When I added the partial second level to my layout, I made all of it as wide as or wider than the portion of the layout below it, as the lighting for the lower level is mounted on the underside of the upper level, very close to the aisle.The area shown below is just over 38" deep, and at a height of 59".
While I can currently reach the mainline track from the aisle, there will be a siding and structures added between the track and aisle, which will necessitate use of a step stool to reach the main line in case of derailments, etc.However, when I was laying the track (Atlas code83 flex, on cork in this area) and needed to paint the rails before ballasting, I was unable to reach (and see), even using a stepstool, the far side of the rails to ensure good coverage (I often take layout photos with the camera on the layout, facing the aisle, and don't want shiny-sided rails in the photos). To solve the problem, I used a step ladder to climb up onto the second level, and did the brush painting of the rails whilst lying on the area in the foreground.
This drawing, not to scale, shows the location, which is at the end of aisle above Chippawa Creek. The second level is above all of the areas shown in grey:
Wayne
On my few loop layouts I always like 18-20" a comfortable reached for me.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
The rule of thumb is that you don't want trackwork beyond 30 inches from the edge, because that is generally the maximum most people can comfortably reach for things like derailments, uncoupling, cleaning, etc.. How deep the actual benchwork is is less relevant.
But the depth depends on certain factors also. If your layout is eye height, 30 inches would be tough to reach and you'd want narrower benchwork. Other things, like placing large buildings on the edge of the layout, would impede reach also.
As others have noted, if the back of the benchwork is nothing but scenery, and the deeper the benchwork generally the better the scene, then deep benchwork is no real issue. Of course, you may have to lean on it, place an elbow, or even stand on a portion of it in order to get back there to build the scenery, so the benchwork might have to be much stouter in that section than in a place where it could be only 12 inches wide.
It varies, but the biggest factor is reach. Plan the layout so you're not bumping the edge often in those areas that require frequent reaching.
- Douglas
Rob and Mike, both of you have made very creative use of the space with which you had to work. Really nice-looking results.
My layout is an around-the-walls, folded dogbone design, so at any place along the wall, the mainline runs one way near the aisle, then in the opposite way near the wall at a higher elevation. To fit in all the passing sidings and industry spurs, it’s advantageous to have the shelf as wide as practical.
By experience, my standard for the layout is that the shelf can be up to 36" deep, any track must be within arm's reach which, for me is 30" from the aisle; the last 6" to the wall can reached if I use a stool for scenery construction. Where the depth exceeds 36", I provide an access hatch. The layout height is about 45" from the floor at 0" track height.
This works for me since I am somewhat capable of doing the bending, stooping and crawling that is (thankfully) occasionally needed... creaking and groaning notwithstanding!
Jim
LION *had* a 36" wide wall layout once, but I could not work with that. My new layout has 12" depth on the top level and 16" on the middle and lower levels. But then how much shelf space do you need for a subway layout?
Still fir the top shelf, I knead a Ladder to wrok up there.
YOUR size and what you can reach and WORK with is your best indicator.
Figure out what your best comfortable reach is and then take OFF at least six or more inches. Once you begin to have scenery on that table, your reach will be shortened.
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
My layout height is 48" with a depth of 24". This works good for me. All of my switches are manual and a deeper layout would be difficult to reach over structures to throw switches.
This is where you have to figure out what your criteria are for all the major characteristics of a 'successful' track plan are. If you want maximum scenicked area, go wide, but keep the trackage closer to the front...where your fascia and controls are likely to be. If, like Rob, you can model narrower shelves and do such a fine job of it, you can still have slightly sinuous trackage, or tangential trackage, and still have enough filler scenery to make images successful and your contemporary enjoyment successful.
On the other hand, if, like me, you like to run long cars on passenger trains, you'll want larger curves. As a general rule, the wider curves need deeper benches, or they'll need angled corners nearest the fascia.
Your stated height also presents a bit of a problem unless you're very tall. One's elbows tend to snag delicate things near the edges of the layout when we reach deeply into it...deeply because we've filled wider benches and need to fix or to place, or to retrieve, something. Also, for those of us altitudinally challenged, high layouts restrict our ability to bend at the waist to extend our reach. That awkwardness forces us to use stepping aids or to risk those deep awkward reaches that cause problems at least once a month.
