The Roundhouse

For decade after decade, the Roundhouse played a critical role in Barrie's economy by servicing transcontinental passenger train travel in all directions from the Allandale Train Station. Railway steam locomotives were moved from the main line to the Roundhouse for repairs, and because the huge engines ran backward so slowly, they could be rotated on a turntable of tracks and moved forward into stalls for maintenance and storage. In 1887, the Allandale Fire Brigade and the Barrie Fire Brigade together could not save the 1870s roundhouse when it caught fire on a freezing early morning in January, with carloads of wood and three locomotives inside. Incredibly, the newly built roundhouse burned again the following year in July, and because the rail yard could not function without a roundhouse, another one had to be built. Work started in 1903, when the Grand Trunk Railway chose the newly available building material of poured concrete for the new structure. It could service up to 27 steam locomotives at a time, and its 21.3m 70 foot turntable in the centre was operated by air motor tractor, while a foreman's office, tool room, air brake testing department, and accommodations for electricians were also added. The introduction of diesel engines, along with the decline of rail traffic through Allandale, led to the roundhouse closing in October 1958, and the building was demolished in 1964, leaving only the concrete footprint in memory of its working days.

Ontario · Canada