Balboa Roundhouse

Balboa Roundhouse: This building was constructed between late 1913 and 1914 to store and maintain various equipment of the Panama Railroad, such as locomotives, motor cars, and cranes. It featured 12 bays for different types of equipment. Additionally, it was equipped with a turntable to change the direction of steam locomotives, which could only operate forward. With the arrival of diesel locomotives, capable of operating equally well in both forward and reverse, the use of the turntable diminished.

This structure was built as a sister facility to the roundhouse located in the Panama Railroad yards in Cristóbal, Colón Province. Its final uses included storing out-of-service equipment and conducting major repairs on locomotives still in service until 1996. The structure was demolished in 2006 during the third phase of expansion of the Balboa Port by Panama Ports Company. This work also included the closure of Diablo Street, between the port entrance at the end of Avenida Ascanio Arosemena and the end of Section I, which is now used for maintenance yards of the Panama Canal Railway Company.