Has anyone reading the forum used a topside creeper? If so what did you think did they work pretty good for those hard to reach places.
They work fantastic, although our club's creeper was fabricated by a member (welder/ pipefitter) it works basically the same. This one is just "beefed" up and a bit more stable. When you need to do that work, whether track, scenery or backdrop, it sure saves that backstrain bending over standing on a step stool. Leaning ytour chest on a padded surface gives you great comfortable reach w/ both hands. If your layout is relatively smallish, you may need to weigh the costs to the benefits it provides.
Modeling B&O- Chessie Bob K. www.ssmrc.org
I have seen one, but not used it. You really need a lot of floor space for it to fit and be usable, as well as room to slide the foundation under the layout. Big / heavy guys may have a problem with them - and I have no clue as to its rated capacity.
ENJOY !
Mobilman44
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
These topside creepers are actually an automotive mechanic's tool, and were not developed only for model railroaders as one vendor would have us believe.
If you shop around on web sites or in stores that specialize in mechanics' tools you can find many variants.
A friend of mine, now deceased, bought a topside creeper from MicroMark for two purposes. He did have some very wide scenes and correctly envisioned a need to access the deepest parts either to maintain or clean track, rerail a train, or freshen up the scenery. For that you'd be lying face down.
He also realized that some of the deepest parts of the layout were under flourescent light fixtures and that sooner or later he was going to have to replace a bulb. For that you'd be lying on your back face up.
It was needless to say an object of considerable comment and wonder when he set it up in the basement. As I am the tallest and have the longest reach I offered to give it a try to see how practical and comfortable it was going to be for both of his intended uses.
I thought I was going to die.
Although it is padded, as are the floor scooter things that auto mechanics use (and which I use on my own layout for under the benchwork wiring) I felt like it was compressing my chest when I used it to reach the layout from above. It was hard for me to breath. I am slender and don't have much padding on my chest and stomach. My knees felt like they were being asked to bend the wrong way, like an ostrich's.
And when lying on my back I also felt uncomfortable and it just did not seem like my hips were meant to bend that way. I also had vague fears of rolling off onto the layout when looking up at the lighting fixtures.
The most I was able to use it for comfortably was to lean over the layout a bit higher and further in than I would otherwise, but not by much it seemed to me.
Dave Nelson
I bought one a few years ago - It really is great for working on the layout. It is an automotive industry item, and I looked around the Internet for pricing. I found one for about $20 cheaper than Micro-Mark after shipping(this what gets you). Micro-Mark had a email 30% off sale about 3 years ago, and I had a catalog with free shipping. A quick call to Micro-Mark confirmed that they would honor both coupons - So I went for it(About $100 off the best price I had found on the Internet). UPS delivered it about a week later, and I had to help the UPS guy unload it from the truck(the box is heavy).
It took the next morning to assemble, and it works great. It folds up and slides under the layout with no problem. I have found it invaluable when working in the helix or lobe areas of the layout. It is well made and quite 'steady' to work from. Of course, I have had two knee replacements and am 64 years old!
Jim
Modeling BNSF and Milwaukee Road in SW Wisconsin