Atlas HO 9 Inch Turntable

[jbwilcox]

I am planning to use two of these turntables on my layout.

Will they handle the On30 Shay?

Anyone have a picture of what they look like?

Thanks

[Hunt]

Q: Will they handle the On30 Shay?
A: Yes

Q: Anyone have a picture of what they look like?
A: Yes - Click Here

[jbwilcox]

One of those pictures showed a 2-6-0 on a turntable with room to spare. 

Is that a picture of the Atlas 9 Inch turntable?

If so, will a bachmann 4-6-0 also fit on it?

That would solve a lot of problems for if it will fit.

[railexpert]

Hello,

The longest locomotive I have is the 4-6-0 Baldwin. She is longer than the 2-6-6-2 articulated.
The 4-6-0 is 13,500" long with tender. Wheelbase from the 1st to the last wheel is 11,500".

Importand for the turntable size is the wheelbase.

For a 4-6-0 is a 9" turntable to short.

Look at the 12" On30 turntable from Peco.
http://www.peco-uk.com/product.asp?strParents=3309,3316&CAT_ID=3320&P_ID=17219

There are also other HO Products with 12" for kitbashing.


Railexpert

[hminky]

Sorry, the Atlas turntable is awful.

Bought one 40 years ago.

Because of it's mechanism the turntable jerks from position to position.

The powering mechanism's motor has to run at such a high rate it roars.

Can't believe they still sell the piece of crap.

The PECO On30 one is better. It works and can be enhanced:

Here is the OO/HO version as a gallows done by the late Paul Templar.



Harold

[Len]

The newer Atlas turntables have more positions than the old one, and use a belt drive that's much quieter than the original gear drive. They can also be used under the table to drive, and index, a bigger turntable built into the top of the layout. Something similar to the 'bridge' on the turntables in the top row of pictures Hunt pointed to is used to make the connection. Power feeds can be soldered to the Atlas turntable rails to feed the bigger turntable up top.

Len

[jbwilcox]

Len,

I do not quite understand what you are talking about.

Could you give some additional details and also a picture?

John

[Len]

Here's a quick and dirty diagram of what I did:



The exact structure between the Atlas TT underneath and the large TT on top will vary depending on the TT used on top. But this gives the general idea. The trick is to make sure everything, top and bottom, is level and in the same plane.

Len

[p51]

The On30 ten-wheeler wouldn't possibly fit on the Atlas HO turntable. With an overall wheelbase of 12", it'll barely it on the Peco On30 one. I have two of the Peco ones and with the drawbar set for the tight (20") curve on one portion of my layout, it's probably a couple of scale inches from the outer wheel falling off either end. When I pull one of my four ten-wheelers onto one of the Peco tables, I spend more than a few seconds getting I exactly balanced, as the clearance is that close.
I know several guys who have used the Atlas HO table for a pivot point and contacts to be passed up through a fake floor to a turntable bridge over top of the entire structure. One guy removed the gearing that made it stop at every compass point.