Fortunately when I was about to purchase my TT there was a similar thread going around regarding different tweaks to make the Walthers TT perform better. After reading the numerous posts, and doing some trial and error assembly techniques I have a very reliable TT in my loco facility. And yes I plan on using it !!!
And heres the roundhouse installed
Empire under construction !
The early bird catches the worm.
But, the second mouse gets the cheese!
Bruce, I've been kinda amazed at how many use the Atlas turntable. Thanks for the information and the link.
JaRRell
bwftex wrote: I used an Atlas to run my turntable. Its cheap and super reliable.I have some construction pictures and instructions posted at Photobucket if you want to see more of it. It can be made to turn about any size bridge you want in HO or a medium S or small one in O. http://s22.photobucket.com/albums/b317/bwftex/Turntable/Bruce
I used an Atlas to run my turntable. Its cheap and super reliable.
I have some construction pictures and instructions posted at Photobucket if you want to see more of it. It can be made to turn about any size bridge you want in HO or a medium S or small one in O. http://s22.photobucket.com/albums/b317/bwftex/Turntable/
Bruce
Bighead, thanks for the link!
bighead wrote: http://www.simplytrains.com/pages/hints&tips/turntable/turntable2.htmhere is a good website on scratch built turntables take a look if you are interested (< spelling? i'm bad at it lol! :])
http://www.simplytrains.com/pages/hints&tips/turntable/turntable2.htm
here is a good website on scratch built turntables take a look if you are interested (< spelling? i'm bad at it lol! :])
Thank you all for the answers and the pictures! For you folks that scratch build turntables, well.. my hat's off to you. You really wouldn't want to see anything I scratch built. Again, thank you for the replies, it's nice of you to take the time!
I have 2 of the Walthers R-T-R (ready to rotate?) turntables on my HO layout. They are the best I've used in over 50 years of modeling. They do cost quite a bit more than the Walthers or Heljan (Con-Cor) kit tables or the Atlas one but they are money well spent. I got both of mine on ebay for $200 each.
I use them constantly on my point-to-point layout so they are not for decoration or display. The indexing is great and they operate very smoothly and reliably.
I've seen the Bowser tables on layouts and they seem to work fairly well but I think they are really lacking in the looks department. The old Diamond Scale tables are beautiful and seem to work well although they are no longer made and they are/were kits and pricey. The Atlas table is only 9" long and I don't care for the locking feature at each storage track.
I'd recommend the Walthers high-end tables if you will be using them a lot and if you want trouble-free operation. Some things cost more because they are worth it!
My 2¢
Roger
My main layout is only a 4'X3' roughly but I have a dog leg of approx 3'X1.5' modeling a union station passenger terminal, freight yard and intermodal container terminal as well. I know, I cram too much in small areas but what the heck, that's all the space I got and I want all that! LOL The main layout has a mainline around the whole area and then a inner figure of 8 connected from the mainline. And within there, I have the turntable and the roundhouse in one loop of the figure 8 and then a small town in the other loop of the 8. Then just some forest, bridges and a mansion on top of a hill next to ta forest. I am just too lazy to upload any photos at the moment but I'll post photos later because I only just planted the trees last weekend anyway so...
But don't let small space turn you off on a turntable...the only thing I would probably do if I can start all over again is to forget about the inner loop/figure of 8 and just do a proper loco yard and/or classification yard with the turntable at the end. When I designed this layout I was insisting on a double cntinueous loop being a beginner but it seems most of the time I am using the inner loop to store trains anyway because I think I have more locos and rolling stock than I can fit on all of my tracks now.
I'm in the process of converting my HO scale Atlas deck turntable into a pit turntable. I've got the bridge pretty well aligned, but now I have to put a bit more thought and design into the pit rail and bogeys. I had hoped that the bogeys could just be for show, but the design of the bridge isn't strong enough to support the uneven weight distribution as an engine crosses the bridge.
My layout is 5x12. I'd love a bigger turntable, especially now that steam is becoming a more important part of my railroad, but I just can't spare that much real estate. So, it's the Atlas turntable and roundhouse, and the one long steamer will have its home in the stall right across from the lead track, so it doesn't have to turn to get in. On this layout, I had the good sense to put the turntable lead off a reversing loop, so I don't really have to turn my steamer on the turntable.
Just FYI, the P2K 0-6-0, a great little engine, just fits on an Atlas turntable. Not a quarter-inch to spare, but finding that out just made my day.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
The Atlas turntable can be fixed up nicely. However, keep the ballast out of the mechanism! It tends to magically get sucked in and causes terrible problems.
www.oakhurstrailroad.com
"Oakhurst Railroad" on Facebook
Check out the photo of my scratch built TT in Weekend photo fun. I got about $4 worth of plastruct in it and a bunch of stuff I had on hand such as a Diamond scale center bearing, a piece of track for the ring and some ballast. Oh yeah and some paint. I used an old oscillating fan for the angle gears and turn it with a hand crank on the fascia board.
