Roundhouses in New England

jbvb wrote:B&M Eastern Route: Portsmouth, Newburyport, Salem, maybe Lynn, Amesbury had a 1-stall shed IIRC.
Western Route: Reading (in addition to South Lawrence, Haverhill, Dover)
NH Route: Wilmington had a building, don't know if it was an actual roundhouse. Middlesex (between Lowell and N. Chelmsford), Nashua, Manchester, Concord, Laconia (IIRC), Plymouth, Woodsville, West Lebanon.
Fitchburg: Ayer (long ago), E. Fitchburg, E. Deerfield, Troy, Mechanicville
Worcester, Nashua & Portland: Worcester (gone by WWII), Clinton, Rochester NH
Conn. River: Springfield (gone by WWII), No. Walpole NH. Claremont Jct. had a 3-stall shed.

And of course BET and the roundhouses by Lechmere and in Charlestown.

I may have missed a couple, haven't checked the BMRRHS Characteristics Charts reprint.

I never new Plymouth, NH had one.
Sanbornville,NH - not sure what's left of it.
Did Greenville, NH ever have one?

Yes Sanbornville (Wakefield), NH had one. Only the turntable and a part of the brick foundation remain.

I do have a B&M system chart showing turntables in 1937...but it does not state if there is a roundhouse to go along with it.
http://www.amoskeagnorthern.com/trackch ... 201937.doc

An old B+MRR Historical Society bulletin has a list of turn tables from about 100 years ago, including one in Marblehead.
John, the guy in the white car with the wing on back

I believe there is a 3 stall roundhouse still standing in Revere Mass, off of Railroad st.

Did Salem, MA have a roundhouse when it still had a turntable where the new station is?

Before the new tunnel, the Salem turntable was entered by a switch right where the Peabody line split from the Eastern Route main, and the roundhouse and coal tower were between the turntable and the water. I think the TT and the house were removed soon after the end of steam in 1956, but I've never seen a date or photos of the area circa 1957-9.

This may sound like a really dumb question, but there is a Roundhouse hotel in Boston near where Mass Ave. goes to the highway. Was this in fact a Roundhouse at one point?

I don't think there was a roundhouse there. It was just named for that because it is a round building.

Yea I'll head back to my hole now.

jscola30 wrote:Yea I'll head back to my hole now.

You never know until you ask.

B&MRRHS Bulletin Volume XV Number 3 (June 1987) Contains a list of turntables from 1898 for everything on the B&M but the Fitchburg Division which had not been acquired at that time. Those without houses are noted.

To answer some of the questions, it appears that Epping and Rockingham Junction had tables but not houses.

Salem, MA had two tables and houses. The "other" one was on the west side of the station. Some drawings of this can be seen in a hardcover study of double tracking the Salem tunnel that I donated to the Walker Transportation Collection at the Beverly Historical Society.

John, the guy in the white car with the wing on back

The remains of the Portsmouth NH house survive, 3 stalls I think. No roof, just walls.
Exeter NH had a table, I don't know if there was a house to go with it.
I have been told that there was a house at Rockingham. I don't know. It would have been small if in fact one existed. At ant rate, there is no trace today.

The remains of the Portsmouth NH house survive, 3 stalls I think. No roof, just walls.

Where are these remains?

Take Woodbury Ave. into Portsmouth by the Holiday Inn off the Portsmouth Circle.
Near the end, it makes a sharp left hand curve to a stop on Bartlett St. Right on Barlett St., under the Portsmouth Branch to the light. Left on Islington St. Look for the first left, Dover St., Take that to the end at McDonough St. along the tracks. Remains of roundhouse should be right across the tracks or a bit looking to the left.

You might be able to reach the area by turning left before going under the railroad overpass, but there are several businesses there and private driveways and some chain link fencing, so I am not sure you can get in that way.

In addition to the remains of the engine house, there are the remains of a turntable.

Here's 3 pics from the NERAIL archives, one from 1990 and two from 2006.
http://tinyurl.com/8m3lag

More pics here, including the turntable: http://tinyurl.com/7m9ddg

Dick

The roundhouse in East Hartford, CT survived up until about 12 years ago (the turntable was long gone). It was destroyed in a general alarm fire. The roundhouse had been used to store reposessed automobiles and there were over 100 of them in there at the time of the fire.

The floor still exists and is part of a parking lot for trucks.