Hi,
let's join the fantasy for a while ,
For moving sideways, using wheels on a baseboard would be easiest. I guess wheels, rubber tires and ball-bearings can be obtained as parts for large-scale radio-controlled cars, e.g., at Conrad.
Or, why not put your old M-track on the baseboard, and put the whole thing on a large number of old waggon chassis. (A good way to use your old Fleischmann stuff after all [}:)]).
For alignment, I would prefer a non-mechanical system, e.g., with a led and photo diode. However, it may be safer to design a system that locks the thing in place, as is used for the turntables. One can think of making that from an old turnout solenoid. Activate the outgoing movement just before the thing aligns with a hole in the non-moving part, and a piston goes in.[^]

Hi Gregor,

Not sure about the horizontal movement - seems tricky to me, and if you're planning a 5x5 setup, then a 3-way turnout plus two standard turnouts either end wouldn't be too much, would it? Furthermore, think about the time it would take to move across horizontally; after all, this thing is supposed to be part of a "working" layout?

Let's assume that an "exchange" of train happens every time, i.e. every time a different train exits the shadow station to the one that enters it. If you build 5 parallel tracks, at least you wouldn't have to move your contraption every time, only every 5 times.

For vertical movement, I like the spindle drive idea combined with piston/lock - should give you maximum precision.

Good luck!

let's continue dreaming....
i think that vertical and hotizontal movements are unpractical, so we will have to construct some sort of a cylinder with the tracks in its edges, so we only have to control one movement and requiring significant less energy, to keep all tracks horizontal everytime so loks don't fall, the supports of tracks must be articulated and keep in its position by some sort of gyroscopic device, in order to the proper alignment you must use to control the rotary movement a step motor wich move only a known distance when it get a pulse of electricity (Like the ones used for control the heads of printing devices).
Well, i think that such device will not be very hard to construct by someone with electronic and hand work skills, but if it wouldn´t, we are just dreaming....
Bye
Francisco

Hello dreamers,

I like the idea of the cylinder (especially the weight equilibrium it posesses), however to be able to store 25 trains, the diameter would be huge. Unless you could create concentric rings of storage tracks within.

The tracks have to be mounted on a very, very stiff support, since they can only be attached to the cylinder on the beginning and end of the track. The tracks have to be approx. 2 meters, with the full weight of the train resting on it, so this will have to be like a long rectangular cage structure with 45° cross bars (like the old bridges). This will be a nightmare to build (25 times) although there should be some standard stuff available that matches the requirements.

Also it would be difficult to pack the trains closely together since the cages need space to revolve without hitting each other.

I think I prefer to go back to the old solution, but indeed abandon the horizontal movement, because it will simply take up too much horizontal space. (Sorry Bart, now you need a new destination for your old Fleishmann locs ). Vertical space is usually not a problem. So I am back at a rack, to be counterbalanced by a dead weight (or a second train filled rack...) Maybe tonight's champagne will trigger some new ideas for realising this.

The moving Ferry boat slope could work nicely with a low number of levels. For higher racks, the slope length would have to be too long in order not to exceed Marklin's 3% gradient rule. For 5 levels, height difference between level 1 and 5 would be ca. 400 mm, so plus or minus 200 mm is to be covered by the slope. Let's violate Marklin's rule up to 5%, then the required slope length is still 4 meters !

I liked the manual solution of Sean Fanelli's train rack. (link http://www.polar.sunynas....edu/~fanellis/rack.html posted by Bart). You can recognise the love for modelling by the fact that they applied grass in such a storage system. Very nice.

All the best for 2004 !
Gregor

Hello Francisco, happy new year !

I see much better now what you mean, indeed you can fully support the tracks in the way you describe.

The small cylinders would need an aligning piston on both ends, because there will always be some twist between both ends. Also attention should be paid to accessibility of the tracks, but this should not be a showstopper.

I'm afraid I did not have enough Champagne to work out both concepts right now, but I certainly will spend some drafting efforts to both alternatives.

Best regards,
Gregor

Wow, Great work Gregor.....Seems like champagne was very well
You're right, perhaps for storing 25 trains the device is unpractical, maybe not for less trains, you can also fit your device under your first layout level in a hidden area, to fit to the station only the top track, this way the device will be in its majority under the plywood with cables and other stuff, it will be like an iceberg
Bye
Francisco

There is also an interesting concept by Dr Konig - http://home.nexgo.de/dr....nig/digital/paternos.htm (sorry, only in German) - which also deals with the problem of storage.

Well, grey plastic plumbing tubes are rather rigid - could that be an idea for the "revolver"? Some trouble fitting track into them, though....

This revolver idea was shown at the Nuernberg toy fair in 1998, by the same company that makes "Train Safe", and if I recall the MIBA artikel it was very, very expensive and took up a considerable amount of room.

BTW it was also patented.

I guess it would be very expensive since each tube must be able to rotate in order to prevent the locomotive and cars from derailing in the tube.

You would also need an indexing system so you know where tube number 1 is and what tube is being occupied.