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Roundhouse
History
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A Brief History Of The Roundhouse
The presence of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company in Martinsburg, West Virginia dates back to the 1840’s when the first engine and machine shops were erected for the expanding company.When West Virginia seceded from the Virginia in 1861, the regions social and government institutions were thrown in turmoil. The Civil War decimated both the region and Martinsburg, specifically, because of the railroad yards. On May 22, 1861, Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson’s troops stopped all trains going East at Martinsburg and Point of Rocks. Once he determined that all of the trains that could be caught had been caught, he blew up the bridges to the West and blew down the rocks on the tracks to the East, and the pirating of the B&O railroad was on. In total, 42 locomotives and 386 cars were stolen and destroyed, 36 and ½ miles of track, 17 bridges, 102 miles of telegraph wire, the “Colonade” Bridge and the B&O roundhouse and machine shops were destroyed.
ROUNDHOUSE HISTORY TIME LINE
- February 28, 1827: The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad is founded.
- May 21, 1842 : The first steam engine arrives in Martinsburg.
- November 10, 1842 : The first passenger train arrives in Martinsburg.
- Years 1848-1850 : First Roundhouse Complex built at Martinsburg.
- October 19, 1862 : Roundhouse Complex burned by Confederate Troops under Colonel Jackson.
- Years 1866-1872 : Present Roundhouse Complex is re-built. Major buildings consisted of the West Roundhouse, East Roundhouse, Bridge & Machine Shop, and the Frog & Switch Shop.
- July 16, 1877 : First nationwide strike begins when rail workers at Martinsburg start an action to protest pay cuts. Their work and traffic stoppage soon spread across the country.
- March 14, 1988 : Facility closed down operations.
- May 14, 1990 : Young vandals set fire to wooden pallets in East Roundhouse (later of the two) nearly totally destroying the building.
- Years 1999-2000: Berkeley County Commission purchase B &O Roundhouse Complex and transfers property to newly created Berkeley County Roundhouse Authority. Restoration and renovation of complex begins.
- July 30, 2003 : B & O Roundhouse is designated a National Historic Landmark.
100 Liberty Street - Martinsburg, WV 25402
Phone 304-260-4141 - Fax 304-260-5739
The Great Railroad Strike of 1877
Martinsburg changed hands more than 50 times through-out the war, leaving this once-thriving community a desolate wasteland, unable to feed its inhabitants, much less export anything. Following the war in 1866, the B&O began reconstruction of the roundhouse and associated shops that stand on the site today, which were completed in a span of six years, from 1866 to 1872. The facilities were used until the mid-1980’s when all local operations were transferred to other locations and the complex has remained vacant ever since.
The facility played a significant role in the history of the railroad and the city of Martinsburg. It was a major regional transportation node and one of the major employers in the region.
The history of the facility and the history of the city of Martinsburg and Berkeley County were intertwined in a number of ways. The railroad’s prosperity brought wealth to the region. Conversely, the decline of the railroad had a profound effect on the local economy in a cyclical manner. The loss of local jobs resulted in further economic hardships.
The buildings are rare and outstanding examples of their types, designed by the engineers of the B&O. It is believed that all original design concepts were developed in-house by the B&O and it also appears that there was a significant influence in the design from the visionary work of Willer-le-Duc, the pioneer French architect and theorist, as well as the work of Henri LaBrouste, who was responsible for the design of the Biblioteque National in Paris, construction between 1854 and 1872, the same periods as the B&O structures.
The B&O architects and engineers developed simple modular designs for cast iron components that could easily be executed in remote locations with readily available materials and components, such as bricks, wood trusses, and typical metal roofs.
The designs were simple, precise, elegant and typical of the great structures of the industrial revolution which form followed function in clear ways. The architecture of those structures provided strong, visual clues as to how they were to be used. In their simplicity, they were, indeed, brilliant designs. The Martinsburg Roundhouse is the only iron framed roundhouse still standing in the world today.
Highlights of Roundhouse
1. The fully enclosed 1866 roundhouse is supported by a sophisticated cast iron frame, designed in the mid-1850’s by an immigrant engineer named Albert Fink. These frame components were cast in Baltimore, shipped and assembled here, somewhat like and erector set. The B&O used at least 5 cast-iron roundhouses of this design. This is the last one remaining.
The fully enclosed 1866 roundhouse is supported by a sophisticated cast iron frame, designed in the mid-1850’s by an immigrant engineer named Albert Fink. These frame components were cast in Baltimore, shipped and assembled here, somewhat like and erector set. The B&O used at least 5 cast-iron roundhouses of this design. This is the last one remaining.2.Evidence suggests that the present roundhouse occupied the location of the 1854 Gothic roundhouse burned in the Civil War. The 50- foot diameter pit below the turntable may actually include the original 40-foot diameter pit walls. The building would allow mechanics to bring the engine inside and onto the turntable, turn it and back it into a bay. The shape of the building and the original venting cupola allowed the smoke and steam to rise and escape above.
