Hinged Bridge

Not sure if this is what you're looking for, but here are some photos of a hinged section I created to enter the inner area of the layout. I followed the suggestion from Jim Barrett's "Barrett in the Backshop" (may he rest in peace) to bend hinges in such a way to raise the pivot point above the surface and avoid the tracks impinging on each other when opening the section.  I attached photos when under construction to show the hinges, then photos of the completed section. A bit of scenery came off the hinge to expose it in the bottom right of the completed photo; easy fix. You might also note that there is a loop of chain attached to the ceiling and a hook mechanism that holds the section when opened.

Hope this helps.

Michael

Thanks, but I was looking for some type of truss bridge.

MTH single track bridge

Timely topic for me...

Jim - what is the length of the MTH Bridge you are using? Do you know if it comes in a double track option?

Michael - thanks for sharing the pictures including the hinges. I need to find my DVD with that segment.

Paul

@Jim M Sr posted:

MTH single track bridge

I like the way you hid the hinges so they look like bridge abutments, or at least not like hardware.  Do you have a close-up of the hinges in the open position? 

Also, one of your pics says "image not found".

Rail running, it’s thirty inches long. Yes, MTH did make them in two track models, too.

I put the hinges underneath.

Mallard4468,

since I use Gargraves track, and the bridge is molded for MTH track, I used a thin piece of wood to simulate the wider base, and screwed the track to it for positioning. The voting end of the base is double thick to make up for the platform deck. The hangers are made of 4 pieces of scrap hardwood. Two screwed into the bridge base, two screwed into the platform. I drilled the holes on the outer pieces of wood a bit larger then the 1 1/2 in #4 track screws I had, then screwed through the holes into pilot holes in the wood on the bridge deck. The screws are the pivot, or axle the the bridge lifts on.

When we get more finished, my plan is to redo the crude carpentry with something better looking. Although as long as it works as well as it has for the last year, I’m not going to disturb it.

The bridge was a gimme from a friend who no longer wanted it, so it’s cost a piece of track, some black paint, scrap wood, brass strips, and a few screws. Kind of crazy when there’s a Millhouse River turntable ten inches away. 🤷‍♂️

Here's a hinged bridge that goes into my 10-track freight yard.  Two brass aligning pins make sure the tracks are in alignment when it's down.

Trainhead - I think the hinge method would apply to a truss bridge as well.

Paul - Jim Barret's article can be found in Vol 11 of his Barrett in the Backshop videos, as well as Chapter 5 of the Building a Layout text which is a compilation of his articles in O Gauge Railroading, and if you have it, it's in Run 270 (April/May 2014 issue)  of that magazine.  I followed his advice on many layout building issues!

GRJ - It appears you used the same strategy with hinges to raise the pivot point, but with different placement of the hinges.  Avoids all the bending!

Michael

@Michael Pags posted:

GRJ - It appears you used the same strategy with hinges to raise the pivot point, but with different placement of the hinges.  Avoids all the bending!

Yep, I figure to just hide that with some landscaping, it was the easiest way to build it and have the pivot point above the track.

A mth single track bridge

My hinged bridge to access open center area of layout.

Not my layout. This is a friend of mine. Simple and direct. Atlas Pratt truss mounted to 1 × 12 pine board. Moving the pivot point in from the end reduces the height when in the vertical position. However this could be challenging when it comes to scenery. Although it looks like Zeke handled that problem rather nicely.

Here's mine.  The problem was I wanted to lift two bridges that are side by side, but one track is 6" higher than the other.  @mike g. came up with a solution that I adapted to my situation.  The lower bridge isn't actually on a hinge, but pivots on a bar.  A linear actuator lifts it, and there is a cross member that lifts the higher bridge which does have hinges.  After a year of use, it has worked great.  I described the process in detail in February of last year starting around page 46 in my Blackwater Canyon Line topic.

@MED posted:

My hinged bridge to access open center area of layout.

That's really cool and creative.  How do you plan to keep the rails from impinging on each other (on the hinge side) when raising it?

For the center of my layout, I went with power, too much real estate to lift by hand.

The white strips are aluminum J-Channel to protect the edge of the Homasote from flaking away.

@Mallard4468 if you look at my pics, you will see that while the hinge point is about 1 1/2 inches below table top, the track carrying section edge is about 8" from the hinge point. The fact that the edge is 8" from hinge point is what keeps impinging from occurring.

Hi As @Mark Boyce stated we have the same setup, and it is similar to a couple of the other ones, I will try and find a video, if not I will take one tomorrow.

Here is a video of mine.  I would not have thought of this, but recalled Mike's and it worked out well here.

Nice and smoothMark! Nice work!

Hi guys, here is the video of my bridge. 2 really one up and one going down.

Here is my MTH Bridge with a matching wood base I made and painted black and used Home Depot heavy-duty strap hinges.  The hinges stay tightly together at the pivot points because they are designed for doors.  I use a chain at the top to clip it to the ceiling tile to hold it in place. 

Mike