Lift Out Bridge on a curved section of Track

Your track plan may help us give you a better answer. To get into my furnace room/wood shop, my track is straight, but the entire section swings out like a gate.

I do not see why a gate method could be used on curved track.

If you’re going to lift it off of both ends, it could be any shape and work just fine. Just make sure you have some kind of alignment system to get it back in the same spot. I like table pins, but there are many choices. Also make sure that it’s rigid enough to support the span. Put an I beam or box beam of plywood underneath it. You don’t want it to bounce. The whole pink section lifts out, switches and all. The rail ends are soldered to screws embedded in both sides of the joint and the whole piece drops onto table pins below.

If you need it to hinge or swing, a little more thinking is needed.

@Boilermaker1 @DMASSO Guys - Really appreciate your guidance on this. I'll send a few pictures when I get it in place.

@Boilermaker1 I looked at your photos again. Wow....that is really nice work. Gives me something to think about

@Maxandy Here’s a curved lift out I made. Because of an unusual application, I had to put the hinges on the side. It works great and makes it easier to access the back of the layout. It may not be a design you need but I thought I’d show what I did.

Gene

@Genemed Sweet! Do you think I could do that with a double track. Thanks for taking the time to publish this!

That is sweet, nice work on that curved lift bridge.  I like it!

@Maxandy posted:

@Genemed Sweet! Do you think I could do that with a double track. Thanks for taking the time to publish this!

You’re welcome. Because of the hinge placement and the design of the open/close motion, the weight of a double track could hinder its operation. It’s quite possible with a good set of nylon bushed hinges. The hinges I used have too much play in them and when I drop the track down I have to lift up near the hinge just before it drops in place or it binds at the hinge. Going up is fine, it does the job.

Gene

Thanks again Gene. I'm off to the mad scientist cave to experiment.

When you make the electrical connections, you might consider removing power from the tracks a foot or so before the opening on both sides when it is open, just in the remote chance you forget to put the bridge down in your hurry to get behind the throttle.  When you close the lift out, all the track goes hot.  I followed this advise mainly because it was a suggestion made a very long time ago, so there must be some historical proof at one time of someone unintentionally replicating the end of Back to the Future III in O gauge with his railroad.

@CALNNC Thanks for this advise which I will follow. Amazing how previous generations have passed the "smarts" down to us.

@CALNNC posted:

When you make the electrical connections, you might consider removing power from the tracks a foot or so before the opening on both sides when it is open, just in the remote chance you forget to put the bridge down in your hurry to get behind the throttle.  When you close the lift out, all the track goes hot.  I followed this advise mainly because it was a suggestion made a very long time ago, so there must be some historical proof at one time of someone unintentionally replicating the end of Back to the Future III in O gauge with his railroad.

I have seen that happen !! Early TMCC diesel - did NOT survive.