What height do most people have their layouts at? I have the legs on mine currently at 900mm which is near 3ft... then the board will go on that for the lower level... S0und right? Thoughts? ------------------ RR: K, C, & Bird Butt Railroad - SP, NS, and ROCK admirer. Its a coal mining region of a place far far away, that runs, SP, NS, and some CSX.. Also some Custom RARE Bird RR sd40-2's coming! Era: Time stands still round these parts, and we have everything from Steam, to Diesels of today.
VB, I placed my layout height at 43" as the closer you get the trains to the eye, the more realism that is had. I learned this from my HO days and firmly believe that one needs a height of over 40" to get the maximum out of storage, and overall feel of watching trais as if you were in the tower beside the track, rather than standing on a scale 2 mile high hill. Hope this helps and this is just an observation that I have used and it works for me, so take it into considration if you are planning a new layout and want to consider all of your options scale or not. Have a good one, Justin [This message has been edited by Justin May (edited 12 June 2000).]
Justin is right VB, the closer to eye level the better. Now you 36 inches may not be too bad if you have a chair on wheels that you can scoot around in. That brings eye level down quite a bit. I use a chair for the lower level of my pike and it is 42 inches high. I stand for the upper level which is 62 inches high. I have to use a stool to do any work on the upper level but for normal operating it is perfect because you look straight at or up to the action which makes everything feel more realistic. Hope all this helps. Robin [This message has been edited by Robin Matthysen (edited 12 June 2000).]
Well. layout height is a very personal thing but opinions being like belly buttons (everyone has one) here's mine. Generally, I would suggest a layout height that is as close to eye level as reasonably possible. A minimum of 48 inches seems about right. You may find somewhere around 54 inches to be even better. N Scale models simply look better at eye level. Anything below that gives you God's view of things. I would suggest you give some thought to raising your layout considerably. ------------------ Grant grantha@Canada.com CEO Wascana Sherwood Lines
I agree with Grantha, but I have a youngster who was only 4- when I started building... now he's 8, but still wobbly on a stool, so I can just see him falling off the stool and grabbig a handfull of $2-3 hundred worth of train and scenery on the way down. I would love a "nose level" layout (eye level I think would be just a bit too much) with narrow (1'to 18") benchwork.. ------------------ espee2 Home: www.tunnel13.com layout: SP's Newberg Branch in N scale
I like a layout to be fairly high, to be nearer to eye-level for more realistic viewing than the 'helicopter view' of a lower one Mine is set so that it is just below eye-level when sitting down, so it is easy to work on when standing. ------------------ Alan The perfect combination - BNSF and N Scale! www.ac-models.com Andersley Western Railroad Alan's American Gallery Alan's European Gallery Alan's British Steam Gallery
The 40-something height is what we use in N-Trak and it works pretty well. I like to sit in a chair and get right down to the action at eye level, but you can't really work on things easily if you build it much higher than 56 inches. This might end up being the height I use on my home layout...whenever I get around to building it. ------------------ RAILROADING-TO-THE-MAX, Burlington Northern/Santa Fe Style! Brent Tidaback, Member #234
My ho layout is at 44". It used to be at 48" I think I should have left there. My n scale layout is at 40" cause it is made up from old NTRAK modules. I'm thinking of dumping the ho and making one LARGE n scale layout. If I do it will definately be at least 48". ------------------ Catt!
