Turntable dilemma

[nickelplate759]

I'm pondering a turntable (in N-scale)
My requirements:
1. It should look fairly modern - 1940s or later.  This means a girder-style bridge
2. should be able to carry a NKP 2-8-4 or 2-6-6-2.  Doesn't need to carry a Big Boy
3. should work reliably.
4. doesn't have to auto-index, but that would be nice.
5. inexpensive is desireable, but I don't want mechanical junk.  I'd rather pay for something reliable than buy something I'll hate.
6. I don't want to scratch-build one, because I'm pretty sure I'll refer myself to requirement 5.

Here's what I think I've figured out so far:
The Walthers 130' table looks good and is reputed to be good mechanically , but it's 1. Expensive (about $350) and 2. Not Presently Available.
The old Walters/Heljan 120' table has a reputation for mechanical unreliability.  Also Not Presently Available
The Kato turntable is for Unitrack. I don't like the way it looks, and it's too small.
The Atlas turntable is the wrong style entirely for what I want
The Peco turntable is a little small, and a little British.
The Bachmann turntable is entirely too toy-like.
The Tomytec turntable is too small, and I want a different style bridge, and also Expensive.
The Fleischmann turntable looks funky to me.  Also Expensive.
Diamond Scale turntables look interesting, but I've never seen one.  Also Expensive, but you don't have to pay for Indexing if you don't want it.

What do folks have good experiences with?

[pdx1955]

I've had the old Heljan 120' in the past. It uses split rings and wipers which work ok but I found friction to be a big deal with it as there aren't any bearings. I had a powering kit for it (slow speed motor) but never installed it. The pit and bridge look fine, although you would want to replace the railings and use a Diamond Scale power arch for some finer details.

The Peco 65' bridge works fine although this isn't good for anything beyond a 2-8-0.

I was in the same boat as you but bit the bullet on a 100' Diamond Scale a couple months ago. My old club built one of these in HO and this one looks to the same but smaller. It will take a while to put together as I think the instructions look very similar to the ones I saw 20 years ago as its a complex kit. The DS indexing is hard to keep in adjustment but it really isn't needed if it is close to the edge of the layout. For me I needed something that could take SP's 4-8-4, 4-10-2, and 4-6-6-2 early cabforwards as that is what the prototype had in Portland. I paid about $270 (bridge, motor kit, plus some other parts, and shipping) which seems fair. They are a small shop so, it may take a few months from ordering to receiving.  I thought about the Walther's but both of them are too large for my space.

AAA Turntables also sells girder-types in N but these are in the $450 range but they are completely assembled, motorized and indexed - they would be my second choice (poor website - hasn't been updated in years but they are still around).

[CodyO]

I know the Walters one can be pricy.
But I think it's the best bet for easy to install and use.
Mines been working fine for the past 4/5 Years.

[3DTrains]

Can you handle a complex kit? If you can locate one, the old Diamond Scale 120' turntable is pretty nice, IMHO.

Cheers!
Marc - Riverside

[Mark5]

Most N Scale turntables are too short to turn N&W steam locos.

I have an Atlas turntable which features indexing and I have the Heljan 120' kit. My plan is to mount the Atlas turntable under the Heljan turntable to provide power/indexing. There was a website once that detailed this, but I can't locate it at the moment (it might be gone). Basically a small PVC tube would connect the Atlas TT to the underside of the Heljan "Bridge".

I know, this is really vague.

Mark

[SP-Wolf]

I'll throw my 2 cents in on the Walther's turntable as well. It's a nice model. Works great. Mine is also about 6 years old(It's from the original run).



Regards,
Wolf

[RBrodzinsky]

I, too, would recommend trying to find the Walthers.  Mine is 8 years old, and still runs well .

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[jdcolombo]

Another vote for the Walthers.



John C.

[nickelplate759]

Wow!

The Walthers does look good, especially with the Berkshire on it. 
So does the Diamond Scale turntable in the fuzzy pictures (no Berkshire) I have found. 
The Walthers is a little bigger than I'd like, but clearly far easier to install than the Diamond Scale kit would be.
Walthers claims that they will have a restock this fall, so I may go that way.

I note that both John and Wolf have replaced the stock "arch" with (different) curved ones.

[alhoop]

Another vote for the Walthers.

John C.

And another - and when it quits working see here:
https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=39946.msg490214#msg490214

Al Hooper

[Santa Fe Guy]

When you purchase the Walthers T/T take a lot of time to read the installation instructions and check and recheck.
They are incorrect in relation to the size hole needed to install in the baseboard.
Rod.

[Chris333]

There's a bunch on e-bay right now.

[andyl913]

+1 for Walthers newer turntable, You can find them for low-mid $200s brand new online if you know how to search properly. or you could get the older version which still indexes for probably under $200 new on sites like ebay etc

[nickelplate759]

Lots of folks have said they are happy with the Walthers turntable - here's a question about it : is it fixed at 10-degree track increments, or can you put tracks at other spacings?

[ncbqguy]

Other than the Walthers auto you can just as easily build your own.
There are probably a few Walthers analog and DCC on shelves.
The Heljan Con-Cor Walthers is a decent starting point but it isn't hard to roll your own using Micro Engineering or other plate girders. 
The key is to find a low rpm motor like a Hankscraft display motor / Switchcraft point motor or a less than 5 rpm 12v DC gearmotor from a electronics surplus source.  Aligning a TT by eye isn't difficult once you get the hang of it and is better than building and maintaining complicated indexing gear.
If you go the Heljan route watch out for warped pit castings.  I would use heavy brass square tube for the bridge to give it stiffness and weight.   
I built such a table for the BraNchTrak module which is now used in the MiNiModuTrak setups and it still works petty well after almost twenty years.
Charlie Vlk