Turntables

[andrewfoster]

Gnome Miniature Engineering started out a few years ago with all kinds of good intentions, one of which was to produce a range of turntables.  Having nearly run out of diversions, we're reworking the turntable design and will base the larger ones on the same construction as the plate girders that you can see at http://gnomengineers.com/. 

We'd like some feedback as we work on the design. Firstly, of course, do people really want to buy a turntable? People working in the larger scales would often rather build their own.  Would parts be of more interest than a complete table? Should it be manually or electrically operated?  Everything we build is for year round outdoor operation, whether manual or electric.

What are the most useful lengths? The original range was to be 1,000, 750 and 500mm, which would take up to a 74ft locomotive in G3.

The pit needs to be large and heavy, and shipping a completed one would be prohibitively costly. We're looking at providing the mechanical components together with drawings of a suggested pit design.

Bear in mind that because of the riveted construction (we use solid rivets), we market  our models as miniature structures rather than scale models, so they won't always appeal to the fine scale modellers.

All feedback will be welcome!

Andrew