I am to the point where I need to decide upon a turntable for my next layout progect. It needs to be around 90ft long. I can either get the walthers kit, or the peco one. I can't afford (or justify) the 350$ expense for the dcc walthers TT. I also cannot set aside the time for a craftsman kit from scale structures or CMR. So, the choices are: Walthers kit, or The peco version. What is your opinion and why?
JJF
Prototypically modeling the Great Northern in Minnesota with just a hint of freelancing.
Yesterday is History.
Tomorrow is a Mystery.
But today is a Gift, that is why it is called the Present.
I bought Walthers un-powered 90' turntable, and installed a small motor and gearbox that I had on-hand. While it worked okay as far as moving the bridge goes, it had no indexing, so it was difficult to get it lined-up with any particular track. I've removed the motor and gearbox, and plan to add a lot more drag to the shaft on which the bridge rotates, as it's very close to the edge of the layout and easily accessible for fingertip operation....
(pictures will enlarge if clicked-upon)
The turntable track and all the storage tracks around it are all wired, and, as you can see, the turntable is very close to the edge of the layout...all within reach.
My other turntable was a scratchbuild, using a couple of Atlas through-girder bridges, bought used for a couple bucks, and cut apart to use only the girders. I fastened them to a block of wood, then mounted it on a beater shaft from an old Mix-Master. There are powered wipers on the beater shaft to power the one of the bridge rails, while the other rail is powered from the pit's ring-rail via wiper-equipped trucks on the ends of the bridge...
I used some stripwood that I had on hand to make ties for the bridge, then cut-apart all of the plastic ties on a piece of flex track, then separated them so that they'd fit into the spaces between the wooden ties, thereby securing the track in place.
I covered the bridge deck with some left-over strip wood, then used Athearn handrail stanchions and some piano wire to make handrails.
The pit bottom is the piece of plywood that was cut out to accommodate the turntable, and the pit wall is a piece of painted 1/8" Masonite...
Since I had everything else on-hand, the total cost was the couple bucks spent for the two used bridges. Due to space constrictions, my scratchbuilt turntable is an 89'er. As you can see, this one's also right near the layout's edge, so easy one-finger operation...
Each of the turntables have a 10-position rotary switch to control power for the storage tracks
Wayne
JDawgSo, the choices are: Walthers kit, or The peco version. What is your opinion and why?
I am sorry to hear those are your only choices. Of the two, I would try Peco, just because I have heard so many horror tales of the Walthers turntables.
I used a Bowser turntable on SGRR #5, and it was flawless. Based on that experience I have purchased two Bowser turntables (12" & 16") to use on SGRR #6.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
I scratch built several turntables over the years and never had one motorized that satisfied me. When I finally decided to buy a turntable kit I went with the CMR. That was back in 2000, I don’t remember it taking a lot of time to assemble.I do remember that it went together very easily as every single laser cut part fit perfectly, best kit I ever put together.It didn’t come with a superstructure type bridge that I wanted so I scratch built a Mel version.The best part of the CMR turntable is the motor drive. It is a Dayton .5 RPM 12 volt gear motor. Best operating turntable I’ve ever seen, super smooth and it’s never had a problem of any kind.Mel My Model Railroad http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/ Bakersfield, California I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
I would watch ebay for a CMR or a Bowser. The history of Walthers TT's is disappointing, to say the least.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
I'll second what Kevin - SeeYou190 - said about the Walthers kit. I bought one then never assembled it because of what I heard about it being a real terror to deal with, and what I saw in the box seemed to support that. It had a flimsy pit, which was a bad way to start since it supports everything else. I could tell that it would take major surgery to make it function well. About that time Walthers came out with their first ready to use indexed and motorized turntable, so I went with that.
If your choices are the Walthers or Peco kits, go with Peco.
But my 90' indexed turntable from Walthers has been very reliable, and has never given me any trouble at all. IF you can swing it somehow, I'd suggest going with one of those. You can find them for a couple hundred dollars at train shows, and maybe cheaper for an older (non-DCC-programmable) model.
Mark P.
Website: http://www.thecbandqinwyoming.comVideos: https://www.youtube.com/user/mabrunton
Should we assume you are modeling HO?
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Ok. Thanks guys. I was leaning towards the peco anyways. I would love love love a cmr or similar kit, but I just can't afford it and I don't have to time to build it either.
Hi there. After reading a lot of horror stories about the Walthers kit, I opted for the RTR Walthers DCC turntable. It's not cheap, but I see it as about the cost of two DCC locomotives... I've had it for about 4 years, and it's been flawless. Indexing works very well. And it adds so much to a layout. If you are in DCC, I would say it's a serious option. But the installation and programming does require some effort.
Simon
sheer genius,wayne, u r quite an inventor.
ps i read somewhere online about using an open 1/4 inch phone jack for a conductive pivot. it has a thread and nut to attach to the bridge and then plugs into a matching socket below which feeds power up to the loco on it. -Rob
My Walthers RTR turntable cast $50 on e-bay and have seen them recently for under $100.
rrebell My Walthers RTR turntable cast $50 on e-bay and have seen them recently for under $100.
snjroy rrebell My Walthers RTR turntable cast $50 on e-bay and have seen them recently for under $100. Yes, the kits are cheap. Would not pay a penny for one though. There are a ton of modellers reporting warped pieces that make them useless. Simon
Yes, the kits are cheap. Would not pay a penny for one though. There are a ton of modellers reporting warped pieces that make them useless.