I am making an around the walls layout 14’x16’. Actually it is against two walls and the other two sides are open to the rest of the room.
The problem is, to enter the layout I have to duck under it. It is 40" to the bottom of the benchwork but that still requires a lot of bending to clear.
I wanted to make a lift out section or a hinged section that swings up so I can enter. The swing up section is more appealing however, I don’t have a clue how to build one. For that matter either. I was hoping someone here has done it successfully and has a drawing and can describe how they built it.
Or is there any published drawings, books, or anything out there that shows and describes the building process.
managing the clearance issues going up is a pain. Going down is really much easier. I have a down swinging crossover just inside my door into my train room. I used piano hinge ( available at almost any hardware store). On the open end I used simple deadbolt type locks to lock it in place. After swinging up I use sliding rail joiners to lock the rails together. Remember also to use a cutoff switch to kill the power to the main , just in case you forget it’s open. Gravity takes effect when trains run off the end !
How wide is your layout at that point? If it’s relatively narrow, you might be able to put in a swinging gate. In fact, you could even build a gate with a wide platform on top if you can put an appropriately-curved arc into your design.
Also, how far along is your layout? If you’ve got a lot invested in construction of that area already, it’s going to be harder to retrofit an access point. On the other hand, you can make changes if you’re still in the planning phase. One popular option is a lift-off bridge, simulating a wide waterway but actually only having a 1 or 2-track span going across.
You might want to consider a swinging-door design, rather than a lift up/down/out. There was a good description of one (three tracks on two levels) in RMC a few months back.
Advantages of a hinged door:
No lifting of ANY weight.
Positive track alignment, easily adjustable.
No interference with scenic elements.
Can be rigged to swing all the way open (150-180 degrees) to leave a totally clear and unobstructed passageway.
Whatever method you decide on to arrange clear access to the layout space, two things to keep in mind:
Connect the benchwork on both sides of the opening with a sill or other arrangement (screwing to the floor isn’t acceptable in carpeted space, and isn’t too practical on concrete) so that the ‘abutments’ of the movable section will remain fixed in relation to each other.
Rig some form of electrical disconnect so the approach tracks (or the entire layout) will be ‘dead’ when the movable section is open.
On my last layout I was planning to use a bascule arrangement for access (short end down, long end up.) Before it got built I was granted title to a space big enough to allow walk-in access. The bascule survives as a cassette connection feature.
The book “Basic Model Railroad Benchwork” from Kalmbach Publishing would probably really help you out. My swing up section is an open grid of 2x2 lumber about 12 inches by 36 inches with a 1x4 screwed to each 36 inch side to prevent it from sagging. The hinges are offset at one end onto the table by about 1 inch so it swings up freely. The problem I have is my track on this hinged section is a curve and I have had trouble having the track line up precisely (derailments!!) when I lower it back down. I think a hinge or liftout section with straight track would work much better if you can do it that way. Hope this helps.
If you have wooden or metal guides at the end that does the high arc, the opening end so to speak, that part can be relatively easy for any type of movement, whether swing-up or swing wide. The bear, as suggested above, is getting the hinged and rotating axis and its environs to work tightly and to look good once the integrity of the moving section is restored to align at the free end, i.e., when closed. You would have to machine a curved arc, one concave, the other convex, and curve, or cove maybe, the slipping surfaces so that the seam is essentially invisible. To keep it working reliably, the key is a robust and relatively good hinge.
Lift off is simplest, but the most prone to edge wear due to continual banging when trying to get things aligned sufficiently to fall into place…which is about what it will do if it weighs more than 10 lbs and you are holding this substantial item out near arm’s length. Damage to the near-edge rails is likely.
Personally, I would think hard and try for the swing up, but that is just my preference. You will probably not want a gate type to swing inwards since it will take up a chunk of space for you and a guest to avoid while you both try to restore it to its closed position. So, if I were to want a gate, I would look carefully at its intended swept path in terms of what is likely to cause it to come to grief out there.
Just some thoughts, never actually made one, but I have thought about it. In the end, I chose the duckunder, mostly because I am short, and young, and was able to make it 44" high. Even then, I still do a scrape when I am distracted. If you are anything over 5’7", your stoop will be very awkward, and will have to be called a failure often…I’m pretty sure.
Mr. Beasley, the area is 24" wide and it is on a straight section. I was planning for the lift out / swing up to be 18" wide and 36" long.
A swing out won’t work because there is not be enough room for the section to swing out.
I have the book, Basic Model Railroad Benchwork, from Kalmbach but it doesn’t go into detail about swing up sections.
I went to a show this past weekend. One exhibit had a layout with a swing up section. However, I never got a chance to speak with the person that built that module. It had swing arm that looked like it was made from a 5/4"x6" board on both sides and 3/4" plywood as the sub-roadbed. It was connected to wooden legs that seemed to be made of the same 5/4"x 6" wood. There was a section that connected both legs at the bottom that stood about 2" from the floor and was topped with a 2"x12" board.
