Help needed for a wall mounted set

[Anonymous]

I don't know if I'm describing this well. My friend is interested in building a layout for his son's bedroom. He wants to run the track around the walls of the room, near the ceiling. I'm not sure what gauge he'll be working with since he's just starting out. I know I saw an article on this in MR but I can't remember when. If anyone knows where I can find some ideas to forward on it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! [:D]

[jhugart]

Near the ceiling or at waist-height, you still have to have benchwork (or shelf brackets) that connect to the studs in the walls. If the track runs near the ceiling, there probably isn't much concern over scenery or handling of the trains.

Almost any book on benchwork will address brackets attached to the walls.

[Jetrock]

The main problem with a near-the-ceiling layout is seeing it! The gauge makes a lot of difference--many such near-the-ceiling setups are display-only layouts in G scale (a big, heavy scale) with clear plastic benchwork so you can see the trains from below.

Such a layout would be less likely to work in a smaller scale because derailment would become a bigger problem (the engines are lighter and the flangeways narrower.) Typically a model railroad is built where the model railroader can reach it without a ladder!