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54-531: The West Chicago City Museum , originally the Turner Town Hall , is a museum in West Chicago , Illinois . Turner Town Hall originally functioned as the first Village Hall of West Chicago, providing police and fire control services to the community. West Chicago was originally known as Junction, as three railroads crossed through it. The Galena and Chicago Union Railroad erected the first railway station in

108-664: A hostler moving an engine to an ash pit to remove the detritus of burned wood or coal. The locomotive's tender would be refilled with fuel, water, and sand, and the engine would be placed above an inspection pit so that workers could inspect it for any maintenance needs, like wear on its brake shoes and wheels. The engine's many moving parts would also be thoroughly lubricated, although this meant that engines typically required frequent cleanings to remove old lubricating fluid along with dirt and anything else that stuck. At larger 24-hour North American roundhouses, steam locomotives would often be turned around and made ready for service within

162-464: A female householder with no husband present, and 23.00% were non-families. 19.32% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.74% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.92 and the average family size was 3.40. The city's age distribution consisted of 43.7% under the age of 18, 11.0% from 18 to 24, 25.4% from 25 to 44, 26.4% from 45 to 64, and 9.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age

216-453: A few hours of arrival. However, locomotives with major issues or in need of semi-regular maintenance required additional time. Larger roundhouses were adequately staffed with boilermakers , blacksmiths , and pipefitters so that this work could be accomplished on-site; only the most extensive work, such as major unexpected repairs or scheduled major maintenance, required the transport of locomotives to specialized backshops . The location of

270-750: A few private and third-sector railways. One Japanese roundhouse that remains intact is at the Kyoto Railway Museum . The museum comprises a number of structures classified by the Japanese Government as ' Important Cultural Properties '. One of these structures is the museum roundhouse, the oldest reinforced concrete car shed extant in Japan. The museum roundhouse in Wolsztyn , in western Poland, continued to supply steam locomotives for regular national rail services as of 2011. The Roundhouse at Entroncamento

324-775: A locomotive servicing facility by the same railroad that constructed it is the Long Island engine house in Queens , New York . The largest surviving roundhouse by interior square footage is owned and operated by the North Carolina Transportation Museum in Spencer , North Carolina . It was built by the Southern Railway in 1924 and contains 37 stalls. The B&O Railroad Museum complex in Baltimore, Maryland contains

378-769: A museum. The German Museum of Technology shows a doubled roundhouse. The former Budapest North Depot in Budapest is home to a railway museum since 2000. At its height, there were four railway roundhouses in Indonesia; three of which survive: the roundhouse near Lempuyangan station in Yogyakarta , the one in Tebing Tinggi station in North Sumatera , and a former roundhouse inside Jatibarang sugar mill in Central Java which

432-675: A pair of emerging technology companies. The Canadian National Railways roundhouse at the Turcot Yard in Montreal, built in 1906, was the largest ever built in Canada. Its demolition in 1962 to make way for the Turcot Interchange illustrated a profound change in transportation habits across North America. The Steam Whistle Brewing brewery in Toronto , Ontario is located in the building known as

486-548: A plant. Reed-Keppler Park was built on top of a landfill that had received some waste from the plant. Kerr-McGee , which had bought the facility in 1967 and operated it until 1973, settled with the city and cleaned up the waste. The movie Reach the Rock , written by John Hughes , was filmed in downtown West Chicago in 1998. West Chicago is located at 41°53′18″N 88°12′35″W  /  41.888378°N 88.209659°W  / 41.888378; -88.209659 . According to

540-413: A private workshop, may previously have been laid out in a radial pattern like a roundhouse. The Roundhouse , Chalk Farm , London was built in 1847, but was too small for its function within 20 years; it is now an arts center and concert venue. Barrow Hill Engine Shed , which is home to a number of preserved locomotives is still in use. It is estimated that there were about 3,000 roundhouse sites in

594-586: A roundhouse at Mercer . Norway has had many roundhouses, and many still survive. Examples include Voss, Ål, Kongsberg on the Bergen line. Hamar, Otta and Oppdal on the Dovre line, Lodalen - Oslo (covered) and Egersund on the Sørland line. A roundhouse is known to exist at Manpo -Jian. Roundhouses were a significant feature of Japanese railways . Many smaller roundhouses are still in use today as fully operational buildings on

