History:
The brick Bayshore Roundhouse and steel turntable were built in 1910, after E.H. Harriman bought the property to create a more economic/fuel-saving route into the yards of San Francisco, allowing trains to avoid the West side of San Bruno Mountain. The roundhouse served as a home for steam-powered freight engines when they weren't in use, as well as a place for them to be maintained. As the Southern Pacific line grew, so did the Bayshore facilities. At one point, there was a huge freight yard, shop and store buildings, 25 outbound tracks, 39 inbound tracks, and even a hospital for the 3,000 employees.
Of course, when diesel engines were invented, steam-facilities became obsolete and the Bayshore Roundhouse was abandoned in 1982. A fire in 2001 demolished half of what was left of the roof of the roundhouse, but the bones of the structure are still intact. While there were once over 200 roundhouses in California, Bayshore's is the last standing brick roundhouse in the state.
Report:
This was my final stop after a 3 week road trip around West Coast America. I had a potential 7 hour layover in San Fran airport so I looked up how far away this place was. Luckily it was only about half an hour away. I almost gave up as various holes in the fence got me no closer to the building. A bit of persistence and one more hole in the fence got me on the right track. It was broad daylight and I was out in the open and could have been seen by anyone so I didn't hang around too long but I was pretty stoked on managing to find it.
This was the approach to it
Outside
Inside
Curvature
Otherworldly
Broken floor
Chilling out
This is my first post after browsing this site for a couple of years. I hope it's adequate.
The brick Bayshore Roundhouse and steel turntable were built in 1910, after E.H. Harriman bought the property to create a more economic/fuel-saving route into the yards of San Francisco, allowing trains to avoid the West side of San Bruno Mountain. The roundhouse served as a home for steam-powered freight engines when they weren't in use, as well as a place for them to be maintained. As the Southern Pacific line grew, so did the Bayshore facilities. At one point, there was a huge freight yard, shop and store buildings, 25 outbound tracks, 39 inbound tracks, and even a hospital for the 3,000 employees.
Of course, when diesel engines were invented, steam-facilities became obsolete and the Bayshore Roundhouse was abandoned in 1982. A fire in 2001 demolished half of what was left of the roof of the roundhouse, but the bones of the structure are still intact. While there were once over 200 roundhouses in California, Bayshore's is the last standing brick roundhouse in the state.
Report:
This was my final stop after a 3 week road trip around West Coast America. I had a potential 7 hour layover in San Fran airport so I looked up how far away this place was. Luckily it was only about half an hour away. I almost gave up as various holes in the fence got me no closer to the building. A bit of persistence and one more hole in the fence got me on the right track. It was broad daylight and I was out in the open and could have been seen by anyone so I didn't hang around too long but I was pretty stoked on managing to find it.
This was the approach to it
Outside
Inside
Curvature
Otherworldly
Broken floor
Chilling out
This is my first post after browsing this site for a couple of years. I hope it's adequate.
