The D&RGW Chama, NM engine house is still quite active and the outer wall and building is exactly as it was in 1908-era Fred Jukes photos with a sea of diamond-stack C-16s and C-19s in front of it. Chama is an intact steam operated division point - a truly marvelous piece of historic preservation.
Another beauty is the preserved CB&Q limestone block roundhouse in downtown Aurora, IL. The initial sections were built in 1859 and additions came in 1864, completing a full 360 degree circle. It is a restaurant/bar/reception hall complex these days (recently owned by Walter Payton, of Chicago Bears fame) and as one strolls through the building, observing the wooden roof trusses bound together with bolts and truss rods, one is taken with how huge the building is. And there lies the paradox......it ceased being used because it was too small, with the demise of the 4-4-0 American Standard! It is a classic 19th century run-through building where in a locomotive emerged to be spun on a wood covered turntable. The Burlington last used it about 1974 as a component of it's Aurora Shop complex. Well worth a visit and a beer!
