I need a turntable to complete the trackage in Thomaston. The Peco N scale turntable is the perfect length but doesn't have the look I want, which is similar to the wooden turntables found on the SR&RL and WW&F. I bought one anyway, and it looks like it would be relatively straightforward to scratchbuild a new underframe and superstructure.
Thankfully, the good people at the On2 FAQ had uploaded the plans from an old On2 turntable kit. After some experimentation, I found that printing the plans at 42% gave a good match to the diameter of the Peco turntable, meaning that I could take measurements directly off the plans. The resulting turntable will be 11'6" wide, which is slightly narrower than the prototype. I can live with that, though, especially since that my layout is freelanced.
So far I have attached new side girders to either side using two lengths of scale 14"x14" with a spacer between them, and added scale 8x14 and 14x14 cross-girders (probably not the right term!) across the bottom. I also weathered the pit and coated the bottom with dirt.
The most tedious part so far has been notching the cross-girders to fit around the underside of the Peco turntable - not prototypical, but it won't be visible in the final installation.
I still need to build the superstructure, paint and weather everything, and add the NBWs, truss rods, and other hardware.
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