Look southward to see one of the very few locomotive roundhouses that still exist, is in working condition, and regularly used by an operating railroad in the United States.
THE SITE
This roundhouse in St. Albans is currently owned and operated by the New England Central Railroad, which traces its lineage back to the Central Vermont Railroad that originally built the facility in 1923, and before that all the way back to the Vermont & Canada Railway dating from 1845. This was the second roundhouse to be built here; the first one was destroyed in a 1908 fire. From the GZ you can see the two largest work bays of the roundhouse with the rest of the building arcing around to the southeast.
The railroad structures still here are part of a National Register of Historic Places listing, including the headquarters building, a repurposed workshop or two, the roundhouse, and the turntable which is still in regular use! Working turntables in use are extraordinarily rare. Unfortunately it is located on the other side of the roundhouse and is not easily viewable by the public from any unrestricted vantage point.
THE CACHE
This cache is a micro and should be winter-friendly, although it is possible that some icing conditions will render it inaccessible from time to time. It was placed while there was about 24 inches of snow on the ground, for reference. Please let me know if you find it frozen in place or have any other problems, of course. Be alert for muggles on foot or in the trucks using the scales across the street.
A 4-8-2 steam engine, "Mountain" U-1-a, no. 602, with the St. Albans roundhouse in the background. Photo circa 1927. These Mountain-types were mostly used for passenger service on "The Ambassador", "The Montrealer", "The New Englander" and "The Washingtonian" routes. Coincidentally this exact locomotive no. 602 in the photo was the last steam locomotive to pull a freight train in the state of Vermont, in 1957.
THE FTF
Congratulations to vtgamergirl2012 for being the First To Find!