I previously explained that I ended up making a tunnel into what used to be a dining area. So, as I munch on this sandwich, I will describe what I did with it. Sized at about 8’ by 5’ I realised that I had an effective storage area of about 8’ by 2’. Again, out with the paper and pencils. The design aim was to provide storage for 6 trains of at least 20 wagons which works out at 6’ by 15” . No way I could fit in a fan of pointwork at each end of that, so my thinking moved towards a traverser. I had built a double entry double exit traverser way back; so I decided to have a go in EM. This is how it turned out.

Firstly a general shot. Below and above are cupboards for general storage, the tunnel can be seen at the RH end.

Three ball bearing heavy duty drawer slides support the structure, it requires surprisingly little force to move it.

The locking mechanism is a spring loaded silver steel bar in linear ball bearings which engages with drilled plate. it is unlocked by a cam which is driven by a geared motor from a central heating motorised valve. Yes, its 240 V but if wiring is sheathed properly that is not a problem. The microswitch senses the unlocked state, power cannot be applied to the track until it is properly locked. I will add another locking mechanism at the other end, I get a bit of mispositioning there.

The position of the traverser is detected by reed switches. These feed a relay panel so that the correct up or down feed is only fed to the right traverser lines. A repeater panel with a digital readout of the track selected and the lock status is located in the main layout room.

The drive mechanism is a geared motor and a toothed rubber belt. A two speed controller allows for local or eventual remote operation, and it is interlocked so that the traverser has to be properly unlocked before it is moved.

All the electronics and switching is in a pull out drawer under the traverser. Also contains a local cab controller so that trains can be shunted independently from the main layout.

Finally, a view down the traverser towards the tunnel. Slightly wobbly track, it is just EM trackbase. I might ballast it all one day.

I really should treat myself to a decent camera, sorry about the quality of the pics but I think they give a general impression of what is going on.
Anyway, hope that is of interest. Back to a bit of styrene cutting.