Still looking for more information and thanks for everyon’e input so far
Okay, if you are still open-minded about your problem, I will demonstrate that a swing down need not be an invitation to a knee-jerk disaster. Mine works quite well for a non-craftsman to have done it. A cabinet maker would probably have to cough before telling me I did a good job, but in the photo below, you see that the diagonal bridge spanning the operating pit works quite well. A more particular and skilled modeler would have done a few things differently, but this span has two small brass hinges at its pivot axis, at right where it meets the bench, and is held in place only by two small brass barrel locks. The latches of the barrel locks are the conduit for the power that comes up to the rails…they complete the circuit.
If I were to do it over again, I would have made the mating surfaces at the left side angled so that they could come closer during the swing up and latching. I missed that part and realized, too late, that I would have to pare back the foam a bit to get clearance. Luckily, it was only as bad as you can see. Don’t be put off by the blue foam, it’s all a work in progress.
To close this, my point was that a swing down is viable, but it needs to be thought out, A, and B is that it needs a retainer, hook and wire loops maybe, to keep it swung down and then continued on up and tucked out of the way of knees…hence the “knee-jerk” comment above.
Have you checked the Model Railroader site for Adobe print outs that are on file. Some years back there was an article in M.R. about swing gates for allowing you to enter a layout. That was about 10 years or more ago. Fairly recently I saw a print out available for a swing gate, just 2 pages. I am pretty sure it M.R. that offered it…free.
Bill, if you are open to another option, you might try a swing gate (like a door). It a) eliminates ducking, b) eliminates the necessity for finding a place to put the lift-out section while it’s out and you have to go back and forth through it, c) has no bulky hinges sticking above the benchwork like a lift gate does, and d) you don’t have to worry about knocking any scenery off the drop-gate while it’s down. I made one that I’m pretty satisfied with:
For a finished, hinged, lift up section, you need to consider the following:
Hiding the hinges on the hinge side. Easiest way to do this is the same way most of the doors in your home do it. The hinges go in the crack between fixed sectionm and hinged section.
Going a step further, check with your hardware store and if they can’t help you with “invisible cabinetry hinges”, try a specialty woodworking store. Don’t be afraid of mortising for the hinges. Screw them to one side or the other, scribe around them with a sharp utility blade, dig in slowly with a sharp chiesel, and all you really have to worry about is going too deep.
You’d think you have to eyeball a perfect placement of the mortises for the other side of the hinge, but it isn’t as hard as it seems. Use a square and tape measure to get close, scribe again with the knife, but don’t drill your screw holes for that side till you test fit and adjust.
The non-hinged side has to have a slight slant to it, so it doesn’t stick, due to it’s thickness, when you try to open it. The longer the hinged section, the less of a slant, or bevel you’ll need. Get this just the way you want it, after the hinges are in, but before laying any track. If you need to dress the edges of the liftout section because the hinges weren’t perfectly installed, now’s the time to do that too.
Locking into the perfect position, time after time. Sliding joiners can be a bit of a pain. Very often, you will forget to do this, like when the phone’s ringing and you’re in a hurry, and it’s very hard on your track. If you get the woodwork done first, then lay the track, uninterupted across the hinged section, then cut the rails last, you are most of the way home to not having to use joiners at all.
The final ingredient is to be able to fix the non-hinged side into position when it’s closed, avoiding the slight play you’ll find in many hinges. One way to do that is to put r
This is a under hindged double track swing up, lifting over center it will stay up by itself, is quick to operate and alignes pretty good with a positive spring latch. These two have 90 degree turns with mulitible tracks and curved turnouts mounted on them. l Use door hindges an all four of my liftups. Just a little more food for thought. You have a lot of great info from ver knowelegable modelers, hope you find a solution, lots of luck…John
The link above will take you to Part I of a tutorial that I put together based on my answer to a similar problem I faced on my layout. So far I have not had any problems with this design, still I am awaiting the first full year of weather changes to see how it holds up, and that will be March of 2008 before the first full cycle is met.
I have the photos, but still need to pen the documentation for Part II before I put it up on the site.
I’ve done a temporary liftout. It’s about 40" above floor and it becomes a duckunder when I am running trains. I will replace it with a swing gate - count on it!
I have a curved 180 degree lift-up that forms an arch to walk under about 8 feet wide. It has a chain in the center of the curve supported from the rooms ceiling. Used a sheet of 1/4 thick MDF to make the thing and haven’t had any problems with expansion of the material.
After looking at the swing gates shown here I may reconsider how wide I want to go with that section. If I were to go slimmer I would be able to do the swing gate.
Thanks everyone for all the great ideas and for all the pictures. I can see light at the end of the tunnel. No pun intended.
Bill…Im sorry if you were refering to my picture of a straight track swing up. It has only one hindge and is under the structure, so when it is lifter up , it will go over center, and stay up on its own accord, there is no lock in up position. However do to the mass of a 90 degree turn on one (Kinda like a door) it should be secured. heres a better pic, laught at the scenery if ya want…its comming outLOL
These two have 90 degree turns with mulitible tracks and curved turnouts mounted on them. l Use door hindges an all four of my liftups. Just a little more food for thought. 
You have a lot of great info from ver knowelegable modelers, hope you find a solution, lots of luck…John
