Buckeye Riveter wrote:The track is on its way to build the hidden siding. Thanks for the comments and ideas.
That's great & we can't wait for pictures !!
Oh, I wonder if that will work for under a carpet, too ? !!
Thanks, John
Celebrating 18 years on the CTT Forum.
Buckeye Riveter......... OTTS Charter Member, a Roseyville Raider and a member of the CTT Forum since 2004..
Jelloway Creek, OH - ELV 1,100 - Home of the Baltimore, Ohio & Wabash RR
TCA 09-64284
. . . "Of course, if anything DOES go wrong, the secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions."Well, it's your call. hidden switch or maintaining your sanity. Hmmm. Tough call.
Accessibility seems to be the key. Truly able to get to it in case of emergency. I vote for expansion even though I find Murphy's law rules my layout - but I don't have your bullet-proof trackwork.
Doug Murphy 'We few, we happy few, we band of brothers...' Henry V.
I have two hidden switches on my current layout in progress. From all that I read, the only problems are 1. accessability, 2. knowing direction of turnout, 3. knowing if anything is occupying the track that the turnout is thrown towards.
I read somewhere about using insulated rail with a light somewhere on the layout that would tell you if the line was occupied. The guy had a building that would have a light come on if there was anything there. He also used a regular #450 signal bridge that would note direction of switch.
Otherwise, go for it. From what I have seen of your plans, you should have easy access to the switch and any problems should they occur.
Dennis
TCA#09-63805
The opening on the right of the picture is the upper level going to a Lionel " 022 " switch. It works on the " non-derailing " feature. I have installed a light above the opening , which tells me the position of the switch. I do not use a 022 C controller.
I plan on expanding the track, in the next room to either go thru the switch and come back out, or switch to a track that will continue around the room and exit on the opposite side. I also, plan on a siding, hidden in the room to store another train.
signed: TooTs ( just an OHIO guy )
Why NOT??? Done all the time. Articles in CTT and OGR showing it done. Even articles of hidden cameras to show you the movements.
GO FOR IT!!! [unless being an Ohizo Yankee means you are not capible ]
God bless TCA 05-58541 Benefactor Member of the NRA, Member of the American Legion, Retired Boss Hog of Roseyville , KC&D Qualified
Jon
So many roads, so little time.
The key word is, "Accessible." If you can reach the switch to correct "Oops!" moments, hidden staging, even if only a single track, can vastly expand operating possibilities and enjoyment.
If the entire switch assembly (track and motor) can be removed as a unit, repairs can be accomplished on the workbench (or kitchen table, other uses permitting.) All you have to be able to reach and work on are the fasteners that hold it in place and the wiring that powers it.
Right at the moment (literally!) I'm building a staging yard (in HOj, 1:80 scale on 16.5mm gauge track) for five through freights and four locals. The throat (and through track crossovers) are going together on a removable "domino" of plywood, anchored from below. Quick access will be through removable fascia panels, and there's plenty of overhead clearance for insertion of the 0-5-0 if necessary.
John Armstrong had one hidden turnout on his Canandaigua Southern (O scale, outside third rail) that did everything wrong. It was inaccessible ("Cut Here in case of EXCRUCIATING trouble," was stenciled on the solid fascia!) and was used by trains running caboose first, upgrade, that had to take the curved side of the turnout - every train that terminated on that end of the railroad. He operated that way from late 1958 until his death in 2002 - and never did have to cut the fascia.)
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
Buckeye, About 1/3 of my trackage is in another room with no visabliltiy at all. Can't remember the last time I had a derailment (now that I have said that, look out!). Seriously, I have three alternate loops in that room so any train making the loop around my main must travis as least 2 switches and as many as four depending on which route is selected.
It was my intent to install a closed circuit TV system so I could see what was going on, but never got around to it. Before running trains I usually walk into the next room to make sure nothing is laying on the layout that I forgot. But other than that I am running blind. In order to do any switching, of course I move over there. Thanks to TMCC and DCS that is not a problem. The Atlas switches have performed flawlessly.
That has been my experence & no I would have never tried that in HO.
In h0 I had different layouts with shadow staging area's. All with mixed results depending on the locomotives I had running. Locomotives with all kinds of loose axles (1 or 2 axle trucks, pushed or behind the driven wheels, like a lot of steamengines have) derailed often. It was always "fingers crossed" when I drove the steamers and they had a diverging route on the shadow staging.
However, that was h0, with very low weight and tiny flanges. With 0 I have very few derailments, and if I have, it's because the locomotive drives up the frog due to a lack of axle play or to narrow spaced wheels. As long as you can reach the switch, switchmotor and see what you're doing (reaching is one, room to make repairs is something completely different, but required!) it should be okay. One of the advantages of 0 gauge for me is that it's far more dependable to operate then h0, and in h0 a shadow staging is a very common object, so I don't see any big problems with that.
When I used to do HO, it was common rule that a hidden switch was not desired. My O scale layout expansion may be able to accommodate a hidden storage area, but I'm hesitant due to my old HO experiences.
If you have experience with hidden, but accessible switches and storage areas, I would like to hear your opinion on same. Is is a pain in the rear end?
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