Tag:railway=turntable
railway = turntable |
Description |
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A movable segment of railway track that rotates about its midpoint, allowing rolling stock to change direction. |
Rendering in OSM Carto |
Group: railways |
Used on these elements |
Useful combination |
See also |
Status: approved |
Tools for this tag |
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The key railway=turntable is used to identify a railway turntable. Turntables are used to change the direction a piece of rolling stock—commonly a locomotive—is facing. They are commonly found in locomotive depots or railway yards. They are commonly used to rotate rolling stock direction by 180 degrees, in which case they perform the same function as a wye but occupy much less space—although wyes can have the advantage of being able to turn an entire train at once. Turntables had their origin in the age of steam locomotives, and with the mid-20th-Century advent of diesel and electric locomotion and especially locomotives with cabs on either end, they were gradually retired. Today they are often found in working condition at railway museums such as the Steamtown National Historic Site in Pennsylvania in the United States. They may still be in common other-than-preservation use in countries where dieselisation and/or electrification of the rail network is not yet widespread.
How to map
Turntables are drawn as a circular area. Do not draw the movable track segment inside the turntable—different imagery may show it in different positions, and the circular railway=turntable area provides sufficient information for routing software.