Traversers and train lifts?

Something based on this?

Cheers Richard

Apologies, but the answer came to me as soon as I had pressed "Send"!

The idea must have been on my back burner when I was sidetracked by composing my query.

The answer is to contrive of a fork-lift truck mechanism that is constrained to run on its own rails set at just below ground level so that the lowered position of the rail bed is at ground level.

The horizontal movement of the truck (when the rail bed is set high) forms the traverser; the vertical movement of the truck forms the lift.

There has been some talk on the MERG

group of the use of a Paternoster lift design to do this.

Richard

Perhaps Jane will tell you if a helix is possible, certainly seems simpler to build and maintain.

cheers, Simon

The REV P. Denny had one made of Maccano for his 4mm I assume late 50s. So a Dexion version might do

We had one of those in the new Engineering Building at Oxford in 1963. You had to be pretty sharp stepping on and off.

I've seen automated car parks with a system of horizontal and vertical lifts - there was one in Japan for bicycles shown on TV.

Plus the French dept at Birmingham University where she went.

Cheers, Simon

In article , MartinS writes

Also in the Biochemistry Department a few blocks away, in the early 70s.

Contrary to urban myth, it *was* safe to go around the top - DAMHIKT.

David

And through the pit at the bottom as long as there wasn't a power failure.

Who's she? The cat's mother?

She went to a top class university, I went to a poly. The tots mummy.

Cheers, Simon

Oh, the better half, the old ball & chain, SWMBO.

There was one in the Uni library. The cognoscenti amongst us would persuade our timid friends that it was quite safe to go over the top, which we would demonstrate, only to re-appear on the way down doing a handstand!

Helices are certainly possible in OO, and in Scalextric as we saw on James May's prog. on BBC2 last night, but I'm not so sure in a larger scale due to the required radius of the track and the limited space available in the garden. If it were me, I'd raise all the track to the height of the steaming-up area.

Why do you need a traverser element to your design? Why not move the train directly onto the lift from the steaming-up area? I assume your design includes safeguards to prevent things falling from a great height onto the ground?

It all seems so much hard work. Would be tempted to put a low seat at the position of the loco and steps to hole for feet under track.

Cheers, Simon

Might be difficult if set in concrete.

In message , Jane Sullivan writes

What sort of diameter would you use for a OO helix ?

Adrian

I used a diameter of 8 feet, but that's because I had the space. Take a look at my web pages, where there are more details.

In message , Jane Sullivan writes

Thanks, some nice stuff on there I like the Garret, pity I don't have the space to do justice to one.

8ft is way too big for the space I have available (~12ft wide, and I have to be able to get through the middle of that), I would think 4ft maximum (single track).

Adrian