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Difference between revisions of "Kentville Turntable"

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[[File:DAR - Kentville Roundhouse - Engine 8139 - Harold Jenkins Photo-1959.jpg|thumb|right|200px|The [[Kentville Roundhouse]] and turntable, 1959.]]
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[[File:DAR - Kentville Roundhouse - SW1200 and Steam Locomotives-Harold Jenkins Photo-1959.jpg|thumb|right|200px|The [[Kentville Turntable]] and [[Kentville Roundhouse|roundhouse]] with steam and diesel locomotives, 1959.]]
  
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The Dominion Atlantic Railway's [[Kentville]] terminal employed a turntable to turn locomotives at the [[Kentville Roundhouse|roundhouse]] from the [[Windsor & Annapolis Railway|Windsor & Annapolis]] establishment in 1869 until the Kentville railway facilities were abandoned in 1993. The Windsor and Annapolis built the first turntable and engine house at Kentville in 1868 south of the mainline. It consisted of a three stall engine house<ref>[[Marguerite Woodworth]], ''History of the Dominion Atlantic'', Dominion Atlantic Railway (1936) page 64</ref> and a covered [[Kentville Turntable|turntable]] with an attached machine shop.<ref>Alexander MacNab, ''[[Windsor and Annapolis Railway, Report of Alexander MacNab 1873|Windsor and Annapolis Railway, Report of Alexander MacNab Nov 1, 1873,]]'' (1873), page 22</ref> It burned in a fire on July 8, 1915.<ref>"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</ref>
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The Dominion Atlantic Railway's [[Kentville]] terminal employed a turntable to turn locomotives from the [[Windsor & Annapolis Railway|Windsor & Annapolis]]'s establishment in 1868 until the Kentville railway facilities were abandoned in 1993. The Windsor and Annapolis built the first turntable and [[Kentville Roundhouse|engine house]] at Kentville in 1868 south of the mainline. It consisted of a three stall engine house<ref>[[Marguerite Woodworth]], ''History of the Dominion Atlantic'', Dominion Atlantic Railway (1936) page 64</ref> and a covered [[Kentville Turntable|turntable]] with an attached machine shop.<ref>Alexander MacNab, ''[[Windsor and Annapolis Railway, Report of Alexander MacNab 1873|Windsor and Annapolis Railway, Report of Alexander MacNab Nov 1, 1873,]]'' (1873), page 22</ref> It burned in a fire on July 8, 1915.<ref>"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</ref> The old WAR turntable was salvaged by a railway employee who installed it in his garage to turn his car<ref>Personal conversation and tour of Kentville rail yards by former DAR brakeman [[Barron, Leon|Leon Barron]], May 1994.</ref> at his house on 476 Main Street Kentville. (The house, garage and old turntable were sold in 1957 a demolished by Irving Oil to build gas station.)<ref>[https://www.facebook.com/dan.conlin.9/posts/pfbid02pi37d4C1hHpXK6ZDHuRNqkhHLThapcSBg6yQRikgX9mXnJufsRJ6hiZeRb9ysD2Kl Penny White, comment on Facebook Post, July 16, 2022]</ref>  
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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. The six-stall roundhouse was built in the fall of 1916 by the DAR's Bridge and Building department led by foreman H. Dalton following their construction of small enginehouses at [[Middleton Enginehouse|Middleton]] and [[Windsor Enginehouse|Windsor]].<ref>''The Weekly Monitor'', August 23, 1916</ref>, with a manual 70 foot [[Kentville Turntable|turntable]] serving the six stalls<ref>Some sources say the roundhouse started with five stalls but a report in ''The Weekly Monitor'', August 23, 1916 and 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.
 
