The End of the Line

In my most recent post, I wrote about the consequences of my decision to install a turntable as part of the Kingston Plains terminus. It focused on the access issues associated with that decision but this missive provides a bit more information on the actual turntable installation.







I mentioned that I had purchased an Anton's Trains 60ft Steller turntable. This type of turntable or the 50ft alternative were found at many branch line stations in NSW. The model is mounted on a 300mm square polyurethane base. It needed to be trimmed slightly to fit on my baseboard. Styrofoam was added to raise it up to the matching levels and then my usual landscaping techniques were used to match the extension to the main Kingston Plain module. The static grass was added across the whole area to ensure a consistent appearance although I am still not happy with my efforts to conceal the gap between the extension and the rest of the module.

Weathering of the actual turntable was a relatively simple matter particularly as I could remove it for easier access. It was sprayed with several coats of Humbrol rust wash. I added additional weathering on the walkways to reflect a well worn timber decking.


I was less certain about how to scenic the internal bowl. Initially, I anticipated a fairly barren space with a number of  grimy patches as locomotives, dropping grease and oil, were rotated over the ground.  However, after looking at several photos, it was clear that grass did grow in this type of turntable well. Consequently, I added a cover of static grass (predominately late summer and autumn colours)  over the previously grimed surface.




The turntable is rotated using a simple manual geared mechanism operated via the knob shown on the photo below left. After a bit of basic research, I purchased a Tam Valley Dual Frog Juicer and Auto-Reverser. It was easy to install on the underside of the extension and, to date, it has performed well.


 








The installation of the turntable is the final major feature to be added to the station area of Kingston Plains and also denotes the end of any significant new construction on Philip's Creek as a whole in its present location. As discussed in the preceding post, the layout's current location has no further opportunity for expansion and so, short of moving house, that's it for any further extension to the layout. In some respects this represents a sad point but I do have contingency plans just in case circumstances change but it will be a miracle of loaves and fishes magnitude if extra space becomes available in the foreseeable future.

Rather, it's now time to focus on the multitude of unfinished jobs around the layout. As can be seen from the photo below, there is a lot more detail to be added to the Kingston Plains module. Then there are backdrops around most of the layout to be installed or painted as well as plenty more trees to be planted, plus a refresh on some of the  original scenery that is now around 20 years old. And that doesn't even contemplate operational and running issues. So no rest for the wicked!!

Breathe In! Getting into and around the layout

Access has always been a challenge for Philip's Creek. As the layout has moved through various locations and configurations, it has grown steadily until, as regular readers would have noted, Philip's Creek now resides in one of three adjoining garages. The other two garages have different uses and the domestic manager steadfastly refuses to countenance any extension of Philip's Creek into these. Unsurprisingly, and probably like many other layouts, space on Philip's Creek is tight with narrow access passageways measuring somewhere between 500-600mm. For someone who, for much of his recent working life, has railed about the need for access within buildings for maintenance, there's probably a fair degree of hypocrisy in this, but it is what it is.  Crab walking is the normal way of getting around the layout. This isn't too much of a problem for just one operator but when others visit the layout, things can get a little cosy.

Being very aware of the access challenges as work on the Kingston Plains progressed, I was forced to compromise and accept a glaring omission from a typical branchline terminus - a turntable. The reason for this compromise was fairly straight forward, a need to ensure a reasonable width (about 600mm) access leading into the layout area from the main garage .

However, it was during a recent chat with a neighbour that I found myself describing how I could add a turntable to the end of the terminus. The consequence of this small extension would be a 50 percent reduction in the width of the access passageway from 600mm to around 300mm, albeit with the fallback of access via the garage door if absolutely necessary. But as our chat continued, it became obvious that I was talking myself into this alteration.

As the idea materialised, I decided that any turntable extension had to be removable to ensure that the original access was available if required. I fabricated the 300mm cantilever frame shown in the adjoining photo. The bricks in the photo are acting as weights while the PVA glue between the styrofoam sheets cures but also give an indication of the load that the cantilever section can carry.



The extension is removed by lifting it vertically. To assist the fixing, I installed magnets on the extension and the mating layout module. The method is demonstrated in the February 2018 You Tube segment of 'What's Neat', https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srtA43bUlcI&t=929s




The use of magnets was an experiment to test the concept but I got a bit nervous and included other connections which added a level of redundancy, so it's difficult to tell if the magnets add anything to the support of the extension.

I have now purchased an Anton's Trains model of a 60ft Steller's turntable, a type frequently used at a branchline terminus. Ian Dunn provided an overview of this type in the December 2011 issue of AMRM. There is also an earlier article on the same topic by Alan Templeman in the June 1984 issue but the value of Ian's article is the collection of colour photos that assist with painting and weathering. 
The turntable is is currently being installed although I have yet to purchase an auto-reverser to enable the turntable to operate with DCC.

So, for better or worse, the access into the layout area is now further restricted and it's certainly a case of 'breathing in' but at least a steam engine can be turned before commencing its return journey.