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The great American roundhouse

By Trains Staff | January 27, 2010

| Last updated on March 8, 2024

No cutting corners on these fascinating structures from across the nation

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American roundhouse

Roundhouses were found all across the nation once. Now they’re rare gems. These structures began disappearing after the dieselization era. Only a few were left in use by some railroads. Many were eventually demolished or repurposed. Here’s a gallery of them under construction, in use, and after the wrecking ball.

Connellsville, Pa., roundhouse
Baldwin diesels occupy the Connellsville, Pa., roundhouse the night of June 30, 1956. Jim Shaughnessy
Illinois Central roundhouse at Fort Dodge, Iowa
The Illinois Central roundhouse at Fort Dodge, Iowa, was under construction Sept. 29, 1911. Illinois Central
Illinois Central roundhouse at Louisville, Ky.
Here’s a view of the Illinois Central roundhouse at Louisville, Ky., on Jan. 10, 1917. Illinois Central
Roundhouse, Enola, Pa.
Pennsylvania Railroad M1b No. 6755 eases off the turntable and into a roundhouse stall at Enola, Pa., in June 1956. Don Wood
Southern Pacific roundhouse at San Luis Obispo
Gone! Stack up the bricks and fill in the holes, gone is the Southern Pacific roundhouse at San Luis Obispo on the Coast Line in this December 1959 image. Richard Steinheimer
Southern Pacific turntable, Calif.
A Southern Pacific Cab-Forward eases off the turntable at Dunsmuir, Calif., in 1951 on the Southern Pacific’s Shasta Line. Mac Lefebre
Turntable at Jersey City, N.J.
Central of New Jersey Ten-wheeler camelback No. 615 spins on the turntable while a host of other engines look on at Jersey City, N.J. In the late 1940s. Ewing Galloway
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