Lift
Cable Lifts
McCauley Lifts
Terry McCauley of Graford, Texas built two fine examples of cable lifts that have been in productive use for many years.
The first he installed at the Annetta Valley & Western Railroad over 10 years ago (at least by 2012). It has been a reliable and easy to use lift. The only real maintenance issues have been the batteries and the fact that two winch motors have been worn out due to such high use. A small solar panel helps keep the batteries topped off, but during busy meets it has been necessary to attach a high amp battery charger to the batteries.
More photos are available here:
Terry built a shorter version of this lift for his personal railroad:
While not a lift, this transfer table was built by McCauley and is based on a similar design:
Hydraulic Lifts
Durkee Single
See Durkee Hydraulic Engine Lift