This message was posted on another forum by Mr. Richard Symmes, curator of the Walker Trans. Museum of Beverly, MA.

"While we were all asleep, the town of Essex, MA recently tore down the old 2 stall Eastern RR (later B&M) enginehouse to make way for a parking lot! As near as I can figure, this happened about 3 or 4 weeks ago. It is totally gone and the parking lot was about to be paved last Thursday.

This must have been one of the last, if not THE last, Eastern RR enginehouses (as opposed to a "round" or semicircular shape) in existence. It was built in 1872 when the Eastern built the line to Essex from Hamilton & Wenham depot. Service was abandoned in December 1942. Since then the building has served as the Town Garage. Stones of the turntable pit could be made out in front of it, poking through the dirt until recent years.

Old Eastern/B&M engineer Philip Adams describes in his diaries working Sundays in the building to patch together some of the old Eastern teakettles which served that line in the 1800s. If he and the other men couldn't fix them, they went to the shops in East Boston.

The long-missing Wayne Perry measured and drew a side elevation of the building about 25 years ago, and there are lots of photos, but the building is unfortunately gone.

Time marches on!"



SJHussar@aol.com

I can remember when the C&O roundhouse in Charlottesville, VA was torn down in favor of a parking lot (I think). Same holds true for the Gainesville Midland RR depot in Athens GA-it was either torn down for a parking lot or a new office building. And I hate to think of the history lost with the demolition of the Lima and Baldwin locomotive plants.

> I can remember when the C&O roundhouse
> in Charlottesville, VA was torn down in
> favor of a parking lot (I think). Same holds
> true for the Gainesville Midland RR depot in
> Athens GA-it was either torn down for a
> parking lot or a new office building. And I
> hate to think of the history lost with the
> demolition of the Lima and Baldwin
> locomotive plants. I think Lima is all gone but a few weeks ago I saw some of the old Baldwin plant still standing.btw I have been in the blw plant in the 1960&70s regards rob

Here's a very apt quote on the subject:

"Archeology is honored in every domain, except for building processes and arts; We know more details about the Egyptian and Babylonian civilizations than about the origins of our industries. Universities chairs exists for each History segment except for History of technical applications of sciences."- Anatole Mallet, introduction of his book "L'évolution Pratique de la Machine à Vapeur" published in 1908.

It's fitting that the inventor of the Mallet came up with such a profound piece of wisdom.

I got the quote from Thierry Stora's "French Compound Steam Locomotives Page" located at http://www.chapelon.net

> I can remember when the C&O roundhouse
> in Charlottesville, VA was torn down in
> favor of a parking lot (I think). Same holds
> true for the Gainesville Midland RR depot in
> Athens GA-it was either torn down for a
> parking lot or a new office building. And I
> hate to think of the history lost with the
> demolition of the Lima and Baldwin
> locomotive plants.


The Ultimate Steam Page
whodom2001@yahoo.com

Due to a once in a lifetime opportunity to access some official company records several items of local and national history have been preserved and some answers to questions that maybe you never asked were documented, for example.

Old 3 cent fare Johnson, Mayor of Cleveland built the steel plant at Lorain, Oh to roll the first successful girder rail, revolutionising street railway construction. Who remembers that.

Why the LE&P never got to Lorain?
Why the Lorain & West Virginia was built and what it's purpose was?
Why the RR yards at South Lorain are where they are?
Why the LA&S was built?
Just who was Joe Ramsey and what effect did he have on the steel plant?
Why were all the Class 1's so anxious to get to Lorain?
Why did the interest die?
How did the steel plant operate regarding local officials and what the effects of the different railroads on its operation?

Just imagine all the day to day detail that has been lost from the days when all correspondence was by letter or telegram!



lamontdc@adelphia.net