I am moving my layout tomorrow. It is 100% foam suspended on a glass table. What started as a winter project ended up to be two and a half years, maybe three and a half.
It is being moved to a more designated permanent location now.
Tomorrow I will build 42 inch cantilever truss support brackets to suspended it off the wall. It will have heavy duty drawer slides so It can be pulled out from the wall at any given time as I need to get behind it. 4×8 layouts need access from both sides like an island, everybody knows that.
Aerial views on a layout are nice sometimes but not all the time. A permanent eye level view of a layout should take some consideration.
When pictures are taken of railroad activity, weather modeled or prototypical, it should be the same.
To me that’s what eye level viewing of a model railroad should be like.
Should the scenery height play a role? I’m thinking of the top level of the Canadian Canyons. I think I would not want the mountains towering over my head. If you are modeling Kansas, scenery height is less of a consideration.
I’d have to measure my layout, 50" and I’m 6’, but it is still under construction and I have an inoperable rotator cuff tear. I wanted it higher but realized that I cannot work on scenery comfortably. You seem to beyond that stage, but I mention it for newbies who might not realize that construction is different that viewing.
Everybody has a different idea of what the right height should be. Until you see it yourself you won’t know. Mock something up at various heights and see which one you like. Use boxes, furniture, or whatever to support something you can look at as if it were part of a layout.
My track heights range from 39" to 53". Different visitors and operators comment on how different areas of the layout work for them.
I’m 6’-0". My eye level is 65". My armpit height is 56" (more or less, kinda hard to measure). Ancient rotator cuff tear (I feel for you Brother BigDaddy) that has long-since healed with full mobility.
My layout height is 52". That is a little too high. I think 48" would be better. I made it 52" because the lower level is 34" and I wanted an unobstructed clear 18" bottom deck to allow full scenicking down there.
I have two step stool/chairs, and I like the view from the 9" footrest. I also have a 30" by 30" by 12" high platform I use while working on the upper level. Kinda like an orchestra conductor platform. It gives me a little space to move around; it is also good for general overall views. Bird’s eye views from the 18" high top step/seat of the aforementioned stool/chair.
Another thing to consider is: will you always be standing while operating your layout?
My father-in-law us going to be working on my main project layout with me. We’re both a bit north of 6’, but he’s not able to stand very long due to several medical issues.
I tinkered around with the height of a small 2x8 switching layout I’m building from leftover parts for practice, and I discovered that a 42" height works very well with an office chair. It’s also still low enough to work on the layout comfortably. So one can operate from almost ground-level, or get a bird’s eye view for either ops or construction work.
Always standing while running trains and switching, 5’ 10" tall, layout is 50" high, BUT that also works out good for the Tupperware storage container shelving under the layout, which is what mine started out to be.
I think it worked out perfect for viewing. I’m the only one, no kids, occassionally the wife, usually just me. I have a stool for reaching areas towards the back.
What is the ideal height for a human to eye level? Sounds silly, but that’s really the answer.
There is no one right answer. It depends on how tall the builder is, how tall the operator(s) is/are, how tall the prospective viewers are, and just what sort of operation you plan to have. What’s eye level or just pleasingly below foor one person may be over the top of someone else’s head. Or vice-versa, eye level for one might be barely chest high for someone else.
Right at eye level is pleasing for railfan type operation, just watching the train go by - it’s like standing trackside. But what a pain to actually build, constantly standing on step laddfers to reach anything. ANd reaching in to couple and uncouple cars? Next to impossible. Lower it a bit for easy reach in construction and switching cars, and now you don’t have that railfan perspective, it’s more like standing in a tower or flying over in a helicopter. Or maybe standing on a nearby hillside.
Our club layout is not super low like many are to allow small kids to see, but it’s not all that high, either. High enough that the smallest sticky fingered kids need to be lifted by a parent, but the older ones can easily see without help. Not so low that it’s a back breaker to work on. But we’re different than a lot of publicly viewed layouts - we as a gorup HATE the ‘moat’ concept where there is a line of ropes strung a couple feet out from the layout to keep people more than an arm’s length away. We have plixglas panels along the edge so you cna step right up to the layout and look. Smaller kids look through the plexiglas and can’t reach over, taller kids and adults (you know, the ones who should know better) can see directly on to the layout without the plexiglas in the way. We don’t need space along the outside to operate, we run the trains from inside the giant donut hole (the layout is somewhere along the lines of 28x150 these days, with most of the
I built one layout at “eye level”, never again. Actually it was the upper deck of a multi level layout, built at about 58".
