The Turntable

The Turntable. . During the Civil War, the railroad that terminated at Johnsonville included a turntable for rotating locomotive engines. The turntable was a large circular pit with a stone outer base. Located in the middle of the pit was a central pivot (made of iron and wooden timbers) that supported a single section of track called a bridge.

As trains arrived empty from Nashville, rail cars were uncoupled and left at the supply warehouses located along the bank of the Tennessee River (approx. 500 yards to your front). The engineer backed the locomotive onto the turntable bridge. A rail running around the floor of the pit supported the ends of the bridge when a locomotive entered or exited. Rotation the track was accomplished by two men pushing on gears to swing the bridge on the central pivot. The engine was turned until the locomotive faced in the opposite direction for the return to Nashville.

Before you is Johnsonville's turntable. Constructed in late 1863, the outer stone base and pivot foundation are all that remain. In 1890, the Civil War era railroad bed was raised by the Nashville Division of the Nashville, Chattanooga, and St. Louis Railroad. This improvement made the right side of the turntable inoperable.

(captions) , The turntable at the Alexandria, Virginia railroad station (1864). The turntable at Johnsonville was identical to the one above. , Turntable at Petersburg, Virginia (1863)