I am planning to build the Beer Line as started in the jan 09 issue of MR. What would the recomended height for the legs? I noted the" layout at a glance" lists the height at 44" I assume this is the overall dimention.
Without being facetious, as long as it takes to keep the layout suspended at the height you desire or need.
Their suggestion is just that, and yes, they mean the height off the floor of the operating surface.
Note that as you raise a layout to a preferred height (many of us like it considerably higher than 44"), your legs will become more like thin stilts by way of leverage should you grab onto the layout when stumbling. You'll need bracing and perhaps more blocking as they lengthen.
-Crandell
stridge I am planning to build the Beer Line as started in the jan 09 issue of MR. What would the recomended height for the legs? I noted the" layout at a glance" lists the height at 44" I assume this is the overall dimention.
By no means is that a hard and fast dimension.
If I built the layout, I'd make it 48" as I have for years. Reasonably tall and 8' sections of dimensional lumber can be cut in half to make the legs.
How tall are you? Do you have kids that will be running it? I'm 6'2" and went with 48". I wish I would have gone a little taller.(maybe 52")
Since I operate my layout from the seated position and I want young visitors to be able to see it easily I made the legs on mine 34 inches.
Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running BearSpace Mouse for president!15 year veteran fire fighterCollector of Apple //e'sRunning Bear EnterprisesHistory Channel Club life member.beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam
stridge,
We compromised with 42". My husband is 6'2" and I am 5'3". I still end up sitting on the layout while I work or standing on a stool a lot. The stool that I use the most is 8".
Sue
Anything is possible if you do not know what you are talking about.
How long should the legs be? Long enough to reach the floor.
My layout is too low. I did it that way so that I could tuck it under the sloped ceiling and get it away from the center of the room. My layout is on wheels, so I was also concerned with the stability of longer leg pieces. I do like being able to sit down and see the layout from eye level, though.
The bad thing is getting underneath to work on the wiring. It's too high for just sitting on the floor, but too low to kneel. So, wiring is always an uncomfortable proposition, and I find myself delaying needed wiring jobs just because I've grown tired of that. Before you settle on a height for your layout, get a board and some supports, and climb around under it. Clip a couple of wires to the bottom, and see if you can strip the insulation off and attach them to a terminal strip, or try some other simple-on-the-bench task to see how bad it is to do under a layout table.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
You have to work down. Start with the elevation of the roadbed, then subtract any bench work to the top of the frame to which the legs will attach. What's left is the length of the legs. It is totally arbitrary and dependent on what the layout owner prefers.
I had been using 48" legs with nominal 52" layout height, during my current rebuild I am raising the layout about 4 inches and shortening the legs about the same to give me a deeper benchwork.
Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com
The beer line is designed to be built as sections that can be rearranged. Assuming you follow that design, you could shorten or replace the legs later, section by section, fairly easily. Just make sure you use screws and no glue to attach them. Since it's less costly to shorten existing legs as opposed to replacing them with longer I would go with 48" legs (half the standard 8' board) to start with and shorten them in small increments if desired.
Personally, my last layout was 58" which was great for realistic viewing, the duck under, and storage. But over time I came to feel it was a little too high. My new, under construction, layout is 50" high. I'm not to operations yet, but it is easier to work on since I don't need a step stool to work on it. I'm 5'11" BTW.
Enjoy
Paul
If you are building L-girder benchwork, the leg length is the projected height of the top of the joists from the floor - unless there is some valid reason to go higher (like a planned upper level.)
If you are building box-frame benchwork, the leg length is, again, the height from the top of the joists to the floor.
If you are building in a location with a sloping or irregular floor, it's a good idea to find where the shortest leg will be, then allow for the height of an adjusting mechanism and make all legs that shortest length. If you ever have to relocate part of the benchwork, it's a lot easier to crank a bolt (or lag screw) up or down than it is to 'adjust' leg lengths with a saw.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
Floor to butt.
(hey, someone had to say it.)
Chip
Building the Rock Ridge Railroad with the slowest construction crew west of the Pecos.
I have always gone with 48" legs. One reason is the ease of construction. 16' lengths of white pine cut very nicely into 4 - 48" lengths. Add a half inch sheet of plywood and 2" sheet of foam then your up to 50 1/2 inches. I'm 5'9" so thats not a bad height for the layout. When you just want to watch the trains run get a barstool and sit back and enjoy.
Mainetrains
'there's something happening here, what it is ain't exactly clear' Modeling the Hard Knox Valley Railroad in HO scale http://photos.hardknoxvalley.com/
I'm 6'1" and I built to a 45" height. It allows me to reach over where I need and look level at the tracks when I want (my MR goes up to 72" at the highest point). So I would think that 44" would be a very comfortable operating height, especially since the Beer Line is a level layout.
