Towns and Nature: Aberdeen, SD: Milwaukee Roundhouse, Railyard and Depot

Roundhouse: (Satellite)

(After I wrote most of this, I learned the roundhouse was torn down in Sep 2020.)

Street View, Jul 2012
[Street View has two more views that have better focus. But there is a cut of freight cars obscuring the roundhouse in each view.]

David Szymanski posted
closer view of the MILW roundhouse in Aberdeen in 1969. unknown photographer
Dave Gale: That’s a better picture now you can see the east end of the yard and the yard office.the tank cars on upper left side is how we got our diesel fuel and it was pumped from the cars into the large tank In background. The buildings behind the roundhouse was the old Hub City foundery. The building and cars to the right of the roundhouse is where Carmen repaired freight cars it’s not there anymore.

I count four spokes for C&NW, four for Milwaukee and one for Great Northern. All of the C&NW and the northern spoke of the Milwaukee is abandoned. The remaining three Milwaukee spokes are now owned by BNSF. The Great Northern spoke is now owned by Dakota Missouri Valley Western.

1960 Aberdeen West and East Quads @ 24,000

This is the second roundhouse that I've seen recently that replaced the turntable with a set of turnouts. I counted tracks for five stalls. (The Depew, Lancaster & Western Railroad in Batavia, NY was the first.)

Dennis DeBruler commented on Dale's comment
Given the touch of color at the end of some of the locomotives, I presume the roundhouse is now used by the Dakota, Missouri Valley & Western Railroad. Is the classification yard used by DMVW, BNSF or both?
https://www.google.com/maps/@45.4643617,-98.4967663,177m/data=!3m1!1e3?entry=ttu
Dave Gale: Dennis DeBruler No other railroads come into Aberdeen just BNSF. The line curving off south of the roundhouse leads to where the Carmen’s repair track is now located. I can see a patch of orange on one of the locomotives and I assume they are all BNSF. Just about everything you see in this picture is gone now. The roundhouse was torn down about three years ago and a one stall building put up. I retired nine years ago and your picture is what it looked like then. If you can find a newer photo you will see quite a difference.

Dennis DeBruler commented on Dale's second comment
Thanks for the update. The website for the DMVW still shows that they use the former Great Northern route to access Aberdeen. http://www.dmvwrr.com/maps.aspx Google Earth shows that the roundhouse building was removed between Sep 2014 and Oct 2022.
Dave Gale: Dennis DeBruler Yes the DMVW operates on our old north line. I think their headquarters is in Oakes, ND. I worked in the roundhouse till 2015 when I retired. I’m guessing it was around 2021 when it was torn down.
The roundhouse was torn down in September of 2020.

David Szymanski posted
Here's picture I found of the Milwaukee Aberdeen SD yards. this is from 1969. The house I grew up in just to the left below the 2nd yellow line. unknown photographer
Russell Dingman: I went to Aberdeen a few years ago to pick up some farm equipment and saw the Milwaukee depot but did not realize the vastness of the rail yard.
Austin Dreyer: Russell Dingman yeah even with the realigning that has been done. It is still the biggest rail yard in South Dakota i believe.
Mark Hutchinson: Picture is taken looking north, with the east-west mainline at the top of the photo. The line going south goes to Mitchell SD. The highway at the bottom of the photo is US 12.
Paul Zuber: One of the lines going north and south is the abandoned M&STL line that went thru the yards to Leola.
[The yellow line at the top is the roundhouse.]