05-25-2010, 08:04 AM
Like Gary, I've been following this thread faithfully, but am not really qualified to comment on track plans, either. I didn't use one when building my own layout, although the jury is still out on the practicality of what I ended-up with. 
Like you, I framed my layout with open grid, and although mine is mounted on very heavy-duty supports (mostly for storage of non-train-related stuff), I also fastened the gridwork to the walls, simply driving screws through the rear 1"x4" and into a wall stud wherever necessary. Even in a rental, there should be no reason to prevent this - after all, are you not allowed to hang pictures, draperies, etc.? In the event you move, the layout will be taken out and you can patch the holes and re-paint the room.
For the removeable bridge, which, if I recall correctly, is about 10' long, I'd frame it the same as the rest of the layout, and perhaps add a hinged support leg at the mid-point.
For supporting and aligning the ends, a piece of 1"x2" fastened to the underside of the 1"x4" of the fixed portions of the layout, and projecting out should do the trick. Also attach strips of the same material, aligned vertically, to "trap" the ends of the removeable section so that it can't shift sideways.
An alternative method would be to make only part of this 10' section as a lift-out, with the two ends attached to the layout - say 3' on either end, with a 4' lift-out in the centre. The fixed sections would require a support leg on their outer ends, of course. Alignment and support of the lift-out section would be the same as outlined for the longer section.
For powering the lift-out, regardless of its length, use a 3- or 5-prong plug (the extra contact ensures that the polarity will always be correct), with the male component at the end of a free-hanging wire on the lift-out and the corresponding female receptacle mounted on the 1"x4" face of the fixed portion of the layout. Since the layout is around-the-room with the lift-out in place, only a single plug-in is required.
Wayne
Like you, I framed my layout with open grid, and although mine is mounted on very heavy-duty supports (mostly for storage of non-train-related stuff), I also fastened the gridwork to the walls, simply driving screws through the rear 1"x4" and into a wall stud wherever necessary. Even in a rental, there should be no reason to prevent this - after all, are you not allowed to hang pictures, draperies, etc.? In the event you move, the layout will be taken out and you can patch the holes and re-paint the room.
For the removeable bridge, which, if I recall correctly, is about 10' long, I'd frame it the same as the rest of the layout, and perhaps add a hinged support leg at the mid-point.
For supporting and aligning the ends, a piece of 1"x2" fastened to the underside of the 1"x4" of the fixed portions of the layout, and projecting out should do the trick. Also attach strips of the same material, aligned vertically, to "trap" the ends of the removeable section so that it can't shift sideways.
An alternative method would be to make only part of this 10' section as a lift-out, with the two ends attached to the layout - say 3' on either end, with a 4' lift-out in the centre. The fixed sections would require a support leg on their outer ends, of course. Alignment and support of the lift-out section would be the same as outlined for the longer section.
For powering the lift-out, regardless of its length, use a 3- or 5-prong plug (the extra contact ensures that the polarity will always be correct), with the male component at the end of a free-hanging wire on the lift-out and the corresponding female receptacle mounted on the 1"x4" face of the fixed portion of the layout. Since the layout is around-the-room with the lift-out in place, only a single plug-in is required.
Wayne