On December 2, 1924, the Bob Julian Roundhouse at the Spencer Shops Southern Railway Repair Facility opened. The structure replaced a smaller 15-stall roundhouse that had been built in 1896. The new building was more than twice the size, with 37 work bays for repairing and servicing Southern Railway’s growing number of locomotives. Southern officials announced the project in February 1924, and construction began almost immediately. In addition to the roundhouse, a new turntable was built to accommodate the increased number of stalls.
Remarkably, the old structures were demolished and the new ones erected within a span of only 10 months. The new 120,000 square-foot roundhouse and the 100-foot turntable cost approximately $500,000. Railroad officials named the new facility for roundhouse supervisor, Bob Julian.
The Bob Julian Roundhouse is now a part of the North Carolina Transportation Museum at Historic Spencer Shops. Visitors can see restored locomotives, passenger cars, a mail car and a World War II hospital car in the refurbished roundhouse. They can take a ride on the still-functioning turntable and learn more about the roundhouse’s history, as well as the entire facility that made up the once-thriving Spencer Shops.
Other related resources:
- The history of transportation, company shops, Southern Railway System and Spencer from NCpedia
- The N.C. Transportation Museum in Spencer, which features a variety of exhibits on railroads
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