{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.railway-roundhouse","code":"thing-q1365704","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q1365704/","name":"railway roundhouse","alternateNames":["Engine shed"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.3","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Physical world and living systems","entryKind":"thing","plane":"PHY","domain":["PHY.BLT"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"A circular, semicircular or bow-shaped railway building arranged around, or rarely enclosing, a turntable that directs locomotives into radial stalls for housing, washing, servicing and repair; roundhouses were common in the steam era, many have been demolished or converted, and surviving examples are preserved as museums and heritage sites.","purpose":"Let an agent explain railway roundhouses and engine sheds, relay design and operation from railway history sources, describe surviving examples and conversions, and distinguish roundhouses from other railway buildings.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Radial layout","Turntable","Steam era origin","Heritage conversions"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"understand","name":"Understand","description":"What a roundhouse is.","layers":[{"id":"definition","name":"Definition","description":"Definition and layout.","findings":[{"id":"definition-finding","name":"Definition","description":"Definition.","questions":[{"text":"What is a railway roundhouse, and how do the turntable and radial stalls work?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Is the question about a roundhouse, another engine shed or a workshop?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"operation","name":"Operation","description":"Operation.","findings":[{"id":"operation-finding","name":"Operation","description":"Operation.","questions":[{"text":"How were locomotives serviced, coaled, watered and turned at a roundhouse?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which entry fits locomotive depot?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"history","name":"History","description":"History.","layers":[{"id":"development","name":"Development","description":"Development.","findings":[{"id":"development-finding","name":"Development","description":"Development.","questions":[{"text":"How did roundhouses develop in the nineteenth century, and why did they decline with diesel and electric traction?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which references are standard?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"examples","name":"Examples","description":"Notable examples.","findings":[{"id":"examples-finding","name":"Examples","description":"Examples.","questions":[{"text":"Which roundhouses are notable, such as those at Derby, Camden, Chattanooga and Spencer?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits the specific roundhouse?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"heritage","name":"Heritage","description":"Heritage.","layers":[{"id":"museums","name":"Museums","description":"Museums.","findings":[{"id":"museums-finding","name":"Museums","description":"Museums.","questions":[{"text":"Which roundhouses survive as railway museums?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which sources are cited?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"conversion","name":"Conversion","description":"Conversion.","findings":[{"id":"conversion-finding","name":"Conversion","description":"Conversion.","questions":[{"text":"How have roundhouses been converted to venues, such as the Roundhouse in London?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits adaptive reuse?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"context","name":"Context","description":"Regions and culture.","layers":[{"id":"regions","name":"Regions","description":"Regional forms.","findings":[{"id":"regions-finding","name":"Regions","description":"Regions.","questions":[{"text":"How do roundhouse designs differ between Britain, continental Europe and North America?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits railway architecture?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"culture","name":"Culture","description":"Culture.","findings":[{"id":"culture-finding","name":"Culture","description":"Culture.","questions":[{"text":"How do roundhouses appear in railway enthusiasm, modelling and film?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits railway heritage?","kind":"action"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Describe a roundhouse's history and layout from heritage and railway records.","Report turntable and track status for the railway that authorized it."],"mustNot":["Move the turntable or a locomotive while people are on the tracks or in the pits.","Let visitors into working areas or inspection pits without supervision.","Demolish or alter a listed roundhouse without consent.","Ignore contaminated ground from fuel, ash or asbestos when work is planned."],"requiresHuman":["Starting locomotive moves or turntable operations in a shared roundhouse."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Locomotive depots combine heavy moving machinery and pits that can kill workers.","Roundhouses are railway heritage that communities want preserved."],"affectedParties":["Railway staff","Visitors and volunteers","Heritage communities"]},"owners":{"steward":"The railway operator or heritage trust that owns it.","roles":[],"masterSystems":["Heritage registers"]},"relations":[{"target":"Q131163540","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"engine shed","type":"related","note":"in registry terms"},{"target":"railway turntable","type":"related","note":"to direct locomotives"},{"target":"steam locomotive","type":"related","note":"fleets"},{"target":"railway museum","type":"related","note":"in many cases"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.railway-roundhouse","Wikidata: Q1365704 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1365704)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"required","items":["turntable diameter: about 15-35 m - by era and locomotive size"]},"recognition":{"applicability":"required","items":["A roundhouse has locomotive stalls arranged around a turntable.","Roundhouses have circular, semicircular or bow-shaped layouts, while straight engine sheds fall outside this architectural sense.","Workshops build and overhaul rolling stock, goods sheds handle freight, and carriage sheds store coaches.","A circular or fan-shaped building with radial tracks around a turntable."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["explain design and operation","relay history","describe surviving examples","distinguish from other buildings"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Demolition of historic sheds","Confusing roundhouses with workshops","Asbestos and contamination in old depots"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["Railway safety rules for depots","Heritage listing of historic roundhouses","Building codes for conversions"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Housing and servicing locomotives.","full circular roundhouses","semicircular and fan-shaped roundhouses","straight engine sheds","square roundhouses with internal turntables","preserved roundhouses as museums","converted roundhouses as venues"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q1365704: railway roundhouse","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1365704","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Railway roundhouse","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railway_roundhouse","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Should railway turntable be a separate entry?","How should railway heritage inventories be linked?","How should the broader engine shed sense be recorded?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q1365704/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q1365704/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-13T03:05:07Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"filled","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-07T10:10:26+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass"},"score":1.0}}