Manchester roundhouse update.

She is still there..barely.
new photos on the second half of the page:

http://www.frontiernet.net/~scottychaos ... ester.html

Scot

The Lehigh Valley Railroad Historical Society has been working with the Village of Manchester to clean up the roundhouse property this year. In February, the Manchester Village Board approved our request to remove the trees and brush from the site. We are now recruiting volunteers with chain saws to assist the Village DPW with the job. Anyone who can help us this spring or fall is asked to contact me through the LVRRHS web site at www.lvrrhs.org.

The roundhouse property is currently owned by the County of Ontario. Environmental testing is being conducted to determine the extent of ground water pollution caused by diesel fuel and oil spills into the ground during the past. The pollution must be cleaned up before anything can be done with the property. There are no definite plans for the roundhouse at this time.

Thanks to Scot Lawrence for posting the current photographs of the LVRR Manchester roundhouse. I hope that we can generate some interest in the railfan community to preserve this historic structure. Please contact me if you would like to help us out.

Ken May, President
Lehigh Valley Railroad Historical Society

Scott, those are some good photos. Hopefully I can make it over there while I still spend my weeks in Yates County.

Ken, Bravo to the LVRRHS in its attempt to work with the site. Hopefully I can help you guys if possible. Just let me know what you might need.

-Greg

Ken,
great news about the roundhouse!
even if its not officially being used for anything, just gettign the area cleaned up will be nice.
I will try to come down and help too!

how are the plans for the railroad display coming?
I noticed some freight car trucks in the parking lot by the school,
are those for the display?
what do you guys have planned?
Scot

Local developer Marty McMillan has purchased a pair of ex-LV cabooses and has them stored behind the school on Main St. (NY 21 just south of NY 96) in Manchester. The cabooses are still in their blue Conrail paint but have their original LV numbers stenciled on them. It is my understanding that the cabooses will be put on display in the proposed shopping center west of the school.

Scot and Greg - contact me through the LVRRHS web site for more details about the roundhouse clean-up. If you're free on Friday, April 15, we are planning a work party. Thanks for your offers of assistance with the project.

Ken

Corrections to my posting about the two cabooses stored in Manchester - one is ex-LV 95100 (CR 18632) and the other is ex-PC 19109 (CR 46142). The LV caboose is painted Conrail blue while the PC caboose is painted work train gray.

Three volunteers worked on the roundhouse clean-up project today and made great progress. Brad Smith from Smith's Mill Sawmilling in Victor brought his Bobcat and was able to remove trees and brush 2/3 of the way along the Merrick Circle side of the roundhouse. Brad also graded off the ground where he dug up the trees and brush. Ken May and Bill Young from the Lehigh Valley Railroad Historical Society picked up all the trash along Merrick Circle and deposited it curbside for removal by the Manchester DPW. Ken and Bill also cut down weeds and the leftover brush on the site. Thanks to all who participated in today's clean-up.

Phase I of the LVRR Manchester Roundhouse Clean-up Project is almost complete. Last week, a crew from Rochester Gas and Electric cut down the remaining trees and brush on the northwest side of the roundhouse along Merrick Circle. Manchester DPW workers are scheduled to haul away the waste by the end of this week. The entire outer side of the roundhouse is now completely free of trees and brush!

Phase II of the roundhouse clean-up project will begin in June. Our plans are to cut down the trees and brush in the interior area (turntable site). Our goal is to clear the turntable pit area so it can be viewed again. Anyone who is interested in helping us out should contact me through the LVRRHS web site at www.lvrrhs.org. Thanks to RG&E for their assistance with the project.

Ken May, LVRRHS President

Where is this in relation to Endicott?

About 90 miles northwest of Endicott, up near Rochester.

Ken, right now my long term schedule is slammed, but let me know when you have a firm date and I'll see what I can do about getting back there with the Bobcat for a work session.

Another work party will be held at the LVRR roundhouse in Manchester on Friday, November 11, 2005, starting at 9:00 am. The goal for the day is to cut down all the trees and brush in the turntable area in the roundhouse interior. Volunteers are asked to bring chain saws if they have them or manual saws if they don't. Work will go on rain, snow, or shine so dress accordingly. Please contact me through the LVRRHS web site at www.lvrrhs.org if you can join us at the work party. Thank you for your interest in the LVRR Manchester roundhouse clean-up project.

Ken May, LVRRHS President

The DL&W roundhouse in binghamton is in slightly worse shape. The floors are starting to buckle, and a wall has caved in. Could we possibly start something there?

Saw two related extant roundhouses last weekend. A Lehigh one in Coxton yard in Pittston Jct or Pittston, PA. Partially torn down and not in the best of shape, Manchester is far better. Also saw the doomed DL&W roundhouse in Kingston, PA. That's in good shape. How can I get photos of the East Binghamton roundhouse?

J

Ask Tom Hannon for his pics. My camera died before we got there.

The DL&W roundhouse in binghamton is in slightly worse shape. The floors are starting to buckle, and a wall has caved in. Could we possibly start something there?

Andy,
Once you start talking structural damage, the game is pretty much over. You've now gone from volunteers doing minimal maintenance to repairs costing tens, maybe hundreds of thousands of dollars. Without a white knight coming in and finding a use for the structure, it is doomed IMO, and there just aren't that many uses for a round house.

Additionally, Ken couldn't muster enough interested people to work at the relatively intact LV round house, much less finding volunteers for one in trouble. I have helped with the LV clean-up in the past and will again in the future, but I can't help fight the feeling that in clearing the area around the round house, all we are doing is saving the wrecking crew an hour or two of work some day.