# Tranfer table idea



## deeredaze (Mar 10, 2008)

Hi,
Do any of you guys have a transfer table as a way of moving trains in and out of a storage building? There are pictures of what I am trying to explain here:

http://www.mainememory.net/bin/Detail?ln=14512 

http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/933-2968 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYQ1eH4yMfs 


I would like to try this approach, as it will save having to buy/build a large amount of switches and space to get trains in/out of a storage building. I have pictures somewhere of using a long piece of flex track in place of multiple switches to get into a storage area and it was a great idea from someone here on the forums. But that will only work on a single story building, where I was hoping to build a transfer table to reach a building with two levels of storage, maybe 14" to 16" higher. Its still in the idea stages yet, so I am open to suggestions or ideas. 


I have seen pictures of transfer tables that the ride on gauges use to load their locos into vehicles or trailers. I don't need anything that heavy duty or with hydraulics or anything. Just something similar and simple, if possible. Maybe rails at each end and a two by four for a deck with track laid on top. Some sort of lock for each" stall" to line up the track. Just need something to raise it up and down also. Sounds simple, huh? Probably more like simple in theory, is my guess! 

Thanks for your time,
Kris


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## Paul Burch (Jan 2, 2008)

How long?


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## deeredaze (Mar 10, 2008)

Paul, 
I am thinking of around 14' to 16' long would be enough for me. 
Kris


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## aceinspp (Jan 2, 2008)

Usuallythe transfer tables are used for a couple of locos or maybe a car. Never seen one to handle multiple cars. Later RJD


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## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

The transfer table is doable. It is the basic part for my Farris Wheel of Trains. I have made one section that is 11 feet six inches long. It looks like a real cheap through truss bridge. Picture a Turntable but not in a hole. Picture that turntable as long as you want it with Legs instead of wheels to make it turn in a circle picture it on legs. On the legs put castors. Picture you rolling this modified turntable up to the end of a spur. The tracks mate. You can roll you stock on and off the Modfied turn table. Picture Several of these turtables around your shop. Picture a Trough truss bridge. Let it set on the legs and Castors. As I suggested to Marty. Put some shelf brackets on the wall say 12 nches apart Maybe less. Picture a re enforced shelf the when picked up will not bend. Put tracks on it. Make it 8 ft long. Make a cart with Wheels /Castors on it. Put the shelf on the cart. Wheel it to the spur. The height of the cart with the shelf sould be the height of the spur. The two mate and youc an roll your stock on or off You could make several shefes and only one cart.. You would have to have some kind of stopper to keep the rolling stock from shifting in transit 


PS Look at this thread.

What if you were to put the part with the white track pieces on wheels. What if you were to make two or three or for like that. Then you could roll the section with the white track on up to the stub track and just roll things on and off. 

http://www.mylargescale.com/Communi...fault.aspx


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## Nicholas Savatgy (Dec 17, 2008)

Transfer table would be neato, ive been thinking about having Dan from Eaglewings ironcraft design one for my new engine house.......


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## deeredaze (Mar 10, 2008)

John=Thanks for the thread. That is a good idea also. 
Nick= cool engine house. What is it made out of? 

I had first thought of using a flex track storage system, but then got to thinking, why not make it on more than one level as well. Hence, the transfer table idea. I realize that a full size transfer table would have been about the length of a loco, but my purpose was to move an entire train in or out of a storage area without a switch. Being able to move up or down as well, is like the tables used by the ride on gauges. 
Kris


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

Some sort of lock for each" stall" to line up the track. Just need something to raise it up and down also. Sounds simple, huh? Probably more like simple in theory, is my guess! 
Kris, 

You said it. 

The table and alignment is fairly easy - John J's table with wheels is the simplest, and making a 14' length of track slide sideways isn't too difficult with all the cabinet stuff available at your local hardware store. 

The tricky bit is the up and down. It has been discussed here (do a google search of the archives and you might find something.) Getting both ends to lift or drop simultaneously and not tip your train onto the solid floor is a challenge. 

One possibility is to find a local boat lift supplier and see if he has an old defunct lift that you can buy cheaply. Boats have to be lifted flat, which is the same problem that you have. 

A PWC / jet ski lift will work: 










Half a regular boat lift will also work - they have two cables wrapped around a shaft. Just bolt the shaft to your shed's beams and hang your table from the cables.


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## wchasr (Jan 2, 2008)

Pete, 
Great idea but a little overkill weight wise isn't it? Still the cables and pulleys idea like my dad's old boat lift may just work? I was thinking hydralic lifted die cart like we use here at work. Slightly modifed of course. That way it raises and lowers and moves around from once side fo barn to another. Hmmm? http://www.mcmaster.com/#die-carts/=557ddf 


Chas


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

Great idea but a little overkill weight wise isn't it? 
Chas - well, yes, but my live steamers can be a bit heavy! Maybe the concepts will spur some more thoughts. 