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648-543: Is believed to have been the Boston and Maine's East Somerville roundhouse outside Boston, today the site of the Boston Engine Terminal . It was built with stalls 112 feet (34.1 m) long, 90 feet (27 m) of open space between the roundhouse and the turntable, and a 110-foot (33.5 m) turntable, giving it a diameter of 525 feet (160 m). However, several roundhouses were enlarged over time to become larger than

702-796: Is home to the Portuguese National Railway Museum . The Uster roundhouse in Uster . Changhua Roundhouse in Changhua City built in 1922 is the only surviving roundhouse in Taiwan and is still in use as of 2022. Probably the first railway roundhouse, designed by Robert Stephenson , was built in 1837 in Birmingham , at Curzon Street station . Its central turntable, inspection pits, and an exterior wall were uncovered in March 2020 during work to build

756-650: Is now used as a mini railway museum. There are two roundhouses at Turin , still in use by the FS. There is one in Rome. There were three roundhouses in New Zealand. Elmer Lane in Greymouth was one of the largest and most famous roundhouses in New Zealand and had up to 17 total berths. The last remains were demolished in the 1990's. None of the original roundhouses survive however Mainline Steam as part of their Mercer project will build

810-753: The Chicago Aurora and Elgin Railroad , the “country trolley” was lightly used, and abandoned in 1937. The right of way is now the Geneva Spur of the Illinois Prairie Path . In the 1980s and 1990s, the city received a nuclear-waste contamination scare. Harmful waste from the Rare Earths Facility had been spread around the community since the 1930s, when the Lindsay Light and Chemical Company built

864-642: The Galena and Chicago Union Railroad (G&CU) in 1855. The city was initially established around the first junction of railroad lines in Illinois, and today is still served by the Union Pacific West Metra service via West Chicago station . Erastus Gary, of Pomfret, Connecticut , homesteaded 760 acres (310 ha) on the banks of the DuPage River , just south of West Chicago's present day city limits in

918-541: The HS2 line. Another was built in 1839 at Derby , England by the North Midland Railway . A guidebook of the time says: The engine-house is a polygon of sixteen sides, and 190 feet (58 m) in diameter, lighted from a dome-shaped roof, of the height of 50 feet (15.2 m). It contains 16 lines of rails, radiating from a single turn-table in the centre: the engines, on their arrival, are taken in there, placed upon

972-1147: The John Street Roundhouse , a former Canadian Pacific Railway steam locomotive repair facility. The Canadian Pacific 374 steam engine is on display at the former CPR Drake Street Roundhouse in Vancouver , now the Roundhouse Community Centre designed by VIA Architecture. The Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway Roundhouse in Victoria , British Columbia Several roundhouses exist in France; two exist at Chambéry , built between 1906 and 1910. Another two exist at Avignon , and three exist at Lyon with other roundhouses being at Bordeaux , Strasbourg , Dijon , Bayonne , Colmar , Paris , Marseille , Clermont-Ferrand , Mulhouse , Nevers , Toulon , Valence , and Saint Etienne . Several roundhouses survive in Germany, The roundhouses at Augsburg and Freilassing are home to

1026-546: The US and Canada no longer exist, lie in ruins, or have been repurposed; however, a small number of them still exist and continue to operate in their intended capacity as locomotive storing and servicing facilities. Of the roughly 3,000 roundhouses that once existed in North America, fewer than 200 roundhouses are extant in the US as of 2010 ; in Canada, none exist east of Montreal . Below is

1080-481: The one-room schoolhouse built a mile outside town in 1835 would become the state's last surviving one-room schoolhouse when it closed in 1991. Meanwhile, in 1857, Dr. Joseph McConnell and his wife Mary platted a second portion of town just north of John B. Turner's plat . They recorded their plat as the Town of Turner in honor of the railroad president. These two “towns” became informally known as Turner Junction. By 1873,

