Wiring a Turntable track

[ponthenry]

I have installed a Dapol turntable on my under construction layout and have powered it with a battery powered drive unit which works fantastically without any wiring dramas!  The turntable is situated on a spur off my goods DC method, as the cost of chipping all my motive power for DCC was/is prohibitive!  

 

However, while powering the turntable so that it turns was simple, where I am struggling is with getting the power to the track on the turntable itself to enable the locomotive to run on and off the turntable.  Someone suggested running a feed to each rail from underneath the turntable, but then had a "Doh!" moment when I pointed out that the rotation of the turntable would wind the wires together and eventually stop it rotating!  I have looked in all my model railway books, including my collection of the Peco "Shows You How" booklets that they gave away with Railway Modeller from time to time, and searched online to no avail.

 

So can anyone supply me with or point me in the direction of a simple (it has to be simple as my wiring skills are limited) set of instructions and/or a diagram that solve my problem please?

 

[Michael Hodgson]

The deck on DC  turntables is normally fed via a commutator centred on the pivot, so that when the deck gets past a certain angle, the rail is fed from the appropriate approach rail.

[Brian]

The Dapol TT has no split ring or other means of providing rail power to the rotating bridge rails. Dapol suggest using "Sliding Fishplates" to provide power to the TT rails - Perhaps not the best of ideas IMOI!

The use of a 6.5mm Jack plug and mating socket has been used by some who like the simplicity of the TT, but TBH the use of a ready-made Slip Ring may proved a more positive connection?  Example of a Slip Ring... Slip Ring example   Another type is here Example - 2    Alternatively make your own split ring from copper clad PCB and some Phosphor Bronze wipers to connect to the two rails and press down lightly onto the PCB?  

[Jeff Smith]

My Kitwood Hill Models turntable has continuous ring contacts and a DPDT to reverse the polarity.  This would be similar to just being hard wired, but then you need to prevent it turning more than 360 degrees, maybe with a peg or some sort of visual reminder....

[ponthenry]

Hi guys,

 

Thank you very much for the suggestions.  I will have a look at what is involved/need with these and see what will work best for me.  I have already kept it as simple as I can with just one track leading on/off the turntable.  Including a turntable was a bit of an afterthought, I will admit, as I didn't think I would have room for it.  However, after I had laid out the station and goods yard tracks, I realised that I had an area of "dead ground" that was large enough, hence the simplicity of the tracks serving the turntable.

 

[DCB]

My shortened Dapol (One Bay chopped out so 65 feet ish) has pin on each rail on the left as you look at it which rubs one of two horizontal curved sprung wipers which each cover 160 degrees travel one connected to black feed and one to white feed.  It also has notches for indexing   It goes dead at mid point but automatically reverses polarity as it is swung.  It is still awaiting a motor but hey it  was only temporary measure 39 years ago.