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Ideal table height
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I would encourage you to keep the layout high, such as between your waist and elbow height. It will be more enjoyable for you to work on and watch; the closer the trains get to your eye level, the greater the realism and sense of being in the scene, not looking down from above. Your kids will get this feeling each time they gander at it, because for them it will be right at eyeball height. <br /> <br />You don't have kids that tall yet, you say? Well, you will someday, for sure. In the meanwhile, I suggest you accomodate them with a mobile viewing platform, built out of 2x6 lumber and plywood, that they stand on in order to view the trains. This gives you a layer of security and control, as it restricts where they can be and what they can touch or reach. When your back is turned or you're not around, they won't be able to drag your prized locomotive around unpowered (ruining traction tires or just getting wheels dirty), or plug tennis balls into your tunnels, or whatever else it is that young boys might try to do to a layout. As they grow, they won't need the platform, and they will have learned to respect the layout because of it; once they are at basketball player enormity, if they are still into trains, they'll want the layout up high as well. <br /> <br />An option you might consider is doing a two-level layout, with the "kids" trains on an accessible lower level, where everything is more abuse-proof, perhaps with trains of a different scale even. I don't know what your carpentry skills or ambitions might be, but this would certainly take a little bit of planning to pull off well.
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