Hi all,
I would like to share an idea with regards to staging, which I have used successfully on my own layout but have not heard being used much in the USA. Being in Australia, my local library was filled with model railroading books from England, the USA and Australia, and so I had exposure to a wide range of ideas. So when the time came to build my current layout, I decided to use a British idea - a traverser table.
There are several advantages to this approach, namely:
1) Saved the space (and cost) of two staging yard ladders
2) Allowed all staging tracks to be equal length - thus increasing capacity over a laddered staging yard
3) Allowed closer track spacing than with a ladder - again, increasing capacity
4) Could be built to fit my planned operating scheme
5) Automatically cuts power to trains not in use
6) Easy to maintain
7) Allows continuous running
The whole thing is a 1 x 5 foot shelf with a space for it built into the benchwork, reinforced with a pine spine;
The threaded rod at the middle provides smooth movement. The rod is held in place at either end with a washer and a nut that's had a hole drilled through it and the rod, with a piece of wire put through;
The gap at the bottom is to allow vertical movement. The runners I've got it on were designed for kitchen drawers, and so they lift slightly as you move them out. The tracks are elevated to compensate for this.
The handle that turns the rod is a simple affair;
The main part of it is a pipe cap from the local hardware store. The nut in the middle of the handle is CA'd to the pipe cap, and is tightened enough against the locking nut on this end that it won't unscrew without the aid of a pair of pliers. The small finger grip is a screw, filed down at one end, with a bit of brass tubing over it - the tubing is loose, so that it rotates around the screw as the handle rotates. The lock at the top is a hinge with two pieces of spare PCB, with a 1.5mm styrene piece between them. A corresponding piece is glued into a slot in the 'top' of the handle. The track is lined up on this top alignment, with a certain number of turns (can't remember how many) between each position.
To transmit the movement to the traverser, a nut is superglued to the underside. After this fell off a couple of times, I secured it with a couple of nails bent over;
After struggling with track alignment - there's enough play in the rod that they won't align properly every time - and electrical connections, I hit upon a simple solution that will guarantee track alignment and electrical connectivity each time. I cut two pieces of PCB to the length of two rail joiners, then soldered two rail joiners on each side. These slide onto the layout side of the rails, one at each end;
Once the handle has been used to line up the tracks, the connectors are slid onto the traverser rails at each end, like so;
This provides the electrical connection and track alignment. Note that the rail joiners are soldered on both sides - this prevents them from being pushed out of shape.
The track plan below shows how I've incorporated the traverser into the overall track layout:
The green siding on the top-right is a special-purpose siding for a commuter train.
A small traverser (3-4 tracks) could be built in the same or slightly more space than a single staging cassete, and combining the two may allow greater capacity both on- and off-layout.
I hope that this idea may come in useful to someone.
Regards,
tbdanny
The Location: Forests of the Pacific Northwest, OregonThe Year: 1948The Scale: On30The Blog: http://bvlcorr.tumblr.com
TB Danny,
This a great idea for staging. A bit like a large transfer table. The space savings is significant. Thanks for sharing this and the elaborate mechanism for moving etc.
Chris
tbdanny:
Thanks for the construction "How to". I'm in the process of building some staging and your idea for aligning the tracks is what I need to solve one of my problems.
Joe
joe,
what does worry me the most is e.g. you stumbling by accident on a good solution. The "staging traverser" (re)appeared from time to time both in MR-magazine and in MR-Planning. Every two or three years this wheel was reinvented.
A data base with this kind of basics would be a great asset. In my first edition of Track Planning for Realistic Operation nor cassette nor traverser staging are mentioned.
Paul
Paulus Jas joe, what does worry me the most is e.g. you stumbling by accident on a good solution. The "staging traverser" (re)appeared from time to time both in MR-magazine and in MR-Planning. Every two or three years this wheel was reinvented. A data base with this kind of basics would be a great asset. In my first edition of Track Planning for Realistic Operation nor cassette nor traverser staging are mentioned. Paul
Not to rain on anyone's parade, but there was an article in the December 2000 MR by John SIgnor about just that subject. It was called "Railroading In A Drawer".
http://index.mrmag.com/tm.exe?opt=I&MAG=MR&MO=12&YR=2000&output=3&sort=A
This type of staging isn't common in the US, but maybe it should be.
Andre
I've seen a few of these in the US. The largest I've seen is the 2 foot X 24 foot(!) "Megadrawer" at the Silicon Valley Lines club in San Jose, CA. It's a "hybrid" design in that it has a conventional yard ladder at one end, so it's not exactly like the full traverser that John Signor uses and the OP is describing.
You may read all the details of this very large motorized traverser here. There's even video of it in operation.
Byron
Layout Design GalleryLayout Design Special Interest Group
Paulus Jasjoe, what does worry me the most is e.g. you stumbling by accident on a good solution. The "staging traverser" (re)appeared from time to time both in MR-magazine and in MR-Planning. Every two or three years this wheel was reinvented. A data base with this kind of basics would be a great asset. In my first edition of Track Planning for Realistic Operation nor cassette nor traverser staging are mentioned. Paul
Paul:
You make a very good point. What I was referring to specifically was tbdanny's idea for aligning the tracks. I hadn't seen it previously and it (or a modification of it) is an idea that I may incorporate into an idea I have for turning locos without having to build a turntable.
Another graduate of the Rube Goldberg academy of model railroading..........good concept a little scary on some of your construction techniques like the two finishing nails bent to hold the nuts in place.lol
Hey form follows function I guess. I have a friend who is tight for space only for the lead in tracks to his hidden staging which will reside in the next room eventually
He will actually be able to have yard area 40' long x 4' wide so he came up with the idea of why not use a turntable at the end. He had to give up a few of that forty feet and may not be able to fit as many as you could by slding a draw but he defined didn't have the room for that so he did the next best thing. Cool stuff you did there though very inventive. The one with the video of the sliding draw, WAY too much thought went intot hat monster.
Thank you all for your replies. I'm glad to know that I've been able to help a few people.
Cheers,
Thanks for an excellent write-up on traversers - and the pictures, too. A point made by Iain Rice is worth repeating - traversers can be set up vertically as well as horizontally to fit the situation. The vertical takes less horizontal space but must incorporate a method to prevent gravity suddenly pulling the table to the low point when it's released.
Fred W