A Hinged Fold Up Walkthru

[FunValleyLine]

I started with a hinged drop down but that didnt work out well with my trestles and bridges on it. So here are some pictures of what I did.

The right side rests on a full width stop. The hinges are above the height of the track so it doesnt bind.

I used rerailers on the layout side to secure the track firmly

My next step is to figure out how to control the wiring underneath.
Thanks for looking!!! Comments always appreciated.

 

[IronBeltKen]

A liftout that includes the water - what a cool idea, wish I'd have thought of that!

 

[dnhouston]

Great idea. Offsetting the hinges made all the difference.

 

[jbaakko]

Looking good, keep it up!

 

[NZRMac]

Very cool, if you use DCC just use microswitches that short the rail together and trip the dcc breaker if the bridge is up.

Ken.

 

[FunValleyLine]

Yes the water was in my original plans. What better place to have 3 sets of different style bridges as the first thing a viewer see.

The layout is presently wired to run on blocks with transformers. It is being wired for both DCC and blocks as we go. DCC is my next big hurdle.

The hinges however caused the first redo. My stomach was sick when I made it all and it didnt work. However the redo was easy I had a pattern.

I am currently making a mechanical device to stop trains. This is because we had a 10 car roll thru of an unpowered line of cars. OOPS!

Thanks for the input.

 

[Steve B]

Nice work, i am going to put some kind of blocking device to stop runaway cars hitting the concrete after running down the 4% grade, they don't like it

 

[BBBeav]

Does anyone have any good suggestions on how to get/keep the ends of the rails lined up the stationary ones on the layout? And, do you just leave a gap or do you do something that takes the place of a rail joiner. Any help would be great.

 

[CP9302]

Does anyone have any good suggestions on how to get/keep the ends of the rails lined up the stationary ones on the layout? And, do you just leave a gap or do you do something that takes the place of a rail joiner. Any help would be great.

The gap free solution would be the same as a modular system. End the rails and inch from the edge and put in pieces of rail that span the gap when the gate is down. This is the system my club uses on its modular setup.

If you don't want to fiddle with pieces of rail, you can put metal screws into the plywood under the rails and solder the rail to the screw, that will keep it from moving out of gauge.

 

[NZRMac]

I laid the rail over the gap, pinned and white glued it down. After 48hrs cut through with a small saw, it works great.

Ken.

 

[leva]

I'm glad you put a picture of your setup up. Gives me an idea for my removable section.

 

[ThoroughBreed]

I laid the rail over the gap, pinned and white glued it down. After 48hrs cut through with a small saw, it works great.

Ken.

This swingaway reallly does give me an idea of how to rebuild mine to accomodate 2 movable sections.

 

[CBCNSfan]

Originally Posted by BBBeav
Does anyone have any good suggestions on how to get/keep the ends of the rails lined up the stationary ones on the layout? And, do you just leave a gap or do you do something that takes the place of a rail joiner. Any help would be great.

Being a bit lazy, old and brittle I used a swing gate, no effort required it pulls open with a finger, no track alignment problems.

Cheers Willis

 

[RexHea]

I did my swing gate like NZKen. Its been in operation for about 2 months now and still lines up perfectly.

 

[FunValleyLine]

Corrected my pictures and added some more. Still works well but never covered the wires. One of those wayside projects.

 

[cajon]

I laid the rail over the gap, pinned and white glued it down. After 48hrs cut through with a small saw, it works great.Ken.

Eventually some one will bump that white glued track & WILL pop up!

 

[FunValleyLine]

I usually use white glue and nail it well and it works. I then stand there with a bat to watch for people getting close. I used gorilla glue once and it held like heck. An idiot caught a cell phone holder on it. (Not allowed in the train room!!!!) And it bent the rails. After gouging the track, ballast, roadbed and half the table to get it off I decided coming loose is much better.