Willard  -  The Wrecking Ball  1994  by  Tom Boylan

This was taken the day before dooms day Aug 7 1994 as after this day you are never to see the roundhouse again. Demolition day was Aug 7,1994

To the right bottom of the picture where the cement blocks are ,used to be an office for the Master Mechanic,secretary, and general foreman. After they were taken off the job,we used the office for our quarters and engine dispatching office until they put us in trailers outside. The other half of the roundhouse was torn down a few years before and left us with 9 stalls and now there are none.

Well the engine housing is gone and they are about to start on what was the old machine shop and then leading back into the boiler room

Looking thru the demolition to the small building in the back. This building used to be one of two storerooms that supplied the roundhouse and area. It was taken down the same day and there was also another small brick building that was the lunch and locker room that stood between the roundhouse and that storeroom.

This is Willard from the old walkway bridge that used to go over the tracks at the shop are The bridge used to be a good railfan spot. CSX tore it down with everthing else they ripped out

Looking from the overhead walkway bridge you see the old fuel rack befor it was remodeled into what is here today. Looking on out across to the Chicago Div ready track you see the Grand Trunk engines that used to come into Willard everyday

Chessie System # 6238 with small letters CSXT between the number and letters with the walkway  bridge in the background that used to be a good railfan bridge. Across the the main tracks to the shop aea

This was the pit and look at the bridge befor the new engine building was built

Yard engine in the house for work,probably Traction motor as it is in 3 stall where the drop table is in the floor.

From the walkway bridge to the West ,overview of the pit and ready track into the yards. The two yellow Santa Fe geeps had just arrived and were going to the Ashland Railroad years ago for there first upgrade and more power

Back when railroading days were good and quite colorful around Willard. Looking to The Northeast off of the walkway bridge early nineties

Looking East from the bridge You see the old passenger platform,old RX building still stands today. You see the engines crossing the Eastbound main tracks,that is the Newrak Div diamonds that led across Myrtle Ave headed to Mansfield and Newark ,Cincinatti which the Ashland COMES IN NOW ON and comes down the track to the right of the platform today The black tank you see was fuel for passenger engines at RX The old sand tower used to be loaded out of a boxcar by hand and ran to the top by buckets compared to the modification you see today at Willard

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