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Difference between revisions of "Kentville Roundhouse"
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==The Six Stall roundhouse 1916-1926== | ==The Six Stall roundhouse 1916-1926== | ||
| − | A replacement roundhouse was built in 1916, north of the mainline near the [[Kentville Cornwallis River Bridge|Cornwallis River Bridge]] where DAR subsidiary the [[:Category:Subdivision Kingsport|Cornwallis Valley Railway]] branched off for Kingsport, with a 70-foot turntable serving the six stalls<ref>Some sources say the roundhouse started with five stalls but a tour by a Halifax journalist in 1928 indicates 6 original stalls, with four added in 1926, ''Halifax | + | A replacement roundhouse was built in 1916, north of the mainline near the [[Kentville Cornwallis River Bridge|Cornwallis River Bridge]] where DAR subsidiary the [[:Category:Subdivision Kingsport|Cornwallis Valley Railway]] branched off for Kingsport, with a 70-foot turntable serving the six stalls<ref>Some sources say the roundhouse started with five stalls but a tour by a Halifax journalist in 1928 indicates 6 original stalls, with four added in 1926, ''Halifax Herald'', May 1, 1928, Carl Riff notes.</ref> as well as several outside storage tracks. Major roof repairs were made in May 1924 after a violent wind storm blew away portions of the roundhouse roof on May 1, 1924.<ref>"Kentville May 1", ''Halifax Herald'', May 1, 1924</ref> |
<Gallery> | <Gallery> | ||
Revision as of 10:33, 30 March 2019
The Dominion Atlantic Railway's locomotives were serviced in a series of roundhouse and machine shop buildings located at the west end of the Kentville Railyard. They grew from a 3-stall engine shed in 1868 to a 6-stall roundhouse in 1915 and then a 10-stall roundhouse in 1926. The roundhouse continued to service locomotives into the diesel era until 1961 when it became a apple juice warehouse. The building survived to become one of the last railway roundhouses in Atlantic Canada. It was demolished by the town of Kentville, despite a province-wide protest in 2007.
The First Three Stall Roundhouse/Engine House 1868-1915
The Windsor and Annapolis Railway built the first turntable and engine house at Kentville in 1868 south of the mainline. It consisted of a three stall engine house[1] and a covered turntable with an attached machine shop.[2] It burned in a fire on July 8, 1915 which also destroyed two locomotives inside the sheds, No. 12 and No. 22, although firefighters managed to save the attached Machine Shop.[3]
Lightning, a broad gauge locomotive in front of the W&AR Engine House and Machine Shop, 1872.
The Six Stall roundhouse 1916-1926
A replacement roundhouse was built in 1916, north of the mainline near the Cornwallis River Bridge where DAR subsidiary the Cornwallis Valley Railway branched off for Kingsport, with a 70-foot turntable serving the six stalls[4] as well as several outside storage tracks. Major roof repairs were made in May 1924 after a violent wind storm blew away portions of the roundhouse roof on May 1, 1924.[5]
DAR Locomotive No. 28 at the end of its DAR career beside the six stall Kentville Roundhouse, 1922.
The Ten Stall Roundhouse 1926-1960
The roundhouse was expanded in 1926, with work being announced in March[6] with four news stalls being added.[7] The ten-stall roundhouse was complete and in use by the end of the year.[8] The new stalls filled in the storage tracks next to the Kentville Machine Shop.
The roundhouse stalls were numbered from south to north, starting with Stall No. 1 closest to the mainline and ending with Stall No. 10 near the Cornwallis River.[9] Stalls 5 to 10 were extended to accommodate arrival of Pacific locomotives in 1936.[10]
The 70-foot turntable was air-powered by the locomotive riding on it. The air motor was under the control platform, and connected to the airhose of the engine by a normal glad hand. The engine was moved so that the there was some weight on the air motor's wheels, and then the air cock was cracked. The air motor chuffed loudly, slipping and sliding, but eventually doing its job.
Roundhouse dimensions were:
- South wall: 80' 6"
- North wall: 83' 7"
- Rear (west) wall of each stall: 27' 5" wide
- Doors: Four south doors, 13' 4" wide, Six North Doors 13' wide. Doors separated by 10" posts[11]
Kentville Roundhouse with numbered stalls, 1927. Locomotive No. 39 visible in Stall No. 5.
