Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway Roundhouse - Victoria, BC
N 48° 25.785 W 123° 22.899
10U E 471767 N 5364137
A fine example of a roundhouse from the 1900's
Waymark Code: WM2XCP
Location: British Columbia, Canada
Date Posted: 01/04/2008
Views: 133
Robert Dunsmuir built Vancouver Island’s railway in 1886 to haul coal from Central Vancouver Island to the port at Esquimalt. The line was taken over by the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1905 and the tracks were extended to Russell, now Victoria, the site of the Roundhouse property. The CPR built the 10-stall Roundhouse, Car Shop and Stores buildings in 1913.
The turntable was powered by steam but at some point converted to air and is fully operational today. It is used to turn the Budd cars around to equalize the wear on the wheels etc. These Budd cars are used for passenger service on the E&N railway. One stall in the roundhouse is used to store and repair the 2 Budd cars.
The site was designated a Canadian Heritage site in 1992 and plaqued in 2000. It's also recognized as a municipal heritage site so this should mean that there will be a complete restoration of the site in the future.
There is a web site here that has information on the efforts for the restoration.
These areas are still an active railway and until there is a plan in place to accommodate the public, extreme caution should be used here. There are several places to view the Roundhouse and Turntable with out the need to cross the tracks. You can visit this waypoint and take pictures from there.