I't wasn't my intent in my earlier post to put down Williamsburg. I once lived nearby and spent many pleasant hours strolling the streets. Though somewhat contrived and definitely sanitized, there is no better place in the U.S. to get a glimpse of life in the 1700's, without the bad stuff. There are a lot of realities from that era that no one would want to preserve or recreate. After the government left, Williamsburg gradually became a poor, forgotten, decrepit spot in the swamp until the Rockefellers came. While one can debate the methods used, the site was certainly worthy of restoration.
Mike W.

While we will never rebuild another Altoona or Cheyenne, smaller sites do have a lot of potential for recreating history as it was. Hugo, Colorado's UP roundhouse is one. Aside from the depot (moved a short ways away some years ago and restored for community use), there is nothing on the site but the shell of the roundhouse, slowly being restored by some determined local folks. The yard site remains open, however, so much of the yard could be relaid, with salvaged rail. The long-gone water tank was a lot like the one just removed and stored at San Jose. The single track coal chute looked like it was crudely built from steel beams and tin, and a replica might arise from the remains of say, an old bridge being removed. There were several ancilliary structures, all of simple frame construction, some just old carbodies. A local carpentry class might help rebuild these. The turntable is missing, but an 80-foot replacement could probably be found elsewhere.

Unfortunately, the roundhouse at Sterling, Colorado, owned by the city and of identical design was destroyed a year or so before the present group took up their efforts. It was in good structural shape, and could have yielded many vital materials to the Hugo project.

Finding appropriate equipment to fill the building would be the least concern. Several former Denver-based UP steam locomotives still exist, mostly rusting away in the open in parks and museums, and there is plenty of other UP rolling stock. The key is not to collect anything inappropriate to the era depicted - movement is expensive. It is still not entirely clear when the roundhouse last stabled locomotives. Some sources say possibly as early as 1947, though steam was used east of Denver as late as 1956. The building was used by a hardware and implement dealer after the UP stopped using it. It is not known if diesels ever used the facility.

Below is their fledgling website, which is not yet complete:

http://www.hugoroundhouse.com/

Some people try to split hairs by saying that the line sometimes known as the Mach Chunk, Summit Hill & Switchback Rwy. was surveyed and graded as early as 1819, but that rails weren't laid to replace the teporary use of horse carts until about 1827.
Mr. Lieper's railway, which later became a B&O brach from Eddystone to Swarthmore, Pa., was another "first" line. In a 1937 issue, "Railroad Magazine" reported both it and the Switchback Rwy. being torn up, although Switchback operations had stoped in 1930.