No. 544 on the roundhouse turntable, circa 1930 with Kentville Roundhouse staff. The water tower stands at its first location by the turntable, before it was moved closer to the river.
No. 2511 at the Kentville Roundhouse with stall No. 10 and the Kentville Water Tower stand pipe after the tower was moved about 1943.
Kentville roundhouse, turntable and machine shop from the coaling tower, 1940s or 50s.
The Canada Foods Plant with stalls 8, 9 & 10 of the Kentville Roundhouse, plus the Kentville Water Tower, the Cornwallis River Bridge and the Spillway Trestle in 1949.
Train No. 14 arriving at Kentville led by No. 470. engine terminal at left. water stand pipe in centre. August 1949.
Inspection car M-107 at the Kentville Roundhouse on Kentville August 30, 1953.
Inspection car M-107 beside the roundhouse in Kentville on July 3, 1954.
No. 6227 in front of Kentville Roundhouse on August 27, 1956. Visible as well, boiler plant and smoke stack, roundhouse turntable, water stand pipe, coaling tower and sanding tower.
Roundhouse turntable view of CPR No. 6227 at Kentville on August 27, 1956. Visible as well, boiler plant and smoke stack, water stand pipe and coaling tower.
No. 2526 arrives with Train No. 12 from Kingsport on Aug. 27, 1956. Visible as well, switcher No. 6227, water stand pipe, coaling tower, sanding tower, track crane.
No. 6227 in front of the turntable with the water standpipe behind on August 27, 1956.
DAR locomotive 1046 in the Kentville Roundhouse, c. 1958.
Crane No. 3 beside the Kentville Roundhouse with the Machine Shop in the background, c.1958.
Kentville Round House with Kentville Machine Shop 1958 July 31.
- DAR 2627-1.jpg
No. 2627, 4-6-2 on the Kentville turntable lead with the boiler plant stack and water stand pipe, August 1958.
The Kentville Roundhouse with locomotive 8131 on the right, the Kentville Machine Shop and hose shed on left, and the stack of the Canada Foods Plant in background, 1959.
The Kentville Roundhouse with locomotive 8139 on the turntable and a S-3 locomotive in the roundhouse, with the stack of the Canada Foods Plant in the background, 1959.
The Kentville Roundhouse with SW1200 locomotives, the Kentville Machine Shop and water stand pipe on left and a Pacific locomotive on far right, 1959.
Back wall of the roundhouse with the stack of the Canada Foods Plant on right, machine shop on left, speeder shed & hose shed centre, and railyard in foreground, summer 1959.
Interior of roundhouse, August 19, 1959, with locomotive No. 1046.
Engine 1046 in the Kentville Roundhouse, August 19, 1959.
No. 8138, '58 Pontiac inspection car, Kentville Coaling Tower, Kentville Roundhouse, the Kentville Water Tower and the Kentville Car Shop all visible from this view of the Kentville Railyard, Kentville in August 1959.
No. 8131 and No. 8132 with the DAR machine shop and turntable on right, and car shops and power plant on left in August 1959.
Deck view of Cornwallis River Bridge with No. 8131 at the south end beside the Kentville Roundhouse in August 1959.
Turntable, power plant, car shop and No. 8131, from door of roundhouse in August 1959.
The Kentville Roundhouse with the Kentville Machine Shop on left and the water stand pipe, winter 1959.
The Kentville Roundhouse with a S-3 and SW1200 locomotives in the stalls and the smokestack of the Canada Foods Plant in background, June 12, 1960.
The Kentville Roundhouse with diesels Nos. 8135, 8132, 8137, 8133, 8140, 8134, DAR Track Crane No. 3 and the Canada Foods Plant stack, June 12, 1960.
The Roundhouse as Warehouse 1961-2007
Canadian Pacific moved the servicing of locomotives to the Car Shop in 1961 and stopped using the roundhouse. It was leased to the (later Great Valley Juices for use as a warehouse, although the turntable remained in use to turn locomotives and RDCs. After the railway abandoned Kentville in 1993, the turntable was purchased and moved to the New Ross area, repurposed as a bridge on a private road.[12] The roundhouse remained the last remaining railway structure in Kentville until it was demolished July 9 to 13, 2007 by the Town of Kentville to make way for a private seniors complex, despite a province-wide protest advocating adaptive re-use for the historic structure.
