Turntables

[jhb171achill]

Anyone know where to buy a decent turntable - needn't be very fancy - of just about enough length to turn a Woolwich (23cm)? The ones on sale mfrom normal suppliers seem to be built to turn an American "Big Boy"; they are prototypically FAR too big for almost all Irish applications, or else cost the price of a decent-sized family car or a holiday home in Kerry.

Thoughts?

[Mayner]

Peco produce a turntable kit (327mm long) is probably the simplest most inexpensive option though large by Irish standards  https://peco-uk.com/products/turntable-well-type . 

Greenwood Model Railway Products and London Road Models produce shorter turntables in the small family car/weekend in Kerry price range.

Greenwood produce  55 & 60ft OO Turntables  https://greenwoodmodelrailwayproducts.co.uk/product-category/oo-gauge/

Mike Edge ran a thread on assembling a Greenwood Turntable. https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/146364-michael-edges-workbench/page/27/

I have my heart set on a London Road Models 45' & 50' turntables if I ever get round to building a layout     https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blogs/entry/17974-building-a-london-road-models-50-turntable/

[NorthWallDocker]

N-Drive Productions has the former Backwoods Miniatures turntable available for GBP 60 plus post.  It replicates the County Donegal Railways turntable at Killybegs -- made from the underframe of a scrapped locomotive.  Unfortunately, Neville Kent does not have a photo nor mention of it on his current web site, but he quoted me the availability and price last year.  https://www.n-driveproductions.com/  I've uploaded three photographs that I found somewhere, or that he sent me.

[airfixfan]

Turntable at Killybegs came from No 19 Letterkenny. One of the only 2 out of the Five Class 5 2-6-4Ts from the CDR to be scrapped!

[David Holman]

Kitwood Hill models do a range of turntable kits in laser cut p!y. See my workshop thread. They are extremely well thought out and a joy to make. Have built a few over the years and my experiences as follows:

• Dapol kit: the old Airfix one. Very cheap, but can be made to work with the Freezinghall Models hand cranked or motor kits. Adapted mine to a 42', 7mm scale one by widening the deck. See the Arigna Town thread.
• Peco: used the N gauge on on Fintonagh, combined with a Freezinghall motor. An issue is that they use dummy wheels on the outer ends of the deck, so all the weight is taken by the centre boss. I added my own brass outer wheels and it works a lot better and is more stable.
• Southeast Finecast: this is a sort of upgrade to the Dapol- Airfix idea. About £50. Used one on Belmullet for a while. Works best if the outer deck wheels are replaced with small ball bearing races.
• Kitwood - definitely the best so far.

 Overall, turntables can be a challenge, which is why rtr ones are expensive. All the ones above rely on lining up by eye, but with a hand crank or slow running motor, is easy, assuming you are not feeding a full roundhouse fan. 

 Fitting a TT needs care too. Apart from cutting a hole in the baseboard, there is the wiring to consider and either motor or hand crank mechanism. Ensuring a reliable connection to the deck track can be an issue too. Some, like Peco, use a split circle of pcb, which avoids the need for a reversing switch. Dapol one makes no provision at all. Kitwood version requires a reversing switch but has beefy plunger pickups to transmit power. Freezinghall kits require about 8-10cm space below the baseboard, but other motors I've seen can need up to 15cm.

 All in all, a lot to think about and probably why you don't see that many turntables on layouts.

[jhb171achill]

Thank you, folks, much appreciated. Yes, I’m beginning to wonder if it’s worth it!

It’s not something I’d be inclined to try to build either.

My layout idea has one visible and one in a fiddle yard. The former needs to look right and ideally be motorised but the latter could be any oul thing.

[David Holman]

Has to be worth it JB, they a such an integral part of (almost) every Irish branch terminus. Can only think of Valencia as doing without. If you don't fancy building one, then Peco's should be ok. Should have said that my experiences are all based on converting them to at least a scale bigger (two in the case of Fintonagh) and am sure the extra weight of locos is a factor.

 Peco also do their own motor now, so we'll worth a look.

