Turn Table Installation

This Korber Models page has a lot of detailed information on the 304 house. The 304 house is 30" deep, there are templates.  I have an older Diamond Scale TT that is 27" diameter.   Distance from the edge of the Turntable pit to the RH door is 12"  Note that the spur tracks inside the house are not center in each bay.  The Korber houses were designed for a 32" Bowser turntable.

 

Turntable and house layout takes approximately 7ft (blue cloud wall to the back of the house), X 5 ft as pictured. One additional stall was added to the 304 house.

 

Mike,

 

Thanks for the great pictures. I am / have designed a few different layouts that will work in my basement.I decided to start with the turntable area first. Your pictures are very helpful.

 

Thanks

Mike,

 

Thanks for the link to Korber, great page and I think that I will make that my next purchase. The documentation and diagram will help a lot. The Millhouse River Table is the one I purchased. I can shorten the track as needed.

 

Kevin

These tracks are 13" from the pit to the stall doors. We would rather have longer tracks, but space limitations prevented pushing the RH back further.

Thanks. This is great information. I am starting with the TT and will build out from there. I was considering 12 inches. Seems like that makes sense.

 

BTW, great video on the couplers

 

Thanks

Both Rich Redmond, Korber Models, and Al Zamorski, Mill House River Studios, are excellent.  There is additional information on the Korber 304 about floor layout and installation, fabricated roof, gutters and downspouts.

Note:  Smaller TT tends to limit the size of locomotives, but Korber, beyond the 30" length of each bay, does an extender kit, for the 304 house.  This is a picture of the Fort Pitt High Railer's modular RH with one additional bay and the extender kit.  Roof sections, as pictured, are fabricated, not part of the kit(s).

Best wishes with your project.

Both vendors are forum sponsors

 Mike CT

Twenty-one tracks off this one.

 

 

That is such a mind blowing scene!  I never get tired of seeing that...great modeling!

With all of this great information and pictures of other Turntable scenes I am in heaven. Lots of options and I appreciate all the input and advise. 

 

Thanks,

 

Kevin 

 

A lot of good information here.  I'm at a similar point and had some of the same questions.

Laidoffsick and Mike,

 

Would you both mind posting a few additional pictures. Would like to get a little more perspective.

 

Thanks

 

Mike,

 

Is your turntable a stand alone model? From the pictures, you can tell the you put a ton of time on the facia boards - Is that oak or pine? Adds quite a bit of "curb appeal."

Passenger Train Collector - what model / manufacturers' round house did you use? Looks outstanding

Laidoffsick,

 

Do you have a track layout that you could share? Watched Video 6- great stuff

 

You may find this video helpful from Ericstrains.

How to install a Millhouse River Studio 24” Turntable.

A public video on YT.

Trainroomgary,

 

Thanks. Going to watch it now.

 

Click on the triangle to access a video.

Tanks Mike for all the help

 You're welcome   Have fun with your project.  Enjoy the Easter Holiday. 

Mike CT

Mike and Forum members, 

 

One other question, I am starting to build the bench work, when I get a et a few free moments, Should I use 1/2 or 3/4 plywood for the tabletop. My last layout was a "U" Shaped layout that stretch both sides of my basement, the "U" was because I needed to account for the stairs because I had to climb on it in spots I used 3/4. I am moving the location where I can use 10 * 24 , open and easy to walk around. I will build a few hatches for access. at $50.00 a board for 3/4 inch it is a couple of hundred bucks - but the issue becomes mobility- I want to try to make this a module type of layout and am concerned about the weight so is 1/2 fine?

 

Kevin

Do you have your Whisker tracks on toggle switches?

We have all 15 whisker tracks on toggles. On/Off, SPST mini toggles from LED-switch.com

I think our track plan is in Video Update #1 or 2. I'm currently at work and just read your request for more pix, so I will post them later when I get home.

Laidoffsick,

 

Thanks, I am trying to get a good look at what people have done. Great work by so many modelers who have been extremely helpful. This is a challenge for me since I have never owned one so I am doing a lot of research before I start this construction.

 

Appreciate the assistance from everyone.

The framing pictured, (16" on center), is premium grade white fir 2" X 4"   

I used an interest top material 1/2" MDO board.  Medium Density Overlay.  It is an exterior grade material used mostly for painted sign construction.  It has a wonderful smooth, paintable, surface that is easy to work with.   Quality grade 1/2" A/C plywood is also an excellent choice.  (A) grade surface would be used for the layout  (C) surface is underneath.

The construction easily supports weight.   Note the extensive framing and double framing.

