I built a turntable on the end of "Ringbalin Yard" and Branyan Yard" they are at the extreme ends of the line.
They are used to turn locos around so that they can head back the way they have come without running in reverse. There is very little room at the end of the shelves so a Turntable was really the only option when compared to using either using a Balloon Loop or a Wye.
The turntable at Ringbalin has a short line that allows me to run the locos onto "cassettes" which I can lift out and store underneath it. This lets me drive on & drive off locos onto or off the layout with ease and saves me having to line up wheels etc
As the base I used a 300mm "Lazy Susan Bearing Plate" from a local hardware store rated at 225Kg for the Pivot.
 | ||||
| Lazy Susan Bearing Plate |
I cut the pit base and the sides from a 1200x1200mm sheet of 12mm plywood.
The turning part of the turntable is 970mm long which is long enough for my longest loco; a 1:20.3 Three Truck Shay.
There are 4 tracks leading to each turntable with alignment being done by sliding bolts with aligning sockets on the ends of each entry rail, these will keep the track in place both laterally and vertically to eliminate any bumps caused by uneven track.
Below are pictures of each turntable with my 1:20.3 Bachmann Consolidation (Connie); one of my larger locos.
 |
| Entry to Turntable |
 |
| Being Turned |
 |
| After Being Turned |
 |
| Exit from Turntable |
 |
| Branyan Turntable |
Return to Re-Configuration Construction Logs
No comments:
Post a Comment