Hello too everyone:
What would be a safe size turntable for the majority of steam locomotives c1955 & for present day diesel. What I'm surely asking incorrectly is there one size that would be long enough to handle either era. The 90' are for 13" approx., 105' for 14 1/2" approx. & so on. thanks for any help.
Regards, Vince
Vince all depends on the type of steam locomotives you plan on running. If lets say you want to run Mallets or challenger, H8 2-6-6-6 , Erie Trixplex or any large articulated locomotive a 90' table will be too short. Even some 4-8-4 or 2-10-4 Texas type ran long tenders so they wouldn't most likely fit. I would venture to guess that most big six axle diesels may fit on a 90' would be ok. If you want to play it safe go for the 130' that covers everything.
Hello again:
I forgot to mention the most important part of my question. It would be for an HO layout. Most of you would have picked that up from the 2 size examples I included. Anyway there you go & thanks again.
Vince
For a modern diesel, even the big ones, a 90'er would be fine. But if you are contemplating running any 'super steam' such as Berskshires and similarly sized engines with eight-coupled driver sets, any of the road articulateds, or anything with a centipede or 1000 mile tender, a 90'er would be too short by a fair bit. In fact, my BLI J1d Hudson, with the standard coal tender (not the centipede style that the Niagara would have towed, and some J1e's) can just fit on the Walthers 90' turntable with the couplers at each end hanging beyond the ends of the bridge. A Mountain or a Northern type from pretty much any road would not fit. Forget any of the duplex engines, triplex, articulateds....
This is what happens when someone screws up the figuring and backs a Pennsy Duplex onto a 90' turntable intending to swap ends.
-Crandell
Well the longest would be 161' 1" or 22.19" in HO. But most people don't go bigger than the Big Boy at 132'10" or 18.30' in HO. See this page for info on the largest steam http://www.steamlocomotive.com/misc/largest.shtml
Enjoy
Paul