IRM Get UP Turntable

ChicagoGreatWestern · **Joined:** Wed May 11, 2011 4:34 pm **Posts:** 19

All 130 feet of it! As announced here: http://www2.irm.org/blogs/archives/1914-A-BIG-announcement.html.

Congrats on the purchase and the save!

Ryan Heath
Minneapolis, MN

hullmat991 · **Joined:** Sun Dec 28, 2014 11:12 pm **Posts:** 231

I just saw the news on Facebook. This is great news indeed.

dinwitty · **Joined:** Wed Oct 22, 2008 8:18 pm **Posts:** 2226

sounds like they are going for it, for a turntable and roundhouse, I saw some plans for it, so here we go

Joshua K. Blay · **Posted:** Thu Mar 24, 2016 8:28 pm

Alleged $500,000 worth of work four years ago and they picked it up for $10,000. Well done, well done indeed. Can it be separated into two or more pieces for ease of transport?

Joshua

LeoA · **Joined:** Mon Sep 28, 2015 12:30 am **Posts:** 312

Don't they already own a couple of turntables that have never been installed and used?

Great news though and I hope to see it being used someday relatively soon. :)

Bobharbison · **Joined:** Fri Dec 03, 2004 9:42 pm **Posts:** 3010

LeoA wrote:

Don't they already own a couple of turntables that have never been installed and used?

Quoting the press release.

Quote:

We have had on site for a number of years the C&NW table from Harvard. However, this is not of a length that would accommodate larger pieces of the collection. So various opportunities have been explored over the years to obtain a larger table, ideally thru donation. A couple of weeks ago we became aware that Union Pacific had included the table of the Burnham (Denver) repair facility, that we had hoped to obtain by donation, in an auction of all assets of this, now closed, facility

Bobharbison · **Joined:** Fri Dec 03, 2004 9:42 pm **Posts:** 3010

Joshua K. Blay wrote:

Can it be separated into two or more pieces for ease of transport?

Joshua

Looking at the photos, it sure looks that way. Since the rebuild was so recent, I have to assume it's bolted together rather than riveted. Hopefully it wasn't welded together, and if so, not in a way that can't easily be reversed.

Bob Milhaupt · **Joined:** Sun Jun 07, 2009 5:20 am **Posts:** 35

Joshua K. Blay wrote:

Can it be separated into two or more pieces for ease of transport

While I know nothing about the UP/Burnham turntable and/or its acquisition by I(llinois)RM other than what has been posted on the IRM web site, I do know that several years ago there was an unsuccessful attempt by the IRM Steam Department to acquire an older 120' "continuous deck" turntable from another part of the country.

Between a visual inspection of that older turntable, and analysis of its blueprints, we determined that the "bridge" of that older turntable was constructed in three sections, with riveted "gusset plates" holding those sections together. If we had successfully acquired that turntable, the plan was to dis-assemble the bridge into the three major sections by torching off the rivet heads at those plates and driving out the remaining rivets.

Working under the assumption that the UP/Burnham turntable was originally assembled on-site from several major sub-assemblies, I would assume that removal would entail breaking it back down to those basic sub-assemblies, regardless of how they were assembled. And presumably, the re-assembly would use the same sort of assembly techniques originally employed.

Bob Milhaupt
Occasional Steam Department Volunteer
Illinois Railway Museum

Ron Goldfeder · **Posted:** Fri Mar 25, 2016 10:47 am

The existing turntable at the Illinois Railway Museum is an 80 foot long one it obtained in 1981 from the Chicago & Northwestern at Harvard, IL. The 130 foot one from Denver would be the 104th turntable moved for use by museums or tourist lines since 1946, of these 37 are in use, 58 in storage (in the weeds), nine have been scrapped, and the situation is unclear for five of them. Eighteen have been moved twice and four moved three times, usually because their storage location had to change for a variety of reasons. One was moved and then came back to its original site. The IRM didn't pay a lot for the one in Denver but with the great distance it now has to travel it is hoped that the UP will help them with this move.

Dennis Storzek · **Posted:** Fri Mar 25, 2016 11:09 am

It's too bad they couldn't buy the pit...

Seriously, one advantage of the twin span design is they use a much shallower pit for their length, something that will be useful in IRM's desire to not have it turn into a circular swimming pool.

Bobharbison · **Joined:** Fri Dec 03, 2004 9:42 pm **Posts:** 3010

Dennis Storzek wrote:

It's too bad they couldn't buy the pit...

I think that guy in Maine would sell you his pit for $50K. ;)

jamesk · **Posted:** Fri Mar 25, 2016 3:47 pm

If you would like to support this project, please visit https://www3.irm.org/store/index.php?ma ... ts_id=2130 to donate to the Turntable Fund.

Thanks,
Jamie

Rainier Rails · **Posted:** Fri Mar 25, 2016 4:06 pm

Will the turntable and roundhouse go on the section of yet-unused property located east of the installed, but unconnected (on one side) diamond on the streetcar loop?

jamesk · **Posted:** Fri Mar 25, 2016 5:26 pm

Rainier Rails wrote:

Will the turntable and roundhouse go on the section of yet-unused property located east of the installed, but unconnected (on one side) diamond on the streetcar loop?

No. The current master plan still has it going South of Barn 8 and East of Barn 9, where the three turntable/steam leads are now with the sand tower. That area is being evaluated to see if it will be suitable to actually build it all there.

Jamie

dinwitty · **Joined:** Wed Oct 22, 2008 8:18 pm **Posts:** 2226

they may have to design a water pump for the pit as it is a flood plain, I wonder about water drains as high non flooding water may just fill into the pit. Is the turning motor above ground?