A Roundhouse In A Square Building

You may remember that about a month ago I went to Model Rail Live at Barrow Hill Roundhouse. I intended to do a follow up post explaining what a roundhouse is, but unfortunately I forgot. So... essentially a roundhouse is so named because it contains a large round hole!

A roundhouse is a building containing a turntable that is used for servicing locomotives. Because they are built around a turntable (i.e. a big circular hole) they are often circular in shape. Barrow Hill Roundhouse, where Model Rail Live was held, is actually rectangular in shape, which just goes to show that not all roundhouses are round.

When I went to Barrow Hill, half the roundhouse contained diesel locomotives and half steam locomotives. Given my preference for steam, and the lack of a very wide angle lens, the photo on the left shows part of the steam side of the roundhouse.