  
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By 1920, the turntable included a Pilling Air Motor was installed in 1920.<ref>[[Canadian Railway and Marine World - 1920-11 - Work in 1920|''Canadian Railway and Marine World'', "Projected Lines, Construction Betterments, Etc. Work in 1920",  November 1920]]</ref> The turntable was standard CPR design for a 70 foot half deck plate girder turntable, one of 60 of this model built by the Dominion Bridge Company and the Canadian Bridge Company for the railway across Canada.<ref>"CPR Standard 70' Turntable",''C.P. Tracks'', Vol. 4, No. 4 (Dec. 1994), p. 16-17</ref> (A similar model served the CPR's Kettle Valley Railway and its plans can be seen online in the footnote link.)<ref>[http://kettlevalleymodelrailway.blogspot.com/2015/03/cpr-70-half-deck-turntable.html "CPR 70' HALF DECK TURNTABLE", ''KETTLE VALLEY MODEL RAILWAY '',
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A replacement [[Kentville Roundhouse|roundhouse]] and turntable was built in the fall of 1916 by the DAR's Bridge and Building department led by foreman H. Dalton, north of the mainline. The roundhouse<ref>''The Weekly Monitor'', August 23, 1916</ref> included a 70-foot [[Kentville Turntable|turntable]] serving the six stalls<ref>Some sources say the roundhouse started with five stalls but a report in ''The Weekly Monitor'', August 23, 1916 and 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. The turntable was a 70-foot, half Deck Plate Girder turntable, a standard CPR design intended for secondary mainlines and branch lines. The Kentville turntable was one of sixty of these 70-foot turntables built across the CPR system. The bridge structures were mostly supplied by the Dominion Bridge Company and the Canadian Bridge Company.<ref>"CPR Standard 70' Turntable",''C.P. Tracks'', Vol. 4, No. 4 (Dec. 1994), p. 16-17</ref>  
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Thursday, March 5, 2015]</ref> The turn table was rotated by a compressed air motor located under the control platform. It would be connected to the locomotive air hose by a normal glad hand connector. 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.
 
  
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By 1920, the turntable included a Pilling Air Motor.<ref>[[Canadian Railway and Marine World - 1920-11 - Work in 1920|''Canadian Railway and Marine World'', "Projected Lines, Construction Betterments, Etc. Work in 1920",  November 1920]]</ref>  The turn table was rotated by a compressed air motor located under the control platform. The motor could be powered by compressed air from the nearby [[Kentville Machine Shop|Machine Shop]] from overhead airlines or it could be connected to the locomotive air hose by a normal glad hand connector. 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.
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The turntable was in constant use in the steam era turning locomotives and accessing the roundhouse stalls. The 70-foot length was ideal for the DAR's 4-4-0 and 4-6-0 locomotives, although it required careful positioning for the longer 4-6-2 Pacific and RDC Dayliners, which only 18 inches to spare from the end wheels. The turntable continued in use, albeit less frequently, into the diesel era, often turning VIA Rail's dayliners, a delicate operation requiring assistance from a SW1200 to position the dayliner and power the turning motor through air hoses.<ref>[[Gary W. Ness|Gary Ness]], ''[[Canadian Pacific's Dominion Atlantic Railway]] (Volume 1)'', page 23</ref>
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When the Kentville shops and yard was closed by the CPR in 1993, the turntable was sold to a private landowner in the New Ross area who used it as a bridge to cross a small river. The air motor was ripped apart and buried in the turntable pit when the former yard and shop areas were landfilled.<ref>Personal conversation and tour of Kentville rail yards by former DAR brakeman [[Barron, Leon|Leon Barron]], May 1994.</ref>
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==Images of the Turntable at Kentville==
 
<Gallery>
 
<Gallery>
 
File:Kentville Engine House and Lightning 1872.jpg|The open door leading to the enclosed turntable behind "Lightning", a broad gauge locomotive at the [[W&AR]] [[Kentville Roundhouse|Engine House]] and [[Kentville Machine Shop|Machine Shop]], 1872.
 
File:Kentville Engine House and Lightning 1872.jpg|The open door leading to the enclosed turntable behind "Lightning", a broad gauge locomotive at the [[W&AR]] [[Kentville Roundhouse|Engine House]] and [[Kentville Machine Shop|Machine Shop]], 1872.
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File:DAR - Kentville Roundhouse-Engines in Stalls-Harold Jenkins Photo-1927.JPG|[[Kentville Roundhouse]] with numbered stalls, 1927. [[DAR0039|Locomotive No. 39]] visible in Stall No. 5.
 
File:DAR - Kentville Roundhouse-Engines in Stalls-Harold Jenkins Photo-1927.JPG|[[Kentville Roundhouse]] with numbered stalls, 1927. [[DAR0039|Locomotive No. 39]] visible in Stall No. 5.
  
