RoundHouse Wedge 2019
Roundhouse Wedge - Night. From Pivotal Turntable Tactics. Northern Pacific Railyard, Brainerd, MN. 2019. Rough Sawn Red & White Pine, Simpson Strong Ties, Hex & Lag Screws, Eyelets, Wire, Washers, Turnbuckles, Quick Clips, Brackets, Duct Tape, Stakes. Wedge Base with Wings: 32 x 24 x 46 feet. Site Diameter 320 feet. Tunnel Height 8 feet. Width of RR Tracks(grass) 5 feet.
Pivotal Turntable Tactics is a public art project at the Northern Pacific Railyard in Brainerd, Minnesota, presenting two large site-specific installations, RoundHouse Wedge and TurnTable Dock, reflecting the architecture of the former railyard spaces, referencing locational identity, physical embodiment, and rural vacancy. Created with red and white pine wood and metal hardware, the Roundhouse Wedge is an abstract train car garage stall sitting on the original roundhouse rail foundation, illuminating a single bay of the circular site ruins used for servicing railroad locomotives.
Referenced via imagery from the Crow Wing County Historical Society & Museum, the daily working ecosystem of the former NP roundhouse and turntable sites were reembodied. Standing at over 316 feet wide, the former Northern Pacific Roundhouse complex was over a modern football field in diameter. Nestled within the center of the behemoth NP Rail Yard as a living symbol of perseverance and resilience, the past working structure lasted for more than one hundred years.
Roundhouse Wedge abstractly reflects the main components of the typical roundhouse train stall architecture: angled entry, pit (below grass), service track (grass walkway), smoke jacks, posts and gussets, and window clearstory. Thirty-two engineered guide wires held the sculpture in place to prevent the Wedge from moving due to train vibration. Viewers could walk through the center of the staked abstract structure as choreographed dancers performed. Poetic readings, critical dialogue, limited edition TurnTable Ale, and a children’s empowerment workshop engaged the site.
Pete Driessen credits Forecast Public Art, MN State Arts Board, Northern Pacific Center, and others for their financial support of this site specific public art project.
RoundHouse Wedge Links:
Forecast Public Art/Project Essay:
Sheila Dickinson Essay/Pivotal TurnTable Tactics Catalog: