To dang old to duck under so what to do?

[Trainmedic]

I’m redoing my layout and going to an around the room layout. what is the best way to gain access to the center part?

To dang old to duck under and I'm carpentry challenged so I need an easy way to build a lift up or drop down type gate. any help would be appreciated.

Trainmedic

 

[ba&prr]

Try this site: http://piedmontdivision.rymocs.com/swinggate.html        Joe

[BroadwayLion]

LIONS have no use for duck udders either.

Looks like you need to improve your gait! : )

ROAR

[davidmurray]

Trainmedic:

Have you considered using an office chair on wheels to scoot under a duckunder?

Dave

[dknelson]

Time for a taller layout?   The office chair on wheels idea works best with plenty of clearance.

Dave Nelson

[Doc in CT]

some things to read:
http://modeltrains.about.com/od/layoutconstruction/a/Lift-Drop-Bridges.htm
http://waynes-trains.com/site/LiftBridges/Room Access Lift Bridges.pdf

 

[LensCapOn]

Yoga.

It increases strength and flexibility. Take a beginers class, then find your own daily routine. Even 5-10 min. every day makes a difference. It's helped me a lot, if being 64 with an anoying knee and ankle matters.

 

Also the wheeled office chair is a good idea.

[MisterBeasley]

I've found no down sides of losing weight, of which I had a surplus.  Yeah, blah blah blah about feeling better, having better health, sleeping better, avoiding medications and the like.  I can squeeze into tighter spaces now, and crawling and popping up to access interior spaces is definitely easier.

Still, I have built a new section of my layout, and wanted to provide easier access to the other side during construction.  So, I built a lift-off section.  It was pretty simple.  I started with 2 layers of 2-inch pink insulation foam.  Each end is notched to fit on top of the benchwork on the ends.  This was done carefully to keep the whole thing level.  Really, you want the approach tracks to a liftoff section to be dead level so you won't have a loose boxcar rolling in that direction.

When you've got something that draws the eye like a narrow liftoff section, make it scenically interesting.  In this case, I chose a Pratt Truss bridge kit from Central Valley.  2 inches of foam is plenty to support this whole thing, so I cut down the middle to make the riverbed for Squirrel Creek.

Next, I boxed in the foam with masonite hardboard.  This looks more finished than bare foam.  I've started some scenery here, too.  I built the truss bridge simultaneously with the liftoff section, so I was able to tweak details and get everything to play together.  Below the liftoff section here, you can see an automotive hitch plug.  I used this to provide power to the track crossing the liftoff.  To remove the bridge, it's necessary to unplug it, which also kills power to the approach tracks to halt an approaching locomotive.  I notched the foam on the underside and ran the wire in the notch, sealing it in with another piece of masonite.

The rest was just scenery and tracklaying, with careful attention to shimming and aligning the track so the trains would run across the gaps smoothly.

Throughout the construction, I kept the track loose and easily removeable.  That way, I could make adjustments to the roadbed and connection points to make sure I had good continuity of both track and scenery.

At the ends, I overlapped a thin section of plaster cloth over a sheet of plastic wrap from the kitchen.  Then I added scenery, and when it hardened I was able to lift the bridge off.  The plaster cloth stays with the bridge, and once I removed the plastic wrap it settles into the gap.

With sufficient shrubbery, it's hard to even see the spot where the fixed and removeable sceneries meet.

 

[rrebell]

Need room layout and what you have in mind???????????

[steemtrayn]

Consider this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Bob1LR301E#t=36

[DigitalGriffin]

Trainmedic

 

I’m redoing my layout and going to an around the room layout. what is the best way to gain access to the center part?

 

To dang old to duck under and I'm carpentry challenged so I need an easy way to build a lift up or drop down type gate. any help would be appreciated.

 

Trainmedic

 

 

swing door using piano hinge also works.  Lock it in place with a door bolt.

Shelf pegs attached to a board also work for a lift out approach.  You can find them in the pull out drawer bolt section of Lowes home store.  Put the bolt side down so it falls into a vertal peg hole.  I like to countersink my peg holes a little so it's easier to "find and settle" the pin.

[Trainmedic]

Thanks guys for the replies!

Ba&prr

I've thought about that type of gate and may try to see if I have the skills needed.

Lion

As you pass thru the gait you better watch that long tail!

davidmurray

I had not thought about that idea.

dknelson

I’m at 42" and don't want go any higher because of kids that help some times.

docinct

I'll read those further and try them out.

lenscapon

I told my your suggestion and she said that if I took up yoga she was going to take the cameras so she post it on youtube! It wouldn't hurt me to loosen up tho!

misterbeasley

Thanks for the pictures and the ideas. That's great looking work.

rrebell

I just wanted some input about how to get to the canter of the layout! I have gone with a around the room plan and was doing the bench work and was stuck.

steemtrayn

I'll take a look at that after while.

DigatalGriffin

Thanks I like the Idea of a swing gate. I might give that a try.

Thanks again everyone!

