Well, the dirty deed has been done....the Kingston Roundhouse is no more. As of this weekend (9/1/07), the only thing that remained was the concrete pad and the piers that once supported the main columns.
The work must have just been done as there was still demo equipment on site as well as a residual pile of bricks. I met with the owner, Wyoming Seminary, about 2-years ago. The owner did not want to see the roundhouse end up in a landfill and entertained ideas of material recovery. I was granted access, took some video, and did some number crunching. The numbers were not good. Although there was a lot of recoverable wood, most of it was creosote coated requiring cleaning or shaving for re-use. Most of the roof supports were rotten and unusable. The large vertical supports by the roundhouse doors were rotting due to exposure to the elements. There was a lot of salvageable brick, including brick used for flooring around the engine pits; however, a lot of work would have been required for material recovery.
I had a cost estimate of $80,000 for simple demolition. The contractor could not estimate the added cost to carefully dismantle to allow for material recovery, but he assumed an additional 50% cost. There was some old steam piping that was asbestos coated, another expense for proper (PaDEP-approved) removal. Wyoming Seminary was also hinting at a donation for the material recovery. I figured a total cost of $200,000 for material recovery. Wyoming Seminary was planning (at the time)to install an athletic field at the site.
