Heljan turntable

[Paul M.]

Does anybody out there have any expeirience with the Heljan turntable?
I'm considering getting one for my layout.
Here's why:

It's an attractive model, and an even better price:
$25

It's long, but not too long. It's 98 scale feet long.



I know it says it's manual, but is it pretty easy to wire?

[oldline1]

I have used these before and they work fairly well. I have also converted their N scale table to HO use and it's identical in construction & materials. I needed a shorter table for my HO shortline. The ones I used were easy to assemble and install and worked better than most of the lower priced turntables I've seen.

The disadvantages to this one are the pit is not as sturdy as it should be and can flex up and down some. The bearings are very sensitive to any dirt, scenery pieces or ballast that may get in them. You have to line up the table by eye which can be hard if the stalls aren't in clear line of sight.

The advantages are cost, ease of installation and use, nice details and the simple wiring.

The motorizing drive kit was available through Walthers and Con Cor and shows up on ebay often.

Personally, I would spend the extra money and go for the new Walthers powered/assembled  turntables. They retail for $299 but I've bought several in the last few months on ebay for $199. They are the best on the market and work great. They are assembled, lightly weathered, accurate and have the ability to align and memorized each position. Well worth the extra cost for the reliability alone.

A turntable is a moving structure and if it doesn't work reliably each time it can become a source of annoyance real fast!

Hope this helps!
Roger

[Bill Baker]

Paul,

I had one at one time and I would classify it as being fair.  The pit is entirely plastic, and Roger hit the nail on the head, it does flex.  If I remember the pit rails were plastic too and it did not operate very well.  Mine was motorized and it jerked quite often and at times would get in a bind and not even turn.  There is no indexing.  In other words you have to align the track and table visually and that makes for frequent derailments.  However, it does look nice and for $25.00 would be a good buy.

Bill

[r.cprmier]

Roger;
I'm with you:  The higher the quality, the more attractive it becomes.  I have seen tables run smooooooooooth, and have seem them run like....(you add your own expletive).

This year at the Prototype meet in canton, Ct; someone had a PRR style table and lit, and this was a gem!  Not only did it look good, but it ran like a Swiss watch!.

As far as alignment, I still favour the pursuit of an indexing type system with adjustable stops that owuld allow the mechanism to stop at the right time.

Rich

[SteamGene]

A 98 foot turntable won't spin anything longer than a USRA light Mike, I believe.  And that's with the as-delivered tender.
Gene

[Jake]

If I'm not too late, might I suggest checking out a CMR turntable? You can find them at www.cmrtrain.com, go to buildings & kits and click on the turntable thumbnail on the left

[ivaraas]

If it is the New Heljan turntable, it's the same as Walthers. Heljan make them for Walthers.
I have the 130' TT, and love it. Indexing and automatic changeing of polarity.

Ivar

in Norway

[Paul M.]

Ivar,It's not the new one, it's the unmotored kit.

Gene, my Spectrum Light 4-8-2 would fit on it.

Jake, I'll check out CMR.


Thanks, y'all!

[Paul M.]

If it is the New Heljan turntable, it's the same as Walthers. Heljan make them for Walthers.
I have the 130' TT, and love it. Indexing and automatic changeing of polarity.

Ivar

in Norway

I'm thinking about the Walthers 90' one.

But right now the 130- footer is cheaper than the 90-footer. 

[Jake]

Ivar,It's not the new one, it's the unmotored kit.

Gene, my Spectrum Light 4-8-2 would fit on it.
Jake, I'll check out CMR.


Thanks, y'all!

I'd doubt it. The spectrum 4-8-2's are 105 1/8 scale feet long. Well at least the Heavy 4-8-2 with vandy tender. But that should provide an accurate measurement...

[Paul M.]

Jake,
I double-checked my scale rule, and the Light 4-8-2 is about 92 scale feet long. I think the Vandy tender is longer than the Medium tender that came with my mountain.

[Jake]

Hmm. That would mean your Light Mtn. is about 2 inches shorther than my Heavy Mtn. or about 12.7 inches long... Then you are probably right about the Vandy vs. USRA tender lengths. My bad. 

[SteamGene]

The C&O 16 thousand gallon Vanderbilt tender has six wheel trucks.  I'm not sure how long it actually is as I'm not going to go out to the barn in 98 degrees just to measure it, but it's a good third longer than the USRA heavy tender.
Gene

[Jake]

^Just  measured it. It is 7" from the front edge to the end of the trip pin.

[SteamGene]

That makes it 50'9" long.
Gene