I am researching the Louisville, Evansville and St Louis Railroad. I found an article in an old newspaper where a double turntable was installed. What is a double turntable? The article also says “and now they don’t have to hitch a locomotive on to turn another one”. How was this done?
I don’t know this instance, but my first impression was of two turntables side by side.
Turntables with overlapping pits Altona Germany:
http://www.bahnbetriebswerke.de/assets/images/16v_HH-Altona-1952.jpg
Thanks for the info!
However, this turntable was installed in 1882 replacing the one installed in 1879 (which apparently had to be turned using a second locomotive.
It was at the end of a short line RR in Jasper Indiana. The newspaper article also states “the sills are oak, 16 by 22 inches square and fifty feet long”.
I’m sure this was not two turntables side by side. It was by an engine house.
The locomotives on this line at the time were 4-4-0 mainly and there was one heavier freight engine but I don’t know what it was yet.
New York Central had a double roundhouse at Selkirk NY, 32 and 30 stalls.
San Francisco’s Market Street Railway had a two track powered turntable for its cable cars at the Ferry Building before the 1906 quake.
The Jersey Central had two turntables at their Communipaw engine terminal, however not overlapping, they were side-by-side.
You know, if the Germans had managed to squeeze a third overlapping turntable into that Altona roundhouse complex they’d have had the old Ballentine Beer logo!
Can you imagine even attempting to model that plan view of the trackage in Altona? You would somewhat simultaneously go broke and nuts somewhere along the line. The wiring itself would be a nightmare.
That double overlapping turntable looks like an accident waiting to happen. Altona or Altoona -which was more complex?
You might be able to do it in a basement if you used Z scale. O gauge would need large warehouse. [:S]
Well yes I realize that…I’m an N Scale guy from way back…it’s not the area thats troubling…that comes later! It’s the 384,823 switches and a zillion miles of wiring let alone the ability to understand what you did and how to wire it. Without conflict. Of course you would also have to kitbash that nutty turntable(s).
Z Scale?..you ever seen the price of those switches, locomotives and rolling stock…think Bill Gates or Warren Buffet are the only guys that could afford this In Z scale.
Put in a 3rd & 4th interlocking turntables and you would have the Audi logo, throw in a 5th and you would have the Olympics
Great info! I assume this was 2 sets of tracks, side by side, on one turntable. Any idea why this was done?
Thanks! The turntable I’m researching was in Jasper, In…northern end of the Rockport line. This line was built by Cincinnati, Rockport and Southwestern. George R Eager was the vice president of this railroad. One of the original locomotives on this line was named G. R. Eager. It was rebuilt and renamed to “Jasper” in June of 1879.
You know, as brilliant as they can be the Germans do have a bad habit of over-engineering things from time to time. That Altona complex is a pretty good example of the same.
I’m also reminded of the Mauser 1896 “Broomhandle” pistol, the Luger pistol, the Panther and Tiger tanks, although when the Germans get it right they really get it right, like the 1898 Mauser rifle. Absolutely brilliant, and still in production today in various forms.
Then again, trying to be fair, Altona is a district of Hamburg, and maybe they were trying to pack the maximum amount of railyard/engine facility into the minimum amount of space?
It was explained in another thread that the the 2 turntable footprints were originally separate, but later overlapped when the TTs needed to be enlarged.
More pictures at Altona
http://115518.homepagemodules.de/t937f87-Wo-es-gerade-so-schoen-warm-ist-1.html
I have found a similar set up at Bw Köln Betriebsbahnhof (Cologne) There is plan in this discussion. I think plan is Cologne. It is different from plan already posted. Scroll down. Site is in German.
http://www.drehscheibe-online.de/foren/read.php?17,6682817,page=all
Photos of Cologne from link on above site
http://www.drehscheibe-online.de/foren/read.php?17,4573604,4573604,sv=2
An N scale model
http://www.tee-verein.de/bilderdesmonats/monat_november_2006.html
Z Scale Scroll down
http://www.forum.hunsrueckquerbahn.de/viewtopic.php?t=39040
Color picture of Altona
http://img-fotki.yandex.ru/get/4133/123177916.1b6/0_c89e3_a3f7e1e_XXL.jpg
Another very unusual turntable
http://wbf-kk.de/EEEC/Sek_Dreh_Sch.jpg
According to description here
http://wbf-kk.de/EEEC/Sonstiges_03.html
it is based on actual turntable at the German Locomotive Museum at Neuemarkt
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gFCd4ZHLNAU/VZWSQj2ISqI/AAAAAAAABBk/UelkfUpDdaA/s1600/P1030101.JPG
This is my first attempt to pst links and pictures…hope it works…
I have found some references to double tracks on turntables. Here is a link to one…it’s on page 338 and talking about cable cars but I have found others now concerning railroads.
Here is a photo from Jasper taken in 1937 of the railroad.
Although the turntable is no longer there, near the center of the picture appears to be a round depression with 2 tracks now running through it. I believe there is a 3rd track just above that curves around the depression.