Re: Alpine & Boreas Passes - Stone Engine House Question

Here is a question to consider ? Why build the building the width that it was , if you weren't going to put a turntable inside ? In the magazine " Slim Gauge News " for September 1974 the author Mr. Elwood Bell writes up an article " Alpine Enginehouse " . The article also includes a full size plan of the engine house in HO Scale by Joe Crea. I have a copy of this article and laid the plan out and placed my Balboa Mason Bogie " Denver " (2-8-6T ) on the turntable on the drawing . It fits on the table with room on each end for clearance to turn a locomotive of that size with ease. Quoting from the article " Art Pearson , long time Pitkin resident , told Francis B. Trudgeon that there was a turntable in the engine house and he had helped turn the engines on various times." The article also states that the tunnel was closed from 1887 to 1895 and the turntable could have been removed during this time. A photo included in the article clearly shows part of the turntable pit construction.
It is just possible that the turntable was removed before the fire in 1906 and no debris would be found in the collapsed remains of the building.
Just a thought on various possibilities about the turntable.

Charles M