# Where is your turntable?



## brob2k1 (Dec 7, 2015)

Where do most of you have a turntable and does it makes sense to have a turntable without a roundhouse?


----------



## fcwilt (Sep 27, 2013)

My engine yard with turntable is not in a "realistic" location due to space constraints. It is in the only location that was large enough.

One of the compromises one must often make in this hobby.

And a roundhouse is not a requirement. 

I was initially thinking of a installing a full one but then realized that it would be more visually interesting if I left half of the tracks "out in the open".


----------



## LateStarter (Mar 12, 2016)

Mine will be on a 2x6 run-out, with a 2-stall diesel house beyond it. The turntable will feed to a single track, with a wye to the diesel house, and a turnout to a fueling track and a maintenance pit.


----------



## CTValleyRR (Jul 26, 2014)

The real life Valley Railroad had several turntables without roundhouses, just for the purpose of turning locos for the trip back down the single track line. There was a roundhouse, too, now a National Historic Site at Saybrook Point.


----------



## mesenteria (Oct 29, 2015)

What are you attempting to recreate? What vision, or druther, do you have in mind when you visualize your completed railroad? Why a turntable at all, and why would you want one without having the roundhouse?

You should think seriously about your answers to these questions. If you have a dream layout, and for some reason you feel a turntable must be part of the complete picture, or if you need to turn locos and don't wish to handle them, then a turntable might make quite a bit of sense...especially if you have the room and can fashion a proper lead to it. As the gentleman said above, there are many examples of turntables out on the bald prairie where they never was a roundhouse. Some roads in hilly country didn't want their steamers running light in reverse back down a helper grade when they were cut off from pushing a heavy drag up the hill. So, they turned them and ran them pilot-first. Other roads, especially on grades exceeding 3%, didn't like the thoughts of their crown sheets being highest in the boiler by running the pilot downhill, so they ordered their engines to back down the hill. No turning required.

In my case, I planned for both items in all of my layouts. Happily, the combo has been implanted on all of the last two, being excised surgically and implanted into new plans. It was my vision, and I had the room...thankfully.


----------



## brob2k1 (Dec 7, 2015)

I like the look of a roundhouse but it takes up a lot of real-estate that could be used for other stuff. I was thinking of relocating it on my layout (it's not built yet, just playing in AnyRail) mainly for the purpose of turning loco's around. I was going to stick in in my city area but was thinking it would look weird, then again having visited the B&O Museum several times I know they they have one smack dab right there with houses right next to it.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/B...0x89c81cb27ad12dbd:0xb439bb3aacecef21!6m1!1e1

You can see what i'm thinking about based on the link above.


----------



## Chet (Aug 15, 2014)

Mine are at a round house.


----------



## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Another option?
Some railroads just had a Y for turning around.
Probably take up less room than a turntable.


----------



## LateStarter (Mar 12, 2016)

Chet...
Awesome.
Very nice collection of diesels!


----------



## bluenavigator (Aug 30, 2015)

I am sure that most of them are dummies. Just kidding. 

Chet - I am sure that they were repainted to have same line - Logan Valley. How long did they take you to paint/weather them?


----------



## /6 matt (Jul 7, 2015)

Big Ed said:


> Probably take up less room than a turntable.


I've always heard this but never really believed it, I also never tried it. So I did just that!

This is a comparison of the space taken up between a turntable and a wye and in this drawing we are looking only at what is needed to turn a loco. I used a 130' turntable which is large enough that it will be able to turn any locomotive your heart desires. To be fair, any loco that will fit on a 130' turntable will need AT LEAST 22"r curves and #6 turnouts. I made the wye as compact as is possible and used 130' tails. Here's what I came up with.









So as everybody can see the wye takes up a much larger footprint overall but it also takes up less area that can be used for scenery.


----------



## mesenteria (Oct 29, 2015)

Agreed, it's really a pretty straightforward ride to Bogusville. Visualize it realistically and see if it pans out. My trickiest locomotive is a Sunset brass 2-10-4 that they say needs a minimum of 30" radius curves to operate reliably. My dictum is to add 10% to bring reliability into the .9999 range, so none of my curves dip under 33". I have a Masonite template that I cut years ago with that radius, and I use it on all my small curves to ensure I don't run under it. I can lay it down, draw a centerline, and tails on a wye that extend long enough to cover my longest steamer and tender, and it is obvious every time that a turntable wins lying on a bed and snoring.

That said, I must have a reversing structure of some kind, but for entire trains. So, I use a reversing loop that takes a lift-up bridge that runs diagonally across my central operating pit when I want to turn an entire train. I use a PSX-AR to monitor phase on that approximately 8' long stretch.


