Being a devotee of switching/shunting activities, one of the first things I look for in a route is the presence of turntables or transfer tables. Numerous TS routes include these important yard installations and they are frequently integral elements of both official and workshop activities. I'm going to start a list of TSW routes that include such facilities, but will start this thread by just noting that in my experience only the very first TSW route, Sand Patch Grade, actually includes activities that make use of a turntable. If I'm wrong about this, please post in this thread to let me know about it. This thread is a work in progress . . .
Spirit of Steam has a turntable just outside Liverpool Lime Street for rotating Jubilees. Koln-Aachen has one somewhere, but it is inside a platform and I think it is preserved and unused. (I think Duren) Yeah that's about it from me - I don't play freight routes much, but I do like turntables!
Does Sherman Hill have the one in Cheyenne? It should, because it was used to turn UP's big steam locos around.
Bahnstrecke Bremen Oldenburg has one it's by the Bremen Hauptbahnhof East end. There is a German language article about Bremen Hauptbahnhof Turntable the newspaper article uses the term Drehscheibe.
============================================= Here's a comprehensive, alphabetical list of the TSW (any version) routes I own and whether or not they include turntables or transfer tables, which I compiled by entering each route on foot, using the map view to scan the route, and changing the "2" camera to examine turntables and transfer tables if found: Cajon Pass: none Cane Creek: none Clinchfield RR: none East Coastway: none Great Western Express: none Haupstrecke Hamburg-Lubeck: none Horseshoe Curve: both -- inaccessible (i.e., located "out of bounds"); working parts missing Mein Spessart Bahn: turntable -- unuseable Northern Trans-Pennine: none Oakville Subdivision: none Peninsula Corridor: none Rapid Transit: unknowable, since "on foot" mode is not available Rhien-Ruhr Osten: none Ruhr-Sieg Nord: none Sand Patch Grade: practicable turntable in Sand Patch yard Schnellfahrstrecke: Koln: 2 turntables at Koln HBF: possibly usable* Schnellfahrstrecke: Kassel - Wurtzburg: 2 turntables at Wurtzburg: possibly usable* Sherman Hill: turntable** Southeastern High Speed: none Tees Valley Line: turntable present, but bridge is missing West Sommerset: turntable -- usable, but only to rotate an engine (no radial sidings) * bridge can be walked onto (did not try driving onto it ** can be walked onto and control cabin can be entered, but control handle is missing Please note that I am not claiming that turntables or transfer tables should be present on routes that do not have them. However, as a switching/shunting enthusiast, I find it disappointing that only the Sand Patch Grade and West Sommerset turntables are actually used in activities.
Well, turntables really became largely obsolete, except as gates to roundhouse, once steam locos gave way to bidirectional diesels and electrics. Carbodies (EMD Es and Fs, and Baldwin DRs), kept them going a bit longer in the US than in Europe, which has always preferred dual-cab setups.
Good point, but not relevant to my post. As I scanned the routes included in my list, I began to feel that a similar list of routes that include wyes might be interesting, especially since I cannot recall any TSW activity that makes use of a wye. By way of comparison, numerous TS routes, both official and workshop, incorporate wyes that are used in scenarios, again both official and workshop. I'm making these contributions in the interest of encouraging more switching/shunting activities in TSW routes.
As noted in my OP (see above), my list includes only the TSW2 and TSW3 routes that I have purchased. Can the turntable you noted usable? If so, is it used in any services or sessions?
Tharandter Rampe has turntables. Those 2 in Bw Dresden Altstadt are working properly (was there “on foot” yesterday) and should be accessible by Locos as well (not tested), yet. update: I checked the turntables in Chemnitz and can report that both turntables between Chemnitz Hilbersdorf and Niederwiesa (Sãchsisches Eisenbahnmuseum) are working, however access is only possible through Niederwiesa station. The turntable and Roundhouse on the opposite side between Chemnitz Hbf and Hilbersdorf is missing. cheers
You would think there would be more chance of turntables on us routes as most of the locos only have one cab, or do they use loops?
I think in the US they use two locomotives coupled together. To turn around, get out of the cab of one locomotive, and get into the cab of the locomotive coupled behind you, facing the other way.
Depends on the route and loco. Us freight routes have more than 1 locomotive which the previous reply mentioned. Sand patch has a turntable you can use to switch tracks. In Boston Providence, the acs64 has no cab car like in real life so when it goes to Boston, it has to reverse the whole train using the balloon loop back into Boston before heading back to Providence. Many locos have a cab car so you don't have to turn the whole train around. But with those without one, you either use a loop and possibly a turntable
============================== In addition to changing tracks, turntables provide access to roundhouse storage tracks, service area tracks (e.g.: fueling and maintenance) and, of course, rotating a single-cab engine 180 degrees. One thing that continues to puzzle me is why in routes that do feature turntables most of them are unusable for one reason or another, such as bridge tracks that cannot be driven or the complete lack of a bridge or even a pit to hold a bridge.
Turntables have pretty much fallen out of favor over here around the transition Era and later. Usually trains aren't run elephant style (All cabs in the same direction) so you usually don't need to turn locos around, and if they do, they use Wyes instead as they are cheaper than maintaining a turntable. If there is a rare case where a loco must run LHF, most trains will handle the speed restriction till the problem can be fixed (I've seen some local grains trains forced to run slow due to this) Unless of course you are Norfolk Southern, since they put ditchlights on the rear of their locos, they can run LHF at track speed like their predecessors Southern and Norfolk Western used to do.
Not 100% sure but I think the one at Thornaby on Tees Valley line was taken out of use many years ago, that’s why it’s in-situ just not complete in game. The whole depot has gone now! Not many left in the UK now, there was one at Old Oak Common TMD that was at the far north end of the depot complex on the old EWS/DB complex, I believe this area unfortunately is not represented in game (it was probably closed when the route was set). I presume this was used to turn HST power cars back in the day. I can’t think of any other UK route (with exception of WSR and Spirit of Steam) that has them.
