Really short and sweet today.
Didn’t think I’d have time to post, but when this came in from Bob, it made me smile.
Just goes to show, if you’re short on space, don’t worry. Where there’s a will, there’s a way…
Folk have sent pictures of these before, but this is the first video:
Big thanks to Bob.
And don’t forget the ebay cheat sheet. Have a quick look if you haven’t been on it for a while.
Best
Al
Very clever, Bob!!
What a neat idea! are those winches you’re using to pull the layout up and down? I used the same idea for my RR in High School to keep my layout out of the way in the garage, and I’m thinking of doing the same thing when I start resurrecting the RR again!
Great spacesaver! We are planning on moving to a smaller retirement house. Your idea would solve the problem of not cluttering the guest bedroom. It would be great putting in our garage. Would like to see more details of your layout too.
Hi Bob,
Like you I am short on space, can you share more details of what you used to raise and lower your train table. Details like motor, cables, pulleys, synchronizing the raising and lowering, etc. Any help would be much appreciated.
Thank you
Had this idea decades ago but never followed through.Great to see it in operation,wiring diagnosis and repair must be a breeze.You get to put your trains away after the day! “Your trains take up the whole room”……..What trains?
Take model railways to whole new level!
Love it!!! I’m planning a smaller version…I have a 10×10 guest bedroom….I want to do a 10x 5 foot layout that goes up and down. I’m going to use two garage door openers, the screw type, one on each end, and have it rest on decorative ledges on each end and the back wall.
I want to finish the bottom to be enclosed, with reading lights, since there is a sofa bed under it. Now I just have to reorganize my garage to get my woodworking stuff out where I can use it…..all the while drooling over a third motorcycle…..which will take up more space!!!!
Well done Bob looking good.
Bob, love it, brilliant piece of work.
Excellent idea Bob , nice layout also
That is simply tremendous!!
Good idea but I do not see the pictures.
Thank you and have a nice day
That is a great idea!
OH!!! I love this table! I the gears in my head turning now. I’m gonna look in my garage and see where this can go
Bob I think you have a great idea with your table going up like that. That’s killing two birds with one stone. Great job.
Bob:
I had done it, in my apartment early 1980, yes you’re right it was saving a big place in my son’s room.
Thanks and good job.
Re; Bob’s layout. Very slick indeed! I know that my basement is too low for that…Just a thought, have you thought of suspending a subway line from the bottom side?
Fitz
can you find out from Bob the manufacturer of the equipment he has installed to raise and lower his platform? I have a similar requirement and am also tight on space
Thanks – Patrick
This had got my think tank rolling again! Thanks Bob!!!!
….HAS got……..
What a superb idea. I hope you have a ‘stop’ sensor so you don’t take it too high. That would be disastrous. Is it ‘O’ gauge?.
Bravo, Bob. Proves, again, that model railroaders are
clever, creative, resourceful, people.
Truely Awesome!
For Larry Vogt and Patrick S.: the items that Bob used are four winches, one for each corner. If you are in the U.S.of A., Harbor Freight has inexpensive winches starting at about $60 to $400, depending on pulling power.
If your layout is not too heavy, a 2500 lb. Electric ATV/Utility Winch with Wireless Remote Control should work, you will need a power supply to run it with, (which may be the most cost for the set-up).
great work certainly opens up the theory you can put a layout any where.
Wow that is great. You would not need to permanently give up the space for your railway. Very clever. It seems quite stiff. You would think it would be all bendy and flexing, but it is not. Its great. Rob
What do you do when one or two of the motors quit working? Hope you have a back up plan.
Hi Bob,
I have been trying to find a company that will do this, can you please help with a tel number or address for me, I live in Geelong in Vic.
Reagrds
Rand
That is so cool. It looks like he used 4 electric winches for an off-road Jeep or truck. Don’t know how he syncronized them to work together though. Maybe a 12-volt convertor??? and a custom remote ??? I would love to do that in my basement but with a 7 foot ceiling it would be too low with my 12″ mountains and overpasses that I’m building plus the 4 inches of table bracing on the bottom too. Everyone would be banging their heads on the bottom of it if they walked underneath. . An 8 to 9 foot ceiling would be perfect for this. Most garages have an 8 ” clearance as mine does but my 4×4 truck wouldn’t fit under it so I would have to leave the truck outside in the snow and cold, plus no heat in the garage either so 6 months out of the year it would be too cold to go out there. Maybe at my new house when I sell this one someday. OH Well, Good idea though if you have the height clearance..
Kenny.
Great Bob, but a couple of ideas, please don’t think I’m a killjoy but having worked in a job working with “braces and belts” circuitry for over 35 years, but what happens if one of the motors fails? I also think I would put a barrier on the outside of the table – only needs to be 40mm high to save all those precious trains, believe me this comes from bitter experience.
A great layout and thanks for showing us all.
I have been working on same concept for 4′ x 8′ layout in garage.
Use one winch with cables and pulleys linked to winch. Layout is blue insulation board. Very light weight.
