OK Joe Fugate and Charlie Comstock you Have outdone yourselves with the Advance Release of the August MRH Magazine Member only Bonus Downloads. Best Ever!!! "10 STARS"
Anybody that views Model Railroad Hobbyist and isn't a registered member will loose out on some GREAT information On building Scenery, Model Railroading and the Internet, Photography for model railroading, and super tuning your railroad so you start with a great operation RR before you have all the grass and weeds in place.
For all those that read this and head to the Page
http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/mrh-2011-08-aug/bonus-extras
expect a few large downloads if you plan to save them on your computer. In fact I believe the 4 downloads are bigger than a couple issues of MRH Magazine put together.
So Got to the URL above after you join and register on the forums (it's free) and make sure you don't miss these.

Part of my railroad's route involves crossing the doorway to the room, on two levels, no less.  Since I am now old enough that I don't bend anymore, a duck-under is out of the question.  So, a lift or swinging bridge is in order.

I decided on a lift bridge, so that I'm not obstructing room space.   After quite a bit of cogitation, and an "ah-ha" moment when I was holding some aluminum extrusion in my hand, I came up with what turned out to be a successful two-level bridge.  The endeavor follows:

Has anyone built a helix using masonite/hardboard spline?

It seems like all the pictures and discussions regarding helix construction involve using plywood.  There seem to be lots of pros and cons to either method - plywood vs spline.  But I'm worried that I am overlooking something that makes plywood the preferred choice.

Hi everyone,

This is yet another "foam" question I'm afraid.

I'm starting to build a short, narrow shelf layout using some of the well known Ikea "Billy" bookcase units as a base so no separate support legs or brackets are needed. There are six old bookcases, each is screwed to the wall and bolted to its neighbor.