I had installed a Diamond scale turnout on the club layout complete with indexing. Expensive but it works good and Maintenance is good. Bob Grech shows his converted Atlas TT from time to time in this forum and it looks really good. Like it coulda been.
I am currently operating one short turntable on my end-of-the-railroad module, and use it every time a train arrives in town - not to turn the locomotive, but to turn the single-ended box-brake van so the markers will be facing aft when it departs. The locos are all double-ended tank steamers and operate smoke box uphill to keep ample water over the crownsheets on the (to be built) 40/1000 grades.
When construction of my main layout reaches the engine change point which is the nucleus of my entire operating plan I will install a standard JNR turntable, and it will get a LOT of use. All but two of my JNR steam locos will have to be turned - at least 15 scheduled arrivals/departures in every 24 hour timetable 'day,' and there's no way to substitute a wye (even if a wye would be true to prototype, which it isn't.)
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
JaRRell,
After stressing the 98' Heljan, we went with the 130' Walthers that was ready to run. It is easier if you do not have to change the hole after the fact. We had to add to the layout size to get the RH to fit.
130' Walthers Turntable with 6 stall roundhouse floor.
130' Walthers Turntable.
Good luck with your choice. After all the time that was invested in the other TT, we could have been ahead to just order this one. This TT has run predictably well.
Sue
Anything is possible if you do not know what you are talking about.
While, I don't currently have it installed, I've used the Atlas table-top one for years. Sure, it's a little noisy, and doesn't look quite right, but it only cost me $35, and is practically indestructable. Plus my loco fleet is 4 axle diesels, so I don't have to worry about turning large steamers.
Nick
Take a Ride on the Reading with the: Reading Company Technical & Historical Society http://www.readingrailroad.org/
jacon12 wrote:I've been wondering about how many modelrailroaders install turntables on their layouts. If not, do you consider them to be too much trouble? Too expensive? Not reliable?
I've been wondering about how many modelrailroaders install turntables on their layouts. If not, do you consider them to be
too much trouble?
Too expensive?
Not reliable?
Add to your list Jarrell "Takes up a lot of space" (but looks really cool )
I have one in my plan but won't actually be building the main yard for at least a year or two. It will be the last or second to last area to be completed. My layout is 12' x 27' HO "G" shaped in a 16 x 29 room. It's what John Armstrong would have called "large" (I consider it to be medium) but I still had to struggle with the yard and particularly how to fit in a TT and part of a roundhouse. That being said, I think that a TT is essential to a steam layout.
Karl
The mind is like a parachute. It works better when it's open. www.stremy.net
I have a transition era layout with a large, by model railroad standards, division point yard. A roundhouse and turntable are a must for turning and servicing steam power. I have the prebuilt Walthers 130' table. It operates well although it is very sensitive to debris falling onto the TT ring. I small piece of loose ballast can bring it to a halt. Even with that occasional nuisance, I wouldn't be without one.
For a post transition layout, a turntable becomes optional. Diesels didn't have to be turned and railroads turned to rectangular loco shops for servicing with more linear track arrangements than the old turntable/roundhouse configuration. For a modern layout, a TT is out of place. I'm sure someone will point out examples of TTs that still operate but for the most part, they have disappeared.
Jarrell
How you been,and how is the layout comming???
I have an atlas turntable in both "N" and "HO" my HO has a three stall roundhouse and my "N"
has a six stall roundhouse,These I can afford,but I think the big ones are two costy(big bucks)
They are a little noisey but index and are reliable,The big draw back is you can't turn steam
around on them,in less its an 0-4-0 0-6-0 saddle tanker.Atlas would make an killing on them if
the would in-large the turntable to turn big steam!!
JIM
I have the Atlas one in N with the motor drive kit as well. Works great for me and I also have their loco roundhouse too. It's currently hooked up in DC with a DTDP switch and a search light and I am still yet to hook it up to a mobile decoder.
Because I have a small layout with a lot of equipment so it works good for me for storing loco's in the roundhouse as well as on tracks in the yard where the turntable is. It also helps to turn the loco's around as my layout and yard sort of only goes one way. The atlas one is great because it also has a mechanical 'auto-reverser' built in so you don't need an extra auto-reverser if you are on DCC.
I wouldn't mind a bigger turntable though...you know the $220 one which you can turn a double lash-up around in one go. But $220 is a bit rich for me...may be for my net layout beause you also got to drill a huge hole.
If you do have one, do you use it a lot or is it more like some other 'structure' that you have, mostly for looks?
I have the Walther's 90' under construction, not the one that sells for over $200.. the lesser one. Think more $39. Putting it together reminds me of what a couple of other modelers have told me, i.e. it has a tendency to bind when rotated. I'm getting the feeling that you get what you pay for.
I'd like to hear what others have to say on the subject.
Thanks,