Has anyone built a hoistable layout?

I had such a layout back in the mid 70's, but it was HO and never got past a single sheet of 3/4" plywood stage. The plywood was supported by 4 wires placed 2' in from all 4 sides. The wires ran through 4 pulleys screwed into the rafters. They fed 2 more pulleys on one side of the garage. These fed a central pulley where the 4 wires joined and I was able to pull the layout up and down. I attached a single hook to the 4 wires and placed 2 hooks on a stud; one down low to hold the layout in the up position and the other higher to hold it in the down position. I had planned to devise a better pulley system with a mini-winch, but never got around to it before we had to move. Obviously, it wasn't all that munch fun to lift the sheet of plywood and it would probably be less fun with heavier O scale equipment on it.

RAX makes such a system, but they aren't exactly cheap:

https://www.powerrax.com/#alacart

Oh, man, the neatest hoistable layout I've seen was a video posted on a thread last year about Phil Klopps layout by forum member Dotty Perry. Here's a link to the thread;

https://ogrforum.com/t...12#41694218271413912

(Its down near the bottom of the thread)

Hi, thank you for the reply.

thats kind of what I had in mind of building. I am worried about the weight thing. I was wondering if it would be too heavy too... What do you think about using weights to help balance the load? Kind of how a stage would use sand bags to help hoist scenery and stuff.

i really want to do this for my son and we've got another boy on the way in a few weeks, so I think it would be really fun for us to use over the years. 

Thank you for the pic too!

Holy s*** that was cool! 

Amazing! Thanks for sharing!

A hoistable layout is certainly possible, but I don't think it's real conducive to convenient or spontaneous model railroading. My theory is, better a good small fixed layout in a convenient clean comfortable living space, than a big layout that is less conveniently accessible.

If you can be satisfied with O27 or O31 curves, consider building a long narrow layout along the garage wall which is no more than about 36" wide. It can stay fixed in place without the complications of 'hoistability', the length will give a fair mileage of track with long straights, and it won't monopolize the floorspace entirely.

http://www.hoister.com/

I have one, but I think it only holds 90 lbs, their largest holds 200 lbs.  It's a 4-point system designed for 1-person operation and is $200.

I've seen this one on youtube...hoist part begins at 15:32 into the video near the end.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=uE5cpJas0zM

Ace posted:

A hoistable layout is certainly possible, but I don't think it's real conducive to convenient or spontaneous model railroading. My theory is, better a good small fixed layout in a convenient clean comfortable living space, than a big layout that is less conveniently accessible.

If you can be satisfied with O27 or O31 curves, consider building a long narrow layout along the garage wall which is no more than about 36" wide. It can stay fixed in place without the complications of 'hoistability', the length will give a fair mileage of track with long straights, and it won't monopolize the floorspace entirely.

I'll add my voice to Ace here, I think something better to start with would be a small layout.  The 1st one I built for myself and my son fit under his twin bed.  I put casters under the plywood so it could roll out from under his bed and then back under when were were done.  Bonus was that we could use an old twin fitting sheet to cover it to keep dust, hair, and cats off of it.  It was plenty for an oval of O36 track with a passing siding on one end, and one long spur and a shorter double spur.  Plus being close to the ground, the trains didn't have far to fall when hitting the curve at full throttle, and he could drive his Hot Wheels on the road.

Having experience as a stage manager and set builder, the process does not seem particularly difficult, but you do want to make sure you do it safely.  

3/16" steel aircraft cable will be plenty strong enough with a working load over 3500lbs.  Your general idea will be to run cables from the table, 4, 6, 8, etc, up through pulleys then to a central location where they can all be tied together with cable clamps.  from there a single cable can be run to whatever device you use to raise and lower the layout.  As a note you may want to cross brace the rafters near the pulley points as the stress is not only pulling down but also sideways, a direction your typical garage truss isn't really designed for.  

There are several methods I can think of to make it easier to raise and lower.  The simplest is a counter weight.  On stage we used everything from proper steel stage weights to cinder blocks, to bags of concrete in a 2x4 cradle.  If space for a counter weight is a concern, a good source is using the plastic covered weights from a home gym.  these can be picked up for reasonable prices from second hand stores like good will or salvation army.    Another method is to use garage door springs.  Placing one on each lift cable will make it very easy to lift the table, however these springs will have to be selected fro the correct weight rating, so they do not hold the layout up.  The last method is fairly straight forward.  You can use a winch.  A hand crank winch costs about $25, or a electric one can be had for under $150.  

Whatever methods are chosen, you will want to be safe.  Safety cables should be installed to allow the table to dead hang should the lifting cables break.  In addition, shorter safety cables should be installed to hold the table in it's upraised position.  Cables should also be run through the middle of any springs, or counterweights, to keep them from flying about if they should fail.  

JGL

I used the Racor lift to suspend my 5x11. Unfortunately there is a car on jack stands underneath so I haven't gotten to much else. I used 2x4 lumber and 1/4" ply I had laying around. Kinda wish I didn't as I think when its all said and done the layout I want will surpass its weight capacity. I have found new space in the basement so it will probably come down anyway. I added safetey chains. It rests on the table there and has support legs that fold up. One issue I havn't resolved is that you have to be directly under the differential when raising or lowering. It has very little swing range. I think cutting the hoist rod and adding a universal joint for an rc boat may work. Good luck. Oh, and DO NOT use a drill to lower it! It will fly down as the drill has no drag.

https://ogrforum.com/t...96#22970455097130096

That looks like it could work for what I want.. But you're right about weight being an issue.. Shoot I don't have room anywhere else and we have to park in the garage because of hoa rules. Thank you for the reply!

