[Attachment(s) from William Barber included below]Charlie,
I am in agreement with you concerning the 2nd roundhouse in Downers Grove. My dad live in DG almost all of his 81 years having been born there in 1912. He always told me that the roundhouse was torn down in the early to mid 1930s when, as you mention the first, the first S class pacifics were assigned to commuter service. It was definitely gone by 1938 as I have a photo that he took at that time across the turntable and there is no roundhouse. The photo, while not great quality, is attached. The turntable was just behind the locomotive and the roundhouse was located beyond that to the west of the turntable. Dad said that the roundhouse was removed because the pacifics could not fit into it. They were too long. There is an A. W. Johnson photo of the roundhouse, about 1930, taken a bit closer than this photo which shows it full of K class ten wheelers on a weekend. Their tenders are just barely inside the front face of the structure.
Dad related that, at one time, before diesels, the Q was considering the construction of another steam locomotive facility further west on this location. It would have been located between Wallbank Ave. and Northcott Ave. about where Edward Hines Lumber Co. was later built. That structure still stands although Hines Lumber is no longer there. The facility was intended to include a turntable and a roundhouse. Alas,WWII, diesel locomotives and the decision to run all commuter trains to Aurora came along and the consideration was shelved.
Bill Barber
Gravois Mills, MO
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Wed Apr 20, 2016 7:35 pm (PDT) . Posted by:
The first turntable and roundhouse was just west of the first depot and it was on the south side of the tracks. It was removed in 1892 or 1893 as you suggest and was either moved or replaced further west on the north side of the tracks….and there was a wood roundhouse up until the advent of using mainly S class locomotives. The turntable was replaced with a larger one and perhaps at that time the roundhouse was removed.
I hope to include more information on the subject in some research that I am currently working up on the Aurora-Chicago stations.
Charlie Vlk