Mile 1.5 Cordova Shops and Roundhouse

Referring to the tinted bird's eye view of Cordova in the last post, this 1917 photo appears to be taken from the curved trestle leaving Cordova town and looking toward the CR&NW shop and roundhouse facilities:

According to the Alaska Engineering Commission 1915 report, "In the shop layout there are two office buildings, one hospital, two storehouses, one 11-stall roundhouse, one cinder pit barn, one galvanized-iron warehouse, and a general shop building, which includes machine shop, paint shop, car shops, power plant, etc. . . . Adjoining the shop is a roomy wharf, from which deliveries are made directly from barge to rail." Here is a construction-era view of the shops, warehouses, and wharf:

Here is a closer view of the roundhouse.

A view of the roundhouse and shop area from the hillside in the background of the photos above:

Another ground-level roundhouse photo:

The roundhouse had 11 stalls. The turntable pit appears to have a wood cover, like the Atlas model turntable. This arrangement, to keep snow out of the pit, is found sometimes in Europe but is very unusual in North America.

The four photos just above appear to have been taken after the railroad was abandoned in 1938, but before the roundhouse burned during World War II. Because the cost of removing the rail was greater than its salvage value, the track was left in place and used by local residents with speeders and converted autos.