EJ&E Roundhouse
Rossville, Illinois
About a mile south of Rossville along the old Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad line stands one of the few surviving railroad
roundhouses in Illinois.  Built in 1912-13, the five engine stall concrete building served as a service and repair facility for the Elgin,
Joliet and Eastern Rail Road (EJ&E).  US Steel, the owner of the EJ&E, wanted a train yard in this area to make hauling coal from
the Vermilion County mines to Chicago and Gary easier. The Roundhouse consisted of a yard office, a sand house, water tank, and
tool sheds. In 1914, a marble, stone and concrete YMCA was built just south of the facility to house the EJ&E crews. A cafeteria-
style dining room was part of the “Y” and was a popular place for local residents to have their Sunday meals.

The Depression took its toll on the facility, and in 1938 the EJ&E closed the Roundhouse. The YMCA had closed seven years earlier
and had become a tomato canning facility. Eventually, the structure was abandoned and then purchased by L.H. Schlecht of the
Rossville Canning Company who in 1940 had the building demolished.

The Roundhouse stood empty until 1944 when AW Industries took the site over and turned it into a corncob rendering plant.
Eventually, that industry closed. Today, the deteriorating structure is privately owned.

PLEASE NOTE, THE SITE IS PRIVATELY OWNED AND NO TRESPASSING SIGNS ARE
POSTED. IT IS NOT OPENED TO THE PUBLIC.

There are displays on the Roundhouse at both the Rossville Historical Society and the Danville Junction Chapter Railroad Museum
in the old C&EI Railroad Depot in Rossville.
Same view of the Roundhouse 1995
The Roundhouse when it was in operation in the 1913-1930 period. For more pictures of the Roundhouse during
construction visit http://page.dnv.cooketech.net/flyer/fyfeb00.pdf
Above was taken in 1976. You can see how much deterioration took place between then
an 1995
The above side(south) view was taken in 1976. The one on the right was taken in 1995.
Back (west) side of the Roundhouse in 1995.
The Rossville YMCA located to the
north of the Roundhouse. Building
was torn down in the late 1940's.