Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1900-07-28
ROUND HOUSE
The Largest Round House in the
World Just Completed at
Clinton.
Forty eight Stalls Monster Freight
Engines Made New House
Necessary.
Twenty.six Houses Moved of Ground
Where 1t is Built-A Few
Particulars.
Special to Times-Republican.

l8CllntOn and the Northwes tern Railway
Company take considerable pride in the
magnificent new round house recently
completed by the railway company in
this city. 1t is the largest and best
l5equipped round house in the world and
all of the other buildings inconnection
with it, such as coal chutes. ash dumps,
oil houses, etc, are in keeping With the
magnificent structure. 1t is 400 feet in
diameter and forms perfect circle. 1t
has forty-eight stalls and two openings,
making in all total of fifty stalls.
This is ten stalls larger than any other
round house in the United States or the
world, for that matter. When Master
Mechanic H. T. Bentley, of the Iowa
|sdivision, was east recently he says the
1 largest round house to be found east of
the Mississippi river, as far as he could
llearn, contained forty stalls, and it is
| that west of here.
1 The ground on which the new build
ling stands is in thickly residence
portion of the city and twenty-six
houses were sold and moved OFF the
4 4isNNOI w 9GOIIlulSIlCSu
excavating for the building and It was
just nine months from the day the
1 first bit of dirt was moved until the
| building was completed and ready for
occupancy.
4 ton relative to the new round house
was furnished by Mr.. Bentley:
Until this year the engines of the
ak ;c;.
at the old round house, which was
built in 1864 and which contained only
i twenty-five stalls, and when forty or
.lfifty engines We're here at one time it
i became necessary for a good many TO
stand outside. In addition to this dis
advantage. number of the engines
4 built in the last few years We're so
much longer than the old engines that
lit became necessary to lengthen out.
the stalls by putting on yestibule so
that the giant freight engines of the
class type could be gotten inside of
the building and the doors closed be-
| hind them. This, in the winter time,
was "a great Improvement over the open
doors, but the place was altogether TOO
scrowGed for the work to be done salts
faetorily, so last year it was decided to
4 build new round house and suitable
sEsite was purchased. The first ground
was broken August IA, 1899. The en-i
4 sines and men moved into the new
building May IA. 1900 so it will be seen
THAT the work. which was done under.
i the direction of w. d. Walden. superin-
]8tendent of bridges and buildings, took.
4, but nine months. Mr.. Walden has been
4 in the employ Of the Chicago & North-.
i western Railway Company for thirty
i seven years and is an interchangeable
worker, the round house and shops be-
ling a monument to his ability. He is 10
\ years old.
A few particulars of the new round
A house are here given. There are forty
! eight stalls. which, including entrance.
Il and exit. make fifty, a complete circle.
] The radius of the outside wall is l57
feet s inches, The radius of the inside
Z wall is los feet. The clearance between
the walls inside of the house is 81 feet
is inches. The length of the longest en-
i CINE and tender is 81 feet 31a inches. The
4 turn-table5is 20 feet long and is set on
a solid rock foundation, and will be OPP
i Grated by electricity. Water Is obtained
4 from an artesian Well 1s1I5 feet deep.
! The drop pits for driving ard engine
truck wheels are cut out of solid rock.
4 The size of the new machine shops
i and store room is 50xl40 feet. The round
HOUSE, machine shops and store room
a are heated turnout With the Sturdevant
i hot air system. The oil room is model.
s of its kind. having been designed by
4 Robert Quayle, of Chicago, superintend-i
4 ent of motive power and machinery. l.
4 is a ire-proof building. 35S35 seet. The
Il oil tanks. twelve in number, are under
4 ground. the oil being raised to suita Bile
4 faucets by air pressure and. instead of
4 pumping the oil, it is drawn off, the
pressure behind il forcing it OUT.
The ASH moist Tor handing the irn-.
mense amount of cinders coming from
A SO many engines. is a new departure In
i its way and is designed by Mr.. Hende,-
Hson, assistant superintendent of motive
j power and machinery for the North.
\ western Company. on the old style
4tcllnker pits ii was customary TO shovel
1 the cinders out of the pit on the level,
1 then into CIR. Later the car Was run
4 on a depressed track 50 az to facilitate
4 handling the cinders. but even this was
1 a SLOW method, aa it Was necessary to
keep engines OFF the pit While the shov-.
6Eeling Was going on. With the pneumatic.
5bhoist. herein described, it s possible for
4 "a man TO stand in the pit and by the
i simple movement of valve hoist the.
i 5cinders over a car. standing on a near!
4 by track. and by an ingenious arrange
4 ment they are dumped. the door to the.
ash hopper is closed and it returns TO
4 the pit. for another load. This is done
while an engine is on it, or while8it is
being moved, 80 that no time is lost
4 during the operation.
4 1t has long been a matter#of discus
sion as to the best material for making
a round house floor. 1t is thought that
the hard pressed brick, laid on edge,
such as are used in the round house
here, will give the best results of any
4 thing yet tried. Wood is said to be an
4 ideal floor while it lasts, but on account
OF dampness from washing out boilers
etc, itslife is short.
4 In this round house there is ample
clearance in front of and back of the
i tender, so that If engines Increase in
size in the next decade, as they have in
the past, there Will still be room for
them in this, the largest round house in
4 tho world.
i II Saved HIS Leg.
Il p a. Danforth, of LAGRANGE. Ga
suffered for six months with frightful
i runninr5 sore on his leg hnf wrf zoe th,&