1134-560: The poverty line , including 16.2% of those under age 18 and 4.5% of those age 65 or over. Jel Sert has its corporate headquarters in West Chicago. Ball Horticultural Company has its Worldwide Headquarters in West Chicago. General Mills had a production facility in West Chicago until 2017. According to the City's 2017 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are: The United States Postal Service operates

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1188-516: The 1830s. His son became "Judge" Elbert Henry Gary , the first CEO of America's first billion-dollar corporation, U.S. Steel , and for whom Gary, Indiana , is named. Gary also helped bring brothers Jesse and Warren Wheaton, founders of nearby Wheaton, Illinois , the DuPage County seat, from Connecticut to the Midwest . A pioneer cemetery on the old Gary Homestead , where a sawmill had been built by

1242-544: The 1860s and Mexican immigrants by the 1910s. John B. Turner, president of the G&;CU and a resident of Chicago, owned several acres of land in what is now the center of town. As more people settled in Junction, Turner recognized the chance to make a profit by platting his land and selling off lots. He therefore recorded the community's first plat in 1855 under the name of Town of Junction . The community continued its growth, although

1296-474: The 1950s as railroads converted from steam to diesel-electric power, which needed far less maintenance. Some were converted to service diesel engines , while others were used as storage or sold to other parties. Several dozen roundhouses stand today in active use by modern railroads and museums, although the majority of those still standing have been abandoned. An average of two per year are demolished or otherwise destroyed. The only roundhouse still in use as

1350-553: The 1960s for operations in a particular direction. Turntables allowed locomotives or other rolling stock to be turned around for the return journey, and roundhouses, designed to radiate around the turntables, were built to service and store these locomotives. Most modern diesel and electric locomotives can run equally well in either direction, and many are push-pull trains with control cabs at each end. In addition, railroads often use multiple locomotives to pull trains, and even with locomotives that have distinct front and rear ends,

1404-531: The 2021 census gazetteer files, West Chicago has a total area of 15.72 square miles (40.71 km ), of which 15.38 square miles (39.83 km ) (or 97.82%) is land and 0.34 square miles (0.88 km ) (or 2.18%) is water. As of the 2020 census there were 25,614 people, 7,838 households, and 6,035 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,629.49 inhabitants per square mile (629.15/km ). There were 7,801 housing units at an average density of 496.28 per square mile (191.61/km ). The racial makeup of

1458-804: The Chicago Aviation Field Office in West Chicago, on the grounds of the airport; it is the regional headquarters of the NTSB Aviation Central Region. Metra has a station on the Union Pacific West Line. The Great Western Trail (Illinois) passes through town. The city of West Chicago has two high schools—one public school, West Chicago Community High School , and one private, Wheaton Academy . There are seven public elementary schools (Currier, Pioneer, Wegner, Turner, Indian Knoll, Gary, and Norton Creek) and two middle schools [Benjamin and Leman Middle School (LMS)] within

1512-430: The G&CURR opened the “Dixon Air Line” branch West thru Geneva . Because of the number of trains passing through town, water and fuel facilities for locomotives and a roundhouse were built here, as well as an early eating-house and hotel for travelers. As a result, a number of new employees and their families located to this community. The original settlers were primarily English and Irish, with Germans arriving in

1566-681: The Garys, just north of Gary's Mill Road, and north of its terminus at Illinois Route 59 , was built over with apartment buildings in the 1960s. In 1849, the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad (predecessor of the C&;NW ) reached the site of present-day West Chicago, then continued northwest to Elgin. In 1850, the Aurora Branch Railroad (predecessor of the CB&;Q ) built southwest, making America's first railroad junction point west of Chicago . In 1854,

1620-623: The Turner Cabinet Company and the Turner Brick Company. The community continues to attract quality business and residential development that contributes to the culturally diverse community that exists today. In 1909, one more railroad came to West Chicago. The Chicago, Wheaton and Western Railway , a lightly built interurban electric railway, came in from the east, running down the middle of Junction and Depot (now both Main) streets, then curved back west toward Geneva. Soon bought by

1674-592: The United States, although at least three times that many were built between 1840 and 1950. Many were demolished and rebuilt as locomotives became increasingly large. Several were built around 1840 for the earliest railroads. It is likely that the first in the US was built by the Baltimore and Ohio at Mt. Clare (Baltimore), although this cannot be confirmed because early records have been lost. Early roundhouses, especially those built in cold climates, were fully enclosed, with

