The ‘Rolling Roundhouse’: Tool cars provide support for mainline steam excursions

From short lines to the Class I railroads, chances are you’ll come across a mainline steam excursion with one or more non-passenger railcars near the front of the train (sometimes coupled directly behind the locomotive). They’re carrying, as the name implies, tools and more to support the steam locomotive when out on the road and away from home.

“Rolling Roundhouse”

In the era of steam, monstrous facilities stood at almost every division point along North America’s railroads. With many shaped into the iconic roundhouse, these structures easily held the essentials for maintenance and repairs, specifically on steam locomotives.

By the 1960s, full dieselization made many of these facilities completely obsolete with most reduced to rubble. For the surviving locomotives continuing to steam along the main lines in the modern day, whether it be a day-long out and back or a transnational tour, the tool car fills the void as a “rolling roundhouse.”

Sometimes, it’s not just tools

Tool cars will normally carry racks, cabinets, and work benches full of many if not all the tools and supplies needed to service its designated steam locomotive. Tools can include wrenches and screwdrivers, oil drums and an Alemite pneumatic grease gun for lubrication. These essentials can usually be found stored in the car and ready for immediate use by the support crew.

Sometimes it’s not just tools. Spare parts and additional equipment/machines can be found aboard, providing a one-stop shop for the crew members. Speaking of crew, some tool cars have been configured with living and eating spaces for the men and women accompanying the locomotive.

As you can imagine, not all tool cars on mainline steam excursions are the same. Some can carry tools, parts, equipment, and crew all under one roof. Others cannot, so occasionally multiple support cars with specific accommodations are necessary. This practice is typically most common with Class I steam programs on Union Pacific Railroad and CPKC.

Car types

When it comes to selecting a tool car for mainline steam excursions, the most common pick has been baggage cars from the hotshot passenger trains of the past. Some were even reconfigured as tool cars long before for maintenance of way along their respected railroads. Other pieces of rolling stock that have found their way into steam-support duties include:

• Railway Post Office (RPO) cars
• Combination passenger/baggage cars
• Boxcars
• Passenger cars rebuilt as maintenance-of-way baggage/tool cars
• Modified troop sleepers, kitchen cars, and hospital cars as surplus from the U.S. Army