Trim was done with custom fit clear red oak trim board, top edge was done with an OG router.

  Mike CT

Mike,

 

Thanks, I was leaning towards 1/2 inch because I was using 2 by 4 everywhere else.

 

I have tried 1 by 3 for a friend as was impressed but his is a simple 9 * 16 layout from a book with very simple layout. Good as a starter.

 

K

 Although space was not a huge issue for me. I based my plans on being 16" between the TT pit and the roundhouse doors. I went with a custom built roundhouse. The only thing I specified was I wanted the tracks to run perfectly straight from the bridge to the doors. I have a Millhouse 28" TT. I would have preferred a greater distance but it ended up being 8  1/2 "s from the pit to the doors. If space becomes an issue it can be done. 

 

 

 

 

 The next pic is all I have of the track layout in the roundhouse. If you check out Mike's Korber and mine. You can see the difference in track space. Mike seems to have a lot more floor space. If space becomes an issue. You don't have to limit yourself to stock kits. I believe Altoona Modelworks will custom cut a floor and walls to your specs.

 

 

Track Plan: it was changed where the diesel building is, but everything else is the same. The TT was moved closer to the front of the layout to make room for the RH extension and the reverse loop track behind it. There is also 4 tracks on each side, outside the RH.

 

 

We left a very large space in the bench work to adjust once we knew "exactly" where the TT was going to go. Once the hole was cut, we adjusted the support.

 

 

One of the bottom level reverse loops runs around the TT, so we had to make sure everything cleared the TT structure itself, below the middle level.

 

 

TT & RH were spaced out..... then we remembered we forgot the reverse loop

 

 

Put the reverse loop in temporarily to we could check clearances again.

 

 

TT bolted in and leveled out.

 

 

I don't know why this picture makes the tracks look bowed, but everything is level. Access holes on each side to work on the RH. Notice the outer tracks at a curve. This is where longer tracks leading into the RH would of been better, but 13" is all we had. In a perfect world, all those tracks go straight.

 

 

2 layer plywood floor goes in:

 

 

Once all work on the RH was complete, the access were filled in permanently. I would have liked to keep them as hatches, but there was no way I could of made look right. I'm too anal where that is concerned. So now, I have to crawl up there when there is a problem.... but it will hold me

 

Dave,

 

Thanks for the information on the RH. I have not decided which one to purchase yet.

Laidoffsick,

 

Thanks for the great pictures.

 

Kevin

Laidoffsick,

 

DId you use RR Track to design the layout?I just got it- Great software.

 One more time.

You can do a high impact, complete, layout 13' X 6'.  The Fort Pitt High-railer's TT/RH modules.  "T" module is 6'X5', Turntable module is 4'X4' and the 304 Korber house module is 4'X4'.  (14) storage tracks including the RH.

Distance between turntable and roundhouse is a function of how much space you have and how big are the engines you will be storing there. There is no exact rule here

Yes I used RR Tracks.

Space between the TT and RH also determine whether or not the tracks going into the RH are straight, or how much they will be curved. The further away the RH, the straighter the tracks can be.

The Korber 304 house was designed with, I think??, 11 degree increments. This worked well with the 32" Bowser TT, at the time.   There was an optimum distance that allowed for the "ROUND" Complete Circle House.

Using spacing of 16.17" (16 3/16") inches between the turntable and the roundhouse allows for the use of straight track to the back center of each stall.

From the Korber website a link to archived Bowser spacing details.

There is a diagram of a 15 stall Korber 304 with each straight track centered in each bay. 16.17" spacing off a 32" Bowser Turntable.  Last page of the Bowser detail.

Carnegie Science Center, Pittsburgh, PA.  10 stalls + 3 outside space-ings.

Mke, Laidoffsick and all those folks that have been providing details on how to build the most realistic diorama, this is great information and has given me quite bit to digest. I really appreciate the information. Plan - 28 Inch TT from Millhouse River then based on the comments I need to look at Kober and the others mentioned for a RH. 

 

 

I will be a York for the first time in 15 years so now I have a good idea of hat I need to do - i.e. look at RH's.

 

Should i have the RH before I set the whisker tracks? Is that needed or just make sure I have the schematic of the one I choose first?

 

Seems that the track length from the pit to the front door of the stall needs to be anywhere from 8 ~ 16 inches depending on space. 

 

Again, thanks for all the help.

 

Mike,

 

These pictures are great - gives me a new perspective. I was under the impression that I should have track running behind the RH. I guess that is all in the deign.

Steve,

 

Thanks for the added information on the track lengths. Very helpful and I am trying to digest all this great information.