suspended from ceiling?

[Anonymous]

can anyone suggest a sturdy system for suspending a lionel train from a restaurant ceiling? how thick would the plywood need to be? thanks folks!

[FJ and G]

Wecome to the forum.

Construct the entire layout from foam, at least 4" thick; no wood is needed except tiny squares of thin wood where the cable mounts are located beneath the styrofoam.

Device could be modified garage door opener.

Or, if there's a wall, the layout could fold down from the wall (like those beds in James Bond movies).

Why not just spiral the tracks around the outer walls, using the walls themselves as a giant helix. That's what I'm going to do in the distant future in my basement.

dave

dav

[lionelsoni]

Dave assumed you meant a layout. My first impression was that you meant just a track. If so, you don't need any plywood at all. Just hang tubular track from vertical threaded rods about every foot. Join each pair of rods with a wooden bar under the track and on the rod with washers and nuts underneath, for easy adjustment. Locate a bar under or near each rail joint and about every foot along the track. Use the long pieces of straight track (about a yard long, depending on manufacturer and rail profile) to minimize the number of joints. Be sure that each joint is held together in some way, by attachment of both pieces to the same wooden bar, with a cable tie, or by solder, perhaps.

Your biggest problem will be attaching the rods to the ceiling, which will require some knowledge of its construction. And I would seriously consider putting some sort of wire railing alongside the track, attached to the rods, to catch any derailments and forestall lawsuits.

[Anonymous]

Look in the June issue (currently on the newsstand--run 201) of OGR. I believe I saw something on the cover about a hanging layout.

[dougdagrump]

First consideration is ceiling height and type of ceiling, open truss, suspended, etc. Next comes scale/gauge, dependent on height and size(sq footage) of area. Next comes your comfort level for making your own system, assembling purchased components or contracting some one to do it for you.
By using some sort of base, I used Baltic Birch plywood, you reduce the number of hangars but you reduce some of the visibility of the train. There are many options available, you might try surfing some net-sites for various methods, this would give you an idea of whats available and how it might fit your application.
[oops]Forgot to say "WELCOME ABOARD"

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the welcome aboard and the help folks. This is the friendliest forum I've ever been on! I am attempting something I know nothing about, so your help is invaluable. No one in my area has been able to help me out.

[dougdagrump]

You landed in the right spot !

[FJ and G]

ooops, sorry coachie, I did read the question wrong.

Actually, I was just going to say threaded rods and I see that Bob beat me to it. Instead of wood, I'd try to make as much as possible from acrylic so visibility is at full max. Acrylic roadbed and acrylic sides to prevent nasty spills.

dav

Please return to this forum; so many new folks ask a question then disappear. :-(

[Anonymous]

I have done in my train room what I think you are talking about. I used 3/4 fir plywood hung on threaded rods every 2 ft.. I also put a plexiglass rail 2 1/2" high on the curves. I have also suspended my excess trains below this (slap me what did I say, no such thing as excess trains). I will post some pics when I get back from dinner . I was going to use 1/2" plexiglass for the roadbed but it was really expensive.....Tim

[Anonymous]

This is not one of my better pictures , but maybe you can get the idea.

[dougdagrump]

Did some surfing and I had forgotten how expensive these things are. Glad I made my own !

[Anonymous]

Thanks a lot, Tim, and everyone. I'm getting some very practical ideas.

[Anonymous]

I'm not big into this hobby yet (forgive me) but I did pull my old Marx O Scale out of the attic a couple of summers ago. Because space is limited, I simply ran the track over the bookshelves in my den (one wall) and then extended it using simple L-brackets and 1x6 or 1x8 boards (depending on whether I wanted scenery behind the track).

Being slightly ambitious, I also filled out one corner with a plexiglas square supported in the back by the book shelf and in the front by a long bolt that connects into the ceiling wing one of the butterfly nuts from a plant hanger. The bolt runs though a piece of pvc.

Ed

Oh, Pictures are here --> http://www.mediaokra.com/rrtopshelf.htm

[Anonymous]

Hi Guys,

thanks for the forum...I'm in Cincinnati, Ohio. How do you attach the hangers to the ceiling? Thanks

Dean

[lionelsoni]

You can use toggle bolts through gypsum board ("drywall", "Sheetrock"). If you are using threaded rod, just get toggle bolts of the same diameter and thread pitch and put the toggles on the rod rather than the bolts that come with them. Ceilings are usually 5/8-inch (compared to 1/2-inch on the walls); but I wouldn't trust them for a heavy load. If you have access above the ceiling, you can also simply thread a nut and fender washer onto the threaded rod.

A sturdier attachment is a hanger bolt into a ceiling joist. This is a rod that is a wood screw on one end and a machine screw on the other. You can connect it to the threaded rod with a coupling. If your track is perpendicular to the joists, it is easy to locate the supports. If it is parallel, however, you will be lucky to find joists where you want them.

The sturdiest method is to nail or screw wood blocking between joists, as you would to mount a ceiling fan, and pass the threaded rod completly through the blocking, with a nut and washer on top. This obviously requires access from above. You probably could also adapt the metal hangers made for ceiling fans, instead of wood blocking.

[daan]

On my work they would say that you should use skyhooks, but that joke has a beard.
What about steel cable? Easy to adjust, someone can run into it without the whole coming down and hights are easy to adjust. (Lower it when something derailed).
About the plexiglass, it can "explode" under pressure acting as real glass. In a restaurant it is highly recommended that all visitors stay safe. If you want to use a see through material, use Lexan, which is stronger and bendible without braking. If it gets overloaded it turns milky in color and tears slowly.
Plexiglass is cheaper, but has no indication if overloaded and is dangerous when it is overloaded.

[lionelsoni]

I'll say it again: No need for any kind of roadbed, transparent or otherwise, just crossbars under the track, which is stiff enough all by itself if supported every foot or so.

[dougdagrump]

I only used two ceiling hangers, where it crosses in front of the closet door, the rest of the supports are wall brackets of my own design. The last time I was at either Lowes or Home Depot, can't remember which, I saw some really sharp looking wrought iron brackets that would go great with a wall mounted pike. [zzz]

[thehound407]

i have a wood syst that hangs from the ceiling these are prof custom made syst i have aprox 230 ft of it . its made to hold heavy trains o scale or  g scale if you would like pict let me know  troy 407 580 2161