I have been talking about running the tracks around and through the walls of my Man Cave these past weeks, I just thought about instead of running the rails over head to cross the walkways, that duck-under access would facilitate the problem I have been seeking for elevation (helix) changes. One thing I would like to discuss is the fact of designing a draw bridge to facilitate the track raising out of way for my entrance/exit door. I figure the need to allow electrical connection of the track across the doorway at the hinge side would only require connection of wires between the rails before the hinge and rails after the hinge, and same process around the door to connect the side of the bridge where the tracks meet after the (canyon) opening section. The electrical part of the draw bridge is only a small task for me (licensed electrician for 33+ years and an electronic tinkerer for my life), but what I would like advice on is the concept of the section of the track before/after the hinge and the section before/after the end of the cross/land area. Mechanically, I figure the tracks will need to not have the rail joiners attached so the tracks can separate and meet and be positioned exactly perfect so the train doesn’t derail before/after the bridge. Any advice on this area mechanically will help.
Mountain scenes Hinge Draw Bridge (Canyon) Cross/land area Town/Farmland area →
I still think you are unnecessarily making things way too complicated.
You don’t actually need to make a drawbridge that will automatically open in the middle and fold up to both sides (far enough to clear the door opening into the room) or open on one side and fold all the way over whenever someone approaches the door, with sensors on the inside and the outside of the room to trigger the automatic raising of the bridge.
All you need is a simple (and removable) plank across the door.
When you want to run trains, you put the plank in place (and possibly lock the door to prevent someone else from barging in at the wrong moment, knocking the bridge down with the door - assuming that the door swings into the room).
When you are not running trains, the plank lies on a shelf somewhere, and the doorway to the room is not obstructed in any way.
The plank is aligned with the benchwork in some trivial way - using dowels, or notch and tongue, clasps, or just clamping it in position using some small C clamps when you are running trains.
The tracks on the plank do not actually need to connect to the tracks on the fixed bench. They just need to align - so the wheels of the train goes from the track on the bench to the track on the plank.
Power to the track on the removable section comes from a wire plugged into a receptacle on the fixed bench.
If you want to prevent trains from driving onto the plank when it is not there, you make sure you cut power to the last section of track on the bench when the plank is not there - having e.g. a micro switch that is depressed when the plank is in place.
Some guidance on building a removable plank crossing of a gap:
I would also run any buss wires under an aluminum threshold that can be placed on the floor. In my opinion, you don’t want to run your main bus wires with the lift bridge. Track wires for the bridge, yes. But not the AWG12 bus wiring. I am using duck tape to hold a second threshold down for the wiring runs. Just something to think about.
How about I don’t “need” a draw bridge, but “want” to incorporate an “automatic draw bridge”. If you’ve looked at my controls in my man cave, you can see that all my lights are low voltage controlled from several different locations and one point of access is wireless remote. I am into control wiring and remote control gadgets and want to make an “automatic draw bridge” to function an out of way mode so people can use the door like they do at grocery stores or other stores where the door opens automatically when people go through them… that is what I WANT to install… I need the advice on the connection of the tracks to facilitate a draw bridge movement. Henge and opposite side of the bridge.
Or I “need” an “automatic” swing gate, to swing along with the door when it is opened. Maybe not an electric controlled, a connection with the door so that when the door is pushed open from outside, it will “push” the swing gate out of way and open a switch to switch the tracks route if a train is approaching the gate. Just need the mechanical connections of the tracks…
No mechanical connection is needed for the tracks. One way to go about this is to lay the track continuously across the moving span, then cut gaps int he rails hwereit needs to move. Trains can reliably cross relatively large gaps in the rails if the approaches on both sides are straight. For a little more reliablily the gap between the stationary part and the moving part cna be on an angle, so that the rail gaps end up being staggered so no wheel is passing more than 1 gap at a time.
Our club modular layout has an entrance bridge similar to ones that have been referenced. To open ir, you just lift the bridge. There are no rail joiners or other means of physcally connecting the track on the base part with the track on the moving part. It’s not needed.
Also, something on the back of a door that opens IN will be quite difficult - there is no place for the part on the hinge side of the door to move, it would almost have to be a lift up or drop down section. Something on the back of a door that opens out is rather easy - just attach it all to the door, and cut through the benchwork at the door gaps.
What do you think about this idea, on the hinge side of the bridge where the door hinge side is, have an upward tilt in the track so that the outside edge of the bridge track rises over the stationary track as the door swings open and lowers back into place when the door closes completely? Placing a magnetic sensor (like they use on alarm sensors to detect the window being open) on the outside screen door so to tell the track switch to switch the track to the alternate route and not to cross the “swing” bridge… like the scene in the movie that will tell the train to switch tracks due to the draw bridge be up and not allow the train to collide.
If all that electro-mechanical contruction is your thing - I see nothiong wrong with that idea. Maybe a touch sensor on the doorknob with a magnetic latch release - you grab the knob to open the door, and before the latch releases, the bridge starts to go up to make the required clearances.The the magnetic catch lets go and you can open the door.
Just be fairly precise with the fitting of all the pieces, and if you secure the track at the edges where the pieces will move, you should have reliable operation when the bridge is in the lowered and closed position. How well the rest of ti all works - well that’s up to you. I’m sure pictures and/or video of this would be appreciated by all if you end up building this.