Height of Layout Table ?

The legs on mine are 45". This allows for a barstool to skide under when not in use. It also makes working underneath much easier.

Somewhere in the low 40" is nice unless you'll be having little visitors.

 

What shape are you going to build?

46" for us. The loser the trains are to eye level the better plus I need to be able to roll around under the layout.

My layout runs from about 30" above the floor up to about 60" above the floor.  All tracks are connected and there are several large hills with grades of 1 1/2% to 2%.  So there is no "convenient" bench height.  When I work under the 30" section, which happens to be a mining branch line, I lie on my back on the carpet.  But when I work under the middle sections, (40" to 48") I use a creeper with an adjustable back to let me get to a comfortable height for working.  (So when is working under a model railroad ever comfortable?)

 

Paul Fischer

Height of the table top on my layout is 35". This was dictated by the height of a window in the train room, but it works well for me. 

 One of the things to consider is if you have children or grandchildren who are going to play on it. Mine is 36" from the floor to the top and I also built a step around it. A lower top also helps you get to the back of the table if need be. Set up a table and experiment with it. You can always cut them lower a little harder to make them taller. Good luck and God Bless.  

 There are a lot of factors to consider.

My layout is 40 inches above the floor and it works fine.

The area beneath the layout is used for storage and this has caused all sorts of problems with wiring being pulled out when taking items in or out of storage. The higher it is the more you can store under it.

 Another factor to consider is how often will your rolling stock fall off and land on the floor, it happens on the best layouts. The lower the better.

  Figure out how you will operate your trains? will you be standing up sitting down on a normal chair or sitting on a tall stool?

  Also decide how you will maintain your layout ten years from now when arthritis gets in your joints.

  You also need to consider construction details like how many legs you can cut from an 8 foot long 2x4 or whatever you use.

Douglas

54" for the lowest mainline and 72" for the highest mainline with 60" being nominal. 

Not to sound like a smart ###, but I recommend you do a search on this subject, there are many threads with lots of great information that you'll find helpful as many other model railroaders have had the same question.

 

 

I am working on a shelf layout with layouts on two shelves - O gauge at 38" and S gauge at 54". The S gauge layout will not be ideal for anyone to come and look at it, but I am 6'4" and can see it just fine and that's what will count. Besides they can use a step stool or something...

Mine is 40" to the top of the legs, then 1/2" plywood on top of that, so 40-1/2" floor to table top. I can't get under things very well anymore, so I use a mechanic's stool to scoot around under the layout. That works pretty well for me, but I am only 5'-9" tall. I still have to duck to clear the cross supports which are about 36-1/2"-37" from the floor.

 

Benchwork is Mianne and 40" is their standard height and what I went with. They added extra holes in the legs for more cross braces so I could add shelves for storage, which I have done. Those storage shelves are really nice to have. I added some LED strip lights under the layout with an on/off switch in the fascia where I keep the stool. That really lights things up so the old eyes can see under there.

 

I have a 10 year old grandson. He was 9 when I got the current layout set up. He can reach the top of the layout, but is a little short for full access. I got him a couple of stools at Harbor Freight and he has no problem using them, one is small and light weight and he just moves it around wherever he wants better access. He has a bigger one that he leaves where he runs the trains the most. Haven't heard one complaint from him so far. 

 

 

Table surface 40"-42" high is what I prefer.

.....

Dennis

My layouts were 36 inches and 42 inches off the floor. Of the two, I preferred the 42" one. 

48"

My table top is also 48" as my around the room layout needs a duck-under to get into it. I also enjoy the ability to look at it eye-level versus looking down from above all the time. I also needed the storage areas underneath as there are no basements in Florida...

I'm a member of several different module groups, all use different module heights. The HO group uses 42" (adjustable from 41"-43") from floor to top of rail, the On30 group uses a height of 36" to 38". The higher tables are typical for many modules, and this height gets the trains a bit closer to eye-level, but only two legs can be cut from an eight foot board, so there is no economy of materials advantage to making the legs less than 48" in length.

 

The lower On30 module height was decided upon by the group as a concession to the guests at a show who may be in wheelchairs or mobility scooters, as well as the younger set who see it as close to their eye-level. If I had it to do over again, I would make those legs 31"or 32". At this height, material for three legs can be cut from a standard 8' board (rather than just two), resulting in less material waste during construction, and the subsequent loss of a couple of inches of table height isn't that noticeable. 

 

Since you you are only going be setting up in your basement, your table height should be what you are most comfortable with.

