Realistic Round House Operation

I did an internet search for aerial views of roundhouses.  Some have stacks at both ends of the stalls.

The service alley, Maybe @Hotwater can give a more proper name for it, is at the “back” of the roundhouse, so that means carrying parts and tools a shorter distance.

In inclement weather, nose in would also have the service personnel further from the doors and weather.

Was a member of the Columbia Gorge Model Railroad Club, in Portland, Oregon for many years, and during our annual “Show” weekends, the roundhouse was my Favorite position to operate.

Our roundhouse area was the first scene people would see entering the layout room, and very easy to interact with the public, which I Enjoyed, it also allowed me to operate on my own, within the roundhouse area limits. Needless to say, the roundhouse was heavily loaded with Union Pacific Steam.

I often had to explain to visitors about steam locomotives being nosed in, rather than backed in, and why, to most it made sense, when explained.

My laptop crashed, and I need to see if I can have the hard drive downloaded, I have tons of pictures of the CGMRC layout, including Roundhouse trapped on it

Doug

Good point to make; eventually, it does look odd to see all those smokebox fronts peering out at you. The roof stacks are the clue.

As mentioned, some houses have roof stacks at both ends of the stalls, and steamers were backed in tender first sometimes anyway for a particular reason - say, a tender repair was called for, and the tools and the best protection from the weather are at the inside wall. But, this was the exception.

I know we like to see all those handsome steamer snouts arrayed around the turntable, but it does look funny if one knows how the real procedures generally worked.  Mine are mostly nose-in.

If you have some tracks outside the roundhouse, you can see the whole engine.

I have whisker tracks outside the Round House too.  I can also remove the RH with only a two wire light plug to disconnect.  But the result would be some parked engines and CTs.  I compromised and made the RH only be 4 stalls to allow more engines to show out outside the RH.

The Round House is the other iconic feature of the layout in addition to the homemade turntable.  I had to have both so I built them with the initial layout building.

Charlie

The only place I have ever seen steam locomotives facing OUT of a roundhouse (towards the turntable) is on model train layouts.

The whole point of the roundhouse shape was to provide plenty of room at the front of the locomotive for the roundhouse mechanics to work on the engine.

Very little work ever needs done at the rear of a tender. 😉

Here's a counterexample: https://res.cloudinary.com/fle...ojeljbsygf6mywtn.jpg

British steam, obviously in a display situation, not everyday operations.

@Rich Melvin posted:

British steam, obviously in a display situation, not everyday operations.

Well most model railroads are in "display situations" after all...

@Ken Wing posted:

Here's a counterexample: https://res.cloudinary.com/fle...ojeljbsygf6mywtn.jpg

That is in Germany, and they would do such displays like that in the modern era. That is/was NOT in the regular service days of the 40s and 50s. I've been to what was "East Germany" for such events.

While we are on the subject of realism in the roundhouse, wouldn't it be great if someone made a sound system for roundhouses.  There are a lot of different  sounds emanating from this busy place; grease guns, appliance testing, the clank of tools and of the fireman's shovel, the buzz of the of dynos, blowing down the air pump, and more. I'm not too keen on vocals, but  a "Get the chain, let's go" wouldn't be bad. 

There is nothing like walking into a roundhouse with three or four engines coming up to pressure.  Sure, miss those days!

Earl     

@Farmall-Joe posted:

Well most model railroads are in "display situations" after all...

Well no. Toy train layouts may do such "displays" but true "model railroads", no matter what scale, generally do not.

@Hot Water posted:

Well no. Toy train layouts may do such "displays" but true "model railroads", no matter what scale, generally do not.

Earl

I often store a Williams F7 ABA, B unit with sound of engine and engineer talking, on one of the tracks in the roundhouse.  I just switch the RH selector switch to that track and hold down the momentary TT and RH switch ON and hear a B unit sound roaring out of the RH.

Charlie

@Farmall-Joe posted:

I guess that @Hotwater makes a distinction that you don’t.

There is a difference between a Model Railroad layout, and a Toy Train layout, plus a whole spectrum in between.

Some take modeling more seriously than others, neither is more “Right or Wrong “ than the other, just how we each Choose to ENJOY the Hobby😉

Doug

That was interesting to learn, nice job hunting that down.

Here are a couple of older photos of our roundhouse before I started with adding some ground cover, ballast, etc. Still not finished, it’s a work in progress.

@WP posted:

Here are a couple of older photos of our roundhouse before I started with adding some ground cover, ballast, etc. Still not finished, it’s a work in progress.

Yes, that looks good. I do see that the F-unit is backed in tender-first.....

If they are properly parked nose-in, you get to enjoy the tender, and when you do use a particular loco again, it's like a whole new engine. Kinda.