----------



## Laidoffsick (Sep 20, 2015)

If we can do this in o scale, you'll have plenty of room in HO


----------



## brob2k1 (Dec 7, 2015)

Laidoffsick said:


> If we can do this in o scale, you'll have plenty of room in HO
> 
> View attachment 160578


That looks so realistic. This is my first "real" layout outside of having an oval on an old train that would get setup for christmas. Hopefully someday in the future i'll be able to put something that realistic together. For now I have some idea's so we will see how things go.


----------



## Chet (Aug 15, 2014)

bluenavigator said:


> I am sure that most of them are dummies. Just kidding.
> 
> Chet - I am sure that they were repainted to have same line - Logan Valley. How long did they take you to paint/weather them?


All of these locomotives were undecorated when I got them. I had a couple of Athearn GP-7's which I had painted for my railroad but the old Athearn drive (30 years ago) had a lot to be desired. I ended up having to remotor them with NWSL can motors to get them to run the way I wanted. 

Atlas then brought out their line of Alcos in the photo. I figured I would try one to see how they ran. This was sometime in the mid 80's when they came out. Well, they were the best running locomotives I had ever seen out of the box up to this time. I quickly order a bunch more and went to work on them. A total of ten of them. 

I had sort of an assembly line going with them. They were all being worked o while I was starting my layout. They were all painted at the same time and then lettering and details like the pilot striping, horns, MU hoses, number boards and some other details were added. All of the lettering was done letter by letter. This probably took the most time. Once painted and decaled, light weathering was added and they were all sealed with a clear flat paint. 










From the time I started until they were complete I think the total project took just a little over two weeks as time was needed for decals and paint to dry. 

These locomotives are still some of the best running locomotives I have, still running like new. Atlas locomotives with the Kato drive are still being built and are among the best available today.


----------



## Laidoffsick (Sep 20, 2015)

brob2k1 said:


> That looks so realistic. This is my first "real" layout outside of having an oval on an old train that would get setup for christmas. Hopefully someday in the future i'll be able to put something that realistic together. For now I have some idea's so we will see how things go.


Thank you...this is our first real layout too


----------



## lajrmdlr (Apr 25, 2014)

Here's a map of the Los Angeles Junction Ry turntable & engine house when it still existed. They are on separate tracks so the house can't really call it a "roundhouse". >) Use 4433 Exchange Ave 90058 if you want to see aerials of this place in Bing, Google &/or historicaerials.com.


----------



## cv_acr (Oct 28, 2011)

Laidoffsick said:


> If we can do this in o scale, you'll have plenty of room in HO


That looks pretty good. The only obvious model indicator at first glance is the third rail on the tracks.


----------



## Laidoffsick (Sep 20, 2015)

Yeah that 3rd rail will get ya every time.


----------



## tooter (Feb 26, 2010)

I made a little manual turntable out of a DVD and the bottom of a jewel case. It's at :44 on the video.


----------



## mjrfd99 (Jan 5, 2016)

Laidoffsick WOW absolutely awesome!!


----------



## Laidoffsick (Sep 20, 2015)

Thank you


----------



## Chip (Feb 11, 2016)

My turntable is still in the box, I'm in the middle of a complete re-do of the entire layout!


----------



## Guest (Mar 25, 2016)

A couple of poor photos so you get the idea of where one of my two turntables sit. The turntable is a Diamond Scale 134' table, with a nine stall roundhouse (I think that was Magnuson Models, don't remember, it has hydrocal walls). There are three inbound / outbound tracks leading to the table. Coaling tower and sand tower are also Diamond Scale kits, as is the ash pit. 

The layout is 4' wide where the turntable is at. So of course, the most troublesome switch on the layout is the one over by Worley West tower, which is the hardest to reach.  It doesn't act up that often, but I'm going to invest in one of the topside creepers so that I can safely get over the layout, and do some needed maintenance on that switch. 

























My new yard will also have a Walthers 130 ft. turntable, and roundhouse. I had to make one compromise that I am not happy about in order to keep everything within reach, and make maximum use of the space at hand. The main line sits between the yard and the engine terminal. The tracks at this point are all within yard limits, so as long as the motive power moves stay out of the way of the scheduled first class passenger trains, I should be OK. 










Regards,

GNNPNUT


----------



## DonR (Oct 18, 2012)

That is a very exciting layout. Envy, envy.

It has many good ideas that modellers are
looking for.

How about posting in in the MEMBERS LAYOUTS thread
in the Layout Design forum.

Don


----------

