# eaglewings ironcraft turntable



## todd55whit (Jan 2, 2008)

Anyone have a turntable from them? Thinking about one, but need to be about 26". How do you like it if you have one?


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## Nicholas Savatgy (Dec 17, 2008)

Well worth the price i paid, mine is 48 inchs.


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## Stan Cedarleaf (Jan 2, 2008)

Todd........ anything Dan does is great.


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## jfrank (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By todd55whit on 24 Mar 2010 01:23 PM 
Anyone have a turntable from them? Thinking about one, but need to be about 26". How do you like it if you have one? 
It's an excelent product. Mine is 38". However, here in Houston where there is a lot of humidity and rainfall moisture has seeped under the powder coating and started some major rust spots. So I would not recomment the powder coating. Just some plain grey primer would work better. Then you could touch it up easily every year. The powder coating has to be scraped off and the area treated to stop the rust......and so far it hasn't stopped it.


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## todd55whit (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks for the painting tip-jfrank 

I am thinking of going without the motor. Can any of you speak of it's operation? 
What's the best way to contact them?


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## San Juan (Jan 3, 2008)

Almost exactly a year ago I was looking into a custom sized 35" Eaglewings Turntable. However they were a bit reluctant to build one not in the standard sizes they are set up for. It would cost a lot more to have one built that is not in the standard offered sizes of 38", 48" and 60".

By the way, here is their web page for turntables if you haven't been there already:

Eaglewings Iron Craft Turntable 


And here is a Youtube video showing the motorized version:



Because you are looking to get a 26" turntable, it might be a bit more costly then if you went with one of their 3 standard sizes. But it doesn't hurt to ask or call. They are very nice and extremely helpful over the phone. And I'm very happy with the two six foot steel bridges they made for us several years ago. They look great and added so much to the layout. So they do excellent work.



I'm still in the market for a 35" turntable and pit that resembles the Durango turntable. I was in contact with another custom builder however with a new job, the time available to the train side of the business is now limited. 


Does anyone know of a custom builder who might be interested in building a 35" turntable that resembles the Durango Colorado turntable? I've been collecting images and researching the Durango turntable for over a year, I'm just having trouble finding someone available to bulid us a turntable. If anyone here knows of someone who might be interested, please PM or email me ([email protected]).


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## todd55whit (Jan 2, 2008)

Sanjuan thanks for the link. Watched that yesterday. The narator made it a point to mention about any size. I hope that is the case. I emailed them yesterday, may call If I don't hear anything. Have you looked at pacific coast railway? They have an Armstrong that you can get a custom size. You have to make your own pit though.


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## San Juan (Jan 3, 2008)

Posted By todd55whit on 24 Mar 2010 07:44 PM 
I emailed them yesterday, may call If I don't hear anything. Have you looked at pacific coast railway? They have an Armstrong that you can get a custom size. You have to make your own pit though. 

You might want to call. I got a quick response via the phone when compared to email.

And yep I've looked into Pacific Coast Garden Railway Supply ...and maybe even looked into getting a custom pit for it









I wanted to clarify part of the reason I did not go with the Eaglewing's turntable (as of yet) is due to the design/style. It is more of a standard gauge turntable then the Durango style that I'd like to replicate. Although it is not too far off of the Durango style. The big thing for me are the unique handrails. But I may look into it again depending on what I find, as coming with a pit is a big plus. And I need a turntable that can be removed as we take most things indoors due to the heavy snow winters in our area.


I'm not sure if you've seen the Fall Creek Railroad Structures turntable (advertised in Garden Railways), but that is another option, especially if you need a custom size like 26". We currently use one of these. Ours is 30" long. Very nice and made of redwood and comes with a pit. I added extensions that overhang the pit increasing the size to 35" to handle the larger locos we have. Here's a photo link of our Fall Creek turntable.


One question, 26" is pretty small for a G gauge turntable...even for the smallest 1:32 scale. Any reason for such a short turntable? 


