As I have determined a (limited) height for my backdrop, my question now turns to the fascia. What is a reasonable nominal height for a fascia? I was leaning towards 8-9 inches.
Richard
I am just about at the point of buying mine. I have decided to buy sheets of hardboard and have Home Depot rip them into three 18" wide lengths. I think what ever dimension you choose for the facia is dependent on the look you are trying to achieve.
Post some photo's of the layout and maybe you will get some good suggestions.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
I'm working with a standard 6" fascia when there are no positive or negative terrain changes agasint the edge of the layout. This covers my standard 2" foam, plywoood and dimensional lumber support and gives me enough room to add throttle ports, holders and car card organizers, etc.
Mike
This one is much easier than the backdrop question - Whatever it takes to hide the stuff that needs to be out of site.
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I'm with carl425. In my case I built the basic L girder benchwork somewhat low and used some failry tall risers to get the roadbed at the height I wanted. Some of my fascia is almost 24" tall. Whatever its height it needs to cover the "innards." I also believe it is highly desirable to have the lower edge constant all around. Otherwise the transitions from one bottom edge to another might distract the viewer.
kelleywpns I'm working with a standard 6" fascia when there are no positive or negative terrain changes agasint the edge of the layout. This covers my standard 2" foam, plywoood and dimensional lumber support and gives me enough room to add throttle ports, holders and car card organizers, etc. Mike
Mike, have you ever wished it was more than 6"? I was thinking about 6", but was worried it would not be large enough for utilitarian usage, ie. throttle holders, etc. I have a Zephyr at the moment, so I am not sure how much space is required for a throttle holder.
skagitrailbird wrote the following post an hour ago:
"I'm with carl425"
Yeah, me too. From bottom of benchwork (1x4 for me) up to scenic ground elevation. I have about 6" of space between my benchwork and my foam/ground layer so my fascia is about 10". I guess if you only have a 2x4 and a sheet of plywood to hide, you might want to make it more than 4" for aesthetic purposes. I think 6" is sufficient, but I prefer 8" for some reason.
If you are going to push button/toggle switch activated turnout controls you will need room for a schematic and toggles on the facia, especially controlling a yard might take more space than you are allowing.
Dave
RideOnRoad kelleywpns I'm working with a standard 6" fascia when there are no positive or negative terrain changes agasint the edge of the layout. This covers my standard 2" foam, plywoood and dimensional lumber support and gives me enough room to add throttle ports, holders and car card organizers, etc. Mike Mike, have you ever wished it was more than 6"? I was thinking about 6", but was worried it would not be large enough for utilitarian usage, ie. throttle holders, etc. I have a Zephyr at the moment, so I am not sure how much space is required for a throttle holder.
I haven't run into anything yet that would make me wish I had more. I use the "universal" throttle holders that Micro-Mark sells (I waited for a sale, then ordered the quanitity that dropped the price down the lowest) and I use the MRC Prodigy Advance 2 (4x tethered throttles and 2x wireless).
I wil say that my layout is not that deep (around the walls with a penninsula) .. 24" max and I hand throw my PECO turnouts. So I have no need for large track schematics on the fascia. If I do have a section of the layout that needs a cluster of toggle switches, I build out a panel at an angle to increase the surface area and provide a way to fold it open for future maintenance/repairs -- this wasn't driven by fascia height, more for future logistics). I only have half of my track actually laid and there may be a few instances where I'll install a Tortoise and include a toggle switch, but I'm holding off on that if I decide to change up my plan for scenery/structures that may obstruct reaching into the layout -- that should be few and far between.So far, I'm happy with the 6" fascia.
RideOnRoadWhat is a reasonable nominal height for a fascia? I was leaning towards 8-9 inches.
If you have a Michael's or art supply store near you, get a sheet of foamcore in the color you want (or paint a sheet of white board) and mock up a fascia in various widths to see how they look. It's easy to cut and pretty cheap.
Steve S
My fascia runs from the bottom of the joists (L-girder construction) to the visible ground level. This means some is over a yard tall (and gives me room for a whole-layout CTC panel) and most resembles a seismograph trace. It's all cut from un-tempered Masonite(r) and attached to brackets (fabricated from steel stud stock) of appropriate height.
I'm modeling terrain that resembles the depths of the Grand Canyon, so a single-height fascia is a non-starter.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
My layout is standard L-girder/3/4" ply roadbed, partly double-decked. I started off with a 9" fascia, but it shrank to 6" to 7" as I gained experience. A couple of places where I needed more room for panels I simply made it deeper.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
Mine is 9 inches Richard. My layout ground area is at 47 inches before the inclines so with a nine inch fascia is is still comfortable to get under the layout, although I have never thought getting under the layout was comfortable. Doug