I have run across a discussion wherein the general definition of railroad turntables states that they were/are inside the roundhouse. In my very limited experience, I've never heard of such an arrangement. Have I missed something?

This was the original plan. The turntable within the roundhouse that is now the B&O Museum may well be the only surviving example. As locomotives became larger, and therefore the turntables needed to be longer, it became apparent that huge buildings would be required to span space where no actual work took place, and it was cheaper to employ gangs of labors to keep the snow out of the turntable pit than to cover it.

Interesting question; when was the LAST roundhouse with an enclosed turntable built?

There's also Martinsburg WV, though I don't know, this may be a replica and not the original turntable:

http://www.martinsburgroundhouse.com/Roundhousetoday.html

Algoma Central had one in their diesel shop which I think is still in service. Arguably the shop is not a typical looking roundhouse, but the tracks are radially placed inside part of it from my limited experience in photographs.

Here is one link with many others available across the internet.

http://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=7352

-Chris

My guess would be the old Union Tank Car dome facility in Wood River, IL, near St. Louis. The "roundhouse" is a Geodesic dome that contains a turntable and car repair tracks radiating out from it. I believe it was built in the 1960s and is similar to a structure built by Union Tank Car in Baton Rouge, LA. The Baton Rouge facility had a different type of turntable, one that did not pivod on the center of the table. It was more like a transfer table that made a circular path.

The dome in Wood River still stands, owned by a railcar repair facility known as Dome Services.

I worked for Union Tank Car Company in 1969-1971 at the dome in Wood River. At that time, the transfer table did not pivot in the center. It ran in a circle around the dome. In the center of the circle was material storage and offices for inspectors and material handlers. On the outside of the transfer table were car repair locations.

I'll nominate Corkscrew Gulch turntable on the Silverton as one of the oddest inside turntables - hopefully unique....

http://ghostdepot.com/rg/images/san%20j ... trview.jpg

As its not an engine facility I'm not sure it counts, but if the object of covering a turntable is to keep it from rotting and keep the snow out, yeah, great application.

Kirk, thanks for the clarification. I haven't quite made it over to Dome Services to snag a tour. One of these days...

Mount Clare (the present B&O Museum) is actually a relatively late example, dating from the 1870s, I believe. Martinsburg (the one that did not burn down) may be about the same age.

The oldest roundhouse that I'm aware of, which may for all I know be the oldest one still standing in the United States, is the former Norwich & Worcester facility on North Main St. in Norwich, Connecticut, built about 1840. The stall area is fan-shaped, like a "modern" roundhouse, but the turntable was (is?) fully enclosed within a cylindrical structure about 30' in diameter - perfectly sufficient for the Norris haystack-boilered 4-2-0s that originally used it, but ensuring early obsolescence as a railroad facility. It's been a plumbing supply store for many years, and due to commercial additions along the street frontage is very well-hidden. The N&W car shops, dating from about the same time, are still standing nearby, with end doors that appear more suited for Maine 2' gauge boxcars and thus demonstrate diminutive size of the earliest American rolling stock.

The Southern Pacific had an enclosed turntable in a snowshed at Norden - the summit in the Sierra Nevadas - for turning helpers. Gone, of course.

There were quite a few of them in Canada, beginning in the 1850's. The Grand Trunk Railway of Canada was a big user of the so called " square house" which was based on common English practice. Given the severe winters and deep snows in our northern regions, it's surprising they fell out of favour in later years. The Algoma Central (now CN) indoor turntable is still around as is the indoor turntable at Hornepayne, Ontario, also, CN. Parks Canada did a hardcover book documenting steam era roundhouses and engine houses in Canada. I'm guessing ti was done in the late 80's.

Gord

Is anything in the Martinsburg, WV Roundhouse? I remember passing it on an excursion during the 2003 NRHS convention, but don't remember any comment beyond, "there it is."

In England there were turntables inside some of their engine sheds. I think I even saw a recent (last couple-three years) photo of one of these installations.

The UK also had several turntables located inside enginehouses. The one in York is still in use and operational by the National Railway Museum there:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Railway_Museum

The oldest in England was built by the North Midlad Rwy in 1839, and is still standing, having been recently rebuilt by the college there. It is, of course, no longer in use by railway equipment, but at least it was preserved. I believe the turntable is still in existance. This site gives more information in a long (and non-railway focused!) article, and a couple of the 20+ photos include glimpses of the roundhouse (actually 16-sided!), but not the turntable (photo #21 includes a view of the roof support structure behind the person's head!). Take a look if you are interested:

http://derbyshire.greatbritishlife.co.u ... ege-21336/

Not sure how the Norwich roundhouse escaped my New England roundhouse list, but there it is on Google maps. Time for a detour on the next New England road trip.