I’m considering a lift-up section for a future around-the-walls switching layout. The new design in the Jan 2023 MR (page 57) looks intriguing to me! I’d like to read the opinions of the more experienced layout builders. What do you think of this design? Would you recommend it or do you have other suggestions to consider? Thank you for your advice!
If i had need for something like that I think I would prefer a drop down section.
I am still planning on a swinging gate, as was described in “another” publication a year or so ago.
A big strong gate that has upper and lower hinges and swings out of the way and then closes and latches to bridge the opening.
Either that or I will stay with simple lift outs.
The two places I need to be able to open require 5 tracks to cross.
The cabinet hinge idea is interesting but that “bridge” looked a little too flimsy to me?
Sheldon
Hey Maxman, thanks for the reply! Just curious, why do you prefer a drop-down? I’m thinking that the scenery on the lift-up will be better protected from damage than the scenery on a drop-down. I could be wrong… Just my guess
Thanks for the reply Sheldon. Was the swing gate you referred to a part of the Richlawn RR? If so, I found the link! [Y] I respect your skills in planning and doing construction. I agree, I thought lift-up in MR looked flimsy and needed reinforcing. I could use a swing gate but it would put more restrictions on gate location than a lift-up.
Very similar but I don’t think it is the same one I saw. I made a note somewhere, but understand, I still get MR and “another” publication the old fashioned way from the mailman. I will find it.
Sheldon
Found it, June 2021. If you need more help let me know.
Sheldon
I much prefer a drop down, too. In my case the lowered bridge tucks nicely into a slight alcove and is out of the way.
I installed my drop-section about 24 years ago and never regretted it.
It is 42" long and there is no ceiling clearance for that length. The bridge is 50" above the floor here, at age 66 I can easily “limbo” under it but if I have some kind of cleaning or maintenance activity going on I’ll drop it down.
One nice advantage for a drop down is the fact that the hinge can be under the deck and the track-arc swings away from the stationary piece. In my case I didn’t want to have hinges on either side of the double track. I kept the bridge “channel” narrow on purpose. It is only 5-3/4" on the outside dimension. The bridge is skewed by 8.6°.
The hinge is a very heavy commercial model with oilite bronze bushings in it. The opening end has 1/4" aluminum plate with indexing pins and leveling set screws and lock nuts. It spans a frame wall anchored to masonry block.
I’ve only made one or two minor adjustments to it in the past 24 years. One thing I would have liked to do was solder
Oh, I don’t know. Just a preference.
I would agree that in the up position the scenery on the top would be better protected, and the pathway would be wider by whatever the tallest item is on the top.
On the other hand any scenery on the top of a lift up would run into whatever scenery is on the top of the adjoining section of bench work. In addition a drop down section will stay down on its own power, while a lift up will require some sort of mechanical assistance to remain vertical.
Okay, Ed, I’ll bite. What does the door knob do?
If I’m holding a drink in my hand I like to stabilize myself as I duck under so I don’t spill my drink [D]
Well, that, and the contractor at GE ordered double doors where only single doors were specified. Those nice hinges and other hardware were going to be tossed. The stationary knob followed me home and it became a handy place to hang cords, dusters and anything with a lanyard hand strap, like the new Digitrax throttles.
You’re not the first to ask so I guess that also qualifies it as a conversation piece [:-^]
Cheers, Ed
Lift up or drop down often depends on the height of the layout and the length of the span and what’s above it. If you have a double deck layout, the lower level may have to be a drop leaf and the upper level a tilt up. If its a double deck layout and the lower deck is less than 36 inches high, a drop down won’t clear a 36" wide door.
I have a lift-off section on my layout. It’s a fully scenicked river valley spanned by a Central Valley truss bridge. The “benchwork” is a block of pink foam with thin hardboard around the edges. It’s very light.
I usually just climb under it to get behind.
The layout sections on either side are independently powered and only the DCC track bus wires cross the gap on the liftout section.
Sheldon: Got it, you’re referring to an article written by Bill Schopf and published in June 2021. I’ve ordered a copy. This style of swing gate is really the cadillac model that allows significant scenery on the gate but requires more available open space to operate the gate. May take more time to operate hardware to keep the gate properly aligned and stable (a guess). Lift-outs can be a great solution for occasional use but, IMO, are problematic when desiring multiple open/close uses during an operating session.
Ed: thanks my friend, you always provide excellent answers with illustrations! I could install the drop end in an alcove area to protect “the bridge”. Could you please explain the construction of the connect/release end? How involved is the process to open and close the bridge? I get the impression that you do not routinely use the drop bridge during operating sessions. Is there a way to make it easy to open and close the bridge during operation? In my future layout, I would like to be able to go in and out of the pit (many times during a session) to access trains in staging.
Lots of decisions to be made and I’m only getting started in the process. What is the minimum span width for the bridge? I would have clearance for a 3-1/2 ft lift-up span at my desired layout height (44 inches).
**** NO!!!
Looking up at the mating end. I sandwiched two pieces of 1/4" aluminum then drilled the indexing holes for the dowel pins and drilled and tapped the upper piece for a 5/16-18 threaded cap screw acting as a stud and a clearance hole on the lower (bridge) piece.
I had a few different threaded hand knobs but finally settled on the black phenolic type shown here.
You can see the dog-point set serews protruding closer to the bridge. These can be adjusted to get a perfect rail height.
Here is the mating stationary end. I can drop the bridge in a matter of fifteen seconds or so. The only areas on the other side of the bridge is the paint booth and model workshop. Again the height is comfortable enough that I can (still) easily duck under.
The bridge itself is two clear pieces of poplar that have been dadoed (actually groove, since it is parallel to the grain) to accept a good quality 3/8 piece of plywood for the deck. It hasn’t warped or twisted one bit.
If you needed “quick access” to drop the bridge you could use a toggle lever (
It would be really nice to have some context to this emotional outburst?
My new layout is around the walls with peninsulas so as you enter the basement you need to get “inside” the layout. That spot has 5 tracks on three differnt elevations and I want easy access, so I think the “high quality” gate is the answer.
My gate will need to be 14" wide for the 5 tracks, and will open to over 3’ clear.
At another location, to access the workshop area, a simple 4 track lift out will do the job just fine.
Sheldon
I can share my experiences.
Only my fifth SGRR layout had such consideration. It was about 10 by 12 and an around the walls design.
Initially, it had a duck-under, but that just limited how much time I spent in the train room. The duck-under was replaced with a gate. After a while I found I just left the gate down all the time. Then the layout was converted to a loop-and-back design, and finally to a point-to-point.
-Kevin
And being a crackerjack finish carpenter certainly helps.