The new upcoming layout, base track elevation will be 38" or 40", max track elevation about 46". No more double deck layouts for me.
Eye level viewing…sit in a chair, I will be keeping my aisles wide for that reason, most will be 5’.
Just my thoughts.
My new layout will have deep scenery, 3 to 4 feet most everywhere. After building a few “shelf layouts”, I have decided I prefer a more old school approach.
If this will be your last layout think about your future. I’m 6’3” and built my layout at table top level for our Grandchildren. As I’ve aged my abilities have narrowed. At 52 when I started my layout I was in pretty good health but now at 81 I have an inoperative bone to bone right knee arthritis in both ankles hips and shoulders. I can only be on my feet for about 30 minutes with a 30 minute rest period sitting. I bought a doctors roll around stool with a back rest that works great for doing things around my layout during the rest periods.
I lucked out by building my layout at 34” for the kiddos, I wouldn’t have been able to continue my layout had I gone any higher.
I find it difficult to think anyone on this forum can say what is right for you. The only way you will really know is to experiment, perhaps setting a module on different heights and eye balling it for awhile.
To paraphase a local mattress maker here…“what’s right for me is not right for you”, “we are all different”.
I am 6’ 6 1/2" (and I was 6’8" when I started the layout!) so my notions of layout height are unlikely to be shared by many. Height, age, mobility, eyesight, size of stomach (yes!), depth of benchwork, the lighting and physical situation in the layout room, all factor in. And if you operate with friends, the issues multiply.
One thing is clear, or at least is becoming ever more clear to me: the “ideal” height for the layout just based on viewing/“railfanning” and layout photography – which is in that armpit to eyeball range – is NOT the same height as for track laying, scenicking and creating roads and structures, and most critically, layout wiring.
David Barrow would do as much wiring as possible of his benchwork “dominos” on his workbench rather than wiring them in place, but not all are in a position to follow his lead.
It’s really a matter of preference. A true eye level layout would put you at ground level. There are pros and cons to that approach. I stand 6 feet and I’ve found 4 feet to be the minimum height I want my track to be. With grades, there are places where it rises to almost 5 feet. That is the highest I would want my track to be.
I am six feet tall. The rail height on my eye level layout is between 60 to 66 inches. Most of it is at the 61 inch elevation for part of it climbs up into the mountains. With the elevation just over a foot below my height I get a view which is like standing in the middle of a street looking at the trains and buildings. The roofs of two or three story buildings are just above eye level. I prefer this kind of in your face layout compared to the overhead helicopter view. It makes the distances seem farther and you can see the details much better.
Some people might think that this is too high but I built it for me not them. Kids grow up and they grow to be your same height or taller. I have a couple of stepstools for when I need to be up higher for decorating or maintenance. If short people want a better view they can stand on a stepstool.
The best way to decide which height is best for you is to use adjustable shelves as a test. Set some of your locomotives and cars on the shelf, also some buildings. Test all of the levels and see which level you prefer.
Thanks for all the replies. Your comments definitely gave me more to think about. Sometimes Common Sense isn’t exactly my strong suit.
Had I put my layout at an ideal finished height before the work is done wouldn’t have been a good idea. I’m sure this would be hard on my rotary cuff as I have a kink in one from working construction all my life.
As it turns out there was too many errands to run on my day off yesterday so maybe I’ll get to it this weekend. I think I will put the height at 34 inches so things are easy to work on. I can always move the layout up someday when I am finished.
Thanks again Track Fiddler
PS. Again the layout is very light being that it is made of foam. The nice thing is I can flip it up on its side to make wiring easy when I get to that part.
I am 5’11". My layout is a three level mushroom design. The lower level is mostly at 42" with one section (Ogden) at 46". The middle level is mostly 62", and the upper level is mostly 52" with one area at 58". So it has heights of 42, 46, 52, 58, and 62. Hopefully everyone can find a height they like.
