What is this thing called (Its like a Turntable, kinda)

[bc6]

I feel like Im on Jeopardy (A US TV quiz show) anyway this thing functions like a Turntable but is not round nor does it rotate. The table would slide from stall to stall and hold a engine like a regular round turntable. It would then deposit the engine on whichever track it needed to go on, heck Im not even sure if its a Japanese prototype. If you can help me figure out the correct name of this thing I would be so grateful.

[Bernard]

bc6 - I think you are describing a "transfer table". It doesn't rotate but moves from side to side. Here is a link to the Walthers model of it:

http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/933-2968

[marknewton]

As Bernard says, a transfer table, or as they are also known in Australia and the UK, a traverser. They're quite common in Japan - here's a panoramic view of one at the Kintetsu workshops in Shiohama.

 

 

All the best,

 

Mark.

[bc6]

Thank you guys I wouldn't have thought Transfer Table for the life of me

[Martijn Meerts]

They're quite common in general. They're used in the same way as a turntable, but considering diesels and electrics don't need to be rotated, they could get away with a transfer table. More economic use of space ;)

[Bernard]

In planning and/or building a layout that you want include a turntable or transfer table, it is best to start at that point and design/build your layout outward from there. You have to provide a lot of space for it.

[marknewton]

They're used in the same way as a turntable, but considering diesels and electrics don't need to be rotated, they could get away with a transfer table. More economic use of space ;)

 

I have to disagree on all points, Martin. In my experience, traversers are not interchangebale with turntables, they're intended to perform a quite different function. They are associated not with depots but with workshops and maintenance facilities where work takes place along a production line, for want of a better term. They are a more economical way of using the space than a large depot fan or ladder of points to move a vehicle from one line or bay to another, but they are nowhere near as space saving as a turntable - nor could they be. If you have two workshops building close together, and you want to move a vehicle from 1 road in the first building to 5 road in the next for example, the way to do it is a traverser, not a turntable.

 

Also, there are many instances where diesels and electrics need to be turned, on any railway I've ever seen or had experience of working on. The most obvious reason is when hood units are turned to keep the short end leading for maximum visibility from the cab, but there are other reasons as well, sometimes due to crew requirements, or other operational needs. On my railway, there was a class of diesels that were effectively single-ended, having only an independent brake valve in the No.2 end, so they had to be turned to haul a train. Conversely, we had another class that crews preferred to run long-end leading, for reasons that aren't really suitable to discuss in a family-friendly forum...  ;)

 

Specific to Japan, I've noticed that it seems to have been common practice to turn steam heat boiler-equipped electrics so that the boiler is towards the trailing end, especially in winter. And the various specialised snowplough locos can only be run in one direction when snow clearing, so they also require a turntable.

 

All the best,

 

Mark.

[Martijn Meerts]

Guess the Dutch were smart enough to get locomotives that can run both ways then ;)

 

I have seen transfer tables used for depots though, so that definitely happens as well.