Which roundhouse in Council Bluffs?

bobyar2001 · **Posted:** Fri Feb 18, 2005 11:48 pm

Had this explosion? Is this the former C&NW facility?

http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs. ... 60347/1006

Oops, here it is on another link. Yes, it is the former C&NW roundhouse.

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_pg=1636&u_sid=1337141

Wooly · **Posted:** Sat Feb 19, 2005 12:09 am

This explosion is supposed to have occured because of fumes from improperly cured resin from the fuel tank which eveidently is fiberglass or some material of that sort & sparks from a hand grinder caused the explosion. Yes it is the ex C&NW roundhouse or what is left of it.........Wooly

Gerald W. Kopiasz · **Posted:** Sun Feb 20, 2005 3:58 pm

I believe this roundhouse was about 3/4 round. At some point in time looooong ago, most of the stalls were removed except the backshop. CNW used it to maintain power, then it closed. GE used it for a maintenance shop, then it closed. UP now uses it for their passenger cars, then it blew up. Actually, the damage to the structure is reportedly minimal. The true loss is the life that the explosion took.

I have a personal attachment to this building. As a kid, my dad would take me there. Since it sits on Avenue G, one can peer through the windows to see the show inside. I also went through when C&NW had an openhouse there and had 1385 running excursions. The building is architecturally pleased and is very well maintained as is the rest of the site. The turntable is still used too. This is Union Pacific's pride and joy, so any accident there comes as a great surprise.

ATK · **Posted:** Mon Feb 21, 2005 12:23 am

I was in this shop about six years ago or so when the place was being run by GE. GE was using the old roundhouse as a mod shop and a place to do warranty repair work -- a lot of AC6000's got cycled through there early on. Seems to me there was only about 4 or 5 stalls left of the house. Yes, at that time the turntable was functional. I wasn't aware that GE had vacated and UP had moved back in.