A section house is a building or house-like structure located near or next to a section of

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

used for housing railroad workers, or for the storing and maintenance of equipment for a section of railroad. Section houses were used mainly from the 1890s to the 1960s. By the 1970s, section houses were being slowly phased out. In

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

section houses were usually located right across from the

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in Track (rail transport), tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the ...

Examples

United States

;Alaska * Potter Section House, Potter, Alaska, now housing a small museum with a

rotary snow plow A rotary snowplow (American English) or rotary snowplough is a piece of railroad snow removal equipment with a large circular set of blades on its front end that rotate to cut through the snow on the track ahead of it. The precursor to the rotary ...

and crew cars, located south of

Anchorage, Alaska Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring ...

. * Whitney Section House, built in 1917 in

Wasilla, Alaska Wasilla ( Dena'ina: ''Benteh'') is a city in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, United States and the fourth-largest city in Alaska. It is located on the northern point of Cook Inlet in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley of the southcentral part of the st ...

. ;Arizona * Benson Section House, built by

Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Railroad classes#Class I, Class I Rail transport, railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was ...

in 1880s–'90s in

Benson, Arizona Benson is a city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States, east-southeast of Tucson. It was founded as a rail terminal for the area, and still serves as such. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city was 5,105. History The city was f ...

. * Elgin Section House,

Elgin, Arizona Elgin is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, United States. The population was 161 at the 2010 census. Geography Elgin is located along the Babocomari River at (31.629095, -110.571951). The Babocomari is known to ha ...

, built for the now-abandoned Benson-to-Nogales mainline of the New Mexico & Arizona Railroad (later Southern Pacific). * Patagonia Railroad Section Foreman Residence, built next to the Patagonia Depot in 1904 by New Mexico & Arizona Railroad and moved to its present location in Patagonia, Arizona in 1964. * Skull Valley Section House, built in the 1920s in

Skull Valley, Arizona Skull Valley ( yuf-x-yav, Pa:qwawa Kyo) is a small, unincorporated town in Yavapai County, Arizona Yavapai County is near the center of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, its population was 236,209, making it the fourth-mos ...

. * Wickenburg Section House, built by

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison and Topeka, Kansas, and S ...

in 1925 in

Wickenburg, Arizona Wickenburg is a town in Maricopa and Yavapai counties, Arizona, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the town was 7,474, up from 6,363 in 2010. History The Wickenburg area, along with much of the Southwest, became part ...

. ;Kansas * Kansas Pacific Railway Section House, an 1879 stone railroad superintendent's residence, one of only two remaining Kansas Pacific Railroad structures.

Wallace, Kansas Wallace is a city in Wallace County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 41. History The city began with the establishment of Fort Wallace, ordered built by General William Tecumseh Sherman. The fir ...

. ;Oregon * Maupin Section Foreman's House, built in 1910 in

Maupin, Oregon Maupin is a city in Wasco County, Oregon, United States. Located on the Deschutes River, much of the city's economy is related to the river through outdoor activities, such as fishing and rafting. The population was 418 at the 2010 census. Hist ...

. Now used as museum commemorating the Deschutes Railroad War ;South Carolina * Little Mountain Section House in Little Mountain, built in 1890 by the Columbia, Newberry and Laurens Railroad

Gallery

File:POTTER SECTION HOUSE.jpg, Potter Section House in Alaska. Image:Railroad section house, Elgin, Arizona.jpg, Section house for the New Mexico & Arizona Railroad, Elgin, Arizona. The railroad line ran just to the right of the large porch, approximately where the large cottonwood tree now stands. File:Wickenberg -Santa Fe Section House-1925.jpg, Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway section house in Wickenburg, Arizona. File:Railroad_Section_Foreman_Residence_In_Benson_Arizona_2015.jpeg, Southern Pacific section foreman's house in Benson, Arizona. File:Maupin Section Foremans House - Maupin Oregon.jpg, Maupin Section Foreman's House in Maupin, Oregon.

External links

True Tales from a CPR Section House
{{Railway_track_layouts Railway buildings and structures Canadian architectural styles American architectural styles

Examples

United States

Gallery

See also

External links