At 8:45 am December 11, 1892, a watchman walking through the roundhouse discovered flames shooting up from Engine 174. He blew the whistle of Engine 529 and all hands scrambled to fight the fire. Within 2 minutes the flames had ignited the tar paper roof and the smoke was so bad that the men had to retreat. They turned their attention to getting the engines out. They were able to save 20 engines, quite a feat given the need to move the turntable for each one. This photo shows the final damage.
Come on by the Museum this weekend to hear more stories, or maybe pick up a 2017 calendar as a last minute gift for the history buff in your life. We’ll be open this weekend, Saturday and Sunday (December 17-18) from 1-5:00. We will be closed Christmas and New Year’s weekends to allow our valued volunteers to enjoy time with family and friends.