CHAPTER XXV

LIFT, PONT ROULANT, TOWER BRIDGE

=A Lift.= There are a variety of ways of making a lift. One of the simplest is shown in this chapter. The first essential is a wooden box, oblong if possible, so that there can be many floors. The measurements given in this chapter are for quite a small model made from a shallow oblong box, 9-1/2 inches by 14-3/4 inches, and about 2-1/2 inches in depth.

Sand-paper the inside and cover it with some pretty paper. Mark off distances A C and B D (Fig. 504) equal to 2-1/2 inches; rule lines A B and C D along the bottom of the box; glue pieces of stripwood 1/4 inch by 1/2 inch (A B and C D in Fig. 504) along the bottom of the box for the lift to run up and down between.

The lift is made next. Cut two pieces of wood 2-1/2 inches by 2-1/4 inches; nail to the corners of one piece four pieces of stripwood, 1/4" × 1/4" × 3". Fasten the other piece of wood to these four posts by means of screw-eyes. Now leave the lift for a while.

Cut two pieces of cardboard, A B E F and C D H G, to divide the box into three long divisions, as in Fig. 504. See that they project 1/4 inch beyond the box. Divide these strips into three parts and draw and cut out doors as in the diagram; the line for the floors must, of course, be well above the top of the lift, while the height of the doors must correspond to that of the lift. Now glue these strips of cardboard to the pieces of stripwood A B and C D as in diagram; see that the doors open into the rooms on each side, and not into the lift.

See that the lift runs easily up and down between the cardboard strips; sand-paper it if it does not.

Make four holes in the top of the box, _a_, _b_, _c_, _d_ in Fig. 505. Tie thread or black yarn to the screw-eyes, cross it and pass it through the holes as in the figure, then pass the four cables through screw-eye K. When the lift is on the ground, pull the strings taut and tie a knot below the screw-eye. The lift can be raised by means of winding gear attached to the side as described in Chapter V, on the crane; the weight of the lift will pull it down again, or if this is not enough it can be weighted with lead.

Fig. 505 shows another way of working the model. Screw-eyes can be fastened to the bottom of the lift and thread tied to them as before; these threads must pass through four holes in the bottom of the box, through a hole in the support L M and through screw-eye Q; the bottom strings are then knotted to the top strings at R, and the lift can be lowered and raised by moving knot R up and down.

The supports N P and L M are made of pieces of stripwood 1/2 inch by 1/4 inch.

Cut a door out of cardboard as shown in Fig. 506 and glue it over the front of the lift. (In Fig. 506 the dotted lines are half cuts, the black lines are cut.)

Nail strips of wood 1/4 inch by 1/4 inch, E F and H G, in front of the lift and glue the pieces of cardboard to them. They keep the lift from falling forward. If the lift is moved up and down, as shown in Fig. 505, it is best for it to fit fairly tightly so that it stays into whatever position it is pulled.

Cardboard floors, 1, 2, 3, 4 (Fig. 504), are added, and kept in position by pieces of stripwood.

The rooms on each side can be furnished according to taste and according to their size. The lift itself may be finished off with advertisements, directions to travellers, etc., according as it is intended for use in a railway station, a hotel, a store, etc.

This toy, although so simply made, is very effective.

=Pont Roulant at Saint-Malo.= This is a pretty model to make. First glue four pieces of stripwood, 3/8" × 1/8" × 4-1/2", together (A A A A in Fig. 507). Nail and glue to the corners of this framework four round rods, 10-1/4 inches long and 1/4 inch in diameter. Dowel rods such as these are somewhat difficult to nail on; however, should the wood of the little frame split, or the hole in the dowel rod be made too large for the nail, and so make the structure unsteady, the discs of cork (C in Fig. 507), which have a hole filed in the middle of them and are glued to the rods and the framework, help to consolidate the whole. Similar discs of cork are placed round the middle of rods, B, and at the tops of the rods. These serve to hold the black yarn which rigs the structure. The pieces of cork at the top have the additional advantage of making a steadier base for the platform to rest on. If the poles are not all cut exactly the same length, the discs of cork can be raised above the shorter poles and the platform on top made perfectly horizontal. These cork discs also give a larger surface to glue the platform to. Instead of dowel rods, iron wire 1/8 inch in diameter can be used. These wire rods must have cork discs on them like the wooden rods, but they must be glued into holes in the lower framework and in the platform.

