Steam & Excursion > Occasionally A Steam Roundhouse Will Out Last It's Steam Power!

The steam era of American Railroads passed into history by the late 1950's.  With that era went nearly all the structures that were devoted to the care and maintenance of steam motive power.  While a few steam locomotives were lucky enough to be spared the scrappers torch, nearly all the roundhouses, backshops, water tanks, cinder pits and other structures devoted to these steam locomotives passed into history, never to be seen again.

An exception to this rule is the preservation of the 5-stall concrete-reinforced roundhouse of the State Belt Railroad of California located at Sansome and Embarcadero in San Francisco near Pier 27.  Built in 1913, this testament of the days of steam power along the docks of San Francisco lives on today, albeit as an office building, but in silent proof that once steam locomotives inhabited this location.

All but one of the steam locomotives that once called this structure home are gone now.  We see in this 1936 view, State Belt 0-6-0 #9 in front of the structure back when steam power still needed such a place to go each day for the daily maintenance that would ultimately cause it to be replaced by more modern diesel power.

Martin



Edited 6 time(s). Last edit at 07/15/19 03:44 by LoggerHogger.

---

First of all this is a wonderful photo.
There is the fantastic visual on how to weather a roundhouse. Stuff laying around on the ground and a nice 0-6-0.

Then there are the people who have built their large homes on, what appears to this flat-lander as being, an unstable hillside a mere 30 years after a colossal destructive earthquake. What could possibly go wrong?

I suppose now this area is covered with buildings and homes and crammed to the hilt with people.

As always, Martin, thanks for posting these photos. 

Rick Zorko

 

Mr Google says it's now known as roundhouseOne @ 1500 Sansome St.
https://www.roundhouseone.com/ <phorum break>  

 
 

---

Nicely preserved! Don't know why it flashed but the thought that the V&T roundhouse in Carson City
deserved a similar fate comes to mind.

Out