I remembered an article in the September 1998 Model Railroader by Craig Bisgeier. He also has more text on his website.
There is also a brief mention of the concept in Model Railroad Planning 2003.
Layout Design GalleryLayout Design Special Interest Group
It came up in an MRP too, but the date escapes me
A quick Interent search for "Bellina Drop" yields this page as a preview from a Kalmbach publication via Google Books. Named for the late Jerry Bellina. I've seen it used on a number of layouts (not necessarily merging the valance, just a high foredrop) and it works well.
Hi Mark. It is called a "Bellina Drop" and it appeared on page 88 in MRH Mar/Apr 2010 issue. I did not find a reference for MRR. Hope that helps.
Scott
There was an item in MR a few years back that showed a backdrop at the end of an aisle that restricted the view from the end of the aisle to stop people gathering there. I think it was "named" a "Berlina Drop" after the layout owner.
Can anyone remember to confirm or correct me please
Mark in Melbourne