Turntables or Wyes?

[Kisatchie]

As everyone knows by now, I'm going to model 1971. Does anyone know if there were many turntables in operation then, or did most (all?) railroads use wyes to turn their engines and whatever?


Hmm... whatever...

[Bremner]

As everyone knows by now, I'm going to model 1971. Does anyone know if there were many turntables in operation then, or did most (all?) railroads use wyes to turn their engines and whatever?


Hmm... whatever...

well, Kis, I have some good news for you! The AT&SF loved their turn tables. The one in Bakersfield was scrapped in 1991, I saw one in Winslow, AZ in the 1990's, and I havs shot the one in Phoenix this year!

http://sopacincg.com/now-for-some-santa-fe-survivors/

I know that Amtrak used the old turn table near Union Station (LA) into the 1990's, if not later.

Most of the SP tables were gone by 1980

As for wyes, they have been in use for centurys! The Southern tended to rip up wyes after they deiselized, so it is a road by road list.

[conrail98]

BNSF still has one in Willmar, Mn., that looks like it's still used when I was out there this past summer.

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=willmar,+mn&hl=en&ll=45.124228,-95.03379&spn=0.001272,0.00284&sll=40.07304,-74.724323&sspn=5.649117,11.634521&hnear=Willmar,+Kandiyohi,+Minnesota&t=h&z=19

Phil

[nkalanaga]

The BN was still using theirs in Pasco, at the NP/SP&S roundhouse, in the 1970s.  By the mid 80s most of the roundhouse was gone.  A"current" Google Maps image shows only a faint trace of the floor left, and most of the radial tracks seem to be gone, but the turntable is still there, and apparently still in use!

[jagged ben]

There's still a BNSF turntable in Richmond CA.   I think it is still used.  Also still one in Dunsmuir CA, which I imagine is used only for turning snow removal equipment, if it is still used, which it may not be.  Dunsmuir is a good example of where the prototype wouldn't have had much space for a wye.

1971 would have been right in the middle of the time that railroads everywhere would have been deciding whether to keep using their old turntables or not.    So unless you want to be faithful to a specific prototype location, your options are wide open. 

A turntable takes up a lot less space on your model pike than a wye does, but is also more money than three turnouts and quite a bit more work to install and keep in good working condition.

[Ike the BN Freak]

The BNSF Parkwater yard still has a turntable, not sure how often they use it, but it's there.

[Chris333]

There are still turntables out there, but once the diesels took over I doubt you saw any brand new turntables being built.

[Kisatchie]

There are still turntables out there, but once the diesels took over I doubt you saw any brand new turntables being built.

Hmm... I could play
diesel Wheel of Fortune.
Spin the turntable and
see what diesel the track
lines up with...

[RWCJr]

I worked for the Santa Fe from 1972 1977, the turntables at Amarillo and Clovis were in operation. The one at Slaton, Texas was removed around 1976.

[LN2800]

Not sure which road you model, but in the recent past you have asked about Southern freight cars on more than one occasion. So I'm going to make a quick assumption and point out that the prolonged use of "high hoods" on the Southern came about specifically to circumvent a union agreement regarding the largest collective surface area of windshields facing the primary direction of travel. The Southern saved enough money from reduced layover time and hostler wages by avoiding having to turn locomotives to incur the extra expense to put high hoods on everything, even the GP38's they obtained in the N-S buyout, up until 1982. So it would follow that you shouldn't be worried about turning your motive power if you're modeling a road that more or less viewed its diesels as bi-directional.

[Frisco Larry]

The Wabash/N&W/NS turntable at Kansas City was used to turn the N&W 611 in 1985.  The 1218 would not fit when it came to KC in 1987 and had to be wyed.   The story I heard, was that the turntable was supposed to be used when the 611 returned in 1988, but something on it broke, so the 611 had to be wyed, and supposedly the turntable is still in place, but nonfunctional.

The Frisco/BN turtable at Fort Scott KS was not removed until about 1988.

I remember that I found a RI/Kyle turntable still in place in 1982 somewhere in NW Kansas (can't remember what town).

[jagged ben]

Not sure which road you model, but in the recent past you have asked about Southern freight cars on more than one occasion. So I'm going to make a quick assumption and point out that the prolonged use of "high hoods" on the Southern came about specifically to circumvent a union agreement regarding the largest collective surface area of windshields facing the primary direction of travel. The Southern saved enough money from reduced layover time and hostler wages by avoiding having to turn locomotives to incur the extra expense to put high hoods on everything, even the GP38's they obtained in the N-S buyout, up until 1982. So it would follow that you shouldn't be worried about turning your motive power if you're modeling a road that more or less viewed its diesels as bi-directional.

I never understood the Southern high hood thing.  Thanks for explaining.

[Frisco Larry]

Something of interest going on here, Topeka KS.  The Kansas Dept. of Transportation is working on plans to realign/rebuild a stretch of I-70 downtown.  A portion of this includes a bridge over an abandoned MoPac line.  A short piece of this line is now only in use as part of a Wye used by BNSF (ATSF) to turn locos and the business car fleet, which is based here.  KDOT wants to get rid of the bridge (earth fill is a lot cheaper than a new bridge).  Thus, KDOT is negotiating with BNSF to replace the Wye with a turntable.  Supposedly BNSF is agreeable, but all of the contracts are still being studied and negotiated.  If it does happen, around 2015, I would wager it will be the first RR turntable built in about 100 years.  FYI

[Chris333]

If it does happen, around 2015, I would wager it will be the first RR turntable built in about 100 years.  FYI

http://www.ageofsteamroundhouse.com/about.htm
Private owner, but still...

[M.C. Fujiwara]

There's still a BNSF turntable in Richmond CA.   I think it is still used.

It is:

http://goo.gl/maps/SmYrX