Here are some pictures of what hidden staging looks like:
Tracks 1, 2 and 3
Tracks 4 and 5
Yes, the track is not the straightest in the world. That's because the black-tie track is old (1970's) AHM sectional track. When I noticed that this stuff was not laying down straight; I ordered some Fast Tracks 'Sweep Sticks' to help me get it right. The track nearer the camera is better because of this.
The staging tracks were constructed in the aisle on the plywood sub roadbed and then slid under the mainline. When I did so, one of the pre-installed servo switch machines (see 'A Few Simple Solutions' post 6/15/11) had a benchwork joist right under it and there was no clearance for the machine. So it had to be re-mounted above the plywood. That's shown in the following photo:
The servo needed to be mounted far enough to the side to clear rolling stock which, in turn, required that the throw bar be extended. This was accomplished by soldering another length of PC tie below the original. The wooden tie that you see is there to support the longer throw bar so that it doesn't sag.
Here's a video of the first runs. The sounds that you hear in some clips are from a sound decoder equipped steam loco elsewhere on the layout; the air pumps were coming on at random. The beeps that you hear are the Lenz radio throttle that uses a cordless phone as the wireless link. I test all new track with the plastic diesel that you see in the video; having a plastic diesel derail and fall to the floor is less traumatic than doing the same thing with a brass steamer. This diesel has a very old MRC DCC decoder that is not a silent running type, ergo lots of motor noise.
Runs on Tracks 4 & 5 are followed by a run on the lead for tracks 4 & 5. Tracks 1, 2 and 3 were not wired up and ready to go on Friday night. I had hoped to finish them this weekend, but there's still more work to be done.
