Layout table height--what's best?

[Mister Mikado]

I'll soon be building a layout table for an HO setup. What is the ideal height for a table from the floor? A local hobby shop has a layout at face level that is very realistic to look at, but how do you reach the back? On the other hand, desk height or dining room table height has one looking straight down at roofs which is not a realistic perspective at all. I thought of maybe a height where sitting down brings the layout to face level, like 40" from the floor. So what is everyone's opinion on the best overall height for a layout?

[ndbprr]

It is an individual preference based on how deep you plan to make it and what angle you want to view from as well as your height.  A 5" tall person would have difficulty with a layout at 48" as would someone 6'5".

[jrbernier]

  How big is a dog?  There are different heights depending on how tall you are and what is the optimum viewing you want.

  I am 5'8" tall(68") and my layout varies from 48" to 54" tall.  The layout mostly runs a long  the wall of the layout room, and varies from 24" to 30" wide for the most part.  There are 'turn-back' loops at the ends where it gets much wider.  24" wide is 'reachable' with 54" high track.

  I am not sure what you are planning(big room layout or stand-alone 4' by 8' layout), but I would make the benchwork at least 42" high.  My original layout was that height, and it was a pretty 'standard' height suggested by Model Railroader magazine back in the late 60's  Having to reach across a 4' wide layout is not comfortable.

Jim

[cowman]

A good viewing angle and an easy working height are often a bit different.  A good viewing angle is often concidered to be about chest height, but you are right, if your layout is very deep it gets hard to reach the back.  I am a short legged 5' 11", with a good reach.   Have some stools that are about 24" high.  They put me at a good viewing height for a 45" to 48" layout height, yet the back is still very accessable when I am standing.   When I build my layut I will fiddle a little to see just what I think will work best.  I am thinking that I will sit to do most of my operating when switching and just running trains.  If I want to follow them around, they will be high enough so I will not be in the Goodyear blimp, but everyting can be reached without damaging the forground scenery.

Another concideration is if you have young children that want to participate.  If so, a little lower or a good platform for them to stand on would be needed.

Good luck,

Richard

[cwhowell2]

I agree with Jim.  I am 5'8" and my layout is 51" with no grades.  Basically that puts it at mid-chest level, even with the third button on a dress shirt.  It makes for a decent perspective with easy reach.  Only my furthest corners require a step stool to reach.  You can see the evolution of my layout at:

http://cwhowell2.com/modelrr/modelrr.htm  Regards - Bill

[Paulus Jas]

Hi Mike,

You noticed the problems; the consequences were taken by many modellers. Building a rather high (armpit) layout asks for a narrow shelf; typically between 15" and 24" in HO.  This fits a around-the-wall type layout perfectly; not a table-top however.

Somehow all newbies are going for a table-top; you might read the following link.

http://www.layoutvision.com/id28.html

Eye vision while sitting is only an option if your running your layout from a chair. Throwing switches, coupling and uncoupling are usually not done sitting.  A lot to consider!

Paul

 

 

[galaxy]

There is no "correct height" for a layout. It all depends on your height, your reaching length, how far you want to bend over, and at what angle you or your viewers will see it from.

I am 5'6" and have mine high enough I can work on it without bending over too much as my back can't take it. It isn't quite "armpit height" but third shirt button down height. I can't bend over too much as i have a very bad back {second surgery in 4 months on the 17th}

If you like to work waist high, make it your waist high, if you like it taller, make it taller.

ANd compare to the height you wish your kitchen sink was at for doing dishes.

[MisterBeasley]

I designed my layout's benchwork to fit the room.  One of the design issues is the 45-degree sloping roofline.  With that, for every inch taller that my layout gets, the room gets 2 inches narrower, since the roofline is also on the opposite wall.

I compromised, but I made the layout too low, and that was a mistake.  I don't mind the view, and the reach problem is generally not an issue, but there's something else to consider:

We spend more time than we think underneath our layouts.

I used to really enjoy wiring.  It was one of my favorite parts of the construction process.  Now, I hate it, because the layout is too low, and it's uncomfortable to work underneath.  It's too low to sit or kneel, and too high to lay on my back.

So, give that some thought.  Like viewing and surface-work heights, this is also a matter which is largely determined by your own height.  Remember, your base structure and benchwork will make the layout even harder to work under, so plan accordingly.

[fwright]

There is no best - there is what suits you and your situation.  My present semi-portable layout had to fit over top a computer work station and desk.  I measure the top of my head, seated, at 55" (sitting tall in the chair).  That became datum for the lowest point of the benchwork.

I initially tried putting the bottom of the benchwork at 60", which put the rail at 64" - 65.5".  That was too high.  I cut 5" off the legs, and the result is quite satisfactory for viewing.  I'm 69" tall.  I will be adding some gliders to the legs so I can experiment with moving the layout around.  This will provide a desirable one inch of clearance while seated at the work station, and move the track up to 60" to 61.5".

Although great for viewing, and double use of the floor space, the height will require use of a stepstool to work on the layout.  That's OK with me - I can use the exercise.  So far, using a stepstool is a lot less bothersome than a duckunder for me.