The lifting tables you mention are fine, but not very long, and a long lifting table is more $$ than a PWC lift! The PWC lift is manually operated, which is a big plus. 

A larger boat lift has a pair of decent bearings designed to bolt on a wooden piling, so they'd be easy to attach to beams. (The 'boathouse' version attached under the beams.) The cross-shaft provides a place to wind the cables equally. Whether you drive the cables by hand orr motor is another $$ issue.


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## wchasr (Jan 2, 2008)

Pete, 
Agreed. I was thinking of taking a lift table like that (surplus is cheap right now) and stretching it out with possibly a second and or third set of scissors to stabilize it. Stretch the base out. The pump handle is to run the hydralic jack and deal with the weight primarily. It also satisfies the portable table issue where as the modified boat lift is still stationary. A cheaper option though. Depending on how my own storage space works out one I may employ as I'll have more wall space than floor space for moving a table around in. They do something similar in the smaller scales to replicate car ferries. 

Chas


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## deeredaze (Mar 10, 2008)

Chas, 
The die table could be a useful idea also, with some modification as you mentioned.Pretty expensive, unfortunately. Even the cheapest one they have is $323. 
Pete, 
Thanks for the pictures. Thats kinds what I was thinking of doing, only on a smaller scale maybe. You are definitely correct on getting each end to raise or lower at the same time. I thought of even putting a "stop" on each end to prevent an expensive train crash on the ground! Better safe than sorry! 
I also thought of using a bicycle type chain to move the table up and down. Although it would need a sprocket for the chain to roll on instead of a simpler pulley that a cable would need. I think hand operated will be good enough for me. Although, I suppose a garage door opener might be another possibility, if you could limit the travel of the chain somehow. I'm not sure how they know when to stop moving. Any thoughts? 
Hmmm...so many choices! 
Kris


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

a simpler pulley that a cable would need 
While looking at my boat lift, and trying to think of a simpler version, I recalled the creel that my mother used to dry clothes. 

[Side note on "creels": I wasn't even sure I had the right word, but an online dictionary said it meant a fisherman's basket or a 'A frame for holding bobbins or spools in a spinning machine'. It also produced this one: _'West Yorkshire dialect_ a wooden frame suspended from a ceiling, used for drying clothes'. As I was brought up in West Yorkshire, Ah reckon it be reet.] 

The frame my mother used was quite long, but the important feature was that it was raised and lowered parallel to the ceiling. To do so, one end has/had a double pulley screwed into a beam, and the other end had a single pulley. Ropes from one end went through the single pulley, through 1/2 the double, and then down to a hook on the wall. The other end went through the other side of the double and was tied to the first rope at the wall hook. As both ropes were tied together, you raise and lower the rig using both ropes at once. (I recall there were two knots in the ropes which set the up and down height.) 

Guess what - they are still on sale! 










Here's the installation manual which will give you chapter and verse on the system, including cute winders with handles. (Amazon sells it for $80.) 

*http://www.joyfulspincycle.com/JSC%...0Guide.pdf* 

Looking at the thing, it looks like it would work. The cable is wire, so that gets rid of the elasticity in my mother's rope rig! Suspending the transfer table from the wires would require a rigid frame so that it always hangs flat, but nothing special. 

It be reet smashin' .!


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## deeredaze (Mar 10, 2008)

Pete, 
Installation instructions, pictures, and all. Now, that is service with a smile! Creel is new one; I never heard that one before. They always say you learn something new everyday!. 

That is pretty much what I was thinking of. I didn't know anyone made something like that. I like the idea of the adjustable stops on it. Attach the wires to a 2x6 or whatever for a table and your all set. I think it mentioned the capacity was 75 pounds for each bar, so 150 pounds used together on a transfer table. Would that be enough for the live steam sized engines along with an entire train? I can't imagine needing much more than that, but, I have been wrong many times before! 
Kris


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

Attach the wires to a 2x6 or whatever for a table
Kris, 
You'll need to attach them above the table, so it always hangs down and stable. A longitudinal support frame will also be needed, just like any baseboard. 

Many live steamers and owners of other expensive locos have carriers with rigid handles attached via an inverted 'U' at each end. Similar to the mouth of a tunnel at each end (or towardss the middle) of your 2x6. The bars of the clothes hanger could be bolted to the upturned 'U's. 

Would that be enough for the live steam sized engines along with an entire train?
The latest Accucraft K-36 is spec'd at 35 lbs, so you are good. I doubt any loco weighs more than 50 lbs - though that would be concentrated on one end!


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## deeredaze (Mar 10, 2008)

Pete, 
I can see that whatever is made, to consider that the heavy part will be at one end. So a motorcycle lift might have a problem on a long table with the heavy part away from center. 
Kris


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