I hear that a demolition company has equipment on site to demolish the roundhouse come Monday. Does anyone have any info?

I hope that one of the individuals who has been active in the preservation of this building will provide some accurate and current information.

Supposing that the end is near, I suggest that the biggest priority should be to preserve key artifacts. This would include any remaining bulletin boards, signs and carefully photographing signs and markings on walls. These are all evidence of how the shop was used and will be of great usefulness to current and future historians. A second priority would be to preserve as many smoke-hoods as possible. Most roundhouses that survive today were converted to service diesels or rolling stock - losing their steam locomotive hoods in the process. These could serve as patterns for future replacements.

Be careful, most designs that I am aware of has them constructed from Asbestos board - that while not dangerous in itself - may be brittle and prone to cracking.

The key to salvaging artifacts is to introduce oneself in a professional manner to the demolition crew (if the salvage rights have already been sold/if demolition has begun) and to be prepared to work FAST. Come dressed ready to work, with hard hat, steel toe boots - a high visibility vest and a high quality dust mask are also good to have. The time you take to salvage things is time out of their wallet if you slow them down. In many cases their pay check comes directly from what they can sell for scrap that week. Some of the most kind and understanding people I have met in preservation have been demolition crews - they have a strange love and respect for what they destroy. (Some of the most ornery being volunteer and paid staffs at large museums - but that is another story).

In all, if this is the end for Crestline, I do not think it is a great loss for the nation. At best this roundhouse could be preserved as an industrial ruin – a great low cost exhibit – but really not feasible to being returned as a living building.

For those who worked on trying to save this building – the knowledge and experience you have acquired can be applied to preserving other roundhouses and shops. You made great progress in working toward National Register nomination and in building relationships with the state historical society – many other site preservation efforts never reach this level of professionalism.

There is hope

Tom Cornillie


Tom Cornillie

As someone who wandered through the ruins a couple years ago in blinding daylight after a snowstorm, let me tell you: There wasn't anything that I saw worth salvaging in that fashion. Long gone. And that's probably part of the reason that preservation efforts never got that far. There's a big difference between a "time capsule" like the EBT shops and a vacant shell like Crestline was when I went through it. Northumberland, Pa.'s PRR roundhouse was much the same way when it was demolished in 1986 or 1987; I think the only thing that was salvaged were some fire bricks later taken to 1361 and some journal brasses out of the turntable bearings........ yeah, yeah, okay, they shoulda saved the whole turntable bridge, but.........

I totally agree with Mr. Mitchell. I saw it several years ago and it was an absolute derelict with nothing of any value evident. In physical terms it's no loss-it long ago passed the point of being worth salvaging.
Ross Rowland

But I DO believe that some of the smoke jacks (smoke-hoods) were still in place, at least from some photos I saw of the building in recent times. It would be nice if they at least could be set aside for use on current structures or future roundhouse/enginehouse projects. Anyone know for sure if they are still in place?

Les

Article from the Mansfield News Journal posted in Flimsies, with photos I can't link here showing just what a shell it is/was. Note the driving force behind the demolition mentioned in the article...........

http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/app ... 1/70319022

As a member of the Board of Directors of The Crestline Roundhouse Preservation Society, Inc., I would like to say that the demolition of the roundhouse is one of the saddest events for Crestline and the preservation of its railroad history. The owner, Denver Roof of Mansfield, sites safety issues as the reason for the demolition. He says that he does not want to tear it down, but no longer has a choice. The CRPS has been in contact with him for several years trying to work out a purchase agreement. He was asking $350,000 for the property as is, just slightly under 14 acres. This was more than The CRPS felt it could spend in good conscience, and we could not arrive at an agreeable compromise.

Mr. Roof met with the CRPS BofD this past Saturday at their Annual Meeting. He said that he will not demolish the office and service building on the east end, and also spare the warehouse and machine shop on the west end. The powerhouse will also be torn down. The floor of the roundhouse will remain. Of the remains of the building and property, he said he would want $250,000. It remains to be seen what our next course of action will be concerning the property. However, The CRPS will continue to make plans for a museum.

The news of the demolition came as a total surprise last week. The CRPS has been working very hard to come to an agreement with Mr. Roof, but this has proved very difficult. He has been hard to contact at times, and he has not always returned our communications to him. It has been an extremely frustrating experience. We have never given up pursuing saving the roundhouse. We will continue to be in contact with Mr. Roof.

From what others have said, yes it's true that there was not much there, basically an empty shell. Several members of the CRPS went to the roundhouse this weekend and managed to salvage a bullitin board, a couple light fixtures, a restroom door sign, a couple other mundane items, and a few bricks. Not much, but better than nothing. Within the past month or two, another operating museum ripped out all the remaining asbestos smoke hoods. This act was done quietly and the CRPS is enraged by this.

A couple years ago, I went there and photographed the bejeebies out of it. I know others have as well. There are many historic photos as well, and I'm sure there are more unkown photos out there in people's shoe box in the attic. Saddly, as most other historic places that have been destroyed, memories and photos are all that remain.

Tom, I would like to thank you for your comments concerning the efforts of the preservationists.

--
William J. Ayers
Board of Directors
The Crestline Roundhouse Preservation Society, Inc.

If it is any consolation to the punch-in-the-gut that you all must be feeling now - With the research and artifacts that you have together you are about 70% of the way there to having a first class exhibit that could both tell the story of the Crestline and advocate for historic preservation.

Also, just to reiteritate some earlier comments on the price value of the site-

http://rypn.sunserver.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=22051

It is very hard to attract any sort of development interest in Brownfield sites because of the potential challenges in dealing with environmental liabilities. While there are many funding incentives and liability limitation programs available - the wide availability of greenfield sites (i.e. sites that have never been developed) makes it easy to bypass brownfield sites. Preservation would have offered the property owner a way to relieve himself of the property – and its liabilities and tax burdens. After demolition, the environmental liabilities will still remain and the site may be worth more in the eyes of a tax assessor.

Finally . . . don’t forget that there is the B&O roundhouse in Cleveland which is still in need of help. This remains one of the best opportunities for preserving a Class 1 roundhouse anywhere in the US – both because of the building’s intactness and the fact that preservationists are already on site.

http://www.midwestrailway.org/rh.htm

Lets come together and win one for a change!

Tom Cornillie

It’s a shame to see another major piece of P.R.R. history come down. After seeing pictures of the East Altoona Roundhouse and how it looked then. Today if you didn’t know where it was you would drive right by it. The turntable pit filled in and the site over grown with trees. The only thing that remains are the three drop tables that were left in the floor. Does anyone know what the plans for the smoke jacks from Crestline are? I don’t want to seem like a buzzard hovering over a dieing animal, but if given the chance I would have liked to possibly used them in our roundhouse project.

Because most folks are totally unaware of its significance, I just wanted to mention that the former Erie Diesel Shop in Marion, Ohio is one of the finest examples of an EMD designed "combined running maintenance and backshop". It is a standard EMD design right out of the "Facilities" catalog that they handed to the railroads along with the FT's.

Of course there is also a Winton engined gas-electric car in Ohio, and both the equipment and its significance to Ohio (the Winton Engine Company) are seldom recognized locally.

PC