Trainmedic

 

 

 

[doctorwayne]

I have two lift-outs at the entrance to the train room, both of them made from 3/4" plywood.  There's no scenery because both connect the layout to staging yards, also not sceniced.
Construction is pretty basic:  a "U"-shaped piece of 3/4" plywood secured to the benchwork on either side of the aisle, and a slab of plywood cut to fit fairly snugly into the cut-outs. 

Once this is in place, track is layed across it in one continuous piece - solder together as many lengths of flex track as is necessary to to accomplish this.  I use Atlas track and all of it is spiked in place using the holes provided in the ties.  Where the track crosses the joint between layout and lift-out, add additional spikes by drilling holes through the ties immediately on either side of the joint and add more along both sides of all rail on both the lift-out and the layout.  (see photo below)
Use a utility knife to cut all ties which span the joints and don't worry if one portion is especially short and drops right off the rail - the additional spikes will keep the rail in place.  Next, cut the rails, making the cuts on the fixed portions of the layout so that when the lift-out is removed, no rail ends will protrude into the walkway - otherwise, snagged clothing could easily rip out some trackwork.  I used a cut-off disc in my Dremel, but a rail nipper or razor saw will do the job, too.  Secure the rail while make the cuts - I used a Kadee coupler gauge to hold the rails, preventing the cutting action from dislodging them from the ties and from the additional spikes.

The excess rail length is, of course, on the lift-out, and will require some care during placement, removal, or storage.

For mine, "storage" consists of leaning it against the benchwork:

I added a power feed for the lift-out portion, using a five-prong plug.  This allows the approach tracks on either side of the aisle to be powered (or disconnected from power) anytime the lift-out is unplugged or unplugged and removed.  The extra prong is to ensure that proper polarity is maintained.
 
Easy to construct, easy to use, and, with careful handling, very reliable.  While the upper one is newly built and not yet in-use, the lower one has served well for over 20 years.

Wayne

 

[cowman]

I am planning a tip up, since the width of the center isn't wide enough to allow the gate to swing fully open. 

The simplest one I have seen was at a train show.  There are two hinges on top of the layout, so the hinge pivot is above the table top.  Where the other end drops down they used a "V" shaped notch.  I have also seen pegs or bolts dropping into sleeves for alignment.  To hide the hinges they used an old piece of carpet that would flex when the gate was lifted looking like a farm field.  A grass mat or similar would work too.  You could also have a removeable building over them, but you'd have to move them each time you used the gate.  It is also a good idea to have a way to lock it securely in the up position in case you want to carry things in and out of the center area.

One thing regardless of what type of gate you have, be sure to have some way to prevent your train from taking a dive to the floor.  A power disconnect to the track each side of the gate is often used, gate open, power off.

Good luck,

Richard

[Marty C]

I have two simple lift out sections like Wayne's. The only difference is that I use rerailers at either end. The relailer is cut in half at the ends of the liftout. (half on the liftout and half on the permanent bench work). I got the idea from an old MR article and it helps keep the track aligned and can correct the stray wheel that may leave the track at the gap.

 

Marty C

[MisterBeasley]

A few months back, MR magazine had an article about building a liftup section using a set of drawer slides.  As I recall, the section lifted up and then folded down, so it ended up hanging by one end on the side of the aisle.  If your plan is just a flat section with track, this might be a good option.  I wouldn't use it for a liftoff with elaborate scenery, though, as you'd likely bump the scenery as you walked by.

[rrebell]

One lift out idea is to use a couple of stair rail brackets and plastic 2x4. If you get the right ones it will be a snug fit. This will take care of the basics, there are plenty of snap together connectors for the electrical part and the brackets can be vinyl or metal (heavy duty ones).

[selector]

I use a lift-out "bridge" of sorts, but with a #6 double crossover on it.

It doesn't look great as viewed, but in place it's just another part of the benchwork.  As you can see, routed feeders to all rail ends, but on both ends of the lifout in case the double crossover's inner contacts become compromised.  Also, note the small inverted L brackets forming the 'shoes'.  Visible wood screws under the widest portion of the bridge sit on the shoes, and the brackets have normal feeders to them from the bus.  Power goes into the brackets, the shoes making contact get the power and route it up via the end feeders to the rail ends.  Works like a hot damn.  With the minor seasonal changes, if the bridge power gets iffy, or if the rails don't quite meet well, I just raise or lower a screw, maybe both on one end, and the fit is perfect once more.

This is very reliable.  I have used it for over two years now with no problems.

It's not scenicked yet, but this is a poor image of how it looks seated in place:

[Trainmedic]

 

DoctorWayne

 

Thanks for the input. I saw on a youtube video where one guy put screw into the base and then solder the rail to them to keep the rail stable.

 

 

 

cowman

 

It would be my luck I'd forget the buildings and break up every time I lifted the section!

 

 

 

Marty C

 

I love the rerailer idea. I'm glad you mentioned that. the loose rail ends where of some concern to me and I beleive that would fix that problem.

 

 

 

Mister Beasley

 

I'll take a look for that article. It sounds something like what steemtrayn gave me a link to.

 

 

 

rrebel

 

I'm not sure what a stair rail bracket is.

Thanks everyone for your help!

Trainmedic

 

[CP5415]

You could try this & it worked wonders for me....

I had a duckunder on my last layout but it was only 4" wide.

Gordon