shelf
February 25, 2017:
Hey everyone, i'm starting a new project! Basement storage shelves for my trains..and then a method to run complete trains from the basement storage, out to the Garden Railroad! without lifting up and carrying locos and cars one at a time up the stairs and out to the yard. This build log will cover both parts of the project.
First up, the wall in the basement..Photos before beginning and before moving things out of the way:
The window in the upper-left corner is a key component of this project!
this is going to be fun..
Everything cleaned up and moved out of the way:
And the wall freshly painted..
My wife and I have been in our house 10 years now! and this is a project I have wanted to get to all those years..
Next step: shelf brackets will be installed. Im going to use 12-foot long shelves, and create grooves in the wood for the wheels, rather than use actual track.
more to come..
thanks,
Scot
Update! March 11, 2017
Vertical supports installed, the top shelf determines the overall height of the whole system:
Experimenting with shelf height and distances apart:
March 18, 2017
Short update! today's progress:
I bought-out Home Depot of brackets! I still need 7 more for the bottom shelf..
I will update in more detail once that bottom shelf is up, and I will make a video about what I have planned for Garden Railroad access.
March 23, 2017
Update!
The main portion of the shelves is complete..
Seven shelves, 12-feet long each.
the bottom six will be used for storage, the top shelf wont have trains stored on it.
Two new photos, and a video:
The next update will be a detailed video about the plans to get trains from the shelves out to the garden railroad in the back yard..I have three possible methods under consideration to control the system..I will talk about all three ideas..
I would have that done already, but we got 2-feet of snow a week ago! some of it has melted, but not all of it, so the backyard is still a slushy mess..I'll make the video once the yard is clear, probably in another week or so.
April 24, 2017:
Hey everyone, here is video No. 3! Shelves are done:
And below, are the ideas for getting the lift built:
Ok, here are the three ideas I have considered for creating the shelf lifting mechanism, The “Vertical Transfer Table”. From the simplest and least expensive, to the more complex and more expensive:
1. A Bicycle lift:
The “block and tackle” system of pulleys makes lifting the weight of the shelf and trains “easy” (it takes less force to raise the weight because of the block and tackle)
This one would technically work! But..there is no good way to “index” the shelves at the different levels, its “too manual”..when you reach a shelf, to make the tracks align you would have to try to get it at the exact level before tying off the ropes. Seems like it would be difficult to align exactly.
One thing I didn’t mention in the video: for whatever method I use to raise and lower the shelf, the shelf itself will need “rollers” of some kind on the wall. The shelf won’t be hanging loose in the air, It will have rollers traveling in some kind of vertical guides that are mounted to the wall.
2. A manual winch/crank:
These could work! Again there would be a block and tackle system attached to the crank, similar to the bike lift above, but instead of just “pulling the rope” manually, the winch would be used to raise and lower the shelf. This has potential.
3. A motorized winch:
the most expensive option, but it also seems the most “fine-tuneable” when it comes to lifting..this is what is used on most of the videos..speaking of which:
Something like this could work, but instead of a larger rectangular platform, it would a narrower shelf..but the rest of the system is essentially the same..motor wouldn’t need to be as large!
And here are some actual model railroad lifts:
So, its been done! ;) there are multiple ways to do it..now I just need to figure out the best system for me. Thoughts and suggestions are welcome!
more to come...
Click for a discussion thread about this project on mylargescale: