Nelevation - an automatic smart fiddle yard

Biggy · December 03, 2015, 04:26:42 PM

I have been reading these posts with interest and saw the nelevator at warley. It looks interesting and the cost is probably comparable to an equivalent fiddle yard with points etc. Not sure about cost against a traverser though. Also of course you have to pay for the whole thing at once.
That said it looked a very neat system and it does provide a good storage facility for logos as well.
I may be looking to buy one soon myself if I can raise the cash

Railwaygun · December 03, 2015, 04:50:01 PM

Quote from: Biggy on December 03, 2015, 04:26:42 PM
I have been reading these posts with interest and saw the nelevator at warley. It looks interesting and the cost is probably comparable to an equivalent fiddle yard with points etc. Not sure about cost against a traverser though. Also of course you have to pay for the whole thing at once.
That said it looked a very neat system and it does provide a good storage facility for logos as well.
I may be looking to buy one soon myself if I can raise the cash

It comes with a free logo!!

[smg id=32575 type=preview align=center caption="image"]

Yorkvoyager · December 07, 2015, 06:55:35 AM

I just discovered "Nelevation" in my NGS mag and have since visited the website - several times ! Congratulations to the developer(s). Fantastic initiative. The unit looks well built and certainly compares price-wise with a decent sized fiddle yard. I will be ordering one when the DCC control aspect is sorted - unless of course the manufacturer would be willing to offer a later upgrade at reasonable cost. Presumably this would only involve some retrofitting of electronic gubbins that could be carried out by the purchaser ??

I do hope the logo is for exhibitions only. Something alot more discreet for production models please ;-)

Dock Shunter · February 04, 2016, 03:35:01 PM

Anybody seen this

.....?

http://www.nelevation.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAPD5bakW5o

GrahamB · February 04, 2016, 04:07:16 PM

Yes.

It was at TINGS last year. There's also an existing thread about it somewhere on this forum. Cost around £600 as I recall.

Jon898 · February 04, 2016, 04:09:23 PM

Looks like the indexing could do with some improvement, although the vertical misalignment does give you a bit of a "clickety-clack".

MJKERR · February 04, 2016, 05:52:14 PM

Quote from: Jon898 on February 04, 2016, 04:09:23 PMLooks like the indexing could do with some improvement, although the vertical misalignment does give you a bit of a "clickety-clack"

From memory the video clearly states it is a pre-production sample
This was corrected some time ago and with an even finer calibration process

Malc · February 04, 2016, 10:47:01 PM

If you have a large exhibition layout, it would be worth every penny. However, a bit big and expensive for a small home layout.

jrb · February 05, 2016, 10:19:27 AM

Quote from: Malc on February 04, 2016, 10:47:01 PM
If you have a large exhibition layout, it would be worth every penny. However, a bit big and expensive for a small home layout.

I'd have said precisely the opposite! For an exhibition layout I think it'd be tricky to make it portable; in my mind, the Nelevator is likely to be top-heavy, and unstable, so would work better against (or mounted to) a wall.

The advantages of it (space saving, and the ability to display your trains) would serve little purpose for exhibitions, but would be perfect for home use.

As for the expense, yes it does seem very pricey, but when you consider the cost of the equivalent-sized fiddle yard with track, points, point motors etc. it's somewhat of a bargain IMHO, not to mention the space saving.

I think it's brilliant, and I hope it's the success it deserves to be. I'm just bummed that I didn't invent it...

DJM Dave · February 05, 2016, 12:11:52 PM

A few years ago i remember seeing the German version of this system (this system is better in my opinion), but i do wonder about the weight and stability of it, as i'd probably get one for Old Elm Common to get rid of the need of lots of point and track and 1 huge fiddle yard.

I'm going to wait and see on this one and hear reports accordingly before i commit.

Cheers
Dave

Railwaygun · April 04, 2016, 04:36:32 PM

Nelevator Production Update

It's been a little while since you last heard from us (and we certainly don't want to pester you with unwarranted junk e-mails), but a lot has been happening at Nelevation HQ in preparation for the production of the first batch of Nelevator units, so we thought it was about time to tear ourselves away from the "Nelly" workshop for a little bit to let you know what we've been up to recently.

"Nelly" Goes to Scotland
Last year "Nelly" went to three shows in England, so in February we thought it was about time she broadened her horizons with a trip across the northern border to Scotland.

Nelly in ScotlandWe had an excellent three days in Glasgow where the Nelevator was well received and we were made very welcome. It was a long way to travel, but well worth it to give our Scottish supporters a chance to see the Nelevator in the flesh.

Limited in Name but Not in Features
The response to the Nelevator has been especially gratifying and has certainly exceeded our expectations. With the fantastic response and full order books, we decided that Nelevation deserved a more professional organisational structure to take her to greater things and to this aim we have incorporated Nelevation, so we are now officially Nelevation Limited.

Ramping Up for Production
We have made amazing progress in the short time since releasing the Nelevator in August and the current design now shares no components with the original prototype.

Nelevator remote control handset mouldingsDuring the productionisation of the Nelevator we have introduced a whole raft of design changes which not only make the Nelevator easier to produce, but will also help to improve performance, robustness, safety and future-proof the design for upgrades.

Some of these design changes include:
New quieter, more powerful motors
Larger optical encoder discs with more slots for greater resolution and accuracy
New circuit board with noise suppression and signal edge optimisation for improved accuracy and repeatability
Stall detection and bounce-back algorithms in case of portal blockage for safety
Addition of a serial port on the main PCB to allow for remote computer control
Revised worm wheel gear ratios
Addition of drive bar stabilisers to eliminate harmonic vibration on the drive shafts between the end plates
A new track clip design to clamp the track down and prevent sleepers being bent up, reducing track alignment issues
A new steel reinforced, glass filled Nylon stacker end moulding to eliminate the risk of the extrusions becoming displaced over time
New chassis design that improves stiffness and reduces weight
New motor mounting bracket and bearing block to improve alignment tolerances and reduce operational friction
All of this and yet to the untrained eye the Nelevator will look exactly the same.

We are currently also in the process of undergoing EMC (Electromagnetic Compatibility) testing in order to meet our European obligations before we are allowed to ship product with the obligatory CE conformity mark.

When will Shipping Commence?
So, as you can see we've been very busy getting the Nelevator ready to ship as soon as possible, and in this respect we thank you ever so much for your continued patience.

The question on everyone's mind is I'm sure, when will it ship?

Our current estimates are for initial units to start shipping in May. With over 100 orders in our order book however, we obviously won't be able to satisfy all orders simultaneously. A little closer to the time we hope to be able to advise of more accurate shipping dates for each individual order.

Thank you once again for your interest in the Nelevator and we look forward to bringing you more updates in the near future as we continue to work at a feverish pace getting things ready for production.

Regards,
Allen Pearson
Nelevation Limited

georgehgv · June 29, 2016, 05:18:30 PM

Pleased to report that my Nelevator arrived a couple of weeks back and works exactly as expected. I have part loaded it and at last I have some empty boxes and can admire my stock. I can use it as a through road or to feed my Heritage Line.Just waiting for the perspex front and rear covers which are expected this week. A lot of photographs on my Layout thread but one here showing part of it.

Ben A · June 29, 2016, 05:55:48 PM

Hello there,

Wow, that does look good. It's quite a visual feature in itself, and a great way to store trains.

What length is it?

cheers

Ben A.

georgehgv · June 29, 2016, 05:59:50 PM

That is the medium size one and does display the stock nicely, but more importantly almost instant access to running them, just the time it takes to switch levels.

DJM Dave · June 29, 2016, 08:38:45 PM

Quite taken by this, and someone offered to get me one for Christmas, but I wonder if I should go for the largest version?

It's only going to go on the back of Old Elm Common, but if I make the baseboards up to it, modular, I can use it for other layouts running max length trains.

Could, as I run DCC, run 2 trains on each track (the layouts not long), while getting a third ready to depart. By doing this constant;y, the speed of the device won't make 2 much of a problem as the operator will always be 2 trains ahead, so viewers won't get bored.