Does anybody know if you can use a Walthers 90’ TT with the Atlas 3 stall round house ?
Will the stopping points on the TT meet up with the stall tracks inside the roundhouse , or do I have to use a TT and roundhouse from the same manufacturer.
Thanks in advance
Tom from Down Under.
It will work fine. I have an Atlas 3 stall roundhouse with a Walthers 90’ turntable. The Atlas stalls are a 15 degree spacing. The Walthers turtable can stop at any position you want. Now, if you have an Atlas turntable and a Walthers roundhouse, you will have problems as the indexing f the Atlas turntable is set for 15 degrees and the Walthers stalls are set at 10 degrees…
Jim
Be aware, though, that the Atlas roundhouse is short, because the Atlas turntable is only 9 inches across in HO scale. So, an engine that barely fits on the turntable will barely fit in the roundhouse.
Is the Walters roundhouse bigger than the atlas I looked on their web but the sizes don’t make sense to me Would it be better to go with the Walters tt and round house? 9’ across seems a bit small for the steamers and things I want to put in it !
A 90’ turntable in HO scale measures nearly 12 1/2 inches in diameter.
Rich
After giving this some thought and looking at my own Atlas TT and roundhouse, I’m going to have to sort of disagree with Jim. The stall spacing is, as he stated, 15 degrees, but that is based on a turntable diameter of 9 inches. If you set a Walters turntable to index at 15 degrees, it will not line up with the ends of the Atlas roundhouse tracks unless you cut back the apron. You could do that, but then there would be very little space between the turntable and the roundhouse doors.
I did some measurements. From the doors to the end of the stall tracks is 9 inches, so that’s the maximum length locomotive that will fit with the doors closed. From the end of the apron to the doors is another 4 inches.
Mr B,
My Walthers 90’ TT aligns perfectly with all three stalls of my Atlas Roundhouse. I think you are describing that large grey extension(or ‘apron’)to the base of the Atlas Roundhouse. It sticks out 1.5" so that it will align with the Atlas TT. I just removed the grey extension and used some .040" styrene to replace it in front of the stalls. This allows one to get the TT/Roundhose alignment perfect. My TT is raised 3/16" to match the cork roadbed, and the Atlas Roundhouse aligns perfect. BTW, the stalls are 9.5" inside my Atlas Roundhouse(just measured them). If you remove the walk-way at the rear of the stalls, you will have 10" of clear space. Since my ‘terminal’ is not a large classification yard or division point(local engines ‘live’ there), the stalls are perfect for the GP9’s and Bachmann 2-8-0’s that ‘live’ there. It took me a few minutes of thought and a re-read of your post to realize that you were describing that ‘apron’ My ‘engineering’ just removed it as part of the ‘site preperation’!
Jim
Yes, I think we’re on the same page.
It’s been a while since I built this, but as I recall, the floor is a continuous piece from the edge of the turntable to the back wall of the roundhouse. At least part of the apron area would have to be removed. This will work with a 90 foot turntable, but if you’ve got a large one like a 130 footer, the apron would have to be removed completely, and the roundhouse doors would be right at the edge of the turntable pit.
[:D] The closer you put the roundhouse to the pit…the less side clearance you have for the door openings. What is wrong with putting the rounghouse further away, if you have the room. The pit tracks would be straight…but they could gently curve, to match the roundhouse tracks. Whats built first, the roundhouse? Or the turntable? Real life of course.
Take Care!
Frank
Quite frankly, if the OP has the Walthers turntable, he should install the Walthers roundhouse. They are designed to be compatible with one another.
Rich
Frank’s suggestion would work, but for this roundhouse you would still have to remove the apron. The stall tracks fit in slots, so they are locked in the position you see them.
Turntables require precise alignment to avoind derailments, too. I would worry about getting that exactly right if I were trying to use curved approach tracks and stall tracks.
I like Rich’s suggestion. Get the Walthers roundhouse.
I would also go with Rich’s suggestion. Lot easier that way.
Take Care!
Frank
Actually, if your turntable/roundhouse is close enough to the aisle, the easiest solution is a manually-operated turntable - after all, the real ones didn’t have indexing. [:-^]
The track spacing, structure layout in relation to the turntable, etc. can be arranged to suit your available space.
My space is so limited that my roundhouse is severely out-of-round and my 90’ turntable is only 89’ long:
Wayne
Tom,
I don’t know if you are aware of it…but Walthers cornerstone series has two different roundhouses. The Modern one, that you can add stalls to. And a three stall stand alone, the one below:
Walthers Cornerstone
Three-Stall Roundhouse
Walthers Cornerstone #3041
Kit - 14 x 14-1/4 x 4-11/16"
Walthers Part # 933-3041, p. 384 Walthers 2014 HO Scale Reference
HO scale, $49.98, currently in stock at Walthers
Download the Instruction Sheet (839 K bytes, PDF format)
Take Care! Frank
All three of the Walthers Cornerstone roundhouse kits have 10 degree spaced stalls.
Rich
Ok I was looking at that roundhouse , I guess what I really need to know is , what is the longest engine I could put in the Walthers 3 stall stand alone type as pictured above… would it be about 30cm (12inch) loco?
Does a Bigboy fit on a 90’ Walthers TT ?
You need the 130’ version for a Big Boy.
You need the modern roundhouse with the extension for longer steamers.
Rich
The trouble is, the modern roundhouse wouldn’t be era-appropriate, would it?
And the 130’ turntable to hold a Big Boy! Those roundhouse/turntables take up a lot of real estate…
Jim
Tomcat,
The dimensions for that stand alone roundhouse are given beneath the pic. 14x14-1/4x4-11/16.
Like others said, you need the 130’ turntable for a big boy.
Dimensions for a HO scale Rivarossi ‘‘Big Boy’’ is:
Dimensions: 20 x 1.8 x 2.5 inches; Shipping Weight: 2.9 lbs
Walthers Modern roundhouse with extended stall is 20-1/8 inchs, close for a Rivarossi Big Boy
Take Care!
Frank