# AF turntable



## yd328 (Dec 19, 2017)

I am assuming AF never made a turntable, I can't find any pictures or info. Has anyone made or have some pictures of one in a layout?

Gary


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## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

I have not heard of one but that is not gospel.


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## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

You could do a reverse loop to turn an engine. I don't know the part number but AF made a reverse loop controller.


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## BrokeCurmudgeon (Feb 8, 2016)

See Portlines.com. Doug has a new S Scale turntable.


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## cramden (Oct 13, 2015)

You are correct Gary, AF never offered a turntable. They require a lot of space, they are a reverse track for each leg off the turntable, and they require some kind of sequencing to align the tracks unless you are manually rotating the turntable. With all that aside, there are set-ups available, you just have to find them. AmFlyer has one per his track plan posted. Perhaps he will see you post and be able to offer you a better idea what he used and post a pic. Another option is a "Wye" set-up, though that also involves reverse track wiring.


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## yd328 (Dec 19, 2017)

BrokeCurmudgeon said:


> See Portlines.com. Doug has a new S Scale turntable.


That's a nice turntable, nice price also. 

Gary


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## yd328 (Dec 19, 2017)

cramden said:


> You are correct Gary, AF never offered a turntable. They require a lot of space, they are a reverse track for each leg off the turntable, and they require some kind of sequencing to align the tracks unless you are manually rotating the turntable. With all that aside, there are set-ups available, you just have to find them. AmFlyer has one per his track plan posted. Perhaps he will see you post and be able to offer you a better idea what he used and post a pic. Another option is a "Wye" set-up, though that also involves reverse track wiring.


I've noticed they do use some space, especially with a round house added.

Gary


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## AmFlyer (Mar 16, 2012)

Here are 3 new pictures of my TT. It is from AAA.


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## cramden (Oct 13, 2015)

Thanks for the pics Tom, that's outstanding looking.


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## Mikeh49 (Sep 20, 2015)

The pit is too clean. How about some grease and stuff in there? Then again, it's pretty new. Just wait.


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## AmFlyer (Mar 16, 2012)

The TT models a concrete pit, so it is still clean. 
For reference the bridge is 22”, it holds all the Gilbert, AM and Lionel Flyer steamers. The Big Boy must be carefully positioned within 1/10th of an inch. Need to use my hands for that.
At the widest point the roundhouse side of the facility is 36” wide accommodating 8 tracks. Leaving off the 4 external tracks just the 4 track roundhouse would be 28”. The length from the back of the roundhouse to the front of the TT pit is 56” I have 3 approach tracks with service structures that take another 48” including the #6 mainline turnout. With a single approach track and a conventional turnout this distance could be reduced to 18” for a total length of 64”.


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## yd328 (Dec 19, 2017)

Very nice tt setup. There is quite a bit of detail in there. It looks like there is some led lighting in the round house. Thanks for posting the measurements also. Do you have any more pictures of the round house and service area?
I'll have to keep all that in mind for future expansion.

Gary


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## flyernut (Oct 31, 2010)

NICE!!


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## AmFlyer (Mar 16, 2012)

Gary, tell me what views you want and I will take them and post.


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## yd328 (Dec 19, 2017)

Thanks Tom, 
Any more views of the round house, maybe set back further to also get the track work along side it.

Gary


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## AmFlyer (Mar 16, 2012)

Here is one more I have. I will take some more tomorrow.


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## AmFlyer (Mar 16, 2012)

I took 5 more pictures this morning that should provide a good perspective of track at the roundhouse and TT area. The engine next to the roundhouse is the BigBoy. It will fit inside if desired. The approach track that crosses the main line leads to a tail track in the freight yard. This allows engine movement to/from the freight yard without using a main line. The engine on the other side of the roundhouse is a B&O Pacific made by Lionel. These are smaller than the Pacifics made by Gilbert.


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## yd328 (Dec 19, 2017)

Wow Tom, great pictures! They give me a much better perspective of the round house and yard set up. 

Thanks again
Gary


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## cramden (Oct 13, 2015)

Thanks for the pictures Tom, just an outstanding layout. Has it turned out to be better than you imagined and what would you do differently if anything given the chance for a do over? (excluding a bigger footprint.)


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## AmFlyer (Mar 16, 2012)

I found a picture of the bare roundhouse/TT module taken during delivery of the layout. It is much easier to see how it is built. Also visible on the left are 3 tracks for the lower hidden yard and reverse loop. 

The layout is as I imaginened it would be. The design process was a long evolution so I had a lot of time to get comfortable with how it would look and operate. I also got 3D animated videos of the layout during the design process that were generated from the 3D Autocad model. 
I do plan to have some minor changes made this spring. I did not subdivide the track into enough blocks to suit the way I am using the layout. Fortunately the cuts are already in the rails where they are needed, it is just a matter of running the feeders through BPC-2’s to be able to turn the power on and off with the LCS. Of course that means the iPad files have to be revised and the LCS loop will gave to be modified to add in more BPC-2’s.
The LCS loop is already so large that the Lionel R&D people on the west coast had to custom make 3 in line amplifiers to get the system to work. My guess from looking at the diagnostics provided by the Lionel development software is a 4th amplifier may be needed if we add more devices. A physically simple mod but electronically complex. Other than that after 15 months of operating I see no other track plan changes.


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## yd328 (Dec 19, 2017)

Thats a great shot. It looks like the tt and roundhouse would use up a table itself.
It's got to be a pretty good study to run the layout 

Gary


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## AmFlyer (Mar 16, 2012)

That module is 76" long, 44" at its widest point and 12"deep. The entire layout had to be brought into the room on the second floor. Access to the room is through a vestibule 36" deep, 32"wide and 80" vertical clearance. This module barely fit into the vestibule at a 45 degree angle, then out into the train room.


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## cramden (Oct 13, 2015)

Sounds like you had a well thought out plan along with a very talented builder. Glad it met your criteria other than an operational item that might not have been evident until actually running trains. Thanks for the response.


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## flyernut (Oct 31, 2010)

Again, a amazing lay-out....


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