A railway turntable is a device for turning railroad rolling stock, usually locomotives, so that they can be moved back in the direction from which they came. This is especially true in areas where economic considerations and/or a lack of sufficient space have served to weigh against the construction of a turnaround wye. In the case of steam locomotives, railroads needed a way to turn the locomotives around for return trips as their controls were often not configured for extended periods of running in reverse and in many locomotives the top speed was lower in reverse motion. Two different style of turntables are shown in the examples below. A standard pit type turntable that you can see being turned manually by four men using large handles for leverage. The other type of turntable commonly known as a “gallows turntable” I assume because it’s appearance resembles the old hanging gallows.

   We are not sure what type of turntable was used in Woodman to turn the “Dinky” around and we have not been able to locate any pictures of it either. Clearly one of these two types was used in Woodman at the Dinky’s last stop.