Turn table sounds?

[jambam]

Anyone know how to describe the sound a modern (or later?) turn table might make as it's rotating?  I've only seen older turn tables which were pulled around by a few strong men which obviously didn't make any sounds (other than a few grunts from the guys).  Thanks.

[Semper Vaporo]

Anyone know how to describe the sound a modern (or later?) turn table might make as it's rotating?  I've only seen older turn tables which were pulled around by a few strong men which obviously didn't make any sounds (other than a few grunts from the guys).  Thanks.

Well, a "modern" one would have the sound of a synchronous electric motor getting up to speed and then the sound of gears meshing as the table rotates, along with any squeeky sounds of un-lubricated parts.

As for your question of "or later?"... hmmmm... later than "modern"? ... well maybe the sound of the Star Trek transporter dissolving the loco and and it re-appearing facing in a new direction.

Semper Vaporo,
Charles T. McCullough

[dinwitty]

Anyone know how to describe the sound a modern (or later?) turn table might make as it's rotating?  I've only seen older turn tables which were pulled around by a few strong men which obviously didn't make any sounds (other than a few grunts from the guys).  Thanks.

 

I'd call it a very slow grind trying to start a car

[markpierce]

Try out product HQ320 at this site: http://www.ittproducts.com/hqpage.htm

Mark

[dknelson]

During an NMRA national convention we toured the locomotive and car shops of the Wisconsin Central (now CN) in Stevens Point WI and they invited us all onto the old turntable for a spin around!   [Parts of the roundhouse probably date to the 1880s.]   It makes an electrical sound of whirring with deep rumbling as the wheels turn on the ring rail. 

Dave Nelson

[Mark B]

"Wait 'til I get the turntable lined up BEFORE you move the engine."

"No, stop, stop, STOP."

"O-Geez....Now what?"

Above heard on both model railroads and the big ones too.

[ndbprr]

It depends on if the gearing is open or enclosed.  Some sound like a subway car and some you can hear the gear teeth clanking as they engage.  Later model turntables were more of a bridge type construction and carried more weight on the ends then earlier versions. reason was this negated having to balance the engine on the turntable.

[jackn2mpu]

Don't forget the "Oh ******" as the turntable jams and the steamer on it totters as if it was going to fall over into the pit. This happened a few years back on one of the Erie Limited Hoboken to Port Jervis C&O 614 excursions. It was the first one where the turntable in Port Jervis hadn't had it's motor replaced yet and they used a tractor to turn the table with 614 on it. Some planking on the span broke loose and wedged itself into the turntable pit. It happened so quickly that the tractor operator couldn't stop the machine in time and as the span stopped you could see 614 teeter and totter and the whole crowd thinking this is going to be a disaster. It lifted far enough off the rails to see daylight under the loco wheels. You should have seen Ross Rowland's face go pale on that one (owner-operator of 614).

What they eventually did was to get a few guys down into the pit and hack away at the stuck pieces of wood until things freed-up.

[Railphotog]

Some turntables used steam or air powered motors to turn, getting the air/steam from the engine on the turntable.

 

 

[dieselsmoke]

The CPR TT at John st. in Toronto had an air motor. It sounded sort of like a steam loco. The sound of the wheels was similar to an overhead travelling crane. When the table was lined up for a stall, a "dog" [an "I" shaped piece of steel] was pulled between the stall track and the table track to keep the rails form becoming misaligned.

Jim 

[marknewton]

Some turntables used steam or air powered motors to turn, getting the air/steam from the engine on the turntable.

I've seen numerous air-powered turntable tractors, and plenty of trade publications advertising them, but I've never seen any evidence of steam-powered turntables. Have you actually seen one yourself?

The turntable in the depot I work out of is a balanced 75-footer built by the American Bridge Co., and has a big DC motor Fairbanks-Morse tractor. It takes 600V from a rectifier, so the first sound you hear is the clunk of the isolating switch being closed. This is followed by the bang of the locking pawl at the end opposite the cab being flipped up onto the deck. The next sound is the shunter or operator calling the loco on, followed by the individual wheels of the loco banging onto the table. Once the loco is stopped, the other locking pawl is withdrawn with a clunk.

Before moving the table, the operator rings a tramcar-type foot gong to warn anyone in the vicinity. Once you cut a notch on the four-notch controller, there is the whirring of the motor, and the whining of straight-cut gears. The center bearing rumbles, there is a bit of squeaking from the slip-ring, and the squealing of the band brake on the motor shaft as you bring the table to a halt in the required position. Clunk goes the locking pawl, the locos bangs off the table, the locking pawl is withdrawn, and the table is repositioned for the next turn.

So there is a fair bit of noise associated with a DC turntable. The sound sample posted here didn't sound lke anything Ive ever heard before, either.

Cheers,

Mark.