 

Bill in FtL

48" for me.  I would consider going higher, but not  lower.  Who wants to look at the top of trains the whole time?

Personally I like 48" table legs as a standard height. Rivers and mountains change that. I built my entire basement layout built that height, really liked it. But something was wrong with the overall visual view, just didn't look right. So I cut 6" inches off all the legs and now its just right. I was too close to the ceiling, basement ceiling not high enough. 

   Just another thing to consider.

 

Clem k

40" basement floor to top of plywood deck, L girder construction, origional construction crawl under, modified with three lift up hinged gates. Cork roadbed and track screwed to top surface of gate, 16 gauge 18 inch long stranded wire leads soldered to web of track(s)mounted on lift up gate, 2 neutral 1 hot, routed through drillled hole below the hinge leg attached to the stationary framework, common wires connected to 12 gauge solid(buss/common)wire and stranded hot wires with wire nuts. Opposite(free edge) of hinged side rests on a 1"by 2"wood strip, 1" dimension vertical. The tracks on both sides of the stationary framework and the track(s) on the lift gate must be level and inline, clamp the 1" by 2" wood strip once the gate is leveled, use two wood screws to attach this strip to the stationary framework.

What ever height you feel comfortable with.

Mine is 36"

OK.... my layout table height is 27".  I know, that sounds way too low to most, but it works well for me.  I do have one duck-under, just after the mainline lift bridge.  I have several levels in my layout and starting this low allows to accommodate the various levels and style be able to access/work/scenic them all.  Also, this height allows me to reach across to the interior of my layout very easily.  As for under table clearance, I use a mechanics creeper and a moving dolly to get around and wiring or other "under" work is easy to reach as I lay comfortable on my back.  In short, consider them all and decide what works best for you. BTW, I am 6' 4", 63 yrs young, have a bad knee and enjoy every minute of my layout.  Also, my work bench is within the layout and that is a good elevation for all the close work I do on trains.

My layout is in the basement laundry/storage room so I went 48 inches to the top so I could have storage under the train layout table. We have front loader washer/dryer so I am expanding with a train table over them. The 48 inch height makes it easy to work under the table but not a good height for small children to see. When friends with kids come over we have the kids sit on some bar like stools and that seems to work. If I had young children I would have went lower with the table height to make it easier for them to see. I guess their is no correct height, just what works best for you. 

Wow! Great tip banjoflyer.

 

I agree there really is no correct answer. It is what works best for you and what you like best. Here is my opinion.

 

I once built a layout for kids at 24". I was constantly bending over and I was killing my back. I said never again. I tried layouts at both 36" and 48". At 36" working under the layout was a real chore. I didn't like it and at 48" I couldn't reach very far on to the layout. So like Jim Sutter and Clem K I found that I preferred 42". It seemed to me to be the perfect height.

 

Most of the model railroading world including HO and N feels that the higher you go the better. The theory is that you want to view the trains at eye level to give the appearance that you are standing track side. Yes, I agree that is a good way to look at the trains but as I mentioned earlier reaching stuff on a layout that has any depth was not fun for me. And after I thought about this for a while I thought to myself if I want to be at track level then why no just lower myself instead of raising up the entire layout? Not only will the layout be easier to build but cheaper too. Another thought that went through my head was what about layouts that are 55" or more? Yeah higher is better but won't I have to stand up for the entire time I am running trains? I can never sit down because then I won't be able to see anything. So, and this is just my opinion, but I figure I can always pull up a seat anytime I want to be track side and when I need to work on the layout or reach something I can do it without any aggravation. The only way I would go higher than 42-44" is if I were working in the smaller scales and the depth of the layout was small say around 18-22". Our O scale layouts tend to have a larger depth.

Popular topic -

 

https://ogrforum.com/t...opriate-table-height

 

https://ogrforum.com/topic/layout-height

 

https://ogrforum.com/t...ons-on-layout-height

 

https://ogrforum.com/t...eight-is-your-layout

 

https://ogrforum.com/topic/benchwork-height

 

Alex

My thinking is that the higher, the better.

 

I've been thinking about what I will do for my next layout...which won't be for at least another 10 years. But one of things I want to do involved the layout height...

 

1) built the layout in a room with high ceilings, 12 feet or higher.

2) have the layout be tall enough to where I can actually walk underneath it. 6' 5"

3) Have stairs and an elavated platform around the layout so that visitors actually walk up to the layout to view it. So from their point of view the layout