Curious about what the object is in the lower right of the video is at about 49 seconds.
Harbor Freight: be careful buying anything electrical or mechanical at this place. They have major durability problems.
I’ve seen this done using just washing line and pulleys, not much to go wrong with them! The problem in a garage seems to be dust though.
Rod
Bob –
Great idea and well designed. But no one has asked the most important question “How did you get the wife to go along?? 🙂
Barry
Just the right thing to do. I see that you have 4 winches. How do you manage the balance? I have just one winch, so 4 cables are connected to one which is pulled by the winch.
Power supply: I use a battery charger for which the electronics blew – and a winch a member posted about. It’s now just running on the rectifier bridge which can handle up to 55 amps on about 12V for enough time to lift it. The platform is 13×4 feet full of Marklin M(etal) tracks…
Awesome! By the way..was that a Sounder Train I saw? Very clever what you did with the hide a way table.
As great idea for space savers. Love to create something like this in my layout. Let’s see!!!!
GOPAL Daga
Calcutta/India
That’s a great idea for a small spot, good work.
This is great. In the US, folks might want to check out a product called “Garage Gator”. It’s a two point lift system powered by one motor. Made for overhead storage, but I installed one in my garage last year to suspend my n- gage layout which I haven’t started yet.
Pete
I envisioned something like this for my G scale and putting in my garage. The whole thing seemed very complicated and eventually decided to do an outdoor layout. Great to see someone who followed through on it, especially with such a great design. Nice work Bob!
Cary in KY
Fantastic idea.
Bob;
Wonderful idea to maximize your space. Probably keeps the missus happy, and we know a happy wife is a happy life. Just wondering, were you a submarine commander in an earlier life? You could relive those up scope and down scope moments we all love to watch….or I do anyway.
Well done.
MN Dan
Great Job! Brilliant use of space and mechanics!
Monon Brad.
My dad did the same thing. He had his layout in garage and hoisted it up so my mom could park her car
Hello Bob,
I have been considering doing something like this for sometime in my garage to build a great AF Layout. Currently my garage is being used to house a few classic cars. I am short on floor space. I believe that you have spent a lot of time and effort to design and build this system. It really would be a great advantage to me to understand the lifting system, table, and parts list. If you could help me, I would be willing to pay a little something for all your help. I am an engineer by training, and you have done a great, great job!
I agree with all the positive comments. If Bob posts a general reply to all the questions please post it for us. Sorry to hog Bob’s train time but it would sure help many of us.
That is crazy good! And, so easy to get at all of the cabling under the board.
I am sure a lot of us would like to know what powers the table up and down.
Mike
THAT IS FANTASTIC!!!
I have the same system for for my layout in mys workshop except I have to raise and lower by hand crank because having it mororized would not be convienent.
bob excellent, well done it looks very busy.
Lovely. That’s the idea I’ve had in my head for years. Only on smaller scale with one hoist and a 5×8 N scale layout. I did have a hollow door layout with rope and pullies. Loops in pulling rope would get looped on a hook when raised up. Then had one each corner short metal cable with carabiner to act as safety device. Good job
Hello Bob:
This whole idea is excellent and nicely thought out.
A question for you:
The layout appears to be “O” gauge…… where did you get that O gauge passenger equipment?
They are replicas of cars manufactured by Bombardier in Thunder Bay, Ontario, and supplied to Ontario Government’s “GO Trains” used in the Toronto vicinity’s commuter trains and for many commuter lines all over North America.
Athearn, perhaps among others, have made HO versions of these cars, but it’s the first I’ve seen in O gauge.
By the way, during WW2, this same factory produced ‘Hurricane’ fighters for the RAF and RCAF and ‘Helldivers’ for the U S Navy. After the war, they went to manufacturing Brill transit buses and subway cars. Presently, in addition to GO Train cars, they are building articulated streetcars for Toronto’s ‘Toronto Transit Commission’ (TTC).
Nice work Bob!
Ken Cutmore
Bob, an awesome layout. One of the best logistical ideas I have seen. I would like to do the same in a basement area. Would you please provide more detail re the wynches you used; the type of cables, and the way you attached the cables to the table? Also the, what appears to be, the remote wireless controller. What do you have on top of the plywood top? Did you use a very light fibre or styrofoam sheet? Do buy separate folding table legs or are there tables beneath the layout base?
Thank you for any info you share with us.
Alistair, you have a fantastic site with terrific info on all aspects of model rr ing. Thank you for sharing with us.
Always wanted to do that with the Christmas tree and train board !!
Awesome design, you did an excellent job in planning out the design, love it !!!!!!
Bob indeed has it sorted, those hoists are available on the net around $150AUD and are single phase 240vac , fitted with limits so it wont go any higher than needed, good choice here.
GREAT JOB.
THAT”S A WOW!!!!!! and a half
Please provide all information asked by all.
in the interest of not missing the details please forward to email.
Thanks,
George
Approved
Wow… yet another idea that will “elevate” my model railroad hobby! Great video!
Great Trains Idea