One unforeseen "gotcha" for a layout at this height is that outward facing 90 degree corners are face smashers instead of puncturing my ribs.  The corners protruding into aisle space will definitely get rounded off, or at least cut down to two 45 degree angles.

Another unforeseen gotcha is that diagonal bracing on legs is no longer just highly desirable - it is critical for layout stability.  Strictly horizontal braces aren't good enough.  And moving the legs in from the layout edge 9"-12" is even more desirable with a high layout.  But this was set up deliberately to be a small test layout so that I could test layout heights, aisle widths, construction techniques, and so on before starting the room-size version.

just my latest experiences

Fred W

[tgindy]

MisterBeasley

We spend more time than we think underneath our layouts.

Also:  Don't overlook doubling-up on "organized real estate" under the layout.

For Example:  Going under CR&T's benchwork -- workdesk/table, cabinet for storage (salvaged from bath-sink remodeling), and 2 bookcases (each 10"x20"x 28" high) -- a bare minimum of 30" height for all items.  Don't forget adding 4 plastic glides on each item's bottom-corners with easy under-benchwork pull-out and access.

Add another 4" for the height of the outside benchwork framing for 1"x4" -- You need at least 40" from the floor to the top of the benchwork.

Now you have a range of 40" from the floor to that "mid-chest height" suggested above.

[IRONROOSTER]

I have had a variety of heights over the years. 

30" is nice if you operate from a comfy chair with a central control panel.  It's also easy to work on - on the top. 

58" is nice for duckunders and provides a really great view.  I needed a step stool to work on it (I'm 5'11") and I couldn't see much past the first track with a train on it.  I would do this again for a railfan type of layout.

My last layout was 50".  This height was a nice balance of easy to work on and view - I can see all the tracks beyond the first, but still have a nice view of the trains.  My next layout will be this height.

I found that both 50" and 58" allowed me to put a work table or a desk under the layout.  I could easily work there as long as the front was even with the edge of the layout.

Enjoy

Paul

 

[NittanyLion]

Mine is 40" from the floor.  This is shorter than most people, but I had several reasons for doing this.

1) At 40" I can touch the backdrop on a 30" depth with ease with my monkey arms.  This means nothing is out of reach or a strain to get to.

2) While I have no children yet, I do have young nephews and plan on children in the distant future.  The shorter height means the little ones can see easier.

3) I operate from a chair, because it shares the room with my desk so there's a chair already there and I'm lazy like that.

4) The legs are a meter long.  All the legs were measured out with the same meter long steel ruler, and they have all come out the same size.

[UncBob]

Sitting with the layout at face level is a great way to watch and operate

Mine is at 54" and with a high stool it is just right--- I am 6 Ft

[Mister Mikado]

Thanks guys for all that info!

UncBob, I'm 6 foot tall as well. How deep is your layout?

 

[pastorbob]

It depends on what your comfort level is.  I am 5ft 10 inches at last measurement.  The layout is mostly a shelf style around the basement with a peninsula that is a stub yard, and a fairly large table area in another room.  Layout is 3 decks, I have to bend to reach the bottom but it is mostly staging yards, the middle level is 20 inches above the bottom deck, and the top deck is another 20 inches above the middle deck.  I do have some built up flooring in one area that has a yard on the top deck.

Otherwise, all is well, except for little kids and dogs.  I have standing steps for kids, the dogs are on their own.

Bob

[tomikawaTT]

I don't have a, "Table."  What I have is a complex assemblage of track supports and structure which will eventually be topped off with visible scenery through which trains will run.  At its most extreme, the highest track will be just below my chin level - but there will be five other levels down to 38 inches from floor to railheads, the level of the tops of the table joists.  There's an additional six inches of layout framing below that.

When finished, most of the visible track will be seen from somewhat above, the same angle of vision afforded by the roads from which I observed the prototype many decades ago.  The rails run in a forested canyon, parallel to a white water river, so seeing them from railhead height would call for considerable mountaineering skills.  Doing so from the right-of-way itself, with no safe clearance and trains passing every few minutes, would not have been a good idea.  The only other option would involve flying down the river in a helicopter - with far more attention required for keeping the rotor blades away from trees and rocks than would have been available for trainwatching.

My main operating location, 800mm wide and practically the only level area in the room, is coming in at a height of roughly 46 inches.  This is a bit higher than I would have liked - I failed to note that the floor slopes down to the garage door.  There is a second 'level' roughly 8 inches lower - the passenger staging yard, totally concealed and operated using occupancy detectors.

The final conclusion?  How high you put your visible tracks may have no relationship whatever to the height of the structure below, but should be driven by the view you want to get from the side and above.  One size definitely does not fit all.

Chuck (Modeling the vertical terrain of Central Japan in September, 1964)

[AntonioFP45]

Layout table height--what's best?

As we've seen opinions are varied. Go with how you would like to view your trains.

For my new shelf layout I wanted to get away from the traditional "helicoptor view"  and get a little closer to "ground level".  The 1st and 2nd shot are from a ladder.

The height from the floor to the top of the 2" foam is 55 1/2", which will gives me a nice view. With a tilt of my head I'll be able to vary my view between a scale "ground level to the top of of a 1 story house" instead of the more traditional  "helicoptor" vantage.