Turntable Location

[Anonymous]

I am planning a steam-only (circa 1940's) layout with a large division point yard and and several towns both east and west of the yard to be served by locals.

My question is, how common were turntables, and how did local steam freights operate? The local would leave the yard westbound work one ot two towns, but then it would need to be turned for the return trip. Did every town have a turntable or wye?

Thanks.

Mike

[orsonroy]

Starting in the 1930s and into the 1940s, railroads were in the middle of their late steam modernization programs (at least, the ones that could afford to modernize, anyway). Larger superpower steam and bigger tenders meant that old coaling stations and subdivision points could be closed. New, larger coaling facilities were being built online, to take advantage of the longer running distances of new steam.

A good example is the NKP's Peoria division, which I'm currently modeling and researching. The line was originally built in the 1880s, when engines were small. For the 170 mile run between Frankfort and Peoria, the LE&W installed turntables at Frankfort (division point), Lafayette, Rankin (subdivision point), Bloomington, and had the use of the P&PU's turntables in Peoria. That's an average of one turntable every 35 miles or so. When the NKP modernized their USRA Mikes in the 1930s and 1940s, the operations changed. The turntables and fueling facilities in Lafayette, Rankin and Bloomington were removed, and a new coal station was added outside Bloomington. Engines now had tenders that could hold a load of coal that could take them all the way from one end of the division to the other. The coal dock in Bloomington was for the local switch engine, and so the trains to Peoria didn't have to buy coal from the P&PU. Turntables were only found at the endpoints of the division.

Local trains still ran, but they ran differently. A local would only run westbound, on a two day schedule, stopping at what was left of Rankin yard on the first day. The engine would return as a second class train when it headed Eastbound. There were also local "turns" which ran from Frankfort to Lafayette, and from Frankfort to Cheneyville (and the Milwaukee interchange). There were no turning facilities at either town, so engines ran home backwards.

Remember, steam engines don't NEED to be turned to run. That's why they have headlights on the tender decks. However, steamers were usually restricted in speed when running backwards (35 MPH or less, usually).

So the operation of your locals should be based on whatever protoptype road you're either modeling or styled after. Some roads did keep turntables all over the place, but they were also generally the first to dieselize and reap the cost savings of pulling out all those costly facilities.

[Anonymous]

Thanks orsonroy. That was just the kind of information I was looking for.

[Anonymous]

One thing I might point out is that, depending on the road, the 1940s was not steam-only. Diesel power had made its debut in the form of box cabs and early switchers, and gas-electrics and so on were also around. CN for instance had a gas-electric built into an Ottawa Car Company body as early as 1925.

One thing is for sure though - Ray knows his steam!

Andrew