I added a new 2’x4’ splice in the modeul bringing it up to a 4’x6’. The reason being, I centered the TT pit in the middle of the frame, yet the yard tracks were offset. As a result, the bend the tracks would have had to made in order to get to the turntable would have madea Shay squeal in protest, let alone any rigid wheelbase loco… the extra real estate will ease this up a quite a bit, and may have a positive influence on structures I am plotting about.
Bruce,
I don’t know how much drainage you have for that pit, but I would worry about a chunk of ice and expansion. It might prove worthwhile to make a styrafoam plug to fill the hole of the pit. It will keep it filling with snow/ice that melts from the top and will also provide no ability for ice to expand and cause damage. I know you don’t get real rough winter weather, but you do get ice strorms and that ice slowly melting and filling voids and then refreezing at night, plays hell with joints.
Ric,
I drilled ten 7/8" diameter holes inside the pit circle, and another eight outside the pit. Now, I have no idea if that’s enough or not. A cover may still be a good idea. I’ll have to keep an eye on it.
Those are big holes, that should drain well. The sytrafoam is great for this type of stuff because in crushes under the pressure of ice instead of allowing it to expand another material. We used it in our concrete block buildings at the marina during winter floods, where ice could put pressure on and break the walls. Just be sure to weight it down.
Talk some more about how you built the pit walls, Bruce. My table comes with a spider and a bridge … I have to do my pit, pit rail, and pit walls myself, and I particularly like the look of yours.
My construction will be similar… the only major difference being the benchwork is already in place (meaning I have to carefully cut a 37" round hole in it) and the pit will mount from underneath.
This is the table I have coming: http://mysite.verizon.net/bryie/pcgrs/id22.html
Matthew (OV)
Matthew, Ah, that does look NICE! Well, my first stop was to take a single board and drill a hole where I wanted the main bearing. I’m not sure how you’ll fasten yours in place, but I suspect it will be something similar. I also built a little box under that part, thinking I might want some extra support for my bearing.
Then I started building out from that. I guess I could have framed it all first, but this made sense at the time. I later added two more strips underneath for reinforcement.
There are 2 lines on there - one for the wheel, so I’d know where my rail should be, the other for the wall. For this one, I just clamped a pencil in place at the CORNER of the turntable and drew a line as I rotated the turntable. I figured that this would be the inside of my pit wall, as it would be guaranteed to clear the bridge. I measured OUT 1/2" from this circle and drilled holes every x number of inches (I forget the value of X). This was for the support blocks. I first glued them in place, first making allowance for my wall material, making sure that the wall would not cross the line. (My wall material was about 1/8" thick). Then, I used those holes to put some decks screws from below - one in each block.
Finally, it was time to add the wall. I used Precision Products Perfic panels…mainly because I couldn’t think of anything else that would be easy. It was not as easy as I would have liked, as the panel material did not bend all that smoothly - I got some folds. I used 3" x 15" inch long sections and just used glue to attach them to the supports; 15" is the max width of the panels. I normally like to use glue and some mechanical fastening, but I felt that it would mar the surface too much. I wanted it to look like poured concrete.
I retraced the lines for my rail, then put down some ties and rail. I did end up putting some spacers under the ties to get the rail to the right height. I then capped the walls with 5/8" square stock and painted the whole mess with a textured paint from Rustoleum.
Well…hope that’s enough! Let me know if you have any questions. I’ll be looking forward to seeing your progress!
I was fixing some broken links here and I thought I’d post some newer pictures. It looks much better with ballast and trains on it.
That roundtable looks great, was thinking of building one myself. Having thoughts as to just using a sliding track table as I’m modeling a more modern era, and there’s little reason for me to “turn” the locos to get into the square shed I had built.
Good job on your’s , if I change my mind or do decide to build one in the future your posting has given me a lot of ideas and help
thanks
Mike Morgan said:
Never mind the daft questions about what's under there , tell them you are breeding something . Dangerous . That'll keep their trunks out .I'd better go to bed .</blockquote>Bruce, your turntable is more than a feat of engineering. It’s a work of art.
Mike, if I ever build something that needs covering, I don’t think I’ll use your “breeding something dangerous” approach. Although I have been married to the same woman for 30+ years, I see no reason to stretch my luck!
Bruce maybe I missed something but how are you indexing your turntable to keep the track lined up?
Victor,
It’s all manual. So, I just line it up by eye - it stays in place very nicely.
Bruce Chandler said:In this day of technology worship, you could have said it's digitally indexed ...
Victor, It's all manual. So, I just line it up by eye - it stays in place very nicely.
… a touch of the index finger here, a twitch there 
Bruce great looking turntable and railroad. You have given me a lot of ideas for my turntable. Thanks.
Great looking turntable!
Great Turn Table ! Thanks for the posts.
Good railroadin’, . . .
My article on building this is in the April 2008 Garden Railways magazine, page 50.
I have that article.
Nicely done.
Bruce,
Congratulations on getting another article published.
Thanks, guys. It always gives me a thrill to see my own stuff in print!
Bruce Chandler said:I absolutely understand. I think the quote is "When you see your name in print, you know you exist" Of course, that could be on a wanted poster at the Post Office.
Thanks, guys. It always gives me a thrill to see my own stuff in print!