The ground around the Round

Ah, those of us who love steam also seem to love everything to do with them, roundhouses and turntables at the top of the list, with coaling stations, water towers and penstocks, ash pits, inspection pits, wash racks, etc. Until now I never thought about how things were done out west, in oil-fired territory, such as “Where did they get their cinders?” I was lucky in that I became a model railroader in the early '50s–graduated from intending to build a decent model railroad with American Flyer 2-rail S gauge to HO when I was 16. I was steeped in the sights, sounds, smells, and feel of the real thing by accompanying my elder brother to RR facilities all over southeastern Wisconsin, starting in '54, when he mustered out of the Air Force.

I continued to visit every roundhouse I could find–until most of them were finally gone–and the thing I remember most, Jerrell, is their grittiness! Without exception, every one of these engine facilities seemed to grow, like an industrial garden, out of a bed of cinder fill. When you could walk around, close to them, even the ones overgr

[quote user=“Dean-58”]

Ah, those of us who love steam also seem to love everything to do with them, roundhouses and turntables at the top of the list, with coaling stations, water towers and penstocks, ash pits, inspection pits, wash racks, etc. Until now I never thought about how things were done out west, in oil-fired territory, such as “Where did they get their cinders?” I was lucky in that I became a model railroader in the early '50s–graduated from intending to build a decent model railroad with American Flyer 2-rail S gauge to HO when I was 16. I was steeped in the sights, sounds, smells, and feel of the real thing by accompanying my elder brother to RR facilities all over southeastern Wisconsin, starting in '54, when he mustered out of the Air Force.

I continued to visit every roundhouse I could find–until most of them were finally gone–and the thing I remember most, Jerrell, is their grittiness! Without exception, every one of these engine facilities seemed to grow, like an industrial garden, out of a bed of cinder fill. When you could walk around, close to them

I’m in the process of installing a turntable and these wonderful photos are a big help. Thanks guys for all the postings…

Wayne

Dean, those were superior contributions…well done!!! [^] And thanks.

-Crandell

Paul Scoles dose a great job about this in his video #2 on his round house and service yard area. You can see the preview here about 2/3 into the preview

http://www.paulscoles.com/V2_Preview.html

There are some great shots on the video you can use. If you haven’t seen these vidoes yet there are great - a must have in your libary - IMHO (right next to Joe’s)

ratled

Dean, many thanks to you for taking the time to give a detailed description. This is mighty nice of you. I’ve certainly picked up some valuable information from you answer, and that means a lot to a guy that never had the opportunity to visit a steam era facility. If you think of anything to add, please do so.

Jarrell

[quote user=“Dean-58”]

[quote user=“Dean-58”]

Ah, those of us who love steam also seem to love everything to do with them, roundhouses and turntables at the top of the list, with coaling stations, water towers and penstocks, ash pits, inspection pits, wash racks, etc. Until now I never thought about how things were done out west, in oil-fired territory, such as “Where did they get their cinders?” I was lucky in that I became a model railroader in the early '50s–graduated from intending to build a decent model railroad with American Flyer 2-rail S gauge to HO when I was 16. I was steeped in the sights, sounds, smells, and feel of the real thing by accompanying my elder brother to RR facilities all over southeastern Wisconsin, starting in '54, when he must

I’d like to thank everybody for their answers, especially loved the photos… saved them for future reference.

Jarrell

Bob

That is a great idea, I going to give that a try.

Thank you

GS