Walthers HO turntable

[Anonymous]

I noticed recently in a catalog that I recieved that the Walthers 90' turntable had 'NEW" printed all over it.Does anyone know what this is all about?I had the original unit and it sucked.It would always bind up at certain locations in its travel.The company apologized and sent me a new pit,but it didn't solve the problem.Anyone else experiance this or have the solution?Did Walthers come out with a new upgraded unit that eliminates this problem?

[Anonymous]

Hi, I have`nt had any experience with walthers 90' turntable, but at that price, I would expect it to be just a childs toy. I would suggest contacting www.custommodelrailroads.com. Their 90' turntable kits are 135.00. Professional looking and reliable model railroads are expensive. Unfortunately......... Good luck.

[Anonymous]

I know exactly what you're talking about....I also have an "early" Walther's turntable and, while I haven't actually installed it on my layout, I found immediately upon testing it that performance would be poor. Mine would bind at certain points as well, but with some grinding along the inner pit wall with a dremel tool (that's how I had created a concrete look so it fit right in) I pretty much got past that problem. However, the table still doesn't ride true on the pivot point, causing the end of the platform to rise and fall slightly in reference to the pit edge as it turns. Also, the gearing is noisy beyond anything reasonable, and I'm trying to figure out what to do about that. I agree with Gerald that you can't expect as much out of a $40 unit, but I have to admit I expected better than what I got. I believe their improved turntable supposedly address some of the problems people had experienced with the old ones, but which items were addressed and how successfully, I'd be interested to know.
Probably most frustrating of all was that I contacted a person via phone at Walthers (as recommeded after I so inquired on their website) and he was not only unwilling to offer any assistance, he was also not very friendly or willing to listen to my grievance.
Any advice anyone else could offer would be greatly appreciated. Again, I don't expect it to operate like a $135 unit (hopefully one day I can afford to make that move).... but I would expect it to perform a great deal better than it does.

[Anonymous]

That's also what I did.I ground down the pit walls with my Dremel,but then it would bind in other areas.Then I noticed that the bridge "teetered"on the pivot shaft so I tried to tighten everything up in there and it still didn't help.I contacted Walthers,and they were very nice.They sent me a replacement pit for free but it didn't help.When I contacted them again tto tell them that it didn't work then I got the silent treatment.
The other unit has a price tag of $135 but that doesn't include the motor!I sent an e-mail to them to get the price list for everything needed for the unit.I'm almost afraid to see it.I also purchased the Atlas unit,but I just can't bring myself to put it on my layout because it just doesn't look right.It looks too much like a toy,even though they are very reliable!

[Anonymous]

Faron, Have you made a complaint to Walthers about the gentleman on the other end of the phone? In the past, I`ve always been treated courteously and professionaly. I would definitely lodge a complaint about him and ask for a refund. Don`t take no for an answer. The squeeky wheel gets the grease. If you don`t get satisfaction with your purchase with the first person you talk to, ask for their supervisor. If you keep going up their corporate ladder, eventualy you will talk to someone who doesn`t want to hassle it and will return your money. They certainly don`t want bad publicity. Take the time to do this, after all it`s your money. Gerald