A turntable in fiddle yard - Dapol kit or homemade?

[Simon_100]

Thanks Simon looks like a good project. Should keep you occupied.

Time on my hands ...

BTW the diameter is 25 cms, plenty of room for my small tender engines.

PS it looks cheaper in Amazon UK although mine came with prime free delivery which evens out in the end:!

[Simon_100]

Thanks Simon looks like a good project. Should keep you occupied.

Well some progress, I'm hoping to finish the baseboards tomorrow - part of my problem is the persistent fantastic weather we're having down here! - and the last art of that job is to make and fit the turntable ...

Meanwhile I've been thinking through the wiring. My idea is to use the 'stops' that hold the platter into position against the relevant roads in the yard to make the connection using the slide bolt as the conductor. I've got lots and lots of bolts left over from other projects but precious few latches, and in any event I think they would be too big to allow for the space between the tracks, so I've thought of using end connectors to act as latches. I'd hoped that the bolts would fit into the connectors but that is too optimistic - maybe there's a bigger size - but for now I'm wondering whether the elctrical connection will be reliable just relying on the pressure of the bolt in its catch to push again the brass lining of the end connection?

Never a better example of a picture saying a thousand words ...



Any thoughts? It's a tempting solution as it would also deal with the polarity issue if the locomotive is turned, as there would be another bolt on the other side, each connecting t the + and - curent from the 'live' rails in the fiddle yard.

[Simon_100]

Well it's been a long time coming ...

The physical turntable is now done and I'm starting on the wiring over the weekend and at the same time laying the fiddle yard tracks and wiring that - a giant step for me!

Back to the turntable, with aplologies for possibly trying to teach grannies to suck eggs I'm detailing my construction, partly because although I'm handy around the house this is the first bit of actualy railway modelling* I've done in about fifty years!

So, there are four elements: the turntable itself, the deck or platter, the baseplate and spacers plus the nuts and bolts to hold it all together:



The first issue was marking a centre on the deck after tracing out the circumference on the baseboard and then cutting it out, the crosshairs used to find the centre serve as guides for laying the track and locating the bolts that will align the TT to the tracks:



Once cut the turntable was a snug fit - too snug in fact as this stopped it from turning freely, especially when the deck was atached - so more work with the saw to enlarge the hole ...



The turntable comprises two hard plastic discs fitted together with ballbearings in a race indie to make a smooth turn. Each disc has three lugs for attaching, one side is countersunk. I fitted the bolts in these prior to attaching the upper side of the TT to the deck with self tapping wood screws. I hindsight I should have either secured these nuts with Araldite or similar or used the countersunk side for the wood screws and used flat headed bolts on the basplate side and secured these both sides with locknuts. As it happend the bolts fit though a very tight fit in the baseplate that they don't 'slip' when being bolted up tight.



Off for a tea break now ...

* I've also built the station buildings, etc. from Metcalfe kits, not sure if that counts

[Simon_100]

That done, it's time to secure the lower disk to the baseplate. This is a spare piece of plywood I had in the sore and isnot quite as wide as the TT, but is wide enough for the bolts to fit. The deck is the same depth as the baseboard of course but spacers are needed to allow for the depth of the TT. Luckily this was the same as spare pieces of green HDF I also had in the store.



Fitting this involved turning the baseboard upside down, placing the spacers on either side, inserting the TT attached to the baseplate, making sure that the TT moves freely and then drilling four holes through the baseplate, spacers and baseboard to finally secure all together - well that was the idea ...



... Sod's law, after all that careful measureing, drilling insersion of bolts and tightening the TT was off centre in its hole and scuffed one side as it moved, so all came apart again - not for the last time! - and the hole sawn out a bit more. Mustn't grumble department; as Polly pointed out it will allow for any expansion in the MDF in humid weather ...



... the next stage was when with it all done I realised that the deck wasn't level with the baseboard's surface, but was 2 mm proud of it. So a rummage through my ever generous store to find four washers with 2 mm depth, sorted ...



The next phase will be wring the brute with reverse polarity

[Steve M]

Nicely done.
It's good to see the step by step process - it encourages others to try. Nothing worse in my opinion, than a picture of a finished project that leaves me wondering how it was achieved.

[Simon_100]

Nicely done.
It's good to see the step by step process - it encourages others to try. Nothing worse in my opinion, than a picture of a finished project that leaves me wondering how it was achieved.

Thank you Steve, that's very kind As I said, I'm conscious of being a rank beginner among a cohort of experts ...

[Simon_100]

Well, that the trackwork laid in the fiddle yard! It's taken three elapsed days and probably about eight hours, such is my innocence - of maybe 'was' by now - I had lot to learn about track laying made much more easy thanks to Brain's book!

The most difficult task was lining up the roads to meet the TT at right angles, especially as I'd dismissed the track seta curves as a gimming for greenhorns - yes, yes, I know ...

A few pictures will save a thousand words:


I soon realised that the way forward was to align the roads up with a bolt on just one side, then do the other one once eveything was done. I used tiny bulldog clips to keep tracks aligned while I was bashing around with track pins - Gaugemaster as I've found that Peco ones are pants!



Working back from the far side as I couldn't rwadily access the other side in my basement. Thie firt track to line up had the most lessons - thanks Brain for the map pins hint to hold tracks in place ...



The more I worked tha more tools apeared on the scene to solve problems as theya rose. Luckily I'd decied to work at home rather than on the eventual location of the layout. The next stage of tracklaying, the station, will have to be on site so at least I have a fighting chance of having the roght materials to hand - maybe!



Finally a general view of the fiddle yard with the central tracks missing as the baseboard will have to be split before removal and reassembly.

Now just the wiring ...

[Simon_100]

Now just the wiring ...

... but before that a review of the TT design:



I had decided to make my own 'gates' for the bolts to latch into by simply placing wood scrwss tighly om each side of the sliding bolt. But it proved difficult to secure the deck alighmnet while i did this so went back to Plan A. One problem with that was the latch plates touching which would be a problem as the power for the dech track is going to be delivered via these. I solved the frist one with a bit of insulating tape. If I started again I'd do one with the latch and then carry on with the wood screws, before finally replacing the first one - I might still do that!



But also realised that if I fixed the latch before laying the track the deck woulnt keep moving whie I was trying to align the track - what a munchkin!

So, does it work? Well mostly. There's a slight movement in the deck meaning that although the rails line up there's a slight uplift omn on side. This may have beena resuly of me having to replace the deck track as I'd cut it too short. I'd fitted it in advance as I didn't want to bash the plastic turntable mechanism while happering the pins home as it's a bit flimsy. But now having done this after all I'll have to learn to live with it. My testing with a wagon results in some derailment and I guess it could be a problem with locos with pony trucks - my favourites so I have several! - I can solve it simply by pressing on the deck as the train enters it but how long I can live with that will have to wait and see. I'm going to locate a specific controller for this enf of the fiddle yard so I'll be there and will have to fiddle - sorry! - with the TT to turn engines around anyway so I'm hoping it will be OK. Otherwise the best fix will probably mean going back and buying a Peco unit and fit that, but I'd then loose two roads that run alongside my small turntable - life's a bitch as they say