Hidden Track
Harold WerthweinDescription
Harold Werthwein’s layout of the Delaware Division of the Erie Railroad had a fair amount of hidden track, to move the trains between adjacent scenes that in reality were some distance apart. Allen Keller asked Harold how much hidden track there was.
Harold never measured it but he estimated 200 feet of hidden track (double track). His main purpose in having hidden track was to get trains off the scene so he would have only one vista at a time.
Was having this much hidden track a problem? Harold explained no, that when he and his operators installed it, they bonded all of the rails so there was no problem with the electrical distribution. He made sure it was done properly.
FLEX-TRACK
This hidden track was flex-track. Each piece was not wired but was soldered or a bonding wire joined them. Harold said the feeder wires were perhaps one for every three sections of track.
Learn more about flex-track and how to work with it.
Allen wondered if the trains disappeared for too long with this much hidden track. Harold didn’t think so but admitted that some of the new operators, who joined him for his Friday night operating sessions, didn’t know what had happened when the trains came out someplace else, far from where they were. In fact one operator who’d been working on it for almost a year didn’t understand until Harold made a drawing. “Now I know where it goes!”
HAND-LAID TRACK
Harold hand laid the track himself. This scared some people away when he started doing that, but it was one of the most enjoyable parts of the hobby for him. He did the switches and everything, and stated he would do it all again, because he enjoyed it that much.
Some areas, such as the Port Jervis yard, are prefabricated track. Harold had it on hand and wanted to use it.
[Guitar Soft Music] There's quite a bit of hidden track here to move the the trains between adjacent scenes that are actually some distance apart. How much hidden track is there? I have never really measured it, but my primary purpose in the hidden track is getting trains off the scenes. So you only have one particular Vista at a time. I'd say there's probably 200 feet of hidden track data.
That would be double attractive. Is that a problem? Not really, when we installed it, we bonded all of the rails so there's no, no problem with the electrical distribution in there. Is that all... So I made sure it was done properly.
Is that all hand-laid or? No that code 100 flex flex track Flex track and you've, you've wired each piece of it. No, I don't think so. They've been either soldered or there's been a bonding wire joining them. I don't think the fetal wires are maybe one for every three sections of track.
Do the trains disappear for too long with that much track that's hidden? I don't think so, but for new operators, they don't know what's happened. Yeah. And it comes out someplace else quite a bit of away from where they were. In fact, while I made a drawing of the layout fell I'd been operating here for almost a year, he said, well now I know where it goes.
Now you had laid all of the track yourself as you mentioned in the Peter Parker run away when you started doing that. That's weird. Yeah, they're Whoa, did you must enjoy that part of the hobby Very much sir. So you did the switches and everything. Would you do that again?
Sure. You enjoyed it that much. And that's a tremendous amount of time. I've had tremendous comments on, on the track work. I do have some areas like the port Jervis yard is a prefabricated track.
It just something I had and I wanted to use it.
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