A Glimpse into Railroad History
Posted by: 
Volcanoguy
N 46° 11.475 W 123° 48.873
10T E 437145 N 5115619
This sign is located Astoria River Walk east of the Maritime Museum.
Waymark Code: WM12C7
Location: Oregon, United States
Date Posted: 12/24/2006
Views: 19
This sign is located Astoria River Walk west of the Maritime Museum..
Marker Name: A Glimpse into Railroad History - The Astoria Roundhouse
Marker Text: Built by the Astoria & Columbia River Railroad, the Astoria roundhouse was located several blocks east of the depot. It originally had a 60-foot hand operated turntable for turning cars and engines. Prior to the construction of the rock bulkhead along the waterfront, all of the tracks and structures were supported on wood pilings. Once the area was backfilled, the old turntable was removed and a concrete walled pit was constructed for an 80-foot turntable by the Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railway. New footings were poured for the roundhouse along with two concrete lined pits for the engine stalls.
The roundhouse itself was timber-framed with vertical posts between the stalls to support the roof structure. Windows, as well as electric lamps, provided necessary light for the stalls and machinery. The machinery was belt-driven and received power from an elevated shaft parallel to the west wall. There were also forges that could handle most blacksmithing jobs. Only moderate repairs to engines were done at the roundhouse. For heavy repairs, the engines were moved to Portland’s roundhouse.
On the southwest corner was an attached structure that had a locker room for the enginemen and the roundhouse personnel. Another area stored materials for oiling and greasing the engine gear.
In the early 1950s, diesel engines replaced the steam engines. The new diesels required little or no terminal service, so the roundhouse machinery was dismantled. The stall pits were filled in and the rails were taken up. The building was sold to a contractor who dismantled it for the timbers and sheathing.
Finally, in the early 1980s, there was no further use for the turntable. It was sold for scrap to a local contractor, the pit was filled in and the area leased to Astoria Plywood
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