The use of "faux" in the title of this thread was actually a tongue-in-cheek reference to Kevin Keefe's article "Inside America's Newest Roundhouse" in February 2013 Trains which on page 24 asserts:
"A few other faux roundhouses have been built in recent decades... ...but those buildings are pretenders."

As stated in the original post, which I wrote as a result of another post on this forum, about the DT&M roundhouse at Greenfield Village, I was suggesting that there actually have been other real roundhouses built in the United States since 1951, albeit typically for museums. I knew of a few (mentioned in the original post), but I was looking to find others.

Thanks,
Steve Piwowarski

We could categorize these post-steam era roundhouses into several categories:

Reconstruction: These are accurate reconstructions of actual roundhouses that once existed. These could further be divided into reconstructions at the original location, or reconstructions that were built elsewhere. The not-so faux DT&M roundhouse at the Ford is in this latter sub-category, while the Chama roundhouse project seeks to accurately recreate the building at its original site.

Historicist: The modelers would call this a "freelance" design that is based on common practices, and is intended to look like an old building, but does not accurately recreate the appearance of a specific structure. The Age of Steam roundhouse is amongst these.

Museum: These buildings are purpose-built display buildings designed for railroad equipment AND the public. They are often designed to evoke the characteristics of historic buildings, but do so in an intentionally contemporary manner so as to avoid being mistaken for a historic building. The NPS additions at Steamtown are in this category.

One could argue that from a preservationist's perspective, a Historicist roundhouse is the only one of these that is completely "faux."

What's the current situation with the new roundhouse in Tuscumbia Alabama? I read many articles from a year or two back that former Conway Scenic Railroad 2-6-2 #108 was supposed to go to that museum for restoration. It's still in pieces in Texas at the Blacklands Railroad site but it was sold for restoration to the museum in Tuscumbia. Anybody know what the situation with that is?

I just goggled this, had never heard of it before. Look it up on a overhead view, it's right in the middle of a small town 'downtown' area, with no approach tracks at all, just a turntable and enginehouse with a few stalls.
Wow, and I thought the Huntsville roundhouse looked odd, at least that one isn't landlocked!

The new roundhouse in Tuscumbia is complete and is located near the old depot and along part of an old right of way that had street running and became redundant after passenger service was discontinued, with another route around town that served some sister cities. By the 50s, if I remember right, the line was shortened to the segment from the west to just the depot, with the line through town abandoned. Neat little town where you can still see the rails in the streets from the trolley lines. There is a small museum located in the depot with some rolling stock and they have recently acquired an Army 45 tonner or something similar and already had it restored within weeks of its acquisition.




It appears the group's website is not currently active, but here's a previous version.
http://web.archive.org/web/201109171702 ... crrhs.org/

Anybody here belong to the Reading Historical and Technical Society? What's the status(or future) of the turntable to be built at the Hamburg, PA museum? The bridge can be seen setting on a flatcar south of the museum, near the Hamburg Station. Just curious!! PYZedd - John