I checked out your website (very nice layout by the way), and noticed your predominately 1:29 diesel fleet. You might want to go a bit longer then 26" just in case you ever want to use the turntable for switching. You could couple one of your diesels and a freight car or passenger car on a longer turntable. And one turntable makes up for a lot of switch tracks. Pretty efficient.


I thought we were good to go with a 30", but of course that didn't last long when a K-28 and K-36 were added to the fleet. And these are 1:22.5 not the larger 1:20.3.


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## Gary Armitstead (Jan 2, 2008)

Matt, 

I talked to Randy from Pacific Coast at last years BTS and we talked about his new 65 foot Durango turntable (in 1/20.3 scale). That's over 38.4 inches in 1/20.3. 34.667 in. in 1/22.5. It really is a nice turntable. We also talked about his armstrong turntable and he mentioned then that they could build custom pits if I needed one. Might be expensive though.


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## Dick413 (Jan 7, 2008)

Matt 
Dan is the man you want to talk too and he is going tobe at York 
this Friday and Sat.. He is driving to York so you may want to call next week.


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## todd55whit (Jan 2, 2008)

Matt 
I checked out your website (very nice layout by the way), and noticed your predominately 1:29 diesel fleet. You might want to go a bit longer then 26" just in case you ever want to use the turntable for switching. 
Thanks! I want the 24" because of the limited area unwhich it will go. The PVRR RS3 is our biggest locomotive @ 22". I only want to turn the locos and provide a couple of storeage tracks off of the table. The railroad does have a single stall engine house which will be accessed from the table. 

The fall creek looks nice but I am not into the Gallows type. Prefer the Armstrong look. I agree with you on needing a pit included. I to would have to remove it in the winter. 

My railroad runs 4 axle locomotives. Mostly 44 ton ge's , Alco s4's and a few RS3's I really wounldn't need a long table. 

I will follow up with a call to Eaglewings. Probably after ECLSTS, where I think they are exhibiting at this weekend..


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## jfrank (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By todd55whit on 24 Mar 2010 07:01 PM 
Thanks for the painting tip-jfrank 

I am thinking of going without the motor. Can any of you speak of it's operation? 
What's the best way to contact them? 

Todd, mine does not have a motor. I don't find it necessary as the table turns easily enough. The Eagle Wings pit is made of heavy steel and weighs over 50lbs so I don't think you will want to take it inside in the winter except maybe to perform some maintenance ever three or four years. The bridge just lifts out and you can store it inside easily. The bridge is supported by ball bearing wheels at each end that run on the ring rail. It is not supported in the center so there is no wobble associated with it. It does have a center bearing but it is not used for support. The height of the bridge is adjustable by an adjusting screw incorporated into the wheel assemblies. This turntable is so strong you could literally stand on it and turn yourself around. I dug a pit under it for drainage and filled it with gravel. I also drilled some extra holes in the pit for drainage. Dan uses sunset valley ties and brass rail for the ring rail. Here in Texas the sunset valley ties become brittle over time. I had to replace them with Llagas creek ties and rail as that is what I had on hand. You might ask if there is an option on what he uses for the ring rail. Most durable in my experience might be Aristo ties with code 332 rail. The turntable and bridge are so heavy that they have to be shipped motor freight. UPS won't handle it. Mine came strapped to a wooden pallet and was dammage free. Shipping is expensive.

I have a Fallcreek turntable, but it is not nearly as durable. Fallcreek uses a lazy susan type center bearing and it gets clogged up easily with dirt and debris and has to be cleaned out several times a year. It is held in place with four screws that are a little tricky to remove and put back. It's a nice model, but better suited for indoors I think.


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## jameses2 (Feb 15, 2008)

Try Ralph at Fall creek Railroad Structures. He makes a mean Gallows turntable. I would upload pictures of his work, but I do not know how on this forum. He can be reached at [email protected]. see page 78 of the April Garden Railway magazine. Sorry the link is not hot. If you want some detail pictures I will be glad to email them directly to you. 

Jim in Sacramento


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## San Juan (Jan 3, 2008)

I forgot to mention that Dan (of Eaglewings) has a cover for the turntable as an option.


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