Howdy all,,, I will be posting this on variuos N scale forums, or where known N scalers hand out to get variuos opinions. The question is, what do u think would be a proper height for a two level layout. I personally do not like the helicopter veiw, but I will suffer in order to get more running room. I am thinking about 5' for the top level and approx 3'-6" for the lower level. As that stands that is 18" between levels. Too much?????,,, not enough???? Two helices would consist of 92'-2" of run. 1.63% grade, 8 turns, and a height of 2 1/4". So that would consist of 184'-4" of running in the two helices. Here is the basic design so far... Any input either, good, bad, or ugly will be appriciated. Adios Wyatt
I have never worked with a double decked layout so take that into account. I recognize there are compromises to be made but it seems the lower level would be too low and be difficult to work on/opperate etc. 18 inches seems adequate betwween the levels. Im not an expert but I felt your pain at having no replies.
I know very little about multiple level railroads, and less about helixes. But 18" is a LOT of space with N scale. I also agree with Av8rTX in that the lower level would be too low and a pain to work on. I would suggest that maybe 12" of seperation would be good between the two decks, and photos I've seen of multi-level N scale seem to think that's ok, but ultimately, it's your layout and what you want is paramount.
There are a couple of things to consider: (1) depth of the layout. Deeper sections need more space between levels if you want to see to the back of all of them while standing up. Your plan appears to have pretty shallow layers so you will not need to be very concerned with this. (2) Beneath the layout board space needed: for switch machines primarily, as they can be 3+ inches in height. Lighting, wiring, etc, all have to hang below the upper board. If you don't want any of this to show your fascia has to reach down that far, effectively reducing the spacing of the layers. (3) height (or depth) of scenery and or buildings. A no-brainer really, but if you are not modeling flatlands, something that needs to be considered. (4) Personal preference. Will your layout appear better to you if there is a little 'sky' above it? Why not mock up a typical section and see what you think?
A previous layout had 22" separation with a lower deck at 36" and the upper at 58". My present layout has a lower deck at 48" and the upper at 65...only a 17" difference. On the previous layout, the 36" level was a killer to work underneath, but a nice helicoptor view was available because the 15 to 18 inch deep upper deck let me see all the way to the back tracks of the 3 foot deep yard I had on the lower level. My 58" upper deck was visible from the floor, but I liked getting on a 12" stool to put the deck at a functional height of 46 inches when working on the layout or doing a lot of switching because it was much easier to see and reach to the back of the upper shelf which ranged from 12 to 20 inches deep at different parts of the layout. On my present layout, the upper deck has a 4 inch fascia board and I can see to the back of the lower shelf when the upper shelf is only 18 inches deep. Where it is deeper, I can't see all the way to the back of the lower shelf, but I designed those areas so I usually don't need to see that deep into those areas. I have one corner where the 48" lower level is 36 inches deep on both walls and the upper level is, too. Tracks run about 15 to 27 inches deep on the upper deck and from 24 to 30 inches deep on the lower. I deliberately put the tracks deep on the lower level to hide them. The upper fascia cuts off seeing the tracks in the deepest part of the shelf and viewblocks prevent seeing tracks in the middle of the shelf. There are other tracks at the front of the shelf that are easily seen. The deepest lower tracks are a pain to clean, but since the viewblocks I use to hide the middle tracks are easily removed, it's not an impossibility to reach all the way back. In another area, I have more trouble cleaning some track on the lower level that is only about 12 to 15 inches from the front of the layout because I can't see behind a tall and wide building that cannot be removed easily. Fortunately, I made sure I didn't have any fancy trackwork back there. FWIW, pics of the decks on my current layout (48" and 65").
Wyatt, My layout is no muti-deck, but it is multi-level, so to speak. I have the staging area at 44", and the next level starts at Plain, at 46". Around the modeled layout, mostly on a 2% grade (like the real Moffat Route), the highest point is 53.5". That works out so vertically-challenged wife can see the trains at slightly less that eye-level, and yet be out of reach of toddler's fingers! *plink, plink*
Thanx guys for the replies..... sorry about the comment, just was having bad day. Ya'll bring up very good points. I wonder if I should just make it " visable staging, heck I am clueless. As of this morning I tore some muscles in my back, damn it hurts. SO maybe it will afford me time to work on a plan. Adios Wyatt
Aw, man! Be careful, Wyatt! We don't want you to bust yourself up!:thumbs_down: Visible staging is OK, it works for me!
Wyatt: I'm on lunch break, so won't have time to sketch a drawing until later, but you may want to consider making staging just 2 or 3 inches below the main level at the front of your shelf, sort of like Jeremy (Hemiadd2d) has his. You have an E shaped plan... Suppose you made a ramp curving/looping down 2 inches from the back of the shelf to the front at either end of the E. You could put your 3 or 4 staging tracks all along the front of your layout. You could have 3 or 4 on the top part of the E and 3 or 4 on the bottom section of the E. Operationally, southbound trains start in the top of the E staging, rise around the top loop at the end of the E and travel the main level from top of the plan to bottom of the plan and then curve around the bottom end of the E to finish at the bottom of the E staging tracks. Northbound trains start at the lower E staging and loop around to travel up the right hand side of the plan to finish at the staging tracks at the front of the upper portion of the E. All staging level tracks could be stub ended at the middle of the E or you could have 3 stub ended and a fourth that is a pass through track that cuts across the middle arm of the E... but it is NOT covered. Leave it open for easier access for construction and cleaning...but have tracks above on the main level using bridges to cross the staging through track on the lower level. The through track in staging would give you the option of continuous running, too. Later.
i plan to have double deck in time but ive set my lowest level at 33" might be too low?? and plan my top to be around 53" - 56" i will let you know soons i get past the bench wook if its to low.
This past Februray Les Dahlstedt presented a clinic on layout height. Here is a link to the power point and pdf versions http://homepage.mac.com/jacobsen/LORM2007/ Scroll down to the 1:00 time slot and find "How High the Layout, How Deep the Scene"
