Engine House - Official Work Thread

[Graham Buxton]

is the area over the doorway temporary?, it appears cockeyed compared to the line of the cross beams.

Here is a reply to a similar question that Joe Fox asked elsewhere ... 

Author
Wiscasset, Waterville and Farmington Railway Museum 
Joe Fox, The rafters are not square to the walls because of the stall getting wider as it goes back. There are some real strange angles in this building.

[Stewart "Start" Rhine]

Another reason for the west stall rafter placement is that the rafters for the center stall have to tie into the west stall rafters. The rafters for both stalls have to line up for their connection on top of the post & beams. 

[Mike Fox]

Another reason for the west stall rafter placement is that the rafters for the center stall have to tie into the west stall rafters. The rafters for both stalls have to line up for their connection on top of the post & beams.

I am not sure they can. There are 3 different angles in the roof. The angle changes on that beam.

[Carl G. Soderstrom]

I think I will receive judgment until the man that put them up chimes in.

Camera angles will give all sorts of 'obstacle delusions' - case in point the
West hinge post looks longer than the East. The gap int the back makes the
rafter look parallel the the back wall but the front looks wonky (a technical term ).

One thing I saw on the drawings that I question, the soffit/lookout rafters should be tied
into the second rafter for leverage stability over the front and rear plate, rather than just
hanging.(As per the drawing). 

[Joe Fox]

Every other engine house, roundhouse, I have seen has the rafters meet in the middle of the beam, as it makes everything much easier to have the rafters square with the track. Such as hanging things from the roof, like smoke jacks, interior materials, etc.

Some simple measures could be a chalk line on the beam, and figure out an angle to cut the rafters to make the end butt together.

I suppose having the rafters offset at an angle doesn’t really matter too much. But it will definitely affect the way the pitch of the roof is. Normally engine houses/round houses like this have the roof pitch with the stall of the tracks.

[Joe Fox]

In fact the blue prints posted at the beginning of this thread also show the rafters squared with the track. As was done originally, and in most likely every other enginehouse/roundhouse.

[Bill Reidy]

Some photos from yesterday, Saturday, December 4th...

As Fred Morse keeps a 12" x 12" timber elevated with the tractor, Brendan Barry squares an end.


Fred secures a strap to one of the timbers.  This timber will be used as a post between bays 2 and 1 in the engine house.


Brendan lifts the timber for its move to the engine house.


Maneuvering the timber around the front of the engine house.


The first post between bays 2 and 1 has been set, as Stewart Rhine watches for the second post to be delivered and set.


Securing the second post.


View showing both posts now in place.

[Bob Holmes]

Bravo!

[ALAIN DELASSUS]

On mid March the BOD has voted to build the roundhouse and hardly 9 months later the  construction of that huge building is still coming along fast and steadily without a single downtime from the get go all due to the organized skillful and dedicated team of carpenters that works on it. Hat off you guys.

[Keith Taylor]

When the engine house is complete…a cat will have to be found.
Every engine house I’ve ever been to has had a cat to keep vermin under control.
 

Keith

[ALAIN DELASSUS]

You ll find one easily an talking of vermin  it'll be as snug as bug in a rug  in the insulated heated enginehouse and in the shop as well  Don't forget a cat flap. I'm sure it'll end up as famous as Dirty in Ely Nev.

[Joe Fox]

Looks great. Getting closer and closer to an enclosed building.

Will the rafters on stalls 1 and 2 be square with the track? A nice even roof layout is much easier to lay out, and work with, which is probably why the railroads all built them with rafters square with the tracks. Think of it like building an octagonal house. Make things square where you can and start front the outside in. Inside out makes things look funny. 

[Jeff Schumaker]

You ll find one easily an talking of vermin  it'll be as snug as bug in a rug  in the insulated heated enginehouse and in the shop as well  Don't forget a cat flap. I'm sure it'll end up as famous as Dirty in Ely Nev.

Don't forget Felix at the Age of Steam Roundhouse.

Jeff S.

[ALAIN DELASSUS]

Sure Jeff, Felix the Cat is born in 1919 when the steam locomotives ruled absolutely on the railway. He's definetly haunted many a roundhouse and maybe in France as well because back in the day in Pithiviers we had a cat that looked like Felix and as he was loitering around the big 080 KDL ex TPT #4-12 he was named Catdouze. But unfortunately he did not stay long there.

[Jeff Schumaker]

Sure Jeff, Felix the Cat is born in 1919 when the steam locomotives ruled absolutely on the railway. He's definetly haunted many a roundhouse and maybe in France as well because back in the day in Pithiviers we had a cat that looked like Felix and as he was loitering around the big 080 KDL ex TPT #4-12 he was named Catdouze. But unfortunately he did not stay long there.

At the Age of Steam Roundhouse, in NE Ohio, they have a roundhouse cat named Felix, who greets visitors, and keeps the rodent population at bay. There was a story told of AoSR bringing a loco up from the South that happened to have a number of lizards living in it. Felix spent a week hunting them down.

Here is a short video of him. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17bRSDtc0pw

Jeff S.