In the 1950's my father built us a 4 x 8 layout that stored on the basement joists. Very lightly built, homasote with 1x lumber edgewise on probably 16 inch centers. No plywood, just the homasote. I think the perimeter was 1x6s extending above the layout to provide an "edge guard" There were six eyebolts in the top edge of the 1x6s, and screen door hooks on the floor joists.  No hoisting mechanism, just lifted it up one end and put the hooks in, then lifted the other. Center hooks went in last. No legs, when in use the layout sat on sawhorses. Whole thing probably weighed 75 pounds, track and transformer included.

Another idea: can you build the layout high enough for the front of the car to go under, then use a simple pull-out platform to stand on when the car is out and you're using the railroad? Depends on your garage floor plan and location of any interior doors. It would be less complication than a moving table.

Another idea:  Have a yard on a shelf fixed to the wall with the larger part of the layout hinged to fold down. When you need to fold up the layout, you first park the trains on the yard shelf.

Another idea: yard on a shelf, tracks along wall, tight helix in a corner, upper terminal loop overhead. No moving layout parts

Granted, a hoistable layout has the potential to be a larger size for your space, and is out of the way entirely when hoisted up. But it's worth thinking about other possibilities.

I remember an article in Model Railroader magazine years ago, about a man who built a big 14' x 25' hoistable HO layout in a big 3-car garage. It had a welded aluminum frame, suspended on aircraft cables with counterbalances, motors to raise and lower the layout. But you have to first move 3 cars out of the garage? Not conducive to spontaneous model railroading ...

How about a smaller car that needs less garage space?

As long as folks are tossing out ideas.  When my boy was young we built the layout in his room similar to "lofts" folks used to build in fraternity /sorority Houses in college. The loft was about 5ft high and went across the back of his room.   His bed was on the side wall and the foot of it went underneath the loft.  Under the other side was his desk and dresser.   One could put a ladder up to the loft and run it from the inside but I actually had stools then later a 4' long portable scaffold (bench could be 2' or 4' high) that they stood on to run trains.  

Alternatively one could build the loft the size of an upper "bunk" bed and then run the trains on the floor underneath.

I made sure there was easy access / egress to the loft and to below the loft and to the room in case of emergency.  I was careful not to block off any windows.

I considered a pop up hole in center of layout with a stool underneath but never got around to building it. 

Wyatts dad posted:

 I'd like to build a layout that can be hoisted up into the trusses of my garage...

Do you want to tell us the size and floorplan of your garage, to consider how big a layout it might be practical to fit in there? Also, need to know if it has the typical overhead garage door, which will likely interfere with space for a hoistable layout.

The garage door was why mine was limited to 4x8, that's all that fit in front of the door tracks.

If I were to do mine again, I would make it a fold-up. That was my first idea until I saw a hoist layout in Model Railroader Magazine, then I just had to try that.  I like Ace's idea for a storage shelf so you don't have to remove the trains. If the shelf is wide enough, you can even have permanent building, but that depends on available space.

JohnGaltLine posted:

Having experience as a stage manager and set builder, the process does not seem particularly difficult, but you do want to make sure you do it safely.  

3/16" steel aircraft cable will be plenty strong enough with a working load over 3500lbs.  Your general idea will be to run cables from the table, 4, 6, 8, etc, up through pulleys then to a central location where they can all be tied together with cable clamps.  from there a single cable can be run to whatever device you use to raise and lower the layout.  As a note you may want to cross brace the rafters near the pulley points as the stress is not only pulling down but also sideways, a direction your typical garage truss isn't really designed for.  

There are several methods I can think of to make it easier to raise and lower.  The simplest is a counter weight.  On stage we used everything from proper steel stage weights to cinder blocks, to bags of concrete in a 2x4 cradle.  If space for a counter weight is a concern, a good source is using the plastic covered weights from a home gym.  these can be picked up for reasonable prices from second hand stores like good will or salvation army.    Another method is to use garage door springs.  Placing one on each lift cable will make it very easy to lift the table, however these springs will have to be selected fro the correct weight rating, so they do not hold the layout up.  The last method is fairly straight forward.  You can use a winch.  A hand crank winch costs about $25, or a electric one can be had for under $150.  

Whatever methods are chosen, you will want to be safe.  Safety cables should be installed to allow the table to dead hang should the lifting cables break.  In addition, shorter safety cables should be installed to hold the table in it's upraised position.  Cables should also be run through the middle of any springs, or counterweights, to keep them from flying about if they should fail.  

JGL

I have a neighbor who has no less than 10-15 kids running through his place all the time. He set up a full size ping-pong table in his garage - and then used an electric wench to raise and lower it. Worked pretty cool. And !!  The kids would actually put it away when they were done! 

They would lower it down part way, then pull the table legs into position. f course, reverse the process when raising it back up.