Are there any photos of the roundhouses in Birmingham, AL at East Thomas Yard and/or 9th Avenue Yard? Plus, at 9th Avenue Yard how long was the turntable and how many tons could it hold? At the 9th Avenue Yard when was it was removed?
Jason, Here is a photo from the "Fallen Flags" website. It would appear that the Birmingham, AL East Thomas Yard roundhouse was truncated for diesel servicing in a way similar to the Chaffee, Missouri roundhouse. http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/slsf/slsf-birm-shop.jpg Going back to 1911, here are the Sanborn maps of the roundhouse and surrounding yard. http://www.frisco.org/shipit/index.php?threads/birmingham-roundhouse-yards-1911.2080/ Frisco Power has a picture of the side of the Birmingham roundhouse with one of the old Mallets sitting alongside it in the 1930s. I have not been able to find data here on turntable length, but I'd guess it would have had to be long enough for a 2-8-8-2, albeit with their stumpy little tenders. I'll have to check at home in my mid-1920s List of Stations, etc. book to see if there is data. Or, perhaps others (Ken Mc?) will chime in prior to that time. Best Regards,
FYI, per the locomotive diagram, the Frisco 2001 class mallets were 96 feet 6-3/8 inches long, pilot point to tender coupler. Ken
All, Both the roundhouse and turntable for Birmingham were identical to those at Lindenwood Yard, St. Louis, MO. The turntable was 100 feet long. I have plans for the roundhouse, acquired from Don Wirth many years ago. Ken
The Birmingham East Thomas Yard was built in 1909, the same year as the Mallets were acquired, necessitating larger facilities. The roundhouse and 100-foot turntable had identical plans to those of Lindenwood. The old Ninth Avenue Yard engine facilities were dismantled later, perhaps as late as the 1930s. Ken McElreath
The roundhouse shown in the Fallen Flags website is the one at East Thomas, not Ninth Avenue. This photo was taken after many stalls were removed. Ken McElreath
Yes, that was so until a new Frisco freight house was built along Powell Street about 1950, south of the L&N elevated trackage and parallel to the SAL freight house. It may still be standing, or I may be remembering seeing the SAL freight house. The Frisco had to reach the new freight house via the Birmingham Belt line that crossed the L&N near the tower on the L&N main line. After the new house was built, the old wooden freight house at Ninth Avenue was sold to a beer distributorship. Here is a Sanborn map of the Ninth Avenue Yard and a photo of the building, plus a shot of SLSF 3545 an 0-6-0 switch engine.. Ken McElreath