Evidence suggests that the present roundhouse occupied the location of the 1854 Gothic roundhouse burned in the Civil War. The 50- foot diameter pit below the turntable may actually include the original 40-foot diameter pit walls. The building would allow mechanics to bring the engine inside and onto the turntable, turn it and back it into a bay. The shape of the building and the original venting cupola allowed the smoke and steam to rise and escape above.3.The Frog & Switch Shop (to the South) was originally called the Car Shop and was used to manufacture railroad freight cars used mostly for coal. It was built in 1867 using massive wood and iron trusses of substantial dimensions. At the end of the 19th century this function was moved to Brunswick, Maryland. Martinsburg began manufacturing frog and switch points which are specialized parts of the switches which guide the wheels of rolling stock from one track to another. Points are the long tapered rail sections and the frog is used to guide the wheels of the train through the center of part of the switch. It is called a frog because the earlier forms resembled the outline of a real frog.
The Frog & Switch Shop (to the South) was originally called the Car Shop and was used to manufacture railroad freight cars used mostly for coal. It was built in 1867 using massive wood and iron trusses of substantial dimensions. At the end of the 19th century this function was moved to Brunswick, Maryland. Martinsburg began manufacturing frog and switch points which are specialized parts of the switches which guide the wheels of rolling stock from one track to another. Points are the long tapered rail sections and the frog is used to guide the wheels of the train through the center of part of the switch. It is called a frog because the earlier forms resembled the outline of a real frog.4.Located in the rear of Frog and Switch Shop is an area that was used for general blacksmith work. It was originally used for a variety of tasks, from making axles to sharpening tools.
Located in the rear of Frog and Switch Shop is an area that was used for general blacksmith work. It was originally used for a variety of tasks, from making axles to sharpening tools.
The great railroad strike of 1877 started on July 14 in Martinsburg, West Virginia, in response to the cutting of wages for the second time in a year by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. Striking workers would not allow any of the stock to roll until this second wage cut was revoked. The governor sent in state militia units to restore train service, but the soldiers refused to use force against the strikers and the governor called for federal troops. Meanwhile, the strike spread to Baltimore, causing violent street battles between the striking workers and the Maryland militia. When the outnumbered federal troops fired on an attacking crowd, they killed 11 and wounded 40.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania became the site of the worst violence. Thomas Alexander Scott of the Pennsylvania Railroad, often considered one of the first robber barons, suggested that the strikers should be given "a rifle diet for a few days and see how they like that kind of bread." However, local law enforcement officers refused to fire on the strikers. Nonetheless, his request came to pass on July 21, when militiamen bayoneted and fired on rock-throwing strikers, killing twenty people and wounding twenty-nine others. Rather than quell the uprising however, this action merely infuriated the strikers who then forced the militiamen to take refuge in a railroad roundhouse, and then set fires that razed 39 buildings and destroyed 104 locomotives and 1,245 freight and passenger cars. On July 22, the militiamen mounted an assault on the strikers, shooting their way out of the roundhouse and killing 20 more people on their way out of the city. After over a month of constant rioting and bloodshed, President Rutherford B. Hayes sent in federal troops to end the strikes.
Three-hundred miles to the east, Philadelphia strikers battled local militia and set fire to much of Center City before federal troops intervened and put down the uprising.
The strike then spread to the American Midwest and Western, increasing in brutality and intensity. On July 21, disgruntled workers in East St. Louis, Illinois, halted all freight traffic, with the city remaining in the control of the strikers for almost a week. The strike was finally halted by a combination of military force, and an injunction that ordered workers not to interfere with railroad operations.
On July 24, rail traffic in Chicago was paralyzed when angry mobs of groups of unemployed citizens wreaked havoc in the rail yards, shutting down both the Baltimore and Ohio and the Illinois Central Railroads. Soon, other railroads were brought to a standstill, with demonstrators shutting down railroad traffic in Bloomington, Aurora, Peoria, Decatur, Urbana and other rail centers throughout Illinois. In sympathy, coal miners in the pits at Braidwood, LaSalle, Springfield, and Carbondale went on strike as well.
In Chicago, the Workingmen’s Party organized demonstrations that drew crowds of twenty thousand people. The mayor of Chicago, Monroe Heath, asked for five-thousand vigilantes to help restore order (they were partially successful), and shortly thereafter the National Guard and federal troops arrived. On July 25, violence between police and the mob erupted with events reaching a peak the following day. These blood-soaked confrontations between police and enraged mobs occurred at the Halsted Street viaduct, at nearby 16th Street, at Halsted and 12th, and on Canal Street. The headline of the Chicago Times screamed, "TERRORS REIGN, THE STREETS OF CHICAGO GIVEN OVER TO HOWLING MOBS OF THIEVES AND CUTTHROATS." Order was finally restored, however, with the deaths of nearly 20 men and boys, the wounding of scores more, and the loss of property valued in the millions of dollars.
The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 began to lose momentum when President Hayes sent federal troops from city to city. These troops suppressed strike after strike, until at last, approximately 45 days after it had started, the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 was over.
Click on the link below to read an article about Martinsburg & Roundhouse during Civil War.
by Tricia Lynn Strader
