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Difference between revisions of "Kentville Roundhouse"

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==The First Three Stall Roundhouse/Engine House 1868-1915==
 
==The First Three Stall Roundhouse/Engine House 1868-1915==
The [[Windsor and Annapolis Railway]] built the first turntable and engine house at Kentville in 1869 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 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 was destroyed by a fire on July 8, 1915 which destroyed two locomotives inside the sheds, [[DAR0012|No. 12]] and [[DAR0022|No. 22]].<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 [[Windsor and Annapolis Railway]] built the first turntable and engine house at Kentville in 1869 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 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 which also destroyed two locomotives inside the sheds, [[DAR0012|No. 12]] and [[DAR0022|No. 22]], although firefighters managed to save the attached [[Kentville Machine Shop|Machine Shop]].<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 Six Stall roundhouse 1916-1926==
 
==The Six Stall roundhouse 1916-1926==

Revision as of 19:25, 28 March 2019

Kentville Roundhouse

The Kentville Roundhouse in the steam to diesel transition era, 1959.

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 which grew from a 3-stall engine shed in 1868 to a 6-stal roundhouse in 1915 and then a 10-stall roundhouse in 1926. The roundhouse continued to service locomotives into the diesel era until 1963 when it became a apple juice warehouse. The building survived to become one of the last railway roundhouse 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 1869 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]

The Six Stall roundhouse 1916-1926

A replacement roundhouse was built in 1916, north of the mainline near the Cornwallis River Bridge with a 70-foot turntable serving the six stalls[4] as well as several outside storage tracks.

The Ten Stall Roundhouse 1926-2007

The roundhouse was expanded in 1926, with work being announced in March[5] with four news stalls being added.[6] The ten-stall roundhouse was complete and in use by the end of the year.[7] The new stalls filled in the storage tracks next to the Kentville Machine Shop.

Layout of the 10-stall Roundhouse

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.[8] Stalls Nos. 5 to 10 had a three foot extension built on to the doors to accommodate the longer Pacific locomotives.

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. The turntable survives today in the New Ross area, repurposed as a bridge on a private road.[9]

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[10]

Chronology

1916 - the DAR constructs a 6-stall roundhouse at the west end of the Kentville yard where DAR subsidiary the Cornwallis Valley Railway branches off for Kingsport.

1926 - CPR expands its subsidiary's roundhouse in Kentville, adding 4 additional stalls.[11]

1936 - Stalls 5 to 10 extended to accommodate arrival of Pacific locomotives.[12]

1961 - Canadian Pacific Railway stops using the roundhouse for locomotive maintenance.

2007 - The roundhouse is demolished, July 9 to 13.

Gallery

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. 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 Chroncile Herald, May 1, 1928, Carl Riff notes.
  5. The expansion was announced in the Kentville Advertiser March 26, 1926
  6. 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.
  7. Halifax Chronicle Herald, Feb. 6, 1927, Carl Riff notes. Tour by Rotary group notes the roundhouse is complete and in service.
  8. Stall numbers are shown in Harold Jenkins 1927 photo and Canada Science and Technology 1943 photo of Locomotive 2511 (STR08416a).
  9. Personal communication with Leon Barron, 200
  10. Dimensions based on onsite measurements by Dan Conlin and Leon Barron and a 1980 drainage plan of the Canada Foods plant from Graves Ltd.
  11. The expansion was announced in the Kentville Advertiser March 26, 1926
  12. "Railway Notes", Kentville Advertiser, Oct. 15, 1936

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