P2 Locomotive Company and related matters

Do they balance?
I know that old time tables did, but the later ones, with power to the race wheels, are surely supported by them, and located by the centre pivot. Happy to be shot down on this, as it's a little discussed subject and every day should be a school day. BTW I think most of the Reichsbahn ones are electric, many with winches and snatch blocks for hauling dead engines.
Pat

 

Locally their is a one at Heaton, in Newcastle, that was used to turn HST and 91 powercars, was used by Bittern a while ago.

For turning their is always the King Edward Bridge triangle, or another just south at Norwood Junction.

 

Sorry it was only 42ft i use to work there.

 

That is a listed structure in that location.

There is a list all ready... http://www.tt.rhrp.org.uk/ts/tsearch.asp

 

Maybe the Cowans & Sheldon or Ransomes & Rapier archives hold the drawings for some of the 'modern' turntables?
Quoting from another site, : "The archive is held by the Cumbria County Council Archive department, and copies of the drawings can be purchased from them.

I had the following email details from the Cumbria CC regarding their web site:

“We can certainly make copies of the plans for you. Due to their size (generally A0) these would be copied digitally. Our digital copying charges are £40.00 for an A0 copy; £30.00 for A1; £20.00 for A2 and £5.50 for A3. Alternatively, you can purchase a digital camera licence (£5.00 per day) and photograph the plans yourself.”

“Further details about this service are on our web pages at http://www.cumbria.gov.uk/archives Please select the link ‘Research Service’ from the left hand side of the home page. It is also possible to view the catalogued part of the DB 40 collection through our on-line catalogue CASCAT; please select the link ‘Catalogues’.”

 

Senior moment. There were two from memory? Was the 42ft one that had the additional side column pieces to raise the cross rail clearance? I know there was a 60ft one somewhere.in the UK...I'll have think..thanks for putting me right..

 

Suspect that the turntable might not only be a turning apparatus but also replace the pointwork normally used to split the roads into a shed. Not going to see anything like the comings and goings normally associated with an MPD so might as well dual purpose it...

 

Irony of ironies, there was a small [not sure of it's size] 'table at the south end of [Darlington] Bank Top Station across the Down line from the bay platforms, until a couple of years ago. It had been disconnected and eventually removed and I believe it went to Kirby Stephen, with the pit being filled in.........

 

Until quite recently it was visible on Google Earth.

 

Installation of turntables: I saw the details when the 60ft table was installed at Rowsley. The centre bearing was a slice off a sphere, cast in bronze, so the whole table could tilt in a vertical plane if necessary. The perimeter track was set up with milimetric precision, which any good p.w. gang would be capable of doing, and the baseplates under the rail then had a mixture of industrial resin and granite chips, trade name Tecroc I think, cast underneath.

I think I am right in saying there were two basic types of table: one piece, where just about all the weight is on the centre, and articulated where there is a degree of flexibility and part of the load is carried on the end bogies. From memory the Rowsley table is now the second type.

From the shape of the pit, the original table may have been the first type, at any the middle was much deeper than the new deck required. The new centre support was made from a section of concrete sewer pipe, standing on end on top of the original foundation, and then filled with reinforced concrete.

 

Not a very suitable one as it is around 40ft. I think that's 30ft short of the target.

 

The Ransomes and Rapier archives were fairly "Maxwelled" when Cap'n Bob shut the place down in the late 1980's .
We do have R&R archives pertaining to Turntables at the Ipswich Transport Museum, as they have been of use earlier this year to the Rother Valley Railway for their ex Hither Green example. I believe the drawings all relate to an Egyptian Railways order though.

 

I sort of suspected it was that sort of size. Though would that be a problem, if they were able to extend it? Granted it would need a pair of 15 foot sections added to each end. Unlike the former Gateshead 'table, which had 5 foot added to each end for use at Scarborough............

 

I suspect that the cost of buying one from overseas, shipping it here and refurbishing it would be much the same as having a brand new one built from scratch, and the latter could be custom designed.
Intuitively, having the load spread between the centre pivot and wheels at both ends would seem to reduce the stresses, allowing a lighter and simpler structure.

 

It is in a place, that would see very little traffic, and nowhere near the shed entrance...

 

I thought that comment was about the potential Darlington turntable rather than the existing Heaton one.

 

It was, but thanks for the photo Guy...

 

Suspect isn't good enough! It is easy to talk onesself out of trying by not taking the trouble to find out! 25 years or so ago the LNERCA were told that it was impossible to get teak pabels for their Gresley coaches, or if it was possible they would be prohibitively expensive or if much lower quality than they were built with. We didn't listen to this advice from the armchair experts and ended up supplying panels for virtually every restored teak carriage in the country! The moral is: don't pull figures out of thin air, find out for real!

 

I'm not saying it's out of the question to locate a disused turntable somewhere in the world, have it shipped here and restore it to first class condition. That is of course a possibility. I'm only saying that I think a new build is likely to be easier, no more expensive, and potentially better because it would be custom designed.

 

There are 15 according to http://www.tt.rhrp.org.uk/ts/tsearch.asp