Good evening.
What’s the usual or ideal depth of a layout if you are doing an around the room layout or a horseshoe\walk-in? 24"? 30"?
For access aisles (not for operating, just access) what’s a recommended aisle width?
thanks
Not to make it sound overly simplified … but how far can you comfortably reach at a given height ? For access aisles … are you 6’ - 130lbs or 5’-2" - 280lbs ???
It ultimately comes down to you yourself what is most comfortable. I’m sure the majority of most layouts are taylor built to the owner’s own personal comfort zone, not what is “recommended”.
I’m rather tall and lanky, so a three foot shelf isn’t too far for me - and I can actually use an access hatch 15" square quite comfortably … you on the other hand might not !
Mark.
Its a range. 24-30" is typical for benchwork depth. Mine is 18" because I have a narrow room.
Aisle width? How wide should it be? At least 4 feet. What’s practical? 24" is about as narrow as you want to get for one person, you could squeeze down to a choke point for a short distance to 16’ or so. For two people no less than 30", 36 or more is better". 48" and above the aisles aren’t any barrier to operation.
Dave H.
As the earlier posters have indicated, one size does NOT fit all. Benchwork reach width can be greater if the level is at belt-buckle height, less if at armpit height, but basically comes down to the width that the individual is comfortable with. I am rather short, built like a barrel and about as flexible as an Egyptian obelisk, so anything beyond 24 inches at 42 inches above the floor is effectively unreachable.
For the same reason, I can barely get away with 24 inch aisleways, and have provided 32 inch or better width at control panels. Again, the size that fits me may be larger or smaller than the size that fits you.
One thing which we frequently tend to overlook is that today’s wiry, noodle-flexible gymnast will, over time, stiffen up, spread out and have very different physiological requirements. I wonder how many wonderful layouts have undergone major surgery (or total destruction) when that easily-traversed duckunder became an impossible barrier to access.
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
Reach is one thing but reaching with dexterity can be quite another. So even once you arrive at the right distance for your reach, assuming all you want to do is pick up the boxcar, just what kind of real work can you do at that reach? Wire a feeder to a rail while holding the wire, the solder, and the soldering iron or gun? Install a Tortoise switch motor? Rerail an N scale car? I think anything beyond 2 feet is just too difficult, and I have long arms.
As for aisle width I am somewhat slender (less so every year it seems, alas) and for me probably 24" would be fine, 18" in a pinch (no pun intended) but most of my friends, shall we say, Exceed Plate C. Even 36" is a bit narrow for some of these fellows.
Dave Nelson
Dave, Very well stated regarding both layout depth and aisle width.
For my current N-scale layout, half of my shelves are 11" deep and the other half are 17" deep, although this is more out of necessity (room size to accomodate a long mainline run) than what I would consider ideal (18"-24" deep for N-scale). Of course, these long and narrow sections are ideal for scenes that showcase train lengths, meets in sidings, etc.
As for aisle width, I have just completed my benchwork, which has two 30" wide aisles. Again this was out of necessity as I ideally wanted 36" or wider, although I must say I am very pleasantly surprised to find that the 30" aisle width is more than accomodating for my operations. I am larger than the average bear and I can pass another similar sized operator/visitor/tresspasser in the aisle with ease (neither of us scrapes against the benchwork or each other as we pass). Of course, even now knowing this, I still believe aisle width should be more a question of “What are the widest aisles I can fit?” rather than “what are the smallest aisles I can live with?” Jamie
One other consideration that is very important, but seldom discussed is “effective” aisle width. By the time you add cupholders, car card boxes, throttle hangers, switch controls, etc.etc. to the fascia, you have eaten away part of your aisle space. I had nominally 36" aisles but by the time all the stuff was added to the fascia, I really had closer to 30" aisles. So during the current rebuilding I am engineering it so I have “clean cab” fascia, everything will be recessed into the fascia as much as possible to maximize aisle space.
Dave H.
The depth standard seems to hover at 28-30". I say go with that and adjust height to taste. For aisles 3’ minimum is my recommendation. John Armstrong designed rabbit warrens!
My around the room layout is made up mostly of 24 inch by 96 inch modules.
Keep in mind that, just like real railroad have to include “expansion joints” in trackage, you may need to allow for some future “expansion” when planning things out. That small pop-up hatch that works great in your twenties might be a snug fit by the time you’re 40. [(-D]
In my case, I had to re-do my layout about 5-6 years ago to eliminate duckunders, the duckunders that were no problem in my twenties really got to be a chore twenty years later.
Remember that reach (as far as layout width) is affected by not just your height, but the height of the layout. If you like a layout up around chest high, you won’t be able to reach in as easily as you could on a layout at waist height.
Another thing you need to be careful of is the corners. It’s that whole a2 + b2 = c2 thing. A junction of two shelves that are 36" in depth results in a far back corner that is 50" away. It’s a good idea to physically lay out your track on the benchwork as you develop your plan, and never position a piece of track beyond arm’s reach. It will inevitably be precisely that point where the locomotive always stalls, or certain cars will always derail on that curve.
Your mileage may vary, but I find 18-24 to be the max for me. I tend to have the benchwork at around 54". At that height, 18" is about all that is comfortable, 24" is all that is possible… A step stool would let me get into 30" in a pinch. Because I work in N, keeping it 18-24 has been easy.
Chris
edit - I never answered to aisle width… I did some experimenting by placing my smaller “test” layout different distances from my work bench. I found that with visitors 3 feet was a minimum for comfort. I would not want to have two feet anywhere. I like having 4 feet but with a 13 foot wide room that needs to have two aisels that is not going to be an option everywhere, even in N.
One thing that has struck me in layout articles where folks are asked what they would do different, almost every one has said “bigger aisles”.
Chris
One thing to keep in mind is: who do you foresee visiting/viewing the layout? Size the aisle minimums for the largest person that will likely want access.
Height/depth can be more geared towards the operators, but visitors should be accomodated as comfortably as possible.
BTW I’m using 16" wide John Sterling shelving components for my ‘benchwork’. I find it’s easy to use and is plenty of room for HO railroading. Actually I originally planned on using 12" shelfs but found I had room for the 16" and it left a little more room for scenicking.
Today I just bumped in to this very issue while installing the triangular areas on the inside corners of my benchwork. On two corners, this resulted in a 36" reach from the aisle to the far corner, although this will be mitigated (almost 12") by the curved backdrop. There is some complex trackwork in one of these areas, although I verified via actual “reach in” tests that it can still easily be accessed from below without assistance and from above with a foot stool. Jamie
Case in point …
That eight foot deep scene was pretty spectacular to behold when built 15 years ago … it’s still spectacular today for visitors, but 15 years worth of access hatches and crawling on benchwork ain’t so spectacular to the owner any more !
… ask me, I know !!!
Mark.
While it’s true about the long reach in the corners, it’s not usually a big problem after initial construction because the track curves are not square. If you are modeling traction it could be tough.
Notice in my layout (shown above) that except where it is in the corner of the room, I have clipped the outside corners for exactly that reason.
This can help extend your reach:
http://www.ares-server.com/Ares/Ares.asp?MerchantID=RET01229&Action=Catalog&Type=Product&ID=83876