Turntable

Depends on your desire to maintain a budget or strive for realism.  Others can probably speak to Atlas O's turntable operation but to me its not very realistic being flat with the tabletop surface.  Altho there were shallow pit turntables out there.   Then there are Ross Custom Switches' and Millhouse River Studios - more realistic but alot more $...quality products for sure from what i have read.  Info is available on their websites. I currently have a Ross 24" on order but have not had any personal operating experience with any of them.

I have a Millhouse 34"...Its pretty impressive I have no experience with any other ones

Great Question, I noticed you haven’t filled out the OGR Profile Questions so therefore we do not know what area of the country you reside in, so that being said, Do you plan to attend York this coming April? There are many nice turntables on the market, we just need to know what size of empire you plan to build. Also, 3 rail, or 2 rail? Both Ross and Millhouse River Studios make different size turntables. The Millhouse is not as deep as the Ross model. Also the Millhouse is made of hi grade aluminum, the Ross model is all wood. I have many friends with the Millhouse versions. Another Question, will you be using any particular Command Control system? My thinking is the Atlas O model is designed for switch engines, small steam, but Ross and Millhouse are designed for all engines and even large steam. If per-chance you live near the Nashville area, we could show you some nice layouts with turntables and roundhouses and demonstrate them for you. Great question, Happy Railroading Everyone…..

Perfectly happy with the atlas. Works well and easy installation. If you get one search the threads on whisker tracks and operating switches

When I started into O gauge, I had mostly MTH Railking locos, started out with the Atlas, and we were happy with it. It performed well. I was into building a new layout every few years. Through tear down and rebuild, it became damaged, my fault, and over time I expanded into Premier, and larger locos. Being only 24 inches, the Atlas was too small to handle longer locos, and also didn’t do well with heavy engines near the max 24 inches.

We now have the Millhouse turntable and I cannot say enough positive about both the quality and performance of the Millhouse product. It performs flawlessly. Even being a dinosaur, I’m able to handle it easily. Then there is technical support. Alan (company owner) is always happy to answer any question. And he talks real speak, easily helping through any problems. Questions? Call Millhouse, email Millhouse, and Alan gets back to you in short order. Five star product, 5 star service.

Your choice should be made on budget, of course, but I can’t say enough about the Millhouse product.

I have two Atlas turntables.  1 is the original version.  It is NOT good.  You will have issues with the drive band and heavy locos will "tip" the table getting on/off.

I purchased the UPDATED/IMPROVED Atlas turntable.  They GREATLY IMPROVED the support and drive band issues--finally.  It is functional.  Mine is literally surrounded by whisker tracks.  We needed it for function (actually both turntables are in "hidden" areas) and are for operational purposes only.

As written above, if you are going for realism, superior detail, high-quality, etc., this AIN'T it!  LOL 
My wife, Connie, did weather the TTs which dramatically improved their appearance.

OTHER ISSUE: it is ONLY 24 inches long which isn't terribly long for O scale.  We have a MTH Premier 4-8-4 and the front wheels of the loco and the rear wheels of the tender, by a millimeter or two, will "fit" onto the turntable.  It is a challenge and pain in the rumpus to ensure it is on perfectly.

The bottom line is what you need it for???  And if you are going to get large steam engines, I would absolutely recommend getting a turntable at least 33 inches long.  If you are storing primarily diesels like me, and you need somewhere to store diesels out of the way, in "hidden" places, the Atlas (newer version) will function just fine.

If I purchased one as part of our visible layout, I'd buy Ross, because of the Owner Steve B.  He is honorable, has integrity and stands firmly behind his products.  He produces the Rolls Royce of switches for us in O scale!  He makes a quality product.  I have complete confidence and faith in Steve and his products.

While some of the TT's out there are absolutely beautiful, cost and size were my reasons for choosing Atlas.    You could buy the Atlas TT and still have a lot of money left in your pocket for other train things.

We generally use it just to park engines.  If I need to turn stuff around, I have a Y.  I have one whisker that is straight across from the entry track, so I can park an engine longer than the TT itself.  Sometimes we park a RR Big Boy with Oil tender in that spot.  These pics show the Premier Reading T1.

I also modified the arch and raised it so my GG-1's could go underneath with the pantographs up.

If I ever build another layout, I will forego the TT and make better use of the real estate.

Atlas turntable has been available for some time.  Price is what most are willing to pay.  Was designed to match Atlas engine house, at the time.  Bowser, Korber, Mill River Studio's, Diamond Scale, etc.,  component/TT's  tend to be a different angle.   Have fun with your layout.    Mike CT.

Lou T.

As others have mentioned, I know budgets are one of the factors in deciding on a turntable.  We do make turntables in the same size as the Atlas 24” all the way up to our largest. 34” which accommodates all the largest steam engines out there. I don’t know if you have watched Eric Siegel‘s train page, but he had a Atlas 24” and eventually replaced it with one of ours. He did several videos showing the process, which we have on our turntable page. One thing I will point out is that our turntables are built with aluminum, come with brass detail parts and have an industrial drivetrain and state of the art auto indexing system allowing you to place your whisker tracks anywhere you wish around the turntable, not just pre determined stops. So it conforms to your track plan and not the other way around. I will say this, our turntable is made to last a lifetime and it may cost more than an Atlas , but myself also being in the hobby, I realize how many engines we purchase and the cost associated with that. There is no better way to store engines on a layout with quick access to run them in a relatively “small area. Feel free to contact me if you have questions. Have a great day everyone!

I don't have a turntable on my layout but I have seen the Millhouse and Ross ones, and they are really solid units, very realistic, but they are pricey. Atlas turntables don't look all that realistic, but they also are a fraction of the price. Atlas is 24", which for conventional/semi scale units is fine, it may be too short for a lot of scale equipment (my one really scale steamer, a Williams Brass hudson from the 90's, might barely fit).

One question is how much space do you have for a turntable (and if you want it, a roundhouse? Turntables take up a lot of real estate, with tracks out of it, and even coming into it plus of course a roundhouse, it is something to think about. Also of course what kind of equipment do you have? If you have scale steamers (and even diesels), a 24" TT likely may be too small.

Have you considered building a TT ?  Building the TT was the most fun part of my layout.  A TT can be built of any size and remote operated and made as detailed as wanted.

Mine is operated by the red knob and use of a clothes dryer belt but an junk electric drill or screw driver motor can be used.

Complete details on Pg 1, post 9 at

https://ogrforum.com/...3#170922644668357513

Charlie

@Choo Choo Charlie posted:

Have you considered building a TT ?  Building the TT was the most fun part of my layout.  A TT can be built of any size and remote operated and made as detailed as wanted.

Mine is operated by the red knob and use of a clothes dryer belt but an junk electric drill or screw driver motor can be used.

Complete details on Pg 1, post 9 at

https://ogrforum.com/...3#170922644668357513

Charlie

nice!

Thank you to everyone for your thoughts -greatly appreciated. Lou