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Image:Hebert.jpg|[[DAR0544|No. 544]] on the [[Kentville Turntable|turntable]], circa 1930 with [[Kentville Roundhouse]] staff. The [[Kentville Water Tower|water tower ]] stands at its first location by the turntable, before it was moved closer to the river.
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File:Kalkman51.jpg|The [[:Category:The Advertiser|Advertiser]] Jan. 28, 1965 photograph of Locomotive [[DAR0544|No. 544]] on the [[Kentville Turntable]] with [[Kentville Roundhouse|roundhouse]] and [[Kentville Machine Shop|machine shop]] workers plus the . The [[Kentville Water Tower]], circa 1930.
  
 
File:McBride2p45C.jpg|[[DAR0470|Locomotive No. 470]] on the [[Kentville Turntable|turntable]] with the [[Kentville Water Tower]] and [[DAR000003#Dominion_Atlantic_Railway_Track_Crane_No._3.|Yard Crane No. 3]] in background, circa 1942.  
 
File:McBride2p45C.jpg|[[DAR0470|Locomotive No. 470]] on the [[Kentville Turntable|turntable]] with the [[Kentville Water Tower]] and [[DAR000003#Dominion_Atlantic_Railway_Track_Crane_No._3.|Yard Crane No. 3]] in background, circa 1942.  
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File:Tupper10.jpg|[[Kentville Roundhouse]], [[Kentville Turntable|turntable]], south, east and north walls, 1990.
 
File:Tupper10.jpg|[[Kentville Roundhouse]], [[Kentville Turntable|turntable]], south, east and north walls, 1990.
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</Gallery>
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==Surviving Turntable Structure at New Ross==
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Measurements at New Ross taken on July 3, 2022:<br>
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<br>
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Overall Girder Length of truss: 70 feet<br>
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Plate Girder height at Centre of truss: 6 feet<br>
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Plate Girder height at truss ends: 44 inches<br>
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Width along top of truss: 13 inches along riveted top, 12 3/8 inches along smooth top at ends<br>
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Deck Width: 12 feet 6 1/2 inches<br>
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Width of inner braces at tie level: 13 inches<br>
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Rivet heads: 1 3/4" for big rivets along top of truss; 1 1/2" for rivets on side plating; 1 1/4" for interior side braces<br>
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Airline pipe at centre of truss: 1 1/4" diametre inside pipe, 1 5/8" diametre outside width of pipe<br>
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Hole for airline & connector at motor location top of truss: 2 1/4"<br>
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Holes in outside braces of truss plating to hang airline:  1 1/2"<br>
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Markings: Rolled markings on braces in several locations read: "GLENGARNOCK STEEL"<br>
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<Gallery>
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File:Turntable South side.jpg|South side of former [[Kentville Turntable]] serving as bridge at New Ross, July 7, 2022.
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File:Turntable Overall deckview.jpg|Former [[Kentville Turntable]] at New Ross, showing the deck and girder from south east July 7, 2022.
 
</Gallery>
 
</Gallery>
  
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==External Links==
 
==External Links==
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* [http://www.novascotiarailwayheritage.com/roundhouse_action_group.htm Nova Scotia Railway Heritage Society, Roundhouse Action Group & Photos.]
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Plans<br>
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* [http://www.ns1763.ca/rail/kenround.html Nova Scotia's Electric Scrapbook, Roundhouse demolition photos.]
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*HO Scale plan from a composite of original CPR plans with detail photos of identical turntable on the Kettle Valley Railway: [http://kettlevalleymodelrailway.blogspot.com/2015/03/cpr-70-half-deck-turntable.html "CPR 70' HALF DECK TURNTABLE", ''KETTLE VALLEY MODEL RAILWAY '', Thursday, March 5, 2015]
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*[https://www.cptracks.ca/data/bridges/B-13-3.pdf Plan: CPR Standard 70 FT Half Deck Turntable, Floor and Pit, 1911, Canadian Pacific Railway Historical Association Documents Library]
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*[https://www.cptracks.ca/data/bridges/B-13-1.pdf Plan: CPR Standard 70 FT Half Deck Turntable, Plate Girder Bridge Structure Plan, 1913, Canadian Pacific Railway Historical Association Documents Library]
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*[https://www.cptracks.ca/data/bridges/B-13-4.pdf Plan: CPR Standard 70 FT Half Deck Turntable, Details of Air Supply to Motor, 1912, Canadian Pacific Railway Historical Association Documents Library]
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[[Category:Kentville Facilities]]
 
[[Category:Kentville Facilities]]
 
[[Category:Roundhouses]]
 
[[Category:Roundhouses]]

Latest revision as of 20:05, 11 July 2023

The Kentville Turntable and roundhouse with steam and diesel locomotives, 1959.

