01-31-2009, 11:00 PM
I don't think there were interior walls in most roundhouses. I think they just had posts between the tracks to support the ceiling. There would really be no reason to divide the roundhouse into individual bays, and the walls would just make the inside more crowded. They might not have done heavy repairs in the round house, but any steam engine without roller bearings would need to have every bearing greased every time it came in off the road. From what I have heard, and I don't know if I have received the correct information on this, but a large steam engine could take 8 hours to complete a simple lube, inspection, refueling, topping off water, and sand before it would be ready to go back out on the road. The refueling, water, and sand filling would be done on an outside track adjacent to the round house, but all of the lubing, inspection, etc. would have been done in the round house. If heavier duty work was needed as a result of the inspection, the engine would then be moved to the back shop.
I think locomotives were also backed in to the roundhouse so that a minimum of smoke and soot would actually enter the roundhouse, but I may be mistaken on that count. The obvious exception to locomotives being backed in would be the Southern Pacific cab forwards since in reality they were designed to run "backwards."
I think locomotives were also backed in to the roundhouse so that a minimum of smoke and soot would actually enter the roundhouse, but I may be mistaken on that count. The obvious exception to locomotives being backed in would be the Southern Pacific cab forwards since in reality they were designed to run "backwards."