Been talk about this for awhile, glad to see something finally happening?
http://www.wlos.com/news/features/top-s ... enZDBFVhBd

Very commendable job done by GSMR and the two counties involved. I look forward to riding behind 1702 (and at some point even 722) in the gorge and seeing her on the new table soon!

The turntable at Bryson is the PRR turntable from Berwick, Pa. It was located inside the old ACF plant there and was used from time to time to photograph new subways cars and other railroad equipment since it could be rotated to take best advantage of the natural light. Twenty-some years ago, I assisted a contractor hired by GSMR arrange for lifting it out of the pit and loading on a TTX flatcar. If my memory serves me, it is an 85-foot table.

What was it originally built for? It's very cool they used it for photography, but I'd be surprised if it was built for that!

Berwick was the end of the PRR's Berwick Branch, which extended from Watsontown to Berwick. The eastern two-thirds of the branch was abandoned when Conrail came along, while the western third serves a coal-fired power plant that is now threatened with closure or conversion to natural gas. The trackage in Berwick bisected the American Car & Foundry plant, at one time ACF's largest. Before diesels came on the scene, the turntable was used to turn the 2-8-0's that powered the branch trains.

When I was told about this turntable some years ago I understood it as being a PRR one. Now I'm confused. Was it a PRR one obtained by ACF and moved into their plant, or just used by them as it was nearby? Or something else? I have the original date listed as "by 1994" and any better dating would also be nice to know, if possible. I also have the length as 85 feet. Thanks for updating us on its installation. I also understood that the Smoky Mountain operation was looking for another turntable at the time and if anyone knows if this happened I would want to know the details about it.

As far as I know, it was always owned by the PRR. I've seen a couple of photos of PRR H-9 and H-10s engines on the turntable at Berwick. When the Berwick Branch was cut back in the late 70's, the turntable stayed. When it was obtained by GSMR, the lead track had been removed.

The PRR passed through the heart of the ACF works to reach a small terminal on the east side of the plant. By the time I came on the scene in 1965, the tracks on the east side were gone and the PRR essentially ended at the turntable. I suspect the use of the turntable by ACF on the QT with tacit approval by the local railroad employees and officials.

Ron, I apologize that I can't pin down the time of its removal very closely. I know it was in the early 90's, sometime prior to September of 1994.

Turntable at the Western Maryland Scenic RR yard in Ridgeley, WV.... I've never asked where it came from.....

Can you tell us when the photos of the turntable at Ridgeley yard were taken. That might narrow down where it came from.

March 23, 2015

Thanks for the recent date of the photos. I'll have to ask the WM Scenic where it came from as it is nothing I know about. They already have one a the Frostburg end of the line. Perhaps the C&O 2-6-6-2 they are working on will need another at the Cumberland end? If anyone knows of this please let us know.

The turntable in the photos from Ridgeley, WV, on the West Virginia Scenic is the 100th one in my listing of those moved for tourist or museum use. Any info on it would be appreciated. It looks very much like the one the line has installed at Frostburg.

Here is the story about the turntable on the flat car at the Ridgeley shop of the Western Maryland Scenic RR from the former CMO of the line who provided it:

A 121’ turntable built by American Bridge & Building in 1948 was moved from the P&LE Gateway Yard in Youngstown, OH, to the Western Maryland Scenic RR. It is stored on a flat car at the shop in Ridgeley WV. It is a bridge type with two powered trucks. The plan was to purchase the property that the line was leasing and install the table so the line would no longer require the use of the trackage, land and "Y" at MD Junction.

I should add that this turntable was moved in the late 1990s. I wonder how many others are out there that haven't been found yet? It's kind of hard to hide them, as you can see from the photos.

For the record there are 3 turntables in existence in New Hampshire that are in their pits...but not being used.

#1 West Lebanon, NH - Claremont & Concord R.R. - the roundhouse is still standing, smoke jacks and walls standing...but appears on the verge of being a total loss. (Turntable isn't used)

#2 Concord, NH - Essentially at the termination of Pan Am R.R. operations...and beginning of the state owned tracks heading north to Boscawen, NH and a line running north and east around the lakes region. The Hobo Railroad and Winnipesaukee Scenic R.R. use the state owned lines. (Turntable isn't used)

#3 Portsmouth, NH - Pan Am R.R. line coming up to the coastal gas port. The roundhouse is there...but has collapsed. The turntable is in the partially filled in pit.

It's a sad spectacle indeed.