Help with turntable/roundhouse placement

Hi ALDOVAR, For what it may be worth to you, all I can offer you is the personal experience of having installed one and having removed it.

I discovered, as the overall project took shape, that I needed (1.) a hole for the turntable; (2.) A roundhouse to accompany the turntable; (3.) a yard to park the freight and/or passenger cars that would be coupled to locomotives, creating trains; (4.) space for tracks to pass around and alongside the whole complex.

Fortunately, I had saved the  piece of 3/4" plywood I cut out for the turntable's hole, and replaced it.

This neighborhood took the place of all of it. I realized that I was less of an "operator" and more of a detailed scenery guy, and the turntable-roundhouse-yard complex took up a great deal more of plywood acreage than I had envisioned. A whole lot more.

FrankM

Turntables and their associated components ie Round House,water column,coal tower,sand bin Takes more room than you have.

Mikey

You not only have to consider the size of turntable and roundhouse (probably minimum of 56 inches combined), but you also have to consider the track connecting the mainline to the table.  Putting it in the center of your left side would probably take up all real estate there and putting it in the center on the right side kills most of your harbor idea.  I agree with Mikey, you don't have enough room unless you change operating ideas.

Chuck

Thank you all for the feedback and confirmation of what I was already thinking. I will probably do loop on the outside of O42 and do a nice yard in that area. We have a few little switchers that would be fun to do yard and siding work with. That would probably serve us more than the Roundhouse and TT idea. 

This is our first "Big" layout so I'm sure all three of us have eyes that are bigger than what we can actually do. Maybe I'll save it for the future.

This is almost the same size area I have and the way you situated your table work. Please keep posting or let me know how you are progressing.

I am amazed that it looks exactly like my area.

Thanks Terry

@Tepowder

Here are a few pics, work in progress of course.

Ended up doing a nice long yards for storage and freight operations for the kids to play with.

Still trying to decide what to do with this side yet.

Thanks, looks good. I am thinking for my right side, having some elevation and incorporating a coal ore area.

as I mentioned I am still in the planning stages.

Please keep me updated, I’ll do the same when I get into construction.

Tepowder posted:

Thanks, looks good. I am thinking for my right side, having some elevation and incorporating a coal ore area.

as I mentioned I am still in the planning stages.

Please keep me updated, I’ll do the same when I get into construction.

Yeah, that is my thought for the right side too, are we building the same layout?! lol

I wanted to do a harbor scene there on the right with a little river and docks, I grew up in Ashtabula on Lake Erie, we had a huge coal/iron ore operation there with yards and tipple and Huellet unloaders. Wanted to maybe do a mini scene of that.

They do take up much space. I got tired of taking trains on and off the layout so I used up much space to install mine but the area I used was open. I added the plywood when I added the turntable. I may decrease the amount of legs I am using as I think it looks a bit unrealistic. Will give me room for structures too. Good luck in whatever you decide to do.

If you go with the Atlas turntable and 3 stall round house you can get it to fit in that left leg just fine.  Yes, it'll eat up most of the room, but it will fit.  In the end I personally went with a 5 spur yard on my layout and a two spur area with the MTH 2 stall engine house for locomotive servicing on my layout over a turn table and am much happier.