Lets See Your Scratch built Turntable

Hi Charlie,

I scratch built two turntables before Ross brought out theirs.  All subsequent TT's have been purchased from them.  My first was a direct replacement for a Diamond Scale TT.  The Diamond Scale had some nice details that I reused, but the original was never built to handle diecast articulateds.

The second TT I built was made for new construction.  It was molded after the Milwaukee's turntable in Avery, ID, where trains exchanged power between steam and electric.  This project was a neat challenge because the Milwaukee turntables were so unique.  Many of the turntables on the Pacific extension were reinforced with outside trusses when the electrics were put in service.  The trusses are scratch/bashed from a couple Atlas Pratt truss kits.

Here's a couple shots of the prototype in Avery.

I also used the Diamond Scale Design. Replaced some of the wood structure with Aluminum and used a Bowser deck detail and some creativity.




 Build pictures, best viewed as a slideshow.  Click on the underlined phrase.

I try to not take my toy trains too seriously.

Pete

Is that the 33and 1/3 model the 45 model or the 78?

Hey kids these days wouldn't know what that thing is really for.

David

Great turntables.  They sure make my 027 toy train one look, well toy train.  But it sure is fun to switch out locos.  Well I went from one Marx 999 to 4 Lionel plastic 2-4-2 locos at a garage sale one day in 1978: a turntable was now possible and a must.  What a great choice.

I like audio turntables too and have several hooked and have lots of vinyl to play on them.  Vinyl is making a small renaissance and some new albums are being released too.

Charlie

Here's my 32" table. Bridge  arch and bogies come from Ross, track in pit is Atlas 2 rail split into 2 pieces. It's not finished but getting real close.

Frank

Here's a couple of pics of my turntable:

Jim

Pete!! Very funny, but for that loco, you need a much older turntable with 16 rpm and a steel needle.

Hi Pete, layout looks great, nice track plan for a small space.  I think I recognize the brown caboose in the upper part of photo....maybe.

TEX

Steve

Some great scratch built turntables.  Bet some more have ones they will share. 

I love turntables and all the action they provide.  Real inexpensive if you build it.

Charlie

Some really nice looking scratch built turntables.

Here is my manual TT.

Any one built a new turntable since last post?

Here is a video I took of the Pere Marquette 1225 steam engine on the turntable in Owosso Michigan this past Saturday.

Dan

Atlas roundhouse is OK; Atlas 24" turntable is junk.  Made my own 32" turntable using a powerful and reversible DC geared motor with rheostat controller.. Table used the two Atlas TT sides (a bit short), four ordinary Lionel trucks with center rail pickups for track power on a  tight Gargraves circle.

 

Cut the roundhouse lead-in tracks to fit.

 

No indexing needed as the motor control can be slowed to line up tracks by site.

Charlie, you have what looks like a fine piece of handmade work there, even with the 

chicken poop.

Those other store models are fine but I just really enjoy looking at something a guy has

prodeced by himself using his own ingenuity.

And, like the lead in said "Scratch-Built" not store bought.

Well Done !!

Not 100% scratch.  Ross bridge.  Scratch everything else.  Self propelled.

Dave

Thermostat sun.

I came up with the scratch.

Al Zamorski built it.

Scratchy . . . er . . . . Scrappy

Good one! My problem is: lots of itch, hardly any scratch.

          John

Someday when I have a big enough layout, I hope to build a fun turntable. At each end of the turntable bridge will be a postwar power truck, which will ride on a circle of o-27 track.

I just think it would be an amusing design, though I have not figured out how I want to make it work just yet.

Mine is not finished; I started it 30 years ago. It is free lanced from one in a Model Railroader book.

Nice work guys!

Not scratch built, but highly modified and detailed Atlas O

I would love to build one for my steamers..my longest one is 36"long..thats my PRR S1 unskirted duplex..would like to see what PRR turn table looks like..

Good One Scrapiron! & thank you.

Here is an S1 on a 34" Just add our Pennsy arch

Didn't the PRR S-1 have to be turned on a wye?

Here is mine after the rebuild with going 2rail. My daughter actually knocked the bridge off of where I had it sitting beacuse I was working on it. I didn't get mad at her, I just didn't have it in a good spot. Also after seeing MikeCT's build really got me wanting to switch it over to 2rail and add more detail. So I guess it was a help that my daughter knocked it over. LOL

 It's moldeled after Cheyenne and the arch is made out of brass. The top of the arch are two 1/24 scale slotcar motor endbells with a plastic tube and two bands with wires connected made out of a nickle silver. Thats how the track will be powered. Just have to finish putting it back together and figure out the polarity issue. Shouldn't be to bad to make work.