I want to build a almost full Walthers Roundhouse. I drew it up using the full length add on stall, which is 20.125" long. Does it seem correct that it is 64.124" in diameter? The numbers along the outter edge is the number of stalls it will take. That means (1) Modern Roundhouse and (10) add-on stalls. The longer tracks that extend outside the full diameter is the actual stall track, with (3) tracks in each kit. You can see that the tracks are 10deg apart. Does this look correct???
Thanks
Looks about right. Why not make it a full circle and cut a door in the outer wall for the entrance track?
I never saw one that was a complete circle. I was going to build the diorama on a 4x8 sheet of plywood but didn’t realize the size of a complete circle.
Actually, way back in the day, there were a lot of “complete circle” ones … where do you think “round-house” came from ??? And, to make it even more impressive, some were completely roofed over - including the turntable !!!
Mark.
I have the Custom Model Works 130’ TT (18 5/8" in HO) and their 6 stall roundhouse which measures 20 1/2" (a scale 148’) from the front corners to back of the middle wall and almost 32" (a scale 231’) from side to side. Yours would measure 173’ open in the middle with stalls 146’ deep, so I would say you are dead on. Tweet.
Might it be easier to just add extra roundhouses together instead of extra stalls? Would mean fewer attachments.
Each kit contains 3 stalls. So I would need 12 of them to make a full circle, thats 36 stalls. The ones I am using are Walthers Cornerstone kits. I have 3 of them now, but ordered 5 more. I didn’t realize just how huge this thing would be. I mean that’s almost 5 1/2 feet across.
Your figure seems high to me. I have the three-stall kit, and it measures about 14.5" along one wall. Double that, and add a 14" circle between them for the TT, and you have a footprint for planning purposes of about 42". Add inches for the TT diameter increases to 115, 120, and 130’, and you are still well under 50".
Am I missing something?
Yes, that is quite realistic. The Pere Marquette had a 42 stall, full circle (with the exception of a small gap for incoming and outgoing tracks) in Wyoming Yard near Grand Rapids, Michigan. In HO scale, it’s diameter scales out to about 5 feet.
The Walthers diagram shows 11 15/16" from the center of the TT to the front of the roundhouse and an additional 17 3/4" to the back wall for a total radius of 29 11/16". Double that and you have a diameter of 59 3/8". That’s if you don’t use the stall extensions. Add another 2 3/8" to the radius if you use the extensions. I’m guessing you would want to group the extended stalls together so you wouldn’t have extensions on opposing stalls. If that’s the case your total width of your roundhouse is 61 3/4".
I built a 15 stall roundhouse using the Heljan kits which are about the same dimensions as the Walthers which hadn’t been issued at the time I built my roundhouse. In addition, I have a craftsman South River 5 stall roundhouse serving the same TT. Together, they form a very impressive complex.
A 360 degree roundhouse would be a real eyecatcher but you will be limiting your view of the TT. You might want to consider leaving one quadrant with uncovered tracks to allow viewing inside of the roundhouse.
Here’s about what you’re looking at … this one is on one of my friends’ layouts. It measures about five feet from back wall to back wall …
(Construction by Mike Green)
Mark.
If your stalls are 20" long and the TTable is 18" long that gives you58" if the stalls start right at the TTable. Add a length of track between Rhouse and ttable and you’re well over 5ft. Be advised that the typical MRR roundhouse/turntable arrangement uses grossly short lead tracks between ttable and rhouse (there’s that old bugaboo “selective compresion” again!)
Actually, your calculations are off by .001". Using the 130’ turntable, the building is set back from the centerpoint of the turntable by 11 15/16". Adding the full length of the stall plus the add-on section, the radius increases to 32 1/16" total. Double that and you’re at 64 1/8" or 64.125".
A side note: for every 3 add on stalls you buy, you only get enough parts to extend ONE stall. So with a total of 33 stalls, you’ll be able to extend 11 stalls to the 20.125" length. Here’s a shot of my turntable drawing with some of my stalls laid out for visualization. I’m planning on using 15 or 18 stalls on my layout.
Don Z.
As you pointed out, only one third of the stalls will have extensions and these will logically be grouped in the same section of the roundhouse so at no point would you have extensions on opposing stalls. Therefore at its widest point, the roundhouse will not be double the 32 1/16" radius of the extended stalls. The overall width from an extended stall to the opposing short stall would only be 61 3/4".
jecorbett wrote:
I guess I plan on defying logical thinking. My extended stalls will be split - 3 extended stalls on opposite ends of the roundhouse. Therefore, my dimensions stand true.
Don Z.
8500HPGASTURBINE, I notice that you are from PA, if you are near Steamtown, you should take a research trip over there. One of the exhibits includes a pictorial history of the Lacawana RR roundhouse and nearby buildings. At one time the roundhouse was a full circle, less one stall that was used as the entrance. Part of it was demolished after the days of steam. Fortunately, the turntable and more than 3/4 of the roundhouse still stand and are restored as museum and working roundhouse. They also have an HO scale diorama of the roundhouse when it was full circle. The diorama is large and includes most of the RR servicing area.
I visted there on a rainy day last November, and signed up for the back shop tour. No one else was interested, so I had almost a private tour of the place. Saw 2 Pacifics undergoing restoration, and got a look at some things they usually did not include in the tour. Way neat!![:D][8D]
Here is a photo of the Cedar Hill roundhouse on the New Haven circa 1984. The attached “C” shaped roundhouse had already been torn down.
http://memory.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/ct/ct0300/ct0338/photos/024113pt.gif
My personal objection to a full circle roundhouse is that you can’t see the engines being serviced. Even though it is just the tender ends.
I plan to do about a two thirds circle for that reason. Also, that can be cocked around to fit the available space better and not take up so much room.
I didn’t mean to sound critical. My reply was intended for the original poster who wanted to determine how much room he would need for a large roundhouse with extended stalls and the shorter dimension of 61 3/4" is the minimum he would need.
My reason for saying that logically the extended stalls would be on the same side is because in all prototype examples I have seen, that is how it was done. That’s not to say it would always have been done that way in the real world or that a modeler should do it that way. Available real estate would dictate where the extensions should go and that would be true on both the prototype and the modeling world. If it works best in your situation to split the extended stalls, I would be the last one to criticize.