I'm 6'1. My layout is 4'10 at track level. That produces a nice VIEW level for me, not necessarily a great OPERATING level. The layout room is also my work space, benches almost all the way around the 10'x19' room, under the layout, which is also a major reason the layout is so high.
I need to get or make some sorta highchair, since when I'm in a relaxed operating mood, I don't feel like standing to do so. Yeah. I think I'm going to work on that. Dan
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08SSKRT9M/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1
Dave, I can recommend this seat cushion. I have one at my layout work desk and is comfy and has a 4" rise.
Regards, Chris
I put my layout on a motorized frame so I can choose sitting, standing or eye-level depending on my mood.
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I prefer to look at model trains when I am standing and the layout is about 40"above the floor. Unfortunately my back will only allow me to do that for a few seconds. Then I resort to a rolling office chair set fairly high. If that gets uncomfortable I will move into my wheelchair. It is very comfortable and it's puts my view just above the tops of the trains. I may get a couple of thick seat cushions to raise me up in the wheelchair.
Cheers!!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Ideal height depends on how you want to operate your layout. For a spectator - watching trains run - eye level can be great.
For switching, eye level doesn't work unless the layout is highly modified to have all spurs in front of the main line, no buildings obstructing track view, lower scenery in front, etc.
If you use pick uncoupling, track height needs to be below shoulder level, and may need to be lower as you go back from the front edge. This is to avoid catching hands, shirt sleeves, arms, etc., on the scenery. Same for visually lining turnouts.
If turnouts are up at eye level, you need indicator lights for turnout position.
This is to say nothing of maintenance - for which somewhere between waist and armpit height is preferred.
If you have true roll-around seating - both floor and layout framing must be suitable - you can have 2 different heights. Without roll-around seating, your seat becomes a fixed point cockpit for operation of the layout.
For the present, I am using the double slot shelving system to have adjustable heights for my modules until (if ever) I can decide what height I really want. So far, around 50" (what Free-mo uses) is winning out. That's about as high as I can comfortably operate a switching layout at.
Fred W
Plan is to have the layout at the little peoples eye level when I am sitting on my stool. When standing I should get a drone,s eye view and can easily do the 2' reach without damaging scenery. Great gtrandson's stool is taller, so he should be able to get a good ground level view.
Good luck,
Richard
Lawn chair, trackside.
Or from up above if I have a lot going on.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
When I was a kid, I had my American Flyer layout on a 4' x 8' piece of plywood on the basement floor. Now that was fun.
Rich
Alton Junction
Photography is different. I also like the Eye Level of the Little People approach. I have a small point-and-shoot camera which is still better than a cell phone camera. It has a tripod mount, and I've got a full sized tripod and a six inch tripod, so getting the angle I want is easy.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Of course it depends on if you have a layout or not. So any vantage point would be nice eh? I'm busy working on scenery base, painting track, masking etc. I haven't really run any trains since I tore my last layout down in 2017. I didn't even begin to errect mine until 2020 because I decided to finish my basement in 2018 and remodeled kitchen in 2019. Had to take care of my elderly mother for a year April 2022 - April 2023.
Pushing forward and hopefully so I an try running trains this summer from any which way I can!
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
Track fiddlerEye level low to grade is preferred. Also it is my opinion, taking pictures from the same prospective has more realistic results.
I'm with TF and the other 'eyeball-level' guys here. I like to have this guy's perspective:
BnLE_ore-hopper-1 by Edmund, on Flickr
(I've since weathered these Bessemer ore jennies)
PRR_EF-15_2_tone by Edmund, on Flickr
I like to be 'in' the scene if possible. While running trains I'll often squat (while I still can) to get a low-angle view and see the signal lights gleaming off the stainless steel and listen to the wheels as they clack across the rail joints.
PRR_diner by Edmund, on Flickr
Cheers, Ed
Good morning
Eye level low to grade is preferred. Also it is my opinion, taking pictures from the same prospective has more realistic results. Perhaps the same prospective as standing in view of a prototypical railroad scene.
Of course viewing part of the layout behind higher elevations, sometimes eye level needs to be higher, the same as looking downhill.
When taking a picture, I'll put my phone camera down on grade, not only to stabilize it for a more clear picture, but the photo seems to turn out more true to life.
When taking a trackside photo peering up at a bridge, I'll actually turn the phone upside down to get the lens closest to grade as possible. Then you can see the detail underneath the bridge as well as the side, for a more interesting photo.
Thanks Peter, interesting thread
TF
Not near the layout at the moment, but the highest point on mine is around 50" (assuming my memory isn't failing me at the moment). Definitely wouldn't want it any higher simply due to the need to be able to reach in to uncouple, throw switches etc. I find that reaching across my yard to do those tasks (around 48" high) is perilous with long sleeves on as they can contact rolling stock. (I'm 5'8")
Mike
I like a tall bar stool with a back. It's comfortable and gives me a good view. My structures all have detailed roofs and look good from above. I can drag the stool around or just walk around to different viewing spots. I have plug in throttles with plugs all around, and a couple of radio throttles which work everywhere.
The center is a good spot to control most turnouts from the main control panel. I like to watch my trains, but it's important to be able to run them, too.
The layout height is ~52 (had to check for more confidence!). I like the height with my 5'9" height. Not sure what's a suitable height honestly.
I can stand or roll around, height about 3' and I am 5' 5"
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
richhotrain I am 6' tall and my layout is 36" high. My favorite vantage point is sitting in a wheeled office chair. Rich
I am 6' tall and my layout is 36" high. My favorite vantage point is sitting in a wheeled office chair.
Sounds very familiar. My layout is about 36" high as well. I have an old office chair I use as well. I even pulled it out to help with a very needed non-railroad outdoor project.
Another vote for eye level.
Ahh, sciatica, the plague of my adulthood!
While nursing a sciatic nerve flare-up in late winter I popped for an adjustable height rolling chair to operate from. My switching layout is 48" high and before raising the chair my eyes were about 3-4" above the track. Though my back is better I still like operating from this perspective occasionally; down close to the action gives me greater appreciation for the details and weathering.
Regards, Peter