Having fixed the rods in position, thread is tied underneath a bottom piece of cork (C^5 in diagram), passed over the top of rod B^3 and kept there by the cork disc at the top, round the bottom of post B^4 and under the bottom cork, over the next post and so on, so that the threads cross each other as in the diagram. Thread is also tied round the middle of the rods just above corks C^1, C^2, C^3, and C^4. Thread is also tied from C^2 to C^3, and C^1 to C^4.

Pieces of stripwood, 3/8" × 1/8" × 4-1/2", are glued across the frame A A A A. Next the platform has to be made; this is a piece of wood 8-1/2 inches square and 1/8 inch in thickness. Before gluing it on to the four posts it is best to make and fasten to it the cabin, railings, etc.

The cabin, E, in the middle is 3 inches square and 2 inches high; it is cut out of cardboard. Flanges must be left for gluing it to platform, and for gluing the roof to it. Doors and windows are drawn round it or cut out. The cabin is then glued in the middle of platform D.

The roof is a piece of cardboard 3-1/4 inches by 8-1/2 inches. Fig. 508 shows how it is cut out, half cuts are made along the dotted lines, and G, K, H, M are bent up to form the ornaments G, K, H, M in Fig. 507.

The roof is glued to the top of cabin, E, and to the tops of posts, N, which are pieces of stripwood 1/4" × 1/4" × 2".

Triangular pieces of cardboard are glued in the corners, as P in Fig. 507.

The railings are 1 inch high; they can either be made of strips of cardboard 1 inch by 8-1/2 inches supported at the corners and in the middle by pieces of stripwood 1/4" × 1/4" × 1", with criss-cross lines drawn on them, or be made as in Fig. 509, where A B and C D are strips of cardboard 1/4 inch wide, F is stripwood 1/4 inch by 1/4 inch, and 1, 2, 3, etc., are parts of match sticks glued to the cardboard strips. Seats can be placed round the railings, and round the cabin where there are no doors.

A piece of stripwood, R, 1/2" × 1/2" × 1-1/2", is cut and filed as in Fig. 507 and glued to the middle of the roof.

The platform is then glued to the tops of the posts with their surrounding corks. The frame, A A A A, is mounted on wheels 1-1/8 inches in diameter and 1/4 inch in width. The axles are pieces of stripwood 1/4 inch by 1/4 inch, to which the frame A A is glued.

The rails on which it runs (_a b_ in Fig. 507) are made in a similar manner to those described in Chapter XIII, for the transporter bridge. It is pulled along by thread tied to screw-eyes X and Y, and wound up by winding gear similar to that described in Chapter XIII.

Fig. 510 shows how high tide can be represented by means of boxes and cardboard; D, E, F are boxes which form a quay into which the car runs. A, B, C are pieces of cardboard resting on pieces of stripwood glued to boxes D, E, F, and similar boxes on the other side, or the cardboard can rest on boxes. If boxes cannot be found big enough for D, E and F, several boxes can be built up. Slots _a b_ and _c d_ must be left wide enough for the supports to pass freely, and the threads must be omitted at front and back. The rails must lie exactly under slots _a b_ and _c d_. The pieces of cardboard A, B and C should be coloured blue. The thread from the car underneath the "water" can pass into box F and up through a hole in the top, where the winding gear can be placed, but, of course, it can be worked from below. Sheets of cardboard A and C can be surrounded by boxes or fastened in a large box, or have cardboard walls built around it.

