Staging on a lower level is not an unusual arrangement.
Allow enough separation between decks for access to the staging tracks as well as anything mechanical under the deck above. Best to have the staging track switches on the front edge for easy access. Fully de-bug the lower deck before installing the deck above. The wider the deck, the greater separation you'll want between decks. When working under the deck above, put cardboard sheets on top of the tracks of the lower staging yard to protect same. If doing anything "liquid" (anything that can work its way down) on the upper deck such as installing scenery, cover the lower deck with something water-proof.
Mark
Our club has under-layout staging. The staging is at 24" off the floor, and a 5 turn helix is used to access the 'on-stage' upper level(set at 54" off of the floor). We built the staging first(complete with a loop around the helix for 'continuous running'. We stopped further construct for 2 months(open house and Christmas) before starting the 2nd level. This allowed a lot of running for out 'show' and we could fix any problems that showed up.
The helix was built one level at a time with trackage laid/tested before the next level was built. With hidden/inaccessable trackage, it has to be 'bullit-proof'. We now have all of the upper level built and the scenery is about 1/2 completed. That 30" between levels is really about 22" when you figure in the framing/foam, and is OK to work with. The width of the staging is 30" and we have 2 mains and 17 staging tracks(2 double ended yards that have 17' to 25' tracks). Our helix has 33"/36" radius curves rises at about 2.2%.
Jim Bernier
Modeling BNSF and Milwaukee Road in SW Wisconsin
jrbernier wrote: Our club has under-layout staging. The staging is at 24" off the floor, and a 5 turn helix is used to access the 'on-stage' upper level(set at 54" off of the floor). We built the staging first(complete with a loop around the helix for 'continuous running'. We stopped further construct for 2 months(open house and Christmas) before starting the 2nd level. This allowed a lot of running for out 'show' and we could fix any problems that showed up. The helix was built one level at a time with trackage laid/tested before the next level was built. With hidden/inaccessable trackage, it has to be 'bullit-proof'. We now have all of the upper level built and the scenery is about 1/2 completed. That 30" between levels is really about 22" when you figure in the framing/foam, and is OK to work with. The width of the staging is 30" and we have 2 mains and 17 staging tracks(2 double ended yards that have 17' to 25' tracks). Our helix has 33"/36" radius curves rises at about 2.2%.Jim Bernier
The club I formerly belonged to for about a year had a very similar arrangement except that (1) it didn't debug the track before building the second deck and (2) there was only about a two-foot difference (net 20 inches) between decks. My recommendation that the third deck be built before the second deck (with 3-foot separation from second deck and 5-foot separation from first deck) was rejected. (All three decks were joined by a compound helix so the staging on the first deck served both the second and the third deck.) Then-current and anticipated future frustration helped motivate my departure just as the second deck was being constructed.
Caveat - my layout is still under construction, but the geometry is pretty much set in concrete.
I have a total of seven (count 'em) staging locations, ranging from an eight tracks plus thoroughfare passenger staging yard to a single track between mains for off-stage mixing and matching of EMU's (5 cars in various configurations cover 40 scheduled trains per day.) None of them are helix-connected, all of them are underneath other tracks but mostly under lift-out scenery or with adequate reach-in-from-the-side clearance (12"+ for a yard only 200mm wide.) The exception is the passenger staging facility, but I've designed it to drop down in a level configuration for access - John Armstrong 'dehydrated canal lock' style.
At the moment, my operable track is confined to the to-be-hidden netherworld. I am operating on it, almost every day, both to assure that it's bulletproof before I make it hard to reach and to satisfy my desire to watch wheels roll.
One other item. My subterranean yard throats are built on readily-removable dominos - which can be taken out without disturbing either the layout surface or the trains standing on the tracks they connect to.
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - with LOTS of staging)
I operate on a layout with hidden (double ended) staging but the layout designer wisely included sliding panel doors so that the entire staging area is visible and accessible. Also "rope lights" make it well lit so you can see what'd in there. Also it is under one of the higher portions of his layout so the staging yard itself is not too low -- in fact it is at the same level as the yard I operate.
If done right staging under the visible part of the layout can certainly add operating capability. The Issues are1) Access -- derailments happen, track needs to be cleaned, etc.; 2) Visibility -- can you tell what you have in staging, and on what track, and has the train passed the clearance point or is it fouling a switch?; 3) Wiring -- can you get under the thing.
A different friend of mine made the classic mistake of constructing his rather complex hidden staging yard BEFORE it was hidden and never gave thought to how he'd run it once the layout was constructed up above it., I am not saying constructing the hidden staging at that point was the mistake - the mistake was not thinking ahead to what the final result was going to be like. He really regretted it because he frankly could not tell what he had in staging (his plan was to have two trains per staging track). Also the climb out of staging proved to be a challenge for his very long trains. He had to move (at the insistence of his wife) out of his newly constructed house and dismantle the layout before he could decide what to do about the issues he had created for himself. I think we held exactly three operating sessions on his layout between completion and dismantling!
He built a new house in a new city and constructed a new layout -- and then his wife insisted they move again. So he build still another house and a new layout -- and his wife insisted they move yet again! And this year's Christmas Card came back undeliverable so I have a feeling my friend has now resolved the real cause of the problem.... I do not blame his marital problems on hidden staging, by the way.
Dave Nelson
Dave,
Your story makes me more appreciative of my single status.