On Wednesday, August 30 the 105' turntable was installed in the Museum Yard in Altoona. Saylor and Sons Crane Service did the honors after the Museum staff and volunteers lowered the truck sets in place the day before. The first half of the bridge was set on the center bearing and its truck set then spun nearly 180 degrees. The second piece was then lowered into place, bolted to the first half and then lowered onto its truck set. The entire operation went very smoothly and only took a few hours. Thanks to all the hard work from everyone involved, the table fits perfectly and we were able to revolve the table by hand as the motors are not yet installed. Timbers and rail are next!

Pictures can be seen at:

http://www.railroadcity.com/gallery/index.php?cat=49

Thanks

Looking good Scott, now how about a progress update on 1361? I haven't seen a new picture since January, and you promised us an update in a few days, and that was June 9th.

You guys have done a fantastic job! I think I'll retire to Atoona! Your organization is a model for the rest of us. We need to get you all cloned!

Later!
Mr. Ed

Great work folks!!! You are making tons of progress, keep up the good work. I assume that this specific location did not formerly have a turntable and that the table itself came from elsewhere and was installed into a brand new pit. Where did this table live in it's former life?

Here is the story on this turntable. The dollar amounts are from earlier postings by Scott Cessna. The Alleghany (or Allegany) Central Railroad bought a 105’ turntable from the Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac RR’s Potomac Yard at Alexandria, VA, in May 1992 and moved it to Covington (or Gordonsville?), VA. The name of this operation was changed to Virginia Central in Nov 1993. The turntable was built in 1922 by Bethlehem Steel and was designed to come apart for shipment, and it was stored in sections as it arrived. The Alleghany Central operated from Covington, VA, on the C&O Hot Springs branch from 1975 to about 1983. It moved to Cumberland, MD in 1988 and operated what is now the Western Maryland Scenic RR under the AC name until 1990. It last ran as the Virginia Central on CSX track from Charlottesville, VA in 1993. In 2004 the Railroaders Heritage Corp./Altoona Railroaders Memorial Museum bought the turntable and moved it for a second time from Staunton, VA to Altoona, PA, arriving in May 2005. Cost of purchase and shipping was about $85,000. Their plans are to build a single stall of an eventual four-stall roundhouse to house their PRR K4s 4-6-2 now being restored at Steamtown. In the future the site has room for three shorter stalls as well. The first phase of the roundhouse construction was under way in 2004. In 2006 they were building its pit. To July 2006 $815,000 had been spent in addition to acquisition cost for the turntable and shipping it to PA. These are $95,000 for soil boring and engineering, $640,000 for the foundation work, $12,000 for a caissons and related engineering, and $68,000 for track construction in the turntable area. It was assembled in its new pit on Aug 30, 2006. It is one of 88 turntables to be moved for preservation and reuse by a museum or tourist line, the 32nd to be installed for such use, and one of 14 moved twice. There are 50 moved and in storage and three that have been moved three times. Any further details or corrections would be welcome.

Ron, that was an amazing amount of info, the only thing that I saw that needs correction is that our round house will have seven stalls, four large and three short. I never would have guessed at the number of turntables that have been moved, and in some cases moved again and then again. We hope to have all the ties and rail on within the next two weeks and finally get some equipment moved back in. Also, we hope to put the rest of the round house out to bid in the next month or so with a completion around the first of April 2007.

The last time I heard, there is another one still in the ground at the old Lehigh Valley yard in Manchester NY. I seem to recall that the town was given the ground for developement and the turntable will most likely be cut up for scrap. It would be a shame if that happened.

Later!
Mr. Ed

There are operations that are still looking for turntables, so see if you can check on the status of this one. Let us know if it is still there, how long it is, and any data off a builder's plate. We can share it and maybe someone will contact the city and offer to take it off their hands for the scrap value.

Truely wonderful work Scott! I remember what a sense of accomplishment was felt when I lowered a table I had rebuilt back down its rail.........I can not imagine the sense of pride that must come with that of a new installation. Also, whomever came up with the simplistic fencing design deserves a pat on the back.

I only saw pictures of it a year or so ago. If anyone is interested, I would suggest they contact Manchester Township, NY, via their website.

Later!
Mr. Ed

Jason,

After much discussion about options that were much too elaborate and expensive, the fence post/rails were fabricated by our general contractor to fit farm gates that I found and purchased from our local Tractor Supply Corp store for less than $50 each. You really dont always have to spend a lot of money to meet the building code!

Thanks

Scott

Scott,

That is some piece of work that you have done there! does the museum plan a roundhouse to go with the new table? How many stalls will it have?

Thanks,

Ted Miles

We are finalizing the architectural design of the roundhouse as we speak. It will have 7 stalls and will run (as you look at the photo on our website of the turntable) from just to the right of the GG-1, clockwise around to end of the grassy area that is bordered by the stone embankment. Everywhere you see a gate on that side of the turntable pit, there will be a track that enters the building. The structure that is already there (just a roof and columns) is the first "slice" of the building that will be all enclosed. Look for all of that to be completed spring/summer of 2007.

Here are some preliminary drawings.

http://www.railroadcity.com/gallery/index.php?cat=49

Ron:

With all the information you have on saved turntables, are you going to be writing a book?

Les

I'm not sure there is a very large market for a book on saved turntables, but I will continue to share the info and try to help groups which are looking get one. I was able to point the Altoona group to this one and it is very satisfying to see that result in a successful installation. I do have some conflicting info that needs clarification on a few and will post that soon, hoping this group can provide some answers. There are a lot of turntables "in the weeds" all over the country and the effort in Altoona may help more of them get into use. It is also a great lesson on how expensive this can be, depending on soil and other site conditions. More to come.