be modified to use on any RR.
The biggest issue with the round house for me was figuring the the degree spacing of the tracks. This ended up being somewhat determined by the turntable (scratchbuilt) and its diameter.