[meathdane]

I'm not sure what time period you're modelling, but as a suggestion, you could model a disused turntable, with just the pit remaining. again, I'm not sure if you want it to be functional with the talk of motors i would assume you would, but you could model it as such and then in the future you could come back to the pit and 'Finish' it so you could build the rest of the layout but still have the provisions for your turntable?

[ttc0169]

Jonathan-I use the PECO LK-55 and installed their purpose built motor,

Highy recommended. 
 

[jhb171achill]

10 minutes ago, ttc0169 said:

Jonathan-I use the PECO LK-55 and installed their purpose built motor,

Highy recommended. 
 

Looks superb, ttc. I think I’d have to go for that one, big as it is.

[StevieB]

Peco also do this one but maybe it’s a tad too short https://peco-uk.com/products/hom-turntable

Stephen

[jhb171achill]

5 hours ago, StevieB said:

Peco also do this one but maybe it’s a tad too short https://peco-uk.com/products/hom-turntable

Stephen

It would probably do a J15 or a (diesel) B121, but not a Woolwich….

[leslie10646]

16 hours ago, jhb171achill said:

Anyone know where to buy a decent turntable - needn't be very fancy - of just about enough length to turn a Woolwich (23cm)? The ones on sale mfrom normal suppliers seem to be built to turn an American "Big Boy"; they are prototypically FAR too big for almost all Irish applications, or else cost the price of a decent-sized family car or a holiday home in Kerry.

Thoughts?

Purely to wind you up, JB, I have my forty year old Fleischmann turntable at Portadown - TOTALLY WRONG, of course, but, hey, it works! i thought ttc's Peco turntable looked nice.

[Westcorkrailway]

1 hour ago, jhb171achill said:

It would probably do a J15 or a (diesel) B121, but not a Woolwich….

Looks a good size for a west cork turntable.

[Broithe]

Whilst size might matter to some extent, we all know that the real key aspect is to get it to squeak properly.

[leslie10646]

Back at Portadown (and its dodgy German turntable) .........

The shed foreman decided to get his new shunting engine out to rescue a damsel in distress

Sorry, I meant a broken-down Single-ended Yankee.

I hope that you've noted that this is a BLUE engine, in keeping with God's Northern Railway?

Edited October 12, 2021 by leslie10646

[StevieB]

7 hours ago, StevieB said:

Peco also do this one but maybe it’s a tad too short https://peco-uk.com/products/hom-turntable

Stephen

It is 155mm long, just long enough for an 00 Works J15 or an MM 121.

Stephen

[leslie10646]

It DOES move, by the way, the previous pilot engine is cowering in a siding 

Maybe I should digitise the Bavarian job? It runs well after twenty years in the box (you can tell that I've been tidying the under my boards! At least twenty "foreign" locos in boxes!

Edited October 12, 2021 by leslie10646

[Westcorkrailway]

16 minutes ago, leslie10646 said:

Back at Portadown (and its dodgy German turntable) .........

The shed foreman decided to get his new shunting engine out to rescue a damsel in distress

Sorry, I meant a broken-down Single-ended Yankee.

I hope that you've noted that this is a BLUE engine, in keeping with God's Northern Railway?

If you’re legally blind and squint, It looks a bit like a Jeep in GNR blue!

[jhb171achill]

39 minutes ago, Westcorkrailway said:

If you’re legally blind and squint, It looks a bit like a Jeep in GNR blue!

The GNR used those on the Ballyhaise - Hamburg route, I believe.

[Andy Cundick]

For turntables in fiddle yards i use a lazy susan with a lump of ply on top simple and cost effective,as far as the Peco turntables go both their N and HOm ones as well as Petes killybegs turn table all use the same N gauge pit.I've not found building  turntables that difficult its just a question of having a go,currently 2 of my layouts have turntables Arigna and Courtmacsherry ironically Arignas is much the larger of the two.Andy.

[jhb171achill]

What's a "lazy susan"? (Excuse my ignorance!)

[Andy Cundick]

Its  a thin ball race in sheet steel  which comes in sizes up to about 12" and about3/8" thick, various baseboard suppliers stock and i suspect they will available on evilbay.Fit a disc of ply on the top  and fix down to a dropped section of baseboard and there you go,Andy. 

[Mayner]

The Peco HOm turntable is a bit on the short side for small tender locos and a tad long for C&L & T&D locos!

