Railway Turntable
ProductOverview
A railway turntable is a rotating bridge carrying a complete locomotive or coach on a circular rail track. The bridge rotates around a massive center pivot bearing, allowing the vehicle to point in a new direction without moving under its own power. Modern turntables are electrically driven with dual motors powering friction wheels that grip the circular rail.
How it works
When the depot operator signals the turntable control, the Mechanical Lock disengages. The two Drive Units simultaneously energise their motors, driving drive wheels against the Circular Rail Track. The wheels roll the Rotating Bridge Deck around the Center Pivot Bearing.
The Guide Wheel System constrain the deck laterally as it spins. An Encoder on the motor feeds back rotation angle to the control system. Once the Control Panel confirms the desired orientation, the motor drive disengages and the Mechanical Lock re-engages mechanically, dropping or sliding a lock pin into a pit-mounted catch.
Bill of materials for Railway Turntable
7 top-level lines as of r136804| # | Item / sub-assembly | Part no. | Qty/assy | Ext. qty | Parts | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Circular Rail Track 3 parts | railway-turntable-circular-rail | 1× | 1 | 0 | assembly |
| 2 | Rotating Bridge Deck 4 parts | railway-turntable-bridge-deck | 1× | 1 | 0 | assembly |
| 3 | Center Pivot Bearing 4 parts | railway-turntable-center-pivot | 1× | 1 | 0 | assembly |
| 4 | Drive Units 4 parts | railway-turntable-drive-units | 1× | 1 | 0 | assembly |
| 5 | Mechanical Lock 3 parts | railway-turntable-locking-system | 1× | 1 | 0 | assembly |
| 6 | Guide Wheel System 2 parts | railway-turntable-guide-wheels | 1× | 1 | 0 | assembly |
| 7 | Control Panel 5 parts | railway-turntable-control-panel | 1× | 1 | 0 | assembly |
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