British-made 50ft Turn Table

This 50-foot turntable was manufactured by Ransomes & Rapier in England in 1897 and is the oldest existing British-made equipment available in Japan whose manufacturing site is identified. The beam side is of a fish-belly shape and the turntable type is a ‘Balanced Type’ upper-deck type. While in a turning operation, the locomotive loads and the turntable beam are supported by the center portion only. This is one of 15 turntables of the same design delivered to Nippon Railway and it is back in service after being relocated to the station yard of Senzu Station of Oigawa Railway Co., Ltd. from the station yard of Higashi Akatani Station of Japan National Railways. Another two turntables assumed to be made in England at different times exist today in Japan, but the histories of such turntables are unknown.