Here's an odd one for you...

The Boeing plant in Everett, WA (yes, that Boeing) had one installed when a building expansion program required removal of part of an existing wye track.

They ship fuselages into the facilty, and apparently they want them facing in the right direction when they unload them and put them on the line.


The place is awash in superlatives. Quoting their website at:
http://www.boeing.com/commercial/facilities/index.html

The site's main assembly building, which the Guinness Book of World Records acknowledges as the largest building in the world by volume, has grown over the years to enclose 472 million cubic feet of space (13.3 million cubic meters).

The largest parts are received at the Port of Everett, Wash., and then are loaded onto railcars that climb a 5.6 percent grade -- the steepest active standard gauge in the United States .

An adjoining rail yard, containing approximately 2 miles (3 kilometers) of track, has a railroad turntable originally built in 1899 by the Great Northern Railroad...

These turntables in Fort Worth are a confusing situation to understand. From what I've learned there were five at one time, with two in use. The question is how many are in storage along the line somewhere? The two in use are thought to be as follows: an MKT turntable from Dennison, TX at the Fort Worth Stockyards end of the line; a 100’ Santa Fe turntable that was used in Slaton, TX from 1927- 74 and then in Saginaw, TX until 1992, installed at its Grapevine, TX engine house in 1996. The three in storage were: an MKT one from Wichita Falls, TX, built in 1917 by Virginia Bridge & Iron, Roanoke, VA, moved in the late 1980s; a Southern Pacific one from Ennis, TX; and a Kansas City, Mexico & Orient (later Santa Fe) one from Hamlin, TX. Any info on the fate of these three or additional data on the two in use such as the length of the one at the stockyards, dates of construction and builder would be welcome.

This is an excellent thread with much useful info being exchanged. When I worked at MOT in St. Louis I started pulling together a list of turntables moved for reuse by museum and tourist lines, mostly to protect the two we had that were threatened with destruction. With the help of many who post on this site and lots of digging in magazines and on line this list now runs to 18 pages and includes info on an amazing 88 moved turntables since 1946. Of these 31 are in use, 48 are stored and 12 have been moved twice. A few have been scrapped, perhaps seven, but the story is unclear on some. There have also been 15 recreations, ranging in size from the one at Steamtown to some for 2' gauge miniature lines. The list includes lines from 2' gauge and up due to the first one going from the Bridgeton & Harrison to Edaville in 1946. I'd be glad to share the info with anyone interested.

The list includes one at the Texas State RR, to correct another posting. Here is what I have on it as an example of how the list reads:

1980 – The Texas State Railroad between Rusk and Palestine, TX re-opened as a state park in 1976. It installed an 81’ 8” turntable at the on-line community of Maydelle, TX, which is a former Frisco table, built in 1911, relocated from Paris, TX, about 160 miles away.

As far as I know this is still there but rarely used. The length came from the roadmaster of the line, who measured it after I asked them about it.

Nineteen turntables are also at places that did not have to moved, including tourist lines and musuems, the one mentioned by Ross Rowland, etc.

There is a military surplus turntable bridge available in Bremerton, WA. Its price will be very low as a surplus item available by donation to eligible nonprofit groups. It should have the advantage of government facilities to load. The following link will take one to a picture of it and contact information. Length is not listed so one will have to call for the information. It has been on the donation list for several weeks so one will have to move fast to get it before the scrapper.

http://www.drms.dla.mil/flis_plus/servl ... OV&dodaac=

I spoke with the gentlemen listed on the disposal website. The table is an 85 footer. If no other gov't. agency speaks up within 30 days then it will be offerred as a donation to non-profits who want it. He said he already has written interest from 2 non-profits so it appears it will not end up being scrapped.
Ross Rowland

Does anybody have any contacts that might be able to provide me with more information regarding the 110' table that Ross has mentioned? I would like to see if it still exists, and what it would take to aquire it.

Thanks

Ryan