First off,hello to all.I’m currently constructing my first permanent layout in a spare bedroom that is 9x12. The layout is basically 9x11 with29 inch wide plywood sub roadbed held up by L-bracing along the walls making it basically a large square.Any ideas on how to install a lift up/drop down section to prevent getting on my hands and knees into the open center of my layout?
Any suggestions/help would be greatly appreciated, Thanking you in advance Spiritbear770
spiritbear770
Welcome to the forums![#welcome] I don’t have any personal experience with your situation but many others have. There is a search engine on the right side of this page (about half way down) that will allow you to view many previous posts on this topic. For example, I entered “lift out bridge” (make sure it is set to search “Model Railroader Forums”) and got a bunch of hits. Here is one with a swing bridge with lots of pictures that looks like it could hold up a Mack truck!
http://cs.trains.com/TRCCS/forums/p/127351/1434854.aspx#1434854
Scroll up to the top to see the bridge pictures.
(Great advice on scratch building a turntable too.)
If you spend some time exploring other previous posts I can guarantee you will find a lot of useful information.
Good luck with your layout!
Dave
Welcome to the forums.
Dave is right, there has been quite a bit of discussion on these and there are many styles. The search engine you want is “Search our Community.”
The simplest one I have ever seen is on a modular layout I have seen at several shows, so I know it gets quite a bit of movement going from storage to shows and back. It is basicly a piece of plywood, with strengthening to keep it from warping. It is set right between two other pieces of plywood. On one end it has two hinges, bolts up, unlike most I have seen. To hide the hinges they have an old piece of well worn carpet attached and sprinkled with ground foam. I think this would be a good place to use something like a grass mat also. On the other end is a latching mechanism that holds it firmly in place when down. You also need a way to keep it aligned when it comes down, v-blocks or dowels will do this and there are other ways too.
The most important thing is to make sure that you have your track wiring done in a way that when you lift (swing, drop or take out) the gate that not only the track on the gate disconnects from the power, but also the track each side of the gate for some distance goes dead also. This is to prevent your trains from taking a dive into the gap.
After looking over some of the information you find, if you still have questions don’t be afraid to come back. The only stupid question is the one not asked.
Another place to look for information is at the very top of the page, you will find a light gray line. Over to the right, click on RESOURCES, then Magazine Index, this will take you to articles in many publications, not just MR. I haven’t used it since they redid it, so am not just sure how it is set up now.
Good luck,
Richard
I have seen a thread (don’t remember where) that shows using drawer slides and the lift up track. Seemed to work pretty well.
First off, thanks much Dave for you responsce to me.Hello from Barrie,Ont. I saw the swing bridge you had mentioned and it seems to be a little of an over kill, but I think your right…it could hold a Mack truck, may try to find a simpler method of doing it. Thanks again and maybe send you some pics when I finish it …Ed
I was never a big fan of the hinged lift up sections, and I hate duckunders.
So when I needed to span an aisle to put in a reversing section to bring back trains from the direction that they departed from, I built a lift out that could be taken out and put back in without having to connect and disconnect the wiring.
What I did was to build a ledge on each side of the aisle and install brass mending plates with power feeds soldered to the mending plates. I put corresponding mending plates on the underside of the lift out to transfer power to the track on the lift out. Only one side of the lift out required the mending plates. Here are some photos. I can install the lift out in a matter of a second or two.
Rich
I prefer lift-up sections. I have written about how to make them. See this link.
http://mysite.verizon.net/vzescsbb/HO_MRR/Room%20Access%20Lift%20Bridges.pdf
I think lift-up sections are easier to build if done right. You should have some minimal wood working skills.
Here is a photo of my layout room which uses four lift-up sections across two doors. The top one at the far end is a lift-off section and is more permanent. It was added after I found that I didn’t use that door at all. The door to the right is used all the time.
Hi and Welcome to the forums. First question, the doorway you wish to span. Does it open into or out of the room? If into, then a lift out would be best way to go. Then swing away or gate of some sort. The lift out can’t fall down into place and jam the door if the door is closed. A lift out only requires a place to be set when not in use.
As stated before a simple set of contacts are all that is needed with a lift out to power the track on it while in place. It only matters that they work when needed. So its up to what you want to use.
Mine is not really a walk in, but at 57 inch track elevation, it is a bend-and-stoop at about 45" clearance, rather than a crawl-on-your-hands-and-knees under.
If your layout is high enough, a duck-under is simplest. I installed one that was intended to be a lift-out and still could be if I needed, but found that a duck under that does not need too much stooping works great, and I like the layout a bit higher.
Hi Neighbour!!!
Dave
I’ve posted these before, but since you asked:
http://look4trains.com/2010/06/cure-for-aching-back.html and then
http://look4trains.com/2010/07/disaster-prevention.html
I have found this to be durable and reliable even through the change in seasons. I have had to make slight adjustments to the blocks the bridge fits into as the weather changes (summer to winter) by adding a styrene shim. Other than that, swing up, lock in place, and off you go!
Having a way to avoid a duckunder has been well worth the effort of building it.
Jim