My original intention was to simply build a lift out - but in the end we decided a hinged access gate made more sense. For one thing the problem with lift outs (as opposed to hinged access methods) are when you remove it you're standing there with a board in your hand - and you need to put it somewhere. It's also necessary to connect and reconnect the power to the track every time the liftout is removed and installed.
None of that is insurmountable, since the layout is designed to be operated "from the inside." meaning it would be a simple matter to get everybody in the layout area, put the lift out in place, and connect the wires, reversing the process at the conclusion of the op session.
But I tend to get a lot of non-railroad visitors - they will want to see the interior of the layout area, and will most certainly want to see a train run - meaning I needed a solution that would be a little less clumsy than a basic liftout would be in practice.
Hence, the swinging gate approach. And since this is such a critical element to the layout (the entire scheme hinges on it, pun intended) we decided to tackle it head on now....).
But keeping our priorities straight, we first broke for lunch.
After lunch we stopped by Lowe's and picked up an assortment of hinges, screws and the like and set to work.
Honestly, we probably spent more time noodling through how to do this than we actually spent cutting wood. There was even a point where we realized we were overthinking this thing and were in danger of an over engineered monster. Luckily we caught ourselves before we started down that path.
While we didn't finish the assembly or installation yesterday we did get the plywood bridge "surface" cut to fit, installed the "plate" that the hinges will ultimately connect to, and Stic routed a matching angled notch in the floating end of the bridge to support the bridge (and take pressure off the hinges). This will also ensure the track lines up properly. .
9 comments:
what, no pics?
Good call on the hinged access gate Marty. I've had mine in place for 16 years now and never regretted it for a moment. It's as reliable and simple to operate as a door.
There's not much too it as of right now - but I added some photos showing the components in their current state.
That's what I'm hoping for - something simple to build and reliable and long lasting. We'll see!
Hi Marty. It might just be an optical illusion in the photo on the right but where I presume the hinge will be it looks to me that the non bridge end will bind (diagonal from hinge). That side should be shorter t allow clearance as it swings.
That should say non-hinge end will bind.
Will you be adding support to the plywood or leaving it as is? I have to build at least two for my layout and want something simple but solid.
Yes, yes it will in its current configuration. We need to notch more of the subroadbed out of the way to allow the corner to swing out.
Jim,
Instead of building a frame of some sort and then fitting the plywood section to it we opted to get the plywood bridge section fit in place and then build "down" from it.
All the articles I read on building swing gates focus on the gate - seems to me the plywood - specifically getting the surface the track is riding on aligned properly every time - is the critical element here.
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