Around the room layout with a pass-through?

You could get better advice if you show a scale floor plan or photos. Having two removeable bridges kinda sounds like a hassle to me (I been there, done that). Could you fit a smaller layout that wouldn't need the two removeable bridges?

Ace is right on the money. You could probably get some of the operational benefits of an around the walls without enclosing the whole space with the layout, leaving aisle space to get into and pass through the room. Depends on where the doorways are located. A sketch with some dimensions would really help here.

Also, what size curves are you planning to use? This would influence how things can be arranged.

Here's a gate I built for my around the room layout.

Do a search on the forum,  have seen a couple lift bridges posted as well as a roll out / swing out section shown.

I'm doing a large lift section but it will be a pure vertical lift of an entire corner section due to door placement.

I'm using 36" drawer slides as guides with cable lift from all 4 corners.

It's overkill for most situations but I have my reasons.

Wow, John! All I can say is "Brilliantly conceived and executed!"

Here is a link to the gate I put in. Greg

https://ogrforum.com/d...ent/2415514336944517

John aside from the brilliant design of the bridge your train room is awesome.

Thanks guys, this lift up gate is perfect. I also found a video from Eric's Trains on YouTube on a Atlas Pratt truss bridge on hinges that lifts up!!! This will help me dream up a 10' x 20' layout now with a walk thru from my sliding glass door to the screen door at the other end of the enclosed porcg fo sho!!! You should of seen the look on my wife's face when I told her about the "new revised plan"! She is GREAT. She just rolled her eyes and laughed!

Thank you Matt and Wild Mary!

I have Atlas track in an around the room layout with a large patio door as the entrance. I made a bridge that works fine BUT I would strongly suggest you put in a system to shut down any track that goes over the bridge when it's opened. Don't ask me how I know this it's to painful to tell.

Ron

In the few hours since I started this post I have found a lot of ideas, tips, answers, etc on a lift out, lift up, or drop down bridge and I have noticed a bunch of people mention isolating a few feet of track before and after the lift out section so as to NOT run your train off the table! Thanks for all your help train people! I am dreaming up some cool layouts now that I have just increased my footage by double! LOL

" I made a bridge that works fine BUT I would strongly suggest you put in a system to shut down any track that goes over the bridge when it's opened. Don't ask me how I know this it's to painful to tell."

Go ahead, you can ask me why I second this suggestion. Here is a link to a post I put up explaining why it should be done!! Enjoy, Greg

https://ogrforum.com/d...04#12129987958270504

Ah Greg the pain of it all. I had just purchased the engine and was running it over my #7.5 switches and the pickups were to short. As a result I fried the radio board in it after a few minutes and 2 stalls on the switch. I left it for a week and then set out to repair it. I had been busy so when I got a few minutes I went out and took it apart. I put in a new board and it worked fine again. So I decided I would run it around the room a few times. I didn't plan on running trains so I had left the bridge up. It was running around the room and when it got about 8 ft from the opening I realized the bridge was up. It was to late all I could do was watch it fall 42 inches to a wood floor. It took out the bell mount and messed up the running gear. After an hour I got everything back into alignment and it was again running fine but without a bell. Don't know if I can get the bell mount from Lionel yet. This engine was practically new when I got it. I was intending to put in the safety shutoff but I hadn't got around to it.

Ron