=Tower Bridge.= A very simple and effective model of Tower Bridge can be made, which will prove a delightful plaything.

The measurements given in this chapter need not be followed, but the bridge can be made larger or smaller according to taste. The whole structure can be of wood or of wood and cardboard.

Two small boxes are required, made of wood 1/4 inch thick, about 4 inches in length, breadth and height. (If such small boxes cannot be found they must be made.)

Take off one side of box, A B C D in Fig. 511, which shows the mechanism of the toy. Into the edges D F and C E screw two small screw-eyes, G and H, about 1/4 inch from the top.

Now cut a piece of wood 8-1/4 inches long for the bridge. The width of bridge _a b_ must be equal to width of interior of box. For the present model it will be 3-1/2 inches.

The wood used for the bridge should be about 1/8 inch thick.

Now rule a line 5-3/4 inches from end _a b_. On this line screw in two small screw-eyes, K and L, of the same size as screw-eyes G and H. The axle, M N, may be either iron wire (in which case the bridge may work rather loosely) or, what is better, a wooden rod that just fits the screw-eyes. Whichever axle is chosen cork discs should be placed at each end to prevent it slipping out. Before the bridge is fastened on, screw-eyes O and P are screwed in it near the end _c d_. Screw-eye P must be far enough from the edge _b d_ to clear screw-eye R when the bridge is upright. The same with screw-eye O.

A piece of strong thread is tied to screw-eye P, passed through screw-eye R, and through a hole in the drawbridge above screw-eye R, but clear of axle, M N. A similar piece of thread is tied to screw-eye O, passed through Q, and through a hole in the bridge.

Now cover up top, A B C D, with a piece of cardboard, but do not bring this quite up to B C, in order not to interfere with the working of the bridge. Make holes in the cardboard for the strings to pass through. Then cover up the front portion, D C F E, below the bridge with cardboard.

The tower (Fig. 512) must next be made. This is formed of one piece of cardboard: height, _a b_, 9 inches; width, _c d_, 3-1/4 inches.

In the sides facing the bridge large openings, E, are cut about 2-1/2 inches high.

Small openings, F and G, about 1-1/2 inches high and 3/4 inch broad, are cut for the overhead foot bridges. These are made of long pieces of cardboard 2 inches broad, bent in three divisions to form the path and sides. The latter are marked to represent railings. They should be long enough to pass well inside the tower through openings F and G, and through the corresponding openings in the opposite tower. They can be glued into position by pieces of stripwood or left movable.

A door, A, should be made in the top of the tower and a platform put in to make a compartment for working the bridge. The pieces of thread are brought up through holes in this platform and fastened to rod B, which passes through holes in sides of tower, and is kept from slipping out by cork discs. When this rod is turned the bridge will rise or fall.

If a large model is being made a proper little windlass with a handle can be constructed inside the upper room of the tower. The threads pass up on each side of the tower so as not to interfere with the "traffic" passing under the arch of the bridge. The tower is fastened up with flanges and glued to the wooden box with the help of small blocks of wood. A square pyramid is placed on the top of the tower, and the whole is suitably coloured. A picture of the real Tower Bridge is a great help when finishing off the model.

A similar bridge and tower are made for the other side.

To keep the wooden boxes the right distance apart (that is, so that bridge X just touches bridge Y) nail or glue them to a long strip of wood painted blue. There is, however, no need to fasten them permanently.

The ingenious toy-maker will find a hundred ways of improving this toy. There are many additions that can be made if a picture of the Tower Bridge is consulted; cardboard paths can lead to bridge X, round the outside of the tower; railings can be added to bridges X and Y (but see that they are not in the way when the bridge goes up!), and so on. The method of raising and lowering the bridges is capable of a number of modifications. It should be the pleasant business of the maker to improve this model, and not be content with too slavishly following the directions given.

Bridges are among the most interesting things in the world, and there are countless happy hours in front of the little toy-maker who sets to work to collect pictures and written accounts of bridges, and who tries to imitate these.