The Dominion Atlantic Railway's Kentville terminal employed a turntable to turn locomotives from the Windsor & Annapolis's establishment in 1868 until the Kentville railway facilities were abandoned in 1993. The Windsor and Annapolis 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.[3] The old WAR turntable was salvaged by a railway employee who installed it in his garage to turn his car[4] at his house on 476 Main Street Kentville. (The house, garage and old turntable were sold in 1957 a demolished by Irving Oil to build gas station.)[5]

A replacement roundhouse and turntable was built in the fall of 1916 by the DAR's Bridge and Building department led by foreman H. Dalton, north of the mainline. The roundhouse[6] included a 70-foot turntable serving the six stalls[7] as well as several outside storage tracks. The turntable was a 70-foot, half Deck Plate Girder turntable, a standard CPR design intended for secondary mainlines and branch lines. The Kentville turntable was one of sixty of these 70-foot turntables built across the CPR system. The bridge structures were mostly supplied by the Dominion Bridge Company and the Canadian Bridge Company.[8]

By 1920, the turntable included a Pilling Air Motor.[9] The turn table was rotated by a compressed air motor located under the control platform. The motor could be powered by compressed air from the nearby Machine Shop from overhead airlines or it could be connected to the locomotive air hose by a normal glad hand connector. 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.

The turntable was in constant use in the steam era turning locomotives and accessing the roundhouse stalls. The 70-foot length was ideal for the DAR's 4-4-0 and 4-6-0 locomotives, although it required careful positioning for the longer 4-6-2 Pacific and RDC Dayliners, which only 18 inches to spare from the end wheels. The turntable continued in use, albeit less frequently, into the diesel era, often turning VIA Rail's dayliners, a delicate operation requiring assistance from a SW1200 to position the dayliner and power the turning motor through air hoses.[10]

When the Kentville shops and yard was closed by the CPR in 1993, the turntable was sold to a private landowner in the New Ross area who used it as a bridge to cross a small river. The air motor was ripped apart and buried in the turntable pit when the former yard and shop areas were landfilled.[11]

Images of the Turntable at Kentville

Surviving Turntable Structure at New Ross

Measurements at New Ross taken on July 3, 2022:

Overall Girder Length of truss: 70 feet
Plate Girder height at Centre of truss: 6 feet
Plate Girder height at truss ends: 44 inches
Width along top of truss: 13 inches along riveted top, 12 3/8 inches along smooth top at ends
Deck Width: 12 feet 6 1/2 inches
Width of inner braces at tie level: 13 inches
Rivet heads: 1 3/4" for big rivets along top of truss; 1 1/2" for rivets on side plating; 1 1/4" for interior side braces
Airline pipe at centre of truss: 1 1/4" diametre inside pipe, 1 5/8" diametre outside width of pipe
Hole for airline & connector at motor location top of truss: 2 1/4"
Holes in outside braces of truss plating to hang airline: 1 1/2"
Markings: Rolled markings on braces in several locations read: "GLENGARNOCK STEEL"

References and Footnotes

  1. ↑ Marguerite Woodworth, History of the Dominion Atlantic, Dominion Atlantic Railway (1936) page 64
  2. ↑ Alexander MacNab, Windsor and Annapolis Railway, Report of Alexander MacNab Nov 1, 1873, (1873), page 22
  3. ↑ "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
  4. ↑ Personal conversation and tour of Kentville rail yards by former DAR brakeman Leon Barron, May 1994.
  5. ↑ Penny White, comment on Facebook Post, July 16, 2022
  6. ↑ The Weekly Monitor, August 23, 1916
  7. ↑ Some sources say the roundhouse started with five stalls but a report in The Weekly Monitor, August 23, 1916 and 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.
  8. ↑ "CPR Standard 70' Turntable",C.P. Tracks, Vol. 4, No. 4 (Dec. 1994), p. 16-17
  9. ↑ Canadian Railway and Marine World, "Projected Lines, Construction Betterments, Etc. Work in 1920", November 1920
  10. ↑ Gary Ness, Canadian Pacific's Dominion Atlantic Railway (Volume 1), page 23
  11. ↑ Personal conversation and tour of Kentville rail yards by former DAR brakeman Leon Barron, May 1994.

External Links

Plans

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