The table is hand operated with Meccano gearing track alignment by eye and squeaks.

For turning Large Scale locos I use a piece of hardwood as a deck and its worked effectively for 10 years fine for smaller locos like 2-8-0s and 4-6-0s but a bit short for the 2-8-2s that work the heaviest trains.

The particle/chipboard pit was recycled from a workbench and nice and scruffy.

Track alignment and table locking is brass tubing soldered to the rail web and a removable pin.

[David Holman]

Forgot about the Lazy Susan, they are used by cake makers for decorating and should also have known Andy would have a simple solution; Mayner likewise. That's engineers for you!

[Ironroad]

18 hours ago, jhb171achill said:

What's a "lazy susan"? (Excuse my ignorance!)

There are images and sizes in this website of the basic component. This is a US site but they must also be available on your side of the pond.

https://www.rockler.com/low-profile-lazy-susans?country=US&sid=V91040&promo=shopping&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=&utm_content=&utm_campaign=PL&gclid=CjwKCAjwh5qLBhALEiwAioods4ySSYAlUZ0JXBwN80EstH6RypPFyK7_wqgWZh8YUcRBN65i0LNyZhoCPG4QAvD_BwE

[jhb171achill]

Interesting! The 9 inch one looks about right (they still use inches there!)

12 dollars isn’t much, though post and packing would probably cost €50!

[Galteemore]

And closer to home…https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5-8-10-12-14-16-Lazy-Susan-Round-Swivel-Rotating-Bearing-Turntable-Desk-Plate-/163240644955?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=710-127635-2958-0

[Irishswissernie]

Fleischman used to do a shorty turntable , I had one over 20 years ago about 7-8 inches but it wasn't a well type so not very Irish.

[NorthWallDocker]

22 hours ago, Ironroad said:

There are images and sizes in this website of the basic component. This is a US site but they must also be available on your side of the pond.

https://www.rockler.com/low-profile-lazy-susans?country=US&sid=V91040&promo=shopping&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=&utm_content=&utm_campaign=PL&gclid=CjwKCAjwh5qLBhALEiwAioods4ySSYAlUZ0JXBwN80EstH6RypPFyK7_wqgWZh8YUcRBN65i0LNyZhoCPG4QAvD_BwE

@jhb171achill, I have a Rockler Woodworking shop near me here in Chicago and would be happy to send you one or two of the lazy susan mechanisms at cost, if you'd like.  U.S. postage to Ireland by slow boat parcel rate should still be affordable.  I need to buy a few kits from Des Sullivan in Ennis, so maybe we could work out you holding the cash and sending it to Des when I'm ready to order.

 

 

Edited October 14, 2021 by NorthWallDocker

[jhb171achill]

2 hours ago, NorthWallDocker said:

@jhb171achill, I have a Rockler Woodworking shop near me here in Chicago and would be happy to send you one or two of the lazy susan mechanisms at cost, if you'd like.  U.S. postage to Ireland by slow boat parcel rate should still be affordable.  I need to buy a few kits from Des Sullivan in Ennis, so maybe we could work out you holding the cash and sending it to Des when I'm ready to order.

 

 

Superb, Northwalldocker, very many thanks in advance. I’m away for a few days, will PM you when I’m back!

[Irishswissernie]

I've been sent a number of negs from the June 1961 Joint Irish Rail Tour, unfortunately not very good quality but there are some interesting and reasonable views. This one reminded me of this thread. An interesting turntable with a pit but no deck or handrails etc. Ballaghadereen 8 June 1961

 

[Brack]

Is the pit just gravel on the bottom? Usually they're modelled as concrete.

[Irishswissernie]

It must have had some kind of stone base for the king pin in the centre and the rail for the wheels at the deck ends but I would have thought the turntable would have been built prior to the mass use of concrete. It looks like the pit has accumulated a fair bit of surplus ballast and weeds over the years. Have you sorted out the dreaded curling transfers yet? Its getting near my birthday/Christmas.

[Brack]

14 minutes ago, Irishswissernie said:

Have you sorted out the dreaded curling transfers yet?

Have a new plan. Might be worse, but we'll see.