SP 19th Century Roundhouses
First the message that got me thinking of published views:
In a message dated 6/19/2005 3:25:04 P.M. Pacific Standard Time, Hsweetser@aol.com writes:
Los Angles roundhouse on pg. 15 of "The Southern Pacific in Los Angeles" there is an interruption in the tracks due to what is apparently a little park to the right of the roundhouse. This park can also be seen in the photo of the LA roundhouse on the bottom of pg. 50 of Signor's Tehachapi book (a photo possibly taken in the 1880s).
[I'd place it in the 1890s, based on the general style and appearance of the locomotives. —KKW]
Signor's Tehachapi book also includes:
Pg 24 – identified as Sumner (Bakersfield) – either a 9 or 10 stall wood
roundhouse – note small trees planted. Also I think the loco closest to the
roundhouse is El Gobernador.
Pg 25 shows the turntable – but can't tell if it is a Sellers cast iron
table or not (my guess it that it is).
Pg 46 shows a very work SP 9 stall wooden roundhouse at Mojave.
Pg 66 shows Bakersfield shops and back side of roundhouse – turn of the
century at a guess. Note brick building in middle.
In Signor's Beaumont Hill:
Pg 16 – Colton – 3-stall structure
Pg 35 – Beaumont – 3-stall structure, no turntable
Pg 39 – Yuma
In Signor's Donner Pass:
Pg 28 – Truckee wood roundhouse with separate cover turntable
Pg 29 – Truckee stone roundhouse, built 1883
Pg 33 – Reno - 4-stall, in background, ca. 1876 by C. E. Watkins
Pg 83 – Rocklin (shortly before move to Roseville)
Pg 129, foldout facing 130 – Truckee
Beebe in CP & SP Railroads:
Frontpiece – Truckee stone roundhouse shortly after built
Pg 33 – Truckee, different early view
Pg 46 – Sacramento, ca 1870s
Pg 59 – Truckee, with wood sheds
Pg 165 – Rocklin, 2 views, mislabeled as Carlin - photos by A. J. Russell in
summer 1869
Pg 462 – Sacramento
Pg 454 – Tucson, ca 1880s (with A. J. Stevens feed water purifier, patent
#331,917, Dec. 8, 1885) ...
A few references from Best's Iron Horses to Promontory:
Pg 19 – Rocklin stone roundhouse with wood A-frame turntable, ca 1867-68.
Hart #241.
Pg 26 – Cisco 2-stall enginehouse in ca 1867-68. Hart #185.
Pg 33 – Cisco 2-stall enginehouse in ca 1867-68. Hart un#.
Pg 36 – Truckee wood enginehouse with separate covered turntable.
(Actually Truckee at this time had three long 2-stall engine houses
radiating around the turntable.)
Pg 42 – At Carlin, perhaps the roundhouse in background on top right. Hart
#345.
Pg 43 – Sacramento roundhouse, probably in 1880s based on trees.
Pg 48 – Wood roundhouse at unknown location in Nevada.
Pgs 72-73 – Truckee stone roundhouse, including view in balloon track.
Pg 74 – Terrace wooden roundhouse ca 1870.
Pg 82 – CP/Stevens 4-6-0 #177 on Sacramento turntable (a cast iron Sellers)
with roundhouse in background.
Pg 86 – El Gobernador on the Sumner (Bakersfield) turntable, a cast iron
Sellers design.
Kyle K. Wyatt
Curator of History & Technology
California State Railroad Museum
111 "I" Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
My work address is: kwyatt@parks.ca.gov
My personal address is: kylewyatt@aol.com
posted from CPRR Discussion Group at 7:24 PM
2 Comments:
From: Hsweetser@aol.com
In a message dated 05-06-19, Kyle Wyatt wrote:
"For reference it's probably worthwhile citing 19th century CP/SP roundhouse photos that have been published:
Signor's Tehachapi book also includes:
Pg 24 - identified as Sumner (Bakersfield) – either a 9 or 10 stall wood roundhouse – note small trees planted. Also I think the loco closest to the roundhouse is El Gobernador."
The photo was probably taken after 1883, but not too long after. In 1882, the Sumner roundhouse was enlarged from six stalls to ten. While the engine on the right could be El Gobernador, it could also be CP 229 or one of the Cooke-built 4-8-0s of similar design.
No. 229 arrived in Sumner in 1882 while the Cooke-built 4-8-0s of similar design started showing up in 1883 (about 12 of the latter were assigned to the Tulare Division). Note that in the photo, there is an equally-large locomotive next to the engine on the right; both are larger than the next two locos. These two engines on the right also have clerestory-style roofs, something that CP 229, the 4-8-0s Cooke started building in 1883 and El Gobernador all had in common (the clerestory roof on the second engine from the right can be seen between the domes of the first engine in my own photographic print of this scene; harder to see in Signor's photo). I believe some ten-wheelers on the SP also had clerestory roofs but the larger size of the two engines on the right makes me think they were twelve-wheelers. In the alternative, they could be one twelve-wheeler and the El Gobernado but I lean toward them being two twelve-wheelers.
By the way, CP 229 was never regularly used over the Sierras. This is a major historical blunder that SP writers continue to make. No. 229 was a coal-burner built specifically for Tehachapi service.
On the subject of 19th Century roundhouse photos in books, page 38 of Roderick's "The San Fernando Valley" has a good photo of the San Fernando roundhouse, an earlier and closer view than the photo of same in "The Southern Pacific in Los Angeles."
John Sweetser
On locos with the clerestory cab roof, I don't recall any 4-6-0s with them, but CP 4-4-0 #48 had one. This is the only one I recall seeing besides the 4-8-0s and the 4-10-0.
CP #48 was a prototype for the Stevens 4-4-0s. It has traditionally been listed as a rebuild (from a 4-6-0), but I think it should be included in the new-built list. CP #18 and #19 were prototypes for Stevens 4-6-0s, but had cabs with normal roofs. All three of these locos had extended wagon top boilers with radial stays (cutting edge in those early 1880s days), but the production Stevens locos had straight boilers (also radially stayed).
Kyle K. Wyatt
Curator of History & Technology
California State Railroad Museum
111 "I" Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
My work address is: kwyatt@parks.ca.gov
My personal address is: kylewyatt@aol.com
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