On one of my early layouts I had a similar problem. I removed the door (no cats) and built a double track swing bridge. This was in a small 12x 13 room and never had any grief from it.
My room size is 18 x 18 ,and I don't have many visitors,
There have been numerous threads about the pros and cons of assorted types of 'removable for access' sections in these forums. Search the keywords: lift out, gate, drop leaf. That will provide an evening or several of past discussions.
In your situation, if the door is narrow I would go for a drop leaf, hinged on the same side as the door hinges, dimensioned so that the open room door will protect the trackwork and whatever else is on the drop leaf.
In my case, an earlier layout in half of the same space included a movable access designed like a bascule bridge. When I was granted the whole double garage the need went away, but the bascule anchor lives on as a cassette dock - I use cassettes for off-layout rolling stock storage.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - with walk-in access)
Instead of a lift or swing gate, how about a gate that swings down or up, hinged on one end? I know I have seen articles on doing this, but I cant seem to get anything to come up in google right now.
Another option might be a folding door.
Tom
TrainsRMe1...the problem is my door opens inward towards the trainroom
I reversed the door to the train room so that it swings out into the hall. I didn't find to be a difficult project at all.
Mounting the track on a door that swings in will be extremely difficult. To keep the movable section of the layout from swinging into the fixed section, the hinge point needs to be on the inside of the swing. The door will be on the outside.
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Whale... Ewe knead an interlock so that the trains cannot run when the bridge is up. But ewe also knead an interlock so that the door cannot be opened from the outside when the bridge is in place.
How big a room is this? Do you have numbers of visitors?
Fire regulations (and good common sense) dictate that you do not block the exit.
If was railroad of mine, LION would simply remove the door, then him could make it a permanent duck under, or a swing or lift bridge.
Signals approaching drawbridges are frequently equiped with Smash Board signals. It will wake up an inattentive engineer, but in HO could stop a train in its tracks.
Of course if you remove the door, the cat will get in and then cat hair will wrap itself aournd your gears an motors.
The price you gotta pay.
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
TrainsRMe1 and could I connect it to my door
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
I have a question, I'm trying to decide if I want to build a liftout or a swinggate across my doorway, the problem is my door opens inward towards the trainroom, so my question is, which one would be better to build, and could I connect it to my door??, the door is made of metal though, thanks for the help,