Q on Kibri 12" manual turntable

[Anonymous]

Ok, seeing as I am modeling well before concrete was in use. I was looking for a decent pre-1900 type turntable. well according to walthers and a few other places Kibri produces a 12" wood deck old time style turntable, they als seem to have an 8" one as well, but i'd rather have the 12".

The question I have, if anyone can answer it, is what is the degree seperation on it for the Postitions?

I'd liek to know this so that if i decide to get it, that i can find a roundhouse that will match it, otherwise I'll be forced to bash one together.

Thanks,
Jay

[Anonymous]

If i remember correctly that turntable is model of a frieght car turntable that was used frequently in Europe to get rail cars into existing factory complexes. It is designed to turn through 90degrees at a time (i.e. round corners between buildings). Then the wagon would be towed by a shunting horse or in later times a tractor.

So the Kibri turntable is not very well suited to what you want to do.

If you are interested, I model the 1920s and recently scratch built a turntable (27cm length). I used a narrow guage design that I scaled up to standard gauge. It is one of Dave Fareys from HO scale Lineside Structures You Can Build.

I didn't use the phono jack way of wiring it up. I used the one from another turntable article that was in the MR years ago (1989 or something. One of the MR staff was building a N scale model of the Santa Fe turntable out west somewhere where the ATSF met the SP. sorry I can't be more specific).

Anyway that is a split brass tube as the axle. The bottom part is isolated from the top part and the joint is staggered so that there is a short (1cm) section where on opposite sides of the axle the two different bits of tube overlap. there are two wipers at this height that carry track power. Teh result is that it it auto-reversing but there is no pit rail which is appropriate for an old turntable such as this which would be a single centre bearing without the pit rail.

I was suprised at how easy it was to build and it performes flawlessly although it is not motorised of indexed. The result is that it has to benear the front of the railway because you push it round by hand (it would have used the Armstrong method of turning anyway!) but the tracks can be anywhere you want.

Neil

[Anonymous]

Neil, you're thinking this one: http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/405-4130

I'm talking about this one: http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/405-9456 (8")
or http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/405-59456 (12")

But yea in the event I can't find a pure pre-1900 sty;e turntable, I'll have to resort to building one.

Jay.

[Anonymous]

My appologies. I was looking at an older walthers catalogue that didn't have that one in it.

The problem with that Kibri one is that it is not all that realistic.....

Diamond scale make a nice one but i can't find it in walthers anymore, how about the scale structures ones? they look good.

Honestly they are not difficult to scratch build.

Neil

[Anonymous]

Yea, figure i will probably just have to build one from scratch.

you can find Diamond Scale at their website: http://www.diamond-scale.com/

jay.