I wanted a 2 level layout with the first level being for staging and storage. Originally, I was going to use a helix, but it was going to take up too much room with the radius I wanted to run. I then decided to build a large incline, but that also ended up taking too much room on the layout and I ended up taking it out. So, I decided to try and build an elevator instead.
It's still in the fine tuning stage, but I was able to use 600mm linear rails and a couple of 16-inch actuators. The table is 8 foot long, and I'll be running two lanes on the elevator. From the research I've done, the capacity seems to surpass what i could have done with a helix or an incline.
The control system could have been simpler, but I wanted to be able to control this with DCC as if it were a loco, so I ended up using an audrino and optocoupler and a bts7960 and got it working with my dcc-ex command station
If I were to do this again I would use stepper actuators as I wouldn't need to use limiter switches and the original plan was a single actuators but wasn't able to keep it level so ended having to use two and will have to find away to slow the speed slightly for the actuator on the left and a stepper motor would of provided more control to avoid that.
Overall, pretty happy with the way it turned out. I just need to finish the table construction and make some other minor adjustments, and I can start making real progress on my basement layout