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Kentville Roundhouse
Kentville Roundhouse
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 in size and complexity from 1869 until the end of the steam era. It continued in use into the diesel era and survived as a warehouse 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 1869-1915
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 was destroyed by a fire on July 8, 1915 which destroyed two locomotives inside the sheds, No. 12 and No. 22.[3]
The Ten Stall Roundhouse 1916-2007
A new roundhouse was built in 1916 north of the mainline with a 70 foot turntable serving at first six stalls, later expanded in 1926.[4]to ten stalls . It was attached by a short passageway 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.[5] 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.[6]
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[7]
Chronology
1916 - the DAR constructs a 5-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 5 additional stalls.[8]
1936 - Stalls 5 to 10 extended to accommodate arrival of Pacific locomotives.[9]
1961 - Canadian Pacific Railway stops using the roundhouse for locomotive maintenance.
2007 - The roundhouse is demolished, July 9 to 13.
Gallery
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 arriving with Train No. 12 from Kingsport on August 27, 1956. Visible as well, switcher No. 6227, water stand pipe, coaling tower, sanding tower, track crane and boiler plant smoke stack.
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 smokestack 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 Kentville Roundhouse with the smokestack of the Canada Foods Plant on right, Kentville Machine Shop on left, speeder shed & hose shed centre, and Kentville 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 No. 8135, No. 8132, No. 8137, No. 8133, No. 8140, No. 8134, the DAR Track Crane No. 3 and the Canada Foods Plant smokestack, June 12, 1960.
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
- ↑ The expansion was announced in the Kentville Advertiser March 26, 1926
- ↑ Stall numbers are shown in Harold Jenkins 1927 photo and Canada Science and Technology 1943 photo of Locomotive 2511 (STR08416a).
- ↑ Personal communication with Leon Barron, 200
- ↑ Dimensions based on onsite measurements by Dan Conlin and Leon Barron and a 1980 drainage plan of the Canada Foods plant from Graves Ltd.
- ↑ The expansion was announced in the Kentville Advertiser March 26, 1926
- ↑ "Railway Notes", Kentville Advertiser, Oct. 15, 1936
