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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/22/21 23:45 by F40PHR231.

Great pics Chris! Last time I was in Evanston just over 10 years ago, the roundhouse was still undeveloped. I'm glad they've saved it put part of it to good use. Did you get any pics of UP 0-6-0 #4420 on display at the elementary school? (That roundhouse could sure use a steam locomotive on display.)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/30/10 13:34 by davew833.

UP 0-6-0 #4466 in Sacramento would be a perfect fit for that roundhouse as a nice display. It's not like CSRM is doing anything with it or ever will. It'd look great and be right at home there in Evanston.

4466 isn't running at Sacto. anymore? its been awhile since I've been there.

Great pictures of Evanston. Looks like worth a roadtrip.

They have a roundhouse festival usually the first weekend in August, with a train show in Evanston. Its a good show, and usually alot of fun. They have done a wonderful job of restoring the roundhouse and the machine shop.

Looks great! All they need now is a Big Boy to put in the roundhouse. Thanks for posting!

I had heard a rumor before the roundhouse was restored that the folks in Evanston were looking for a 'Big Boy' to put in it. There are 8 out there (of 24 built) but I haven't heard about any organizations that want to give theirs up. The closest is probably #4005 at the Forney Museum in Denver, but the time to go after her would have probably been 15 years ago before Forney built a new facility and moved #4005 inside.

5511 and some other stuff in Chian could live there

Don't get me started Chris...biting my tongue.....

AWESOME!!! Thanks for posting those shots! Those folks really have a gem on thier hands!!! Hats off to them and the work they are doing!!!!

It's too bad Evanston is so far away from... everything. Of course that may have worked in the favor of preserving the roundhouse.

This Roundhouse was never big enough for a Big Boy, it was used for the smaller locomotive that were on the railroad before the Challengers and Big Boys roamed the west. I had not heard that Evanston was looking at a Big Boy, but I know there has been some talk of moving the 4420 over to the Roundhouse. The caboose and passenger cars that are down by the roundhouse now, used to be at the Depot in downtown Evanston.

In 2005 I was in SLC and THOUGHT I was going to ride Amtrak over to Grand Junction and back, just for the heck of it, and it turned out I had purchased for the wrong date and there would be NO train on this date because of trackwork. So to fill the time, I drove to..... eeeny, meeeny, miney.... Evanston and found all these structures waiting to be restored.
And this is my first update since!

F40PHR231 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> What I call the south-end of the roundhouse is
> spectacular! Sure, there are no locomotives on
> display, but I really appreciated that the
> structure itself was preserved, and in some ways
> converted to be used for meetings, presentations,
> graduations, parties, etc.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I don't remember what radio show it was-- circa 1940s-- which had a joke about a railroad man going a little bit nuts when he found out someone was putting on a Square dance in the Round house....

By the sounds of it, if the Brooklyn Roundhouse were to have any chance of survival it would need a benefactor. Brooklyn is the last active SP Roundhouse, one other is a shell and one is palletized bricks. I'm sure with a endowment the Roundhouse could be saved, and moved. Somewhere. Maybe Brooks? I've had the President of the Astoria group ask me about the Roundhouse...

Otherwise, we have one year left for the Brooklyn Roundhouse.

Smokebox

F40PHR231 Wrote:

> I know... I know... This sets as an example of
> what we could do with Brooklyn Roundhouse. I
> definitely heard your voice when I saw the
> interior. It's a shame that ORHF won't be
> preserving the Brooklyn Roundhouse.
>
> Evanston's roundhouse is making money. They don't
> have any trains, and it's not a cash cow by any
> means, but they're still making money because of
> how they're utilizing the space.

What a great post, Chris, and even greater pictures. Great way to ring out the old!

Happy New Year! And keep 'em coming! - Jerry

Wasn't it at Evanston that a car repair company used the roundhouse facilities in the 1990s? My family stopped there briefly in 1991.
Tony J.

Spectacular Work!

Beautiful Photos....Thank You, and Best to you all, in 2011.*

VERNON HARRISON
LA TOUR, MISSOURI

Union Tank Car had a repair facility there until 1998. (I think that was the last time I was there.)

Union Tank car still has a facility in Evanston its down the road from the roundhouse. Its a newer facility, I believe that they had once owned the roundhouse facility and they are the ones who donated it to the Evanston.