turntables

[Daveygee]

New to the hobby and wondering about n scale turntables? Any thoughts on the Atlas model and is it workable in DCC with a reverser. or do I even need it. Any opinions on the walthers 120 ft manual table?      Thnx

[cuyama]

Daveygee

New to the hobby and wondering about n scale turntables? Any thoughts on the Atlas model and is it workable in DCC with a reverser. or do I even need it. Any opinions on the walthers 120 ft manual table?    

The Atlas model is of a deck-style turntable that was pretty rare in real life, but it does work. But unlike other N scale turntables,  you can't go directly to the track you want -- it stops at every track along the way because of the Geneva-style design of the gearing. This also means that the track locations are fixed. It is the easiest to install of the turntables because it just sits on the layout surface.

The Atlas TT includes some reversing capability, so if you orient it correctly, you won't need a separate reverser. It's fairly small. But it's cheap, too.

The Walthers 120 foot kit has been a problem for some folks to build and have work correctly, so it might not be the best choice for a newcomer. But if you have a lot of patience you might get it to work reliably.

The Walthers built-up turntables seem to work great, but of course are expensive.

Best of luck.

[hon30critter]

Daveygee:

Stay away from the Atlas turntables, As has already been mentioned, they do not operate prototypically. In fact their operation is a proper PITA. It stops at every track instead of simply going to the lead you want.  And, if you add the optional drive system that Atlas offers, you will not be able to hear yourself think when it is in operation. It is loud and the sound grates on your nerves.

How do I know? I spent a whole bunch of time converting an HO Atlas turntable to a pit style. I had run the drive system briefly before starting my kitbash and I had convinced myself that I could live with the noise. After several hours of kitbashing I had what I thought was a respectable looking pit turntable. Then I put the juice to her and I couldn't believe that I had previously though the grating sound was acceptable. It was absolutely a waste of time and materials.

I have also heard bad things about the early Walthers kits but I have no personal experience with them. But, where there is smoke..... buyer beware.

I think this is definately one of those situations where you get what you pay for.  I will eventually spring for a Walthers 90' DCC unit because if I am going to have a turntable on my layout (and I really do want one) I want it to operate properly.

By the way, welcome to the hobby!

Dave

[MisterBeasley]

This is an HO-scale Atlas turntable, which mates up nicely with the Atlas roundhouse:

As has been said, it's a deck turntable, and not terribly prototypical, although some existed.  I also "pit-bashed" mine:

This has the added advantage of dropping that loud motorizing unit into a pit of its own, surrounded by noise-deadening foam on my layout.  Not perfect, but I can live with it.

The Atlas turntable, unfortunately, is very small in HO.  I think the N-scale one is larger in scale-feet, which lets you run bigger engines on it.  In HO, it's 9 inches across, which is about 65 scale feet.  That's fine for early 4-axle diesels and steam switchers, but I can't turn my larger steam on it.  On the other hand, the small scale size means a small physical size, so the whole footprint of my turntable and roundhouse fits in a relatively small space on my layout, something I could not do with a larger unit.

Making the Atlas deck look presentable is a lot of work.  If you have the space, you will probably be better off with a Walthers model.

[Geared Steam]

For price go with Atlas, never understood the noise complaint, but I don't operate mine on 12v, which is much too fast anyway. Half the voltage, half the noise.

if price is not a factor, the Walthers built ups are the way to go.