Some of you may have been visitors here at Port Clinton for the RBMN open-house in 1998. At that time we had just finished transplanting the turntable from the ex-Monongahela RR at South Brownsville, PA. Conrail had acquired and closed the engine terminal there.

The "transplant" fit perfectly in our old Philadelphia & Reading pit, (which had been abandoned and filled in for 50-odd years)...with the exception of being a few inches taller. This was easily remedied by changing the height of the lead tracks.

The turntable provides the access to the building where 2102 and 425 sleep, plus 614 on a lead, outside unfortunately. For logistical reasons, it took a few more years to get a source of electric to the site. When we needed to turn something, we pulled the turntable around with a tractor.

Finally, the project has advanced to the point of being able to run this TT on its own power.

Guess what. The big ol' motors don't work. We had our electricians scratching their heads over this one, and finally pulled the motors off, to be repaired or replaced.

Short story long:
I would appreciate any leads to existing turntables that are going to be scrapped, for the possibility of acquiring the motors,
OR- leads to motors already salvaged from scrapping,
OR- any leads on companies that specialize in rebuilding these old motors.

Thanks in advance.

Steve Gilbert
RBMN

Are there any armature shops in your area? Any good motor shop should be able to rewind the motors. We've had great success getting rather old motors rebuilt here in Chattanooga. The motors on the wheel machines (circa 1944-45) and the motors for the recently installed Summervile Turntable were all rebuilt by the Chattanooga Armature Works. And I know they are not the only ones around that can do that kind of work. Let your fingers do the walking and see what you can find out.

Good Luck,

G. Mark

TVRM Shop Updates by Steve Freer
aw90@comcast.net

Steve,

Don't throw those motors out!!!

Take the motors as is, (complete with ALL the parts), to any RESPECTABLE electrical motor rewind shop. You might have to go to Reading or Philly. Lots of what the coal mines still use today, date from the early 1910's to 1940's.

A GOOD shop should be able to get some useful data off the nameplates, and be able rebuild them to better than original specs.

Just know what type of electricity you have on hand to power them with. ie: voltage, # of phases. The motors may have been made to run on something different than what you have wired out to the turntable today....

Here in Denver, I've seen Denver Electric work miracles rebuilding OLD Westinghouse and GE motors. Sometimes they have also had to redo the windings because operating voltage went from the old 375 VAC, to either 220 or 440 VAC that is now the norm... (This happened at Nevada Northern RY)

BTW, I've also seen them redo more than a dozen steam loco dynamos that date from the 1910's to 1930's...

BILL BONDIE
Iron Horse Water Treatment Inc.

http://www.ironhorsewater.com
billbondie@ironhorsewater.com

> Steve,

> Don't throw those motors out!!!

> Take the motors as is, (complete with ALL
> the parts), to any RESPECTABLE electrical
> motor rewind shop. You might have to go to
> Reading or Philly. Lots of what the coal
> mines still use today, date from the early
> 1910's to 1940's.

> A GOOD shop should be able to get some
> useful data off the nameplates, and be able
> rebuild them to better than original specs.

> Just know what type of electricity you have
> on hand to power them with. ie: voltage, #
> of phases. The motors may have been made to
> run on something different than what you
> have wired out to the turntable today....

> Here in Denver, I've seen Denver Electric
> work miracles rebuilding OLD Westinghouse
> and GE motors. Sometimes they have also had
> to redo the windings because operating
> voltage went from the old 375 VAC, to either
> 220 or 440 VAC that is now the norm... (This
> happened at Nevada Northern RY)

> BTW, I've also seen them redo more than a
> dozen steam loco dynamos that date from the
> 1910's to 1930's...

> BILL BONDIE
> Iron Horse Water Treatment Inc.

Steve-

Who was the manufacturer of these motors? If it was Draper Manufacturing of Port Huron, Michigan, we might be able to help.

TJ Gaffney


Port Huron Museum

tjgaffney@phmuseum.org

First check the motor controlers for proper operation and wiring. Check the motors and wiring for continuity and insulation resistance. You will need a "megger" to check for insulation resistance
What type of motors do you have? Do they have wound armitures with slip rings and brushes or just wound stators?

hgorin@ix.netcom.com

> Dear Steve:
FYI if you want to replace your motor, Valley RR has for sale one 50HP and one 35HP motor, both about 1100 RPM, 440 volts, 3 phase, stored inside for many years.
J. David

jdconrad@snet.net

I suggest you contact your local street car museum. There are likely people there who are at home with heavy electric motors.

The California State Railroad Museum is installing
a transfer table and used one of the folks at the Western Railway Museum to design the electric part of the table.


ted_miles@nps.gov

> FYI if you want to replace your motor,
> Valley RR has for sale one 50HP and one 35HP
> motor, both about 1100 RPM, 440 volts, 3
> phase, stored inside for many years.
> J. David

J. David:

Just curious; what is Valley asking for each of them?

Les Beckman (Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum)


midlandblb@cs.com

Our 85 foot table was still in place when the museum took over, unfortunately, the motors had been removed at some point, probably for the copper. The mounting holes indicated some BIG motors. A local industry here sent over some engineers, and then supplied us with new motors with new spur gears on them. (The old spur gears left with the old motors.)
We got two -small- 7 1/2 horse motors. We mounted them despite our doubts, and have been told by old-timers that our table turns faster than it used to. Loading it down with a GP-35 and a consolidation sans tender doesn't really seem to bog it down too much, just the geep doesn't change the speed at all.
It was explained to me that motor technology has improved such that the "big, old" motors were probably about the same HP as the small ones.

Were it me, I would repair the old ones as a first choice, our just buy some on the open market as a second choice. MSC has some 7 1/2 horse 3 phase motors for about $325 apiece, you could prob. find them cheaper.

rudd@cogdellmendrala.com

Although not historic, some of the turntables used by class ones have been repowered with hydraulics. Simplifies the control systems and takes care of the brakes too. A mojor consideration will be how much rebuilding the motors costs

Stuhr Museum
pfdx@aol.com

Boy I can think of two electical contracting firms in Berks County that have personal with the knowledge and ability to solve your problem. But being those motors were underwater be prepared to budget some money for major repairs because neither firm works for free.

A question I haven't seen asked is, what kind of motors are they, DC or AC; if AC what phase. Next question is, whatever they are, is that what you want your motors to be with your electrical hookup.


Electric City Trolley Museum Association