Two questions about wind turbines???

This picture should give you some perspective regarding size. I purchased my new in the box single turbine from an eBay seller.

Wish y'd asked 2 or so weeks ago.  I had them for sale here for 55.

I have three of the K-Line, which seem very close to the Lionel model.  The motor housing in particular is very out of scale, actually quite massive, but necessary to fit the motor and drive train.  These seem to be a big hit with visitors to the layout.

Stack

Technically, they're too short. There was a fellow here a year or so ago that used PVC tubing to extend to the protypical height.

Mine is interlocked with a Lionel smoking Smoke Stack. When the turbine turns, the stack smokes. I need to add an Atlas (Walthers) oil pump to complete the scene.

Gilly

We do a lot of windturbine projects where I work.

The wind turbine itself is pretty much scale: they come in all sizes but scale size would be realistic.

The tower (round "pipe" holding it up into the air) is too short - it ought to be about half again as long. 

A scale wind turbine in 1/48 scale would not fit in your basement even if it was mounted on the floor

Wind turbines come in all sizes.  The largest are, as stated, too big for your basement.  The smallest have blades no bigger than a normal person is tall, so are much smaller.  The Lionel one, at scale, would be a rather modest capacity, around 100- 150 kW.  It would slot in between the two wind turbines offered by this company (I know little about them they just came up first when I googled 150 kW wind turbine).  Note the larger looks almost exactly like the Lionel one. 

http://www.powerworks.com/250kw_wind_turbine.aspx

The wind turbines that most people notice on top of mountain ranges have individual blades with lengths of 130 feet and more. So the Lionel verson is way undersize. Here is a pic of a train load of blades that was posted on the mid week photo thread yesterday.

Very impressive, to say the least! One plant that makes the blades is located in Dansville, NY, on the site of the old Foster-Wheeler plant. Do a Google map search,and you might find an overhead shot with blades loaded on flatcars.

All that being said, the turbines do fit well in the background of a layout. And their ratation speed is realistic. The following shot is of the Lehigh Valley Hi Railers wind farm module on display in Reading this past fall.

Chris

LVHR

Great pix - thanks!

Most people see wind turbines at a distance and have no idea how big they are. A bunch are located on a mountaintop nearby. A few are accessible. Gazing up from the base, a person feels like an ant.

Each blade is about the length of a Big Boy (132 feet). The mast is much higher. It's as though some 135' turntables are placed end to end vertically and the roundhouse (also vertical) soars above them.

There are small wind turbines, as Lee Willis posted, but larger ones built to scale dominate a layout. That doesn't look right because people are used to seeing them way in the distance.

In a wide-angle photo, a Big Boy at the base of a big wind turbine would look small, too.

some wind turbines dimensions;

http://www.efsec.wa.gov/wildho...ine%20dimensions.pdf