I tend to go to about 30" for the sides of my long room, and deeper at the ends where my sweeping curves are. Thirty inches is at the limit for me where my bench's main height is 46". Then I have to drag a foot stool.
Lastly, this is where you can mock it up and try for yourself. Also, do use graph paper and use a convenient scale to map it all out. Use a compass to accurately depict all your curves where they will serve you best, including accurately scaling out the radii. From there, you simply draw the front of the bench away from the walls where the tracks will allow train items to tumble off and not roll over and onto the floor. Measure it out to 1:1 scale and you'll have your bench depth there. If it exceeds 30" above about 45" in height, consider some alternatives.
30" as a maximum is not unheard of, but still often regretted. I'd suggest setting up an example to try out. At lower deck heights, 30" is more feasible. But at 50", you need to be tall or have a step stool to reach way back of a 30" width.
Also consider how much headroom you have above the 50" mark. If you plan mountains, they can be built as a liftout. That way they just need to be dropped back there after you work on them, a much happier method than all that reaching over to do it. Here's an example from my layout. The large liftout at the back in this pic is about 6' long.
Ceiling height is 81". The front level of the layout is about 58". It's hard to see, but there is a level of track about 6" higher in the middle distance. The farthest back you need to reach here is about 24". Next you'll see the liftout levitate...
The front to back depth here is about 38" -- too far to reach from the front, but about 75% of this part of the layout is liftouts, making things easier. Like when I want to plant trees, a lot of them, when I sat the liftout on the front of the layout to work on this.
My back would have freaked out trying to reach the rear or even near it here. Instead, it was relatively easy work...
So, have a plan for reaching anything over 24", design accordingly, and you can make deeper layout sections workable. Just don't plan on any hand uncoupling, etc back there.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
woodmanWhat is the best width for my layout where it will be attached to the wall.
That's a loaded question for which we have basically nothing to judge. There is no "best." Depending on what you want to model, 12" may be plenty, or 30" just barely enough. Benchwork on my layout varies in width, and I can't say one place is preferable to another based on it.
This location on my layout needed to be of minimal depth due to aisle space considerations. It's maybe 7".
This one's 12"
This industy is also part of a 12" deep scene.
This one's about 18"
This area varies from around 12" to over 30" for a turnback curve.
The depth for you to choose can vary depending on how much space is available for layout vs aisles, the type of scenery and how you want to represent it, backdrop considerations, amount of track, track curvature, structures, and so on. You can also change the depth here and there to work around scenic deisgn, add some depth for structures on the aisle side of the main, or whatever.
Rob Spangler
My around-the-room layout varies in depth from 21" to 42", and in height from 36" to 59" (the layout is partially double-decked, with the double-decked areas equal in depth to their lower level counterparts). The deeper areas are mostly scenic in their farthest reaches, while most track, and all with mostly manually-operated turnouts and manual uncoupling, is well within reach.
I have a 32 inch wide (by 19' 4") freestanding table across, but not attached to, my garage door. The rear 8 inches might become home to the bumper ends of some single-end tracks, but will mostly be scenery on lift-out modules. The complicated parts of Tomikawa, my engine change/shortline interchange station, are within 14 inches of the fascia.
The shelves along the fixed walls are -< 18" <+ (sinuous fascia) and about 12 usable feet long. There are a total of three visible turnouts on the two of them, and two of those are spring switches.
On the two peninsulas, all serious trackwork is within 15 inches of the fascia. The middle 2+ feet is scenery that goes above my eye level.
I consciously designed my layout for easy access to specialwork and 'animated' scenery items. Since I'm modeling an area where the scenery is mostly vertical, I left the harder-to-reach places for (or behind) viewblocks.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
Many folks find narrower shelves more comfortable than 30" everywhere. But it's mostly a personal preference. In my view it's often very helpful to allow benchwork depths to modulate rather than be a fixed depth everywhere.
This is something that would be easy to mock-up to choose what seems best to you.
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In a few weeks I will begin rebuilding my layout, a large portion of this layout will be against a wall, approx. 20'. What is the best width for my layout where it will be attached to the wall. I am working in HO scale and approx. 50" in height. I have been told that 30" would be the maxium width I should extend the layout. Is this a good width to work with at that section of the layout?