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1728-699: The West Chicago Post Office. As of 2021, Ruben Pineda is the mayor of West Chicago. The city maintains the West Chicago Public Library downtown. West Chicago is home to the Truitt-Hoff Nature Preserve, part of DuPage County ’s West Chicago Prairie Forest Preserve , one of the largest and best preserved prairies in the Midwest. This prairie was discovered by then-mayor Richard Truitt in 1976 during one of his frequent walks in

1782-406: The city was 40.99% White , 2.92% African American , 2.18% Native American , 8.04% Asian , 0.02% Pacific Islander , 28.85% from other races , and 17.00% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 51.85% of the population. There were 7,838 households, out of which 81.09% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.68% were married couples living together, 12.75% had

1836-530: The city. The West Chicago Wildcats is the name of the WCCHS teams. West Chicago has one sister city.: Railway roundhouse Early steam locomotives normally traveled forwards only. Although reverse operations capabilities were soon built into locomotive mechanisms, the controls were normally optimized for forward travel, and the locomotives often could not operate as well in reverse. Some passenger cars , such as observation cars , were also designed as late as

1890-580: The community had taken on a substantial and permanent character, so the residents incorporated as the Village of Turner . In 1888, a new railroad, the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern , built a freight line through town. It offered free factory sites for any industry willing to locate along its right-of-way. As part of the effort to attract industry, the community changed its name in 1896 to the Village of West Chicago . Area businessmen, particularly Charles Bolles, reasoned that

1944-540: The country was anchored by a roundhouse, especially if a railroad owned more than a few locomotives. The largest concentration of roundhouses was in Chicago , with over 75 in and around the metropolitan region during the early 1900s. Other cities where multiple railroads terminated or were major division points also had over 20 roundhouses, such as Boston , Cleveland , St. Louis , Sioux City , Indianapolis , and Cincinnati . The largest "as-built" roundhouse ever constructed

1998-449: The engines at opposing ends of a locomotive "consist" (a group of locomotives coupled together and controlled as a single unit) can be aligned so they face opposite directions. With such a setup, trains needing to reverse direction can use a technique known as a "run around," in which the engines are uncoupled from the train, pull around it on an adjacent track or siding, and reattach at the other end. The engineer changes operating ends from

2052-526: The first roundhouse is thought to be Birmingham . England, built in 1837. Some turntables that were built in earlier days rapidly became unsuitable for the longer locomotives introduced. For example, the Roundhouse in London was built in 1846 to turn around steam locomotives on the line to Birmingham, but newer locomotives were too long within ten years—the building has been preserved and used for other purposes over

2106-472: The great dieselisation era of the 1940s and 1950s, many roundhouses have been demolished or put to other uses, but a few still stand and remain in use on the railroads. Early roundhouses were too small for later locomotives. The buildings' peculiar shapes can make it challenging to adapt them to new uses, but they can also be visually pleasing. Roundhouses were originally constructed to service steam locomotives. In North America, regular daily serving began with

2160-542: The hall also provided a meeting place for citizens of the village and hosted a local museum. Fire protection was officially added in 1888. The town hall maintained its functions until 1976 when it was re-designated the West Chicago City Museum. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. The two-story building is in the middle of a commercial block, though it was originally detached. It

2214-512: The new name sounded more cosmopolitan, and would help draw prospective factory owners. As industry located in West Chicago and new jobs opened up, the population increased. At the turn of the century, West Chicago was number two in population in DuPage County, behind Hinsdale . By 1910, the population was 2,378 and several new industries had located here, including the Borden's milk condensing plant,

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2268-614: The one in Boston ; for example, the Union Pacific roundhouse in Cheyenne , Wyoming was lengthened in 1930 to accommodate the new 4-8-8-4 "Big Boy" articulated locomotives being delivered. After the expansion it was 560 feet (170 m) in diameter and constituted a near full-circle. A portion of this roundhouse still stands and is used by Union Pacific to store heritage rolling stock. The vast majority of roundhouses were torn down beginning in

