XG01X wrote: about 2 feet in length it will serve 4 tracks and be at the end of the layout.
about 2 feet in length it will serve 4 tracks and be at the end of the layout.
With that size in mind, go to Home Depot or Lowes and look at drawer slides, Liberty Hardware brand is stocked at HD. They come in a varity of sizes and styles, from simple formed sheet metal to more expensive ball bearing models like you would see on filing cabinet drawers. There are also bottom mounted and side mounted styles, I used side mounted on my traverser.
Are sure 2 ft will support the length of train you will be running??? I forgot to ask what scale you are modeling.
With the traverser at the end of the layout, I assume you plan the top of the traverser to be at the same level as your layout grade so you do not have to be concerned with an incline up from the traverser to the layout, tight vertical clearances, or hidden tracks.
Some references are:
These are some photos of my traverser, it is under the layout in the middle. This is the benchwork with traverser supports during construction. It is important that the benchwork be level, rigid (note all the bracing on the legs), and parallel front to back and side to side. Bracing the legs is essential to prevent them being pushed out of the vertical. The traverser drawer slides must be level with each other and horizontal to prevent binding.
This is my traverser during track installation; it has 7 tracks and is 56" long. I cut Atlas rerailers in half at the exit side to help prevent derailments.
The tracks need to be carefully aligned with the approach track both horizontally and vertically. This is probably the most fiddely part of the installation, but like any trackwork the time and effort spent will pay off when you get in operation.
I made an alignment pin from brass rod and tubing. The pin holder is the white item next to the track and securly holds the traverser in place when moving trains off and on. It also is wired to the approach track so the only track that gets power is the one aligned and locked. In this photo, I am installing the fixed pin on the approach track side. I then reversed the pin and used the fixed side holder to align the traverser side holders for the remaining tracks. Note the 2 pieces of styrene in the rerailer track groove. They hold the traverser in alignment while I install the traverser side pin holders.
George In Midcoast Maine, 'bout halfway up the Rockland branch
I would appreciate the PDF my email is XG01X@yahoo.com
Reality...an interesting concept with no successful applications, that should always be accompanied by a "Do not try this at home" warning.
Hundreds of years from now, it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove...But the world may be different because I did something so bafflingly crazy that my ruins become a tourist attraction.
"Oooh...ahhhh...that's how this all starts...but then there's running...and screaming..."
Would anyone want to walk me through building a transverser or transfer table for my shelf layout? Or maybe even a website with some details?
Anything would help!!!