The Museum of Transportation in St. Louis recently moved this turntable from storage and it is now on exhibit. We have no idea how old it is as the donor, the Maryland & Pennsylvania RR, bought it used in 1903. It has a builders number of 1301 cast into the center section. Unfortunately no records of William Sellers & Co from Philadelphia seem to have survived to help us date it. We would welcome any leads on such records. Or if anyone has information on another Sellers turntable where its builder's number and date of construction are known, this data could at least help us narrow down when ours may have been made, even if the data is on one long scrapped. Since this image was made the painting has been completed. Everything you see is cast iron except the wheels at the ends and some crossbraces out of sight between the beams.

Not sure if the pit is way too large or just not deep enough Ron. Were there any concerns about inerpreting a turntable several feet higher than its context?

dave

When in service at Delta, Pa., this turntable was in a similar configuration. The turntable was built against a small hill, and the lead track approached from the hillside on a low fill. The rest of the table was well above ground, with the ring rail on a concrete wall. I have fond memories of helping to turn George Hart's ex-CPR ten-wheeler #972 and ex-Reading shop switcher 0-6-0T #1251 at Delta on several occasions in the late 1960s.

Also, I believe the Knox & Kane RR has a similar turntable. At least, there was a similar table in Gettysburg, though it was never used there. I believe it went to the K&K and is in use at Marienville, Pa.

This is only a temporary location for the turntable, although it may be there for quite some time as the rebuilding of the museum's site goes on and related projects are completed. Eventually it is expected to have track on it, be in a pit (we have the center bearing and ring rails from Delta), and possibly usable. Only time will tell. It had to be moved from its storage location for construction at that spot first. The turntable from Marienville is not the same type as we have seen several photos of it on-line and in magazines. It is a deck girder type made of steel, without the circular openings of the iron Sellers type. However we don't know it's length or if it came from the Maine Central or Boston & Maine. Any answers to these questions are also welcome.

. The Peach Bottom Railroad, later the Lancaster Oxford and Southern was reported to have Sellers Turntables. Of course, they were narrow gauge all existence. The railroad out of Delta were narrow gauge before converting to standard.
. Could the turntable in St. Louis have once been in place on the Lancaster County side of the Susquehanna River?

https://books.google.com/books?id=z9sOA ... &q&f=false

Copy of 1883 catalog from sellers. Pages 172 to 178 outlines the turntable product line, age 172 has a drawing of a turntable.
Hope this helps with your search. The Franklin Institute has some sellers records in their library.

Thank you for finding this!

C.

I was just in Marienville, Pa and saw the roundhouse but is there still a turntable ??? If so, I didn't see it.
What a cool place that must have been.

kevin K.

The Turntable from the K&K was bought by the DGVR almost 3 years ago now. It currently resides on a flat car in Belington WV. I can assure you that it is very old, but NOT cast iron. Evidently the builders plate was on the table until a few months before we went to pull it out.

Part of the purchase price was filling in the old pit. Which pretty much erased any sign of it from in front of the engine house.

I agree, the place must have been neat when it was still there.

This information on the Marienville table from Ron Goldfeder:

Mid 1970s? – A 50’ Boston & Maine (or possibly Maine Central) turntable of 1886 vintage from an unknown location was bought sight unseen for use at the Gettysburg RR in Gettysburg, PA. The turntable and all its deck timbers and ring rails were shipped in a gondola and stored. It was later moved to Marienville, PA. Also see entries for “by 1990” and 2008.

By 1990 – The Knox & Kane Railroad tourist operation has a manually operated Boston & Maine (or possibly Maine Central) turntable of 1886 vintage from an unknown location at Marienville, PA. It was 50’ long when received, and lengthened to 60’ by adding five feet to each end by the Knox & Kane. A wye is used to turn its locomotive at the other end of the line. The turntable and all its deck timbers and ring rails had been shipped in a gondola to storage at the Gettysburg RR before being moved to Marienville. Also see 2008.

2008 - The defunct Knox & Kane Railroad and its equipment were auctioned in August. Its turntable at Marienville was considered part of the right-of-way and was sold, along with the track, to the Kovalchicks. It has not been scrapped to date and is available for purchase. Several parties have inquired about it, so it may make a third move in the future.

Thanks for the info on the former Knox & Kane turntable. What is the name of the operation that has it? When it moved would be welcome info too, exact dates not needed, but month and year would be enough.

This is a very informative thread. I always wondered what happened to the old Delta turntable. My brother at one time lived a couple of blocks away from it. It was also interesting to learn that the D&GVRR has the old K&K turntable stored in Belington. It may come in handy when the Cass to Durbn line rebuilding along the Greenbrier River is expected to be completed in 2018. Ex-Buffalo Creek & Gauley #4 should be rebuilt by that time and should be used on that 15-mile stretch of scenic railroad. There is a wye in Durbin to turn an engine, but nothing in Cass. On another topic, there was (maybe still is) a turntable in Elkins, WV. At one time, a railroad museum was planned on the site of the old shops, but instead is being developed with restaurants, hotels and a theater. I believe the turntable came from the Belt Line in Chicago. Does anyone know if it's still there and what plans, if any, are there for it. All this turntable news is making my head spin (pun intended).

It was still there as of October 2015, sitting on the foundation of the roundhouse; the turntable pit is behind the fence.


-Philip Marshall

DGVR = Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad in West Virginia.

According to what you can see on Googol Earth the turntable was still at Elkins, WV last winter. they show it with snow on the ground.