What do you consider the ideal height for a layout? My current layout sits on legs 3 feet long, and I was wondering if this is too high? Or is it down to personal preference?
Also, how have you built legs for your layout! I'm well aware that mine are pretty crude, and I want to make some better legs, but I've no idea how I should go about it. Do I have adjustable feet? How do I attach the legs to the layout? And above all, how do I make it sturdy enough?
Chris
I would say the height of your boards is what suits you best, I personally go for around 3ft 9ins it all depends on how tall you are, your preferred control position (standing or sitting),how easy you find it to reach the back of the layout and whether you plan to exhibit.
As to height adjusters it depends on how permanent the home of your layout is, if it will move around then you need them.
As to style on a portable layout I tend to favor a folding saw horse style on permanent layouts I go for 2x2 fitted in to sockets on the underside of the board and cross braced.
Hip height (where you bend) so you can reach as far as possible. Depends on your height as Ditape says.
Build it for your comfort. I'm 6'3 and my new layout is around the walls and quite narrow generally less that 2" so I've built it around 46-48" seems tall to a lot of people, but I can reach everywhere without bending at all, and when I sit on my task chair the trains will be at eye level
Mine is 4 foot high and no more than 3 foot wide. In most places it is 2 foot wide with access holes in the wider sections. I prefer to stand while operating, as my layout is 20' long I have to stand in case I need to get down to one end or the other to fiddle with stock.
I would say though that the ideal layout height is whatever suits you best.
John P
Agree with everyone else - build it to suit age/back condition/viewing level etc etc.
Mine is constructed at 44" floor to base of layout which is comfortable to work at, but I have one of those gas operated stools so can lower it for eye level viewing.
The legs on 'Kimbolted' are 2" x 2" and it's a permanent layout.
For the smaller layout (Bletchford) I am using 3 x Draper* adjustable height saw horses.
* Other makes are available
Hi Guys
I've built both my layouts to where I can lean on them and if I sit I can see them at eye level plus the bottom of the layout is above all my radiators in the house so if I need to move it and the heater is the only place I can put it then I know it's above that and it works for me so my saying if it works then don't fix
Thanks
Alan
This is a question which crops up regularly and is guarenteed to provoke argument, but to which there is no right or wrong answer.
I will agree with the sentiment of most others - it is whatever height is comfortable for you to operate... If it is an exhibition layout you have to think of the poor souls stood playing with it for 8 hours a day rather than the viewer who will spend 8 minutes (if you are lucky!) watching...
My personal preference for operating is a track level around 18-24" below eye level so that I am looking downwards on it, but viewing, I prefer closer to eye level...
mine is 130cm from the ground, this gave best width through loft space and it puts trains closer to eye level so i can watch stuff go by through the trees and scenery, maximum width of baseboards in 2 foot slightly more into corners so easy to get to with holes in the baseboard and lift able sections where the train is underground
a stool with adjustable height is ace for this too
For a permanent layout I usually use kitchen base units without work tops, dual purpose, generally sturdier than legs, plus space to store all the cr@p one seems to accumulate, tools, kits, spare bits, scenic stuff, wire & connectors, relevant railway and modelling books and magazines. Use a mix of cupboards and drawers.
Height of units is usually around 36", depth will be around 20 -24" if you want a 3' wide baseboard leave some space between the back or the layout and the wall so you have a bit of overhang front and back. rather than all at the front.
For my last layout I covered the tops of the units with boards salvaged from an old wardrobe, which supported 2" foam
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Thanks for the replies, has given me a lot to think about!
How do you attach your legs to your baseboards? And how do you make them sturdy? I'm no carpenter!
Chris
Quote from: Wingman mothergoose on November 24, 2014, 10:22:28 PM
Thanks for the replies, has given me a lot to think about!
How do you attach your legs to your baseboards? And how do you make them sturdy? I'm no carpenter!
Chris
Hi
I use just a standard door hinge on the leg and to steady it I use 2 bits of wood cut to length from approximately middle of the leg hight or lower to just past the fist strengthening bit of wood.
Thanks
Alan
Mine is at 44" above ground (permanent installation around garage walls) but totally over-engineered... 2x1 framework attached to walls and supported at front by 2x4 uprights, bracketed to concrete floor. Totally over the top. 2x1 would have sufficed, though it has survived a car being driven into it, so perhaps not.... ;D
I saw the Ikea trestles, they look good and are cheap, but they're only 70cm high, not really high enough for a layout is it? That's not even high enough for a dining table.....
After getting home from work and being curious, I measured the height of the underside of my dining room table(by 'coincidence' also from Ikea!), and that is exactly 70cm...
So I think 70cm is probably ideal, it means I'll be able to reach up to 3 feet over the layout, which means I can probably completely re use my existing baseboards(with some modification of course)...
Chris
If you look at my thread http://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?topic=3947.15 (http://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?topic=3947.15) then half way down page 2, you'll see a photo of my boards and their legs. Their construction is pretty straight forward and I've used M8 bolts and wing nuts to attach them to the board. I do need to put some strengthening between the legs and the boards to stop it moving from side to side.
I'll measure them when I get home.
Cheers
Neal.