Tom
Tom View my layout photos! http://s299.photobucket.com/albums/mm310/TWhite-014/Rio%20Grande%20Yuba%20River%20Sub One can NEVER have too many Articulateds!
How long is a piece of string? As long as it's needed.
Rule of thumb: Stand in a comfortable position. Bend over at the waist and stretch out your arms as though you were working on a layout. Stay in that position for 30 minutes. The position you determine to be comfortable will be the basis for the hieght of the layout. Have a friend (or a tape measure on the wall) determine the height of the table top as measured from your bent over/ arms stretched comfortable position to the floor. That is the layout height you need.
I have taken up a sitting position nowadays as I work on the layout, and my layouts have gotten shallower and easier to reach. Its not that I have any medical problems, just that I have found I prefer comfort and ease on my railroads. To each his own, it really is about what works for you, not what bragging rights you have about the layout being X inches off the ground.
The Dixie D Short Line "Lux Lucet In Tenebris Nihil Igitur Mors Est Ad Nos 2001"
Lots of good help here. Everyone has different ways to pencil it out. Let us know what you come up with.
I'm 6' tall, and this time I made the layout height suitable to me. The legs are 48" long (which works out very well since I didn't have to cut anything), plus I get about an inch out of the levelers in the bottom. Combined with a double layer of 2" foam on top, the whole thing will be about 53" high, which I can easily work over (nothing is wider than 2 feet). It also works out well for working underneath - I can sit in a chair under the layout. No more kneeling and killing my knees.
YOUR ideal height depends on many things. Your height, for one. Probably the second critical factor is how wide the benchwork is. If you bend at the waist you can reach further back. If your benchwork is narrow, you can make it taller and still easily reach across it. Third, unless you are building a club or public layout, is other people. If you're 7 feet tall and build the ideal layout for you, very few other people will be able to work on it or see anything without stools. If you are more of the 'lone wolf' type of hobbyist, that won;t be a major consideration. But if you share the hobby with friends and family, you will probably need to make some concessions for them.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
MisterBeasley, you've helped me and many others. How about this to help you. Get a mechanics creeper and add a 45 deg. back to it (or whatever slant seems comfortable.) Add some padding, something to hold a few tools, and if you're really ambitious a way to hold a soldering iron for those undertable electrical repairs. Bob T
Hi!
I have only read your question, and not the comments of the other posters. This way I can offer a completely unbiased or influenced opinion on "how tall should the legs be".
My first thought is they should be the height that works best for you. Layout leg height is not one of those "one size fits all" - for whenever I hear that phrase I realize THAT size fits no one perfectly!
Really, there are a lot of considerations to this question, i.e: How tall are the user(s), is there a lower level or upper level, will there be enough room to get to the under layout wiring, etc., etc., etc.
I'm currently in the design phase of my layout rebuild project and I will probably stick with the height of the main level of my current layout - which is somewhere between my waist and chest (I'm 5' 9 1/2").
My suggestion is to mock up a few different levels and find what works best for you!
ENJOY,
Mobilman44
ENJOY !
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
rrinker YOUR ideal height depends on many things. Your height, for one. Probably the second critical factor is how wide the benchwork is. If you bend at the waist you can reach further back. If your benchwork is narrow, you can make it taller and still easily reach across it. Third, unless you are building a club or public layout, is other people. If you're 7 feet tall and build the ideal layout for you, very few other people will be able to work on it or see anything without stools. If you are more of the 'lone wolf' type of hobbyist, that won;t be a major consideration. But if you share the hobby with friends and family, you will probably need to make some concessions for them. --Randy
I think Randy sums it up well.
I built a previous layout at 60" high. It was only just over 15" wide at the most and worked fine for me, but my ex couldn't see it properly being 66" tall. So I reduced it to 48" when it got rebuilt. A bit low for me but its a compromise.
Brian
www.deadwoodcityrailroad.blogspot.com
MisterBeasley How long should the legs be? Long enough to reach the floor. My layout is too low. I did it that way so that I could tuck it under the sloped ceiling and get it away from the center of the room. My layout is on wheels, so I was also concerned with the stability of longer leg pieces. I do like being able to sit down and see the layout from eye level, though. The bad thing is getting underneath to work on the wiring. It's too high for just sitting on the floor, but too low to kneel. So, wiring is always an uncomfortable proposition, and I find myself delaying needed wiring jobs just because I've grown tired of that. Before you settle on a height for your layout, get a board and some supports, and climb around under it. Clip a couple of wires to the bottom, and see if you can strip the insulation off and attach them to a terminal strip, or try some other simple-on-the-bench task to see how bad it is to do under a layout table.
I had the same problem, until I got a raised creeper from Micro Mark. I remember reading a how-to in MR a couple of years ago on how to make one from an automotive creeper.
Marlon
See pictures of the Clinton-Golden Valley RR