Lionel No. 375 Turntable

The Lionel 375 turntable is powered by two "D" cells in a brown plastic controller with a slide switch on top. I thought the controller was wired to allow reversing, but Tandem Associates also says it only turns in one direction

Mr. Burfle,

I am the owner of Tandem Associates. We are receiving inquires concerning the accuracy of what we have written about this turntable. This is why I posted here in the hope that knowledgeable collectors could offer proof of the original configuration of the No. 375.

According to Greenberg's Lionel Trains 1945-1969 Volume VI: Accessories on page 39:

"The controller is a combination slide switch and battery box that turns the motor on and off. Since the motor runs in one direction only, if you overshoot alignment of the track, you have to turn the engine all the way around and try again. But the instructions say that with a little practice, you will learn to align the track accurately by moving the switch off and on rapidly."

  The switch on mine  is a double throw switch allowing it

to go forwards or in reverse.

The brown battery box switch is just a on/off switch. For all the new parts that needed to be made for the turntable, you would have thought that Lionel could have at least wired in a simple reverse switch in the controller box.

So we have conflicting reports just in the responses so far. father.dragon are you the original owner of this turntable? If not, did you know the original owner? Were any modifications done to your turntable that would allow it to move in both directions?

Thank you all for your help.

quote:

I am the owner of Tandem Associates. We are receiving inquires concerning the accuracy of what we have written about this turntable. This is why I posted here in the hope that knowledgeable collectors could offer proof of the original configuration of the No. 375.

I got out my original, new old stock controller for the 375 turntable and tested it. I purchased it from Madison Hardware (NYC) along with a couple of other parts to complete my 375 turntable outfit quite a few years ago.

My controller has a DPDT slide switch wired to reverse the turntable. It would definitely turn in both directions.

CW, it is a center off 3 position switch? And it shows no sign of tampering? Wonder if Madison modified them.

Yes, it is center off. It has not been modified. I doubt Madison Hardware would have wasted their time. (low demand part)

I do not see where original Lionel instructions  say anything about the turntable only rotating on one direction.

quote:

The movement of the turntable is controlled by the slide switch on the controller. With a little practice you will learn how to control it very accurately, by moving the switch off and on rapidly.

Chuck: Have you had controllers with just a simple on-off switch?

I have long suspected that the controller was something out of one of their science kits, but I have not determined whether that is so.

It looks like I eat crow..... After looking a some photos of the controller, it does appear to be a DPDT slide switch.

Speaking of Madison Hardware modifications:

One item they had for quite a while in the 1970's were Semaphore tops mounted on LTC lockon bases to make an illuminated, but non-operational dwarf signal.

I never purchased one, but kind of wish I had.

Anybody have one?

How were they put together?

The consensus seems to be that the switch that was installed was a DPDT center off that allowed the turntable to move in either direction. This is not the first time that we've found out the Greenberg books to have been in error.

Thanks to all of you for you insights.

Yes, there are errors in the Greenberg books. Some time back, didn't we read that some of those errors are intentional, designed to catch plagiarism? Or was that a different publisher?

Yes, but that involved a different author than Alan Stewart who wrote volume VI: Accessories. I find it really hard to believe that they would state, "But the instructions say that with a little practice, you will learn to align the track accurately by moving the switch off and on rapidly" intentionally because this involves quoting what Lionel said in "the instructions."

I simply can't understand why this error occurred.

All of Bruce Greenberg's books are proof read by many. All information contained in these publications is known to be accurate to the best of their knowledge. A form is included inside each book at the time of printing. If an error is found, make note of it and any others using this form. Complete and mail to the address on the form. Doing so will help the editorial staff make corrections in future editions.

God's Blessings,

"Pappy"                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

  This quote is also used in the 350 transfer table instructions.

That can't be. How would the transfer table motor ever be designed, or contemplated, to run in one direction only?

Examine the Greenberg quotation carefully.

There is no claim that the first two sentences are from the Lionel instructions:

quote:

"The controller is a combination slide switch and battery box that turns the motor on and off. Since the motor runs in one direction only, if you overshoot alignment of the track, you have to turn the engine all the way around and try again.

The last sentence paraphrases the instructions It carries no quotation marks:

quote:

But the instructions say that with a little practice, you will learn to align the track accurately by moving the switch off and on rapidly.

OK... had to go back a few posts to get the context I guess... this:

 Should have been this, then:

I did run into one error in the Greenberg repair manual.  The wiring diagram for the 334 dispatch board is wrong.   So I guess it is possible that it's wrong in other places.

I came across this video on YouTube showcasing various Pre- and Postwar trains and accessories.  I've embedded the video below; the 375 turntable in action starts at about the 8 minute mark.  If the video is correct and assuming the turntable and controller are completely stock, then the turntable can indeed turn in both directions:

^8:00 mark for the turntable. Sorry, It didnt start there for me..

The Tandem Associates web site says it rotates in both directions

To be clear, I didn't embed the video to start at the 8 minute mark, I stated that the turntable segment starts at the 8 minute mark of the video.

My grandfather purchased this accessory brand new when it was made, but never had the space to use it, so it was mint-in-the-box until I set it up on our layout in the early nineties.  Yes, the battery box has a DPDT switch on it to reverse polarity to the DC motor.  The instructions indicated that you index it by moving the switch back and forth to line up the rails.

I decided to use a HO power pack and a DPDT toggle switch and a push button to operate it.  The push button is easier to use.