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| 3 Valley Gap Heritage Ghost Town & Railway Turntable? http://www.rypn.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=42668 |
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| Author: | Ron Goldfeder [ Tue Nov 06, 2018 12:42 pm ] |
| Post subject: | 3 Valley Gap Heritage Ghost Town & Railway Turntable? |
This attraction is located 12 miles west of Revelstoke, BC, (halfway between Vancouver and Calgary), where it has built a completely covered roundhouse. It seems to have a turntable, and the web site mentioned plans for an operational 100’ one in the past. Recent photos show a fully decked over one but can anyone confirm it is actually an operational turntable, its length, and where it came from? |
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| Author: | R. Hahn [ Tue Nov 06, 2018 4:52 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: 3 Valley Gap Heritage Ghost Town & Railway Turntable? |
According to their website "The Roundhouse at 3 Valley Gap, is home to the largest fully operational covered turntable in North America." You can read more here https://www.3valley.com/heritage_resort/roundhouse.htm Roger |
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| Author: | Ron Goldfeder [ Tue Nov 06, 2018 8:01 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: 3 Valley Gap Heritage Ghost Town & Railway Turntable? |
Yes, but similar statements have been on their site for a long time. Has anyone actually seen it? You can see a track on the circular wooden floor, which wasn't there before, but has anyone seen it rotate? |
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| Author: | Eric S Strohmeyer [ Wed Nov 07, 2018 3:25 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: 3 Valley Gap Heritage Ghost Town & Railway Turntable? |
Good evening folks, I must say, it is an interesting building. It sort of looks like a "tourist focused" variation of the Age of Steam complex in SugarCreek, OH. The Building is definitely "new construction", as opposed to a preexisting building. To the builder's credit, everything is under cover! That includes the passenger cars under the sheds of the replica train station building on site near the road. Aerial photos of the site do not appear to show any tracks located on site which are not covered. The is clearly no connection to the nearby active rails. The entire complex looks like a very large roadside tourist attraction. The building has a few "extensions" to the main part of the roundhouse complex which I believe form the basis for their claim that the facility is the "largest" covered roundhouse. The roundhouse building does appear to cover a slightly larger surface area than the B&O Museum roundhouse in Baltimore. However, the B&O Roundhouse in Baltimore is "the real deal" - A genuine vintage roundhouse . This building is obviously a "replica" at best. I wish their website provided a little more detail about the place. |
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| Author: | Bartman-TN [ Wed Nov 07, 2018 9:25 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: 3 Valley Gap Heritage Ghost Town & Railway Turntable? |
I toured the complex with the owner about a decade ago. However, it is not a normal part of most tours. It is an amazing roundhouse and turntable, with quite a collection hidden away. I recall a number of passenger cars in various state of restoration. I'm on the road but can look up the details when I get home. The complex includes a large restaurant and a number of older buildings, many open with displays. The place is worth a stop. Bart |
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| Author: | k5ahudson [ Wed Nov 07, 2018 3:09 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: 3 Valley Gap Heritage Ghost Town & Railway Turntable? |
I was there a few years ago. The whole floor turns. |
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| Author: | Ron Goldfeder [ Thu Nov 08, 2018 11:33 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: 3 Valley Gap Heritage Ghost Town & Railway Turntable? |
So it seems to really be a operational turntable with a covered pit. Does anyone have a photo of it being used? Or know when it was installed, or where it came from? |
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| Author: | Bobharbison [ Thu Nov 08, 2018 12:20 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: 3 Valley Gap Heritage Ghost Town & Railway Turntable? |
Take a look at this video, which shows the roundhouse in the back. You'll see that whomever is behind this has no shortage of cash. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdslwzVoflI The roundhouse is home to a rather eclectic collection of rolling stock, coaches, at least one caboose and I think one steam locomotive, maybe more. They have/had a park train as well, and I saw photo of the entire park train on the turntable. However, the least time I checked the site, I could find no mention of the train ride, and I somehow got the impression it no longer operates, though that may not be correct. Here's a page from the official website, along with a few photos. https://www.3valley.com/heritage_resort/roundhouse.htm I'm pretty sure this is the only roundhouse to ever feature what looks to be pretty much a Greek Revival house as the entrance to the building. |
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| Author: | philip.marshall [ Thu Nov 08, 2018 1:43 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: 3 Valley Gap Heritage Ghost Town & Railway Turntable? |
Does anyone have information on the Climax engine that is supposed to be there? Steamlocomotive.info says it was built in 1893 (the first year of the Class B) but doesn't give a construction number, and the only photo shows what appears to be just a pile of parts amid vegetation. http://steamlocomotive.info/vlocomotive.cfm?Display=1497 -Philip Marshall |
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| Author: | Ron Goldfeder [ Sun Nov 11, 2018 3:34 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: 3 Valley Gap Heritage Ghost Town & Railway Turntable? |
Today I got a message from the owners of this attraction, and was told that their turntable is one that they had built for them, not one moved from a railroad elsewhere. I've asked them to verify its 100 foot length and when it was installed. I'll post any further information I get. |
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| Author: | Bobharbison [ Mon Nov 12, 2018 3:12 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: 3 Valley Gap Heritage Ghost Town & Railway Turntable? |
There used to be more info about the roundhouse on their website. I recall reading that it was inspired by the ones that CPR and/or CN had to build in the mountains due to the snow. I don't recall if they had a specific one at Revelstoke as the inspiration or what. A few good photos here (scroll down the page quite a way to find them), including the one of the park train on the turntable. Looks like quite an impressive structure! http://www.flickriver.com/photos/ryanan ... 855397333/ |
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