2322-491: The open land west of the city. The prairie had been preserved because it was on railroad right-of-way land that had never been cultivated. The city is also home to Kline Creek Farm , an 1890s living history farm . as well as the West Chicago City Museum , located in a historic building that once served as Town Hall. The DuPage Airport is located in the city. The National Transportation Safety Board operates

2376-536: The original Midland Counties Railway workshop. The new site was opened in September 2009. Tours can be arranged through Derby Tourist Information Centre . In Leeds , Thomas Grainger designed the roundhouse near Armley Gyratory that was opened in 1847, with accommodation for 20 trains from the Leeds & Thirsk Railway . It was operational until 1904. The Fenton, Murray and Jackson building in Leeds (1831–1843),

2430-428: The original locomotive to the one on the opposite end of the locomotive consist. Railroad terminals also use features such as balloon loops and wyes (Commonwealth: triangle ) to reverse the orientation of railroad equipment. Because of the advent of these practices, modern roundhouses are frequently not round and are simply large buildings used for servicing locomotives. Like much other railroad terminology, however,

2484-537: The restored railcar maintenance roundhouse of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad , originally built in 1884. The roundhouse in Aurora, Illinois , constructed in 1856, was purchased and restored by NFL football player Walter Payton in 1995. After Payton's death, the roundhouse was occupied by a micro-brewery and renamed Two Brothers Roundhouse , with a plaque mounted in Payton's honor. The vast majority of roundhouses built in

2538-446: The structure has retained its traditional name. The alternative term engine-house encompasses both semi-circular and rectangular structures and broadly describes all buildings intended for storage and servicing of locomotives. Shops or workshops are buildings containing hoists and heavy machinery capable of major repairs beyond routine servicing. Some roundhouses include shop facilities internally or in adjoining buildings. Since

2592-421: The town in 1849, and in five years' time, the town was an important railway maintenance stop. Working on steam engines and railway cars at the time induced a great fire hazard, but there was no city services to fight the blazes. All fire control was ineffectively provided by private companies. In 1883, the village, now known as Turner, approved the construction of a Town Hall. Aside from its town safety functions,

2646-426: The turn-table, and wheeled into any stall that may be vacant. Each of the 16 stalls will hold two, or perhaps more, engines. This roundhouse narrowly escaped demolition when the works closed down, and was classified as a listed building . It was restored in 2010, being converted into a brand new site for Derby College , with a new addition called the 'Stephenson Building' including the other survival of demolition –

2700-428: The turntable as well as the stalls under cover. Once locomotives became too large to fit in these structures, they were torn down and replaced with "doughnut"-shaped structures that surrounded an open turntable. Although some roundhouses used by Class 1 railroads were built as a full-circle with as many as 52 stalls, the vast majority were only part of a circle with 12 or fewer stalls. Nearly every locomotive terminal in

2754-445: The years. Valley Heights roundhouse , 75 kilometres (47 mi) west of Sydney , New South Wales , is the oldest surviving roundhouse in Australia, and has been preserved as a railway museum. The London Roundhouse Project London, Ontario , Canada, is an extensive renovation of the Michigan Central Railroad steam locomotive repair shop which was built in 1887. It is to become the new home of Ellipsis Digital and Engine SevenFour,

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2808-409: Was 34.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.3 males. The median income for a household in the city was $ 77,098, and the median income for a family was $ 88,509. Males had a median income of $ 39,214 versus $ 27,870 for females. The per capita income for the city was $ 30,245. About 9.3% of families and 10.5% of the population were below

2862-410: Was built with a cream colored brick on a limestone foundation. The main facade faces northeast toward Main Street. This facade is asymmetrical due to its Italianate tower. The tower, which projects slightly from the facade, has a secondary entrance and a single round top window. The tower originally had a metal pyramidal roof, but this has since been removed. The main entrance on the body of the building

2916-444: Was replaced in 1942 when barn doors (used by the fire station) were replaced with a set of Federal Style doors and windows. Three round top windows are found on the second floor. West Chicago, Illinois West Chicago is a city in DuPage County , Illinois , United States . The population was 25,614 at the 2020 census . It was formerly named Junction and later Turner Junction, after its founder, John Bice Turner, president of

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