Layouts and layout building

ndbprr:

This idea has been discussed several times already.  Years ago (probably early 70's) MR did a feature article on a two car garage railroad that was attached to cables and coffee cans filled with scrap around the room so little effort was needed to raise or lower it.  I would think pulling it down and having the weight take it back up would prevent the railroad creeping onto your SUV or convertible roof some morning. .  I doubt the weight of a model railroad is of significance as a roof is built to take two sets of shingles at 100# per square plus the requisit moisture load for the area (here in the north that's called snow).  The layout I remember had drop down legs similar to a card table but the most important feature was  a pair of 1x4 boards that tied the railroad to the walls to prevent horizontal movement when operating.  Biggest factor for any garage layout will be dust and dirt control.

 Yes I have seen in MR years ago and my childhood neighbor also had a 4x8 that he raised and lowered from the ceiling which is where I got the idea.  I appreciate all your information and will defiantly look into drop down legs and a mechanism to tie the layout to the walls to prevent horizontal movement. I keep my garage pretty clean, but I was thinking of having some type of a way to cover the layout if need be.

MILW-RODR:

for legs use the collapsable ones found on card tables. i know how you can get it all done, but i don't know how to do it to hide it. but one word. eyebolts. i've seen them before, used to screw into wood for what ever. now i'm not sure how to describe all this because of all the open gride and L-grider talk, have no clue what that is, but the eye bolts would need i'd say a good 4x4 block to mount into. it's big enough to hold the weight and still provie enough material to mount the block to the framework. i'd say get the eyebolts in actual bolts and bolt them through a hole drilled in the block, i'd put more trust in that then the screw ones which would just screw into a pre-drill pilot hole (not all the way through the block). the 4x4 block i would say min. 4 good size wood screws on every face that frame work touches the block, and a very good wood glue. have the same eye bolts mounted in the ceiling and when the layouts lifted all the way up, use some heavy duty caribeeners that just clip into place. have them pointing down so the open end faces the layout, easier to attach. get the good ones that have the screw on sleeve over the little clippy part. as for lifting, ooh kinda trickey. how to describe this. the pulleys would have to be mounted to some strong brackets. steel cable attached to the layout someone how (gimme time on that one) looped over the pulleys, to a back wall. all the cables will vary in length, but should be even. the cables should then attach to some bracket, i'd say a piece of L-shapped angle iron so then the steel cables can use loop ends and just bolt on. then get a manual boat winch mounted to the wall so that the racheting happens when you raise it up, then if something brakes like a cable the rachets click on and it doesn't come crashing down, attached the boat winch cable to main bracket with all the sepperate cables attached and there ya go. the steel cables to the layout could just go throught holes in a plywood bed surface and bolt to the framing with the steel cables having loop ends. some things would hafta be worked out, like the pulley mounting (very strong brackets) and how they mounted like the one person said before.

i was going to suggest make it like a murphy bed, just pull it down, but then i read a thread that said it was in the garage. sorry for such a long post.

good stuff, have read this post 4 times now and still digesting it all, love the note about boat winch and the ratchets and stopping it all from coming crashing down. I was thinking eye-bolts to attach (secure) it to the ceiling once raised, sounds like you are saying eye bolts on the layout as well to attached the layout to the lifting cables. still working your thoughts into the over all plan, thanks!

bc@thecove:

I used 1/8" steel cables, a boat winch, 2x6" lumber for supports, angle iron lag bolted to the ceiling,and eyebolts in the edge of the layout (6' x 8', 2" foam on 1/4" ply, framed with 1x2" firing strips, 2x4 for support for the legs)   

 

 

wow. thats pretty close to everything I was thinking, did you just wing it on your own? or did you have a plan? do you have a picture of the layout while its deployed (set up to run) with your track plan.

love the pictures, thanks for all the ideas. great stuff.