Frankfort, IN: Roundhouse, Revisited

10/30/15 Photo by Douglas Weitzman

I got some pictures of the south side of the roundhouse, which was the back side.  Also see those other notes for satellite images. The roof is going down and the trees are going up.

(Aug 23, 2020 Update: the roundhouse caught on fire!)

My uncle sent me pictures of the turntable and east sides of the roundhouse. This is fortuitous because I read that Norfolk Southern plans to tear down the coaling tower and roundhouse to make room for a larger yard. I'm sad to see some more railroad history disappear. But I'm glad that business is improving so that more yard capacity is needed.

Frankfort had one of the two car repair shops that was run by the NKP.

A March 6, 2020, update, note a couple of videos are mentioned in the comments.

Nov. 2015 Photo by Douglas Weitzman

12/21/15 Photo by Douglas Weitzman

Two of the four photos posted in Feb 2016 by Ray Peacock with the comment: "On the way home rom Summerail a couple years back, we made a stop at Frankfort on a quiet Sunday afternoon and got these shots. If there were only a time machine."

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Mark Egebrecht commented on Ray's posting
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A video of NKP 587 during its last visit to Frankfort in June 1991 including a turn on the turntable. The 1918 built NKP 587 was donated and put in an Indianapolis park in 1955. In 1983, it was moved to Amtrak's Beech Grove repair shops and restored in 5 years with 10,000 hours of volunteer time and $250,000. It is currently having a federally mandated periodic overhaul done by the current owner --- The Indiana Transportation Museum.

Goggle Earth, 1998
The north/south line on the right used to be the Monon RoW

Mike Finney posted some pictures. An aerial photo includes the roundhouse:

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I am thinking this is around 1954.
[Note the roundhouse near the right and the coaling tower near the middle. Comments in the posting indicate the two black cylinders in the middle are tanks to hold diesel fuel. Frankfort was a major division point for the now abandoned Cloverleaf route.]

Mike Finney posted
Taken from the top of the new Diesel fuel tanks. FK to the left and the carpenter's shop in the center.
Dennis DeBruler 1950s must have been the transition from "turret top" to "modern top."
Dennis DeBruler Mike Finney The tank car on the right and the one to the left of the building in the middle are old fashioned because they have the big turret on top. I believe it was for expansion. There are other tank cars in the picture that don't have that big turret. The resolution is not good enough to determine if the older cars also had a frame. Modern cars use the tank itself as the frame.

Bob Kalal posted 17 photos with the comment: "Back in 2012, went to Frankfort Ind. & got some pics of the Turntable, Roundhouse Coal Tower."

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Fire

Frankfort Fire Department posted two photos with the comment: 

FRANKFORT FIREFIGHTERS RESPOND TO FIRE

Frankfort, IN – Around 10 a.m. Sunday morning Frankfort Firefighters were dispatched to a fire located in the railyard near Boomer Street. Upon arrival, firefighters found flames and smoke emerging from the Roundhouse.

According to Chief John Kirby, “Firefighters were able to get the fire under control quickly and were hitting hot spots when a second fire erupted in another area of the Roundhouse. The second fire rapidly got out of control and took several hours to knock down.”

Firefighters continued to work the fire for six hours before securing the scene. Fifteen off-duty firefighters were called in to assist and provide coverage for the rest of the city.

Chief Kirby thanked the firefighters for their determination and resilience despite the high heat. One firefighter was transported to IU Health Frankfort Hospital, where he was treated for dehydration and released.

Fire Investigator Jeremy Ward stated that the fire is still under investigation at this time.

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WTHR basically just copied the above text off their Facebook with the acknowledgment of "according to information shared by the City of Frankfort."

Frankfort Fire Department posted three photos with the comment: "Frankfort Fire Department working an active structure fire at the railroad round house. All personnel are clear of the scene."

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