The Regina Roundhouse

Once upon a time, CN had a railway roundhouse in Regina, Saskatchewan.

The above negative was exposed in 1982, showing CN 1021 and CN 1038 outside the roundhouse. CN 1038 is partially on the turntable.

This roundhouse was built by the Grand Trunk Pacific (GTP). Before the formation of Canadian National Railways, both the GTP and Canadian Northern had yards (and roundhouses) in Regina. There’s a photo of the Canadian Northern roundhouse here, from about 1910.

The January 1921 CNR employee magazine has this blurb about the consolidation of CNR facilities within Regina after the GTP joined the nascent Canadian National Railways:

The amalgamation of the Canadian National and Grand Trunk Pacific Railways has resulted in a Divisional Point being created at Regina, and as a consequence, larger offices had to be secured to accommodate the increased Superintendent’s staff. We will now be located on the top floor of the Union Depot, to which end we have all been anxiously looking forward. The C.P.R., B. and B. Department are arranging for the necessary alterations and as work has been started we expect to be permanently settled the first of the year.

…

On the amalgamation of the two Railways, the C.N.R. Engines and Equipment, Yard Office, etc., were moved from C.N.R. North Regina, to G.T.P. North Regina, now known as West Yard. Mr. G. E. McGuire, G.T.P. Yardmaster, now has jurisdiction over the amalgamated Yards, and Mr. M. K. Robb, G.T.P. Locomotive Foreman, over the Roundhouse.

Correspondent M.E. Longpee, Canadian National Railways Magazine, p.74, January, 1921

Here’s an aerial photo of the roundhouse I found from around 1960, facing mostly north and a little east.

There’s still lots of “old” stuff in this photo, including the coal tower at bottom left, an ice house opposite the roundhouse, and a water tower near the roundhouse. This would make a really compact little locomotive servicing area on a model railroad layout.

Based on the aerial photograph above, it looks like the roundhouse was built in two stages.

The June 1981 CN car control manual shows the turntable and roundhouse on the map, indicated by the giant red arrow I added. North is “up”.

The map is not at all to scale. It was really close quarters there. The roundhouse was tucked right up in the NE corner between First Avenue North and Pasqua Street (now Lewvan Drive).

I can’t imagine the roundhouse and turntable survived much past 1982.

When I first railfanned in Regina in July 2004, there was no indication that a roundhouse or turntable ever existed there.

Let’s go inside the roundhouse, shall we?

An intrepid photographer captured CN 1045 inside the Regina roundhouse in July 1976… in colour, even!

This was back in the good old days when locomotive servicing was actually done in places like Regina. Today servicing is likely done in Saskatoon.

Just One More Thing

While we’re in Regina, let’s see VIA 6350 somewhere in the city on June 27, 1979.

Note the trio of CN GP9s in the background, including CN 4118 and CN 4301.

VIA 6350 was originally CN D101. In 1979 it was still an RDC-3 – with a baggage compartment at one end and coach seating at the other – but was converted to an RDC-1 (all coach seating) in 1982 and became VIA 6144. It has been retired.

OK, Two More Things, I Guess

I didn’t mention the Canadian Pacific Railway’s roundhouse downtown. Maybe another time…