Ok I've measured it and the top of the baseboard is just shy of 48" afl (Above Floor Level).
But I might reduce that once the layout is built as it's going to be operated from behind and once the back scene is on, I think that even me @6' 1" might have trouble reaching over or even seeing over the backscene ;-)
At the moment it's at a comfortable height to work on without stooping over.
Regards
Neal
I have three of these...
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The uprights are 9mm ply while the cross members are 6mm.
The baseboard is 3ft height so as to sit over a set of Ikea drawers..,
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The baseboard doesn't rest on the drawers.
On previous layouts I've only used 2x1 for the legs.
As others have said, the board height and size should be to your comfort. There is an N gauge layout in the latest BRM magazine, Prestatyn, where he has his layout at 4ft 6ins high because it suits him. You can see the layout on RMWeb as to why he has it so high.
Realised I'd made an error with the legs, the Ikea trestles aren't wide enough! My baseboards are 3 feet wide, and the Ikea trestles in question are 60cm/2 feet wide, so they might not be so stable! Might go for the cheaper option of cutting down my existing legs, and instead of the unstable hinges at the top I think I may well screw them directly to the baseboard frames in the corners, then cross brace and see how sturdy that makes them....
Chris
Quote from: Wingman mothergoose on November 26, 2014, 06:17:24 PM
Might go for the cheaper option of cutting down my existing legs
Scoop!!!! You heard it here first, folks. A layout with human legs :goggleeyes:
Will help when I move house!! ;-)
My first exhibition layout "Furtwangen Ost" is too low- it sits with its lowest level 35" from the floor and the highest track is 2" above this. It does pull on the back operating it
Hawthorn Dene is 41" above the floor with a bridge dipping 2" down and a colliery 2" higher. Much less of a pull on the back, and the use of a pair of IKEA kitchen stools for the operators helps as well.
Wheelchair viewers are catered for on Furtwangen by giving them views into buildings and through arches that taller punters can't see. On Hawthorn Dene the underbridge gives views upwards into the layout (rare in N) and a wheelchair viewer gets to look under the safety netting of the aerial flight. Ray Lightfoot took a long time taking a picture that replicates this view- I hope it gets published next year.
All the very best
Les
I just wondered what other peoples ideas on the best view height for the layout was?
I mean for "at home" not "at exhibtions" that one opens a whole new can of worms about access etc etc
I've always thought N is better seen at a higher level, about 4foot6 or thereabouts as a mean track level from the floor
Yeah, I'm of the same opinion. My home layout has a mean of 48" above the floor.
I too prefer to look at my trains running at something at or a bit below eye level. However, rather than raising my layout, I drop my eyeballs. A favourite vantage point for me is sitting in one of those swivel office chairs with wheels on the bottom that can be winged around from place while seated. My track is an average of around 3' 5" off the floor. It seems to me that a higher layout would make for more challenges when trying to reach across it. But, milk crates come in handy.
Webbo
Quote from: JasonBz on July 29, 2015, 11:31:37 PM
I just wondered what other peoples ideas on the best view height for the layout was?
I mean for "at home" not "at exhibtions" that one opens a whole new can of worms about access etc etc
I've always thought N is better seen at a higher level, about 4foot6 or thereabouts as a mean track level from the floor
It's your layout so if that's the height you prefer, that is the "correct" height...
Simple! :D
My layout (Cromford) is 3'9" above the floor. This allows me to use Ikea doors on the cupboards below and have the river 2" below baseboard height. The two 4'0" wide sections are a bit of a problem, but I keep a set of kitchen steps in the railway room which helps me to reach over when required. I know 4' is really too wide for comfort, but I wanted a folded dog-bone style and didn't want to compromise on a minimum radius of 18".
Quote from: Wingman mothergoose on November 24, 2014, 02:50:15 PM
What do you consider the ideal height for a layout? My current layout sits on legs 3 feet long, and I was wondering if this is too high? Or is it down to personal preference?
Chris
Hi Chris, personal preference but the nearer to eye level the better for model railways and I like to try for at least 4 feet, but Peltin Down (my layout) is at only 3'6" because it's built on top of some bookcases; I wasn't given a lot of choice.
I really don't think it matters but think of it this way. Your eyes are (probably around) 5'6" high (or some 750 feet in N scale) so with a layout set at just 3 feet you are looking at it from the top of a huge skyscraper building!
The lower to the 'ground floor' you are on the skyscraper more lifelike the model appears (if you follow) so in an ideal world a baseboard height of around 5.5 feet would be 'perfect' it would, for most of us, also be an impractical height to work on.
I believe there are no hard and fast rules on this subject but, for what they are worth, these are my thoughts.
Best wishes,
Greg.
Depends on whether you're Ronnie Corbett or John Cleese....
Quote from: Agrippa on August 01, 2015, 01:33:38 PM
Depends on whether you're Ronnie Corbett or John Cleese....
I know my place ;)
My main layout in the mancave is 45" from floor to track level and is viewed from a freebie gas operated barstool. My secondary layout is being constructed to rest on height adjustable trestles.
Quote from: Agrippa on August 01, 2015, 01:33:38 PM
Depends on whether you're Ronnie Corbett or John Cleese....
Or the late, great Ronnie Barker! :)