Access hatches

Do you need a hinged lift up to enter a walkway, or come up through a hole after crawling under?

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Dennis

Can't give you a how to but mine are "push up" I would advise "drop down" hatches. Push up are a poor design because you end up putting the hatch on scenery which can damage it or make it a hassle to put it where it won't damage anything.

Dennis - both actually,  thanks for mentioning as I should have stated that up front.

--Greg

As I recall, Jim Barrett has a couple of his lift up instructions on video available from the OGR store.  However, here are some photos of mine if you like for free. 

Tip:  Build your span first and have it fit in first before adding hinges.  When the span is located perfectly, screw a board to the span and both sides of the span on the tables so it does not move, then add the hinges. The span should have some sort of a receiving end notch or guides to be sure it locates correctly every time.

How wide will your entrance be? Access hatches, as above have mentioned, can be hinged, loose or elevated. Search Ingeniero No1 as he made a hatch that is fixed but raises up out of the table.

Thank-you Dennis and Don.

The width would be 30" for a lift up and for the stand through holes, 30"x30" or 20"x40".

--Greg

Haven't seen source material on how to do it, but the trick is to make them as useful as possible while being as inconspicuous as possible. Panels that lift out are easier to construct as you only need a lip to hold it up and the cuts can be made to closer tolerances. Hinged panels are more complicated.

In this first photo, Mel's Diner and the Car Wash are on a removable panel that is bordered by the roads. It's a two-man operation as it has to be handed off to another person.

In this photo, the bus depot and parking lot are a removable panel. 

We have another access hatch under the machine shop by the Roundhouse. The shop has since been finished and ground-cover installed. Again, this is a two-man operation as the shop and platform need to be handed off.

The first one we did wasn't as well planned. Basically, we had cut a hole in the bench work which was planned to be a lift-out, but the odd shape made it difficult to deal with. The solution was to build a hollow building surrounding the hole. In this case, the building was constructed so the sides can be removed and lowered through the hole if necessary for additional reach.

Matt--the building idea is ingenious!

Thank-you for the information.

Regards,

Greg

Here's my other lift up which is more complicated because the hinges are not elevated.  This makes the lift up end in need of angle cuts with close tolerances.  This shows the mating notch and cut out for precise locating each time it closes.  My lift ups are wide because they will be landscaped with everything screwed or glued down.

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Dennis

I thought there were some good ideas for access hatches in this build thread by Ingeniero No1. He had some really good ideas and there is a lot of good info here, even more if you use Atlas track.

The above is my lift bridge to access the 5' sliding door in the background to go to the back yard.  It consists of 2 MTH arched bridges supported with a 1 x 4 strengthened by two 1 x 2.  eventually it will be covered with stone.

Anderson power pole connectors for a tight fit to bring power from the main layout (8 x 32 ) to the stub yard and turn table.

Hook and eye to support the bridge in the up position when not running trains.

The above shows the cover over the circuit board which causes the lights on top of the bridges to flash.

Greg this is the bridge we spoke about at the NJHR that Saturday.  You're welcome to come over anytime.

John

Thanks. In the background of the first photo, you'll notice some "missing" scenery panels. Those panels are removable to access hidden tracks for cleaning and re-railing the occasional mishap.

Here's what they look like normally:

If you are looking for a way to get into a "closed" layout ( a lift bridge or other word) here is a link to one way I solved the problem for a temporary Christmas layout a few years back.

Not real elegant, but real functional and works easy, and easy to replicate.

Greg

https://ogrforum.com/t...d-for-duck-underso-i

I don't have any, because I did not want to get on my hands and knees.  Some searches on this forum provide some OUTSTANDING ideas.

This is my favorite.

Click Here for full thread.

I made my Pop-Out to be 30 x 34 and put my Newly decorated "landscaped" Farm on top.

The base is made from 1 Inch purple foam board.

This keeps the weight real lite and easy to lift from the top of the layout.

It is fully concealed while in place on the layout.

I still need to do a few finishing touches on the landscaping but almost done with this.

Hope this helps you a little.