Kentville engine servicing facilities on July 20, 1967. Visible is the Kentville Coaling Tower, Engine No. 8136, the Kentville Roundhouse and the corner of the Kentville Car Shop.
No. 8131 on a Kingsport local run passes the Kentville Roundhouse on July 20, 1967.
The Kentville Roundhouse with the Kentville Machine Shop foundation in foreground, June 18, 1970.
Side shot of Kentville Roundhouse, May 3, 1976.
Kentville Turntable in front of Roundhouse with Kentville Railyard in background, May 5, 1976.
Looking out from the Kentville Turntable into the Kentville Railyard May 6, 1976
Kentville Roundhouse - May 6, 1976.
Kentville Roundhouse, turntable, south, east and north walls, 1990.
Kentville Roundhouse, south wall, April 12, 2005.
The Kentville Railyard and the Kentville Roundhouse, October 29, 2005.
The Kentville Railyard and the Kentville Roundhouse after removal of all tracks, June 25, 2007.
The Kentville Railyard and the Kentville Roundhouse east wall, June 25, 2007.
Composite panoramic photo of the Kentville Roundhouse,north and east walls facing former turntable pit, June 25, 2007.
Composite panoramic photo of the Kentville Roundhouse, showing the windows of stalls 5, 4, 3, 2 & 1, June 25, 2007.
Composite panoramic photo of the Kentville Roundhouse, showing the windows of stalls 9, 8, 7, 6 and 5, June 25, 2007.
Stall 9 window Kentville Roundhouse, June 29, 2007.
Stall 8 window Kentville Roundhouse, June 29, 2007.
Stall 7 window Kentville Roundhouse, June 25, 2007.
Stall 6 window Kentville Roundhouse, June 25, 2007.
Stall 5 window Kentville Roundhouse, June 29, 2007.
Stall 4 window Kentville Roundhouse, June 29, 2007.
Stall 4 window Kentville Roundhouse, June 29, 2007.
Stall 3 window Kentville Roundhouse, June 29, 2007.
Stall 2 window Kentville Roundhouse, June 29, 2007.
Stall 1 window Kentville Roundhouse, June 29, 2007.
Demolition of the first four stalls of the Kentville Roundhouse, July 9, 2007.
Tom Tupper documents the Kentville Roundhouse demolition, July 9, 2007.
Ruins of the first four stalls of the Kentville Roundhouse, July 9, 2007.
Cross section of ruined Stall No. 5 of the Kentville Roundhouse, July 9, 2007.
Remnants of the last five stalls of the Kentville Roundhouse, July 9, 2007.
The Kentville Roundhouse demolition, July 10, 2007.
The demolition of the last portions of the Kentville Roundhouse, July 10, 2007.
Site of the Kentville Roundhouse after demolition, Oct. 21, 2007.
References and Footnotes
- ↑ Marguerite Woodworth, History of the Dominion Atlantic, Dominion Atlantic Railway (1936) page 64
- ↑ Alexander MacNab, Windsor and Annapolis Railway, Report of Alexander MacNab Nov 1, 1873, (1873), page 22
- ↑ "KENTVILLE HIT BY ANOTHER FIRE The D.A.R. Roundhouse and Engine Sheds Burned and Two Locomotives Destroyed", Digby Courier, July 9, 1915, Carl Riff Notes
- ↑ Some sources say the roundhouse started with five stalls but a tour by a Halifax journalist in 1928 indicates 6 original stalls, with four added in 1926, Halifax Herald, May 1, 1928, Carl Riff notes.
- ↑ "Kentville May 1", Halifax Herald, May 1, 1924
- ↑ The expansion was announced in the Kentville Advertiser March 26, 1926
- ↑ Halifax Chroncile Herald, May 1, 1928, Carl Riff notes. The article describes a tour by Halifax journalist who notes that four stalls were added in 1926.
- ↑ Halifax Chronicle Herald, Feb. 6, 1927, Carl Riff notes. Tour by Rotary group notes the roundhouse is complete and in service.
- ↑ Stall numbers are shown in Harold Jenkins 1927 photo and Canada Science and Technology 1943 photo of Locomotive 2511 (STR08416a).
- ↑ "Railway Notes", Kentville Advertiser, Oct. 15, 1936
- ↑ Dimensions based on onsite measurements by Dan Conlin and Leon Barron and a 1980 drainage plan of the Canada Foods plant from Graves Ltd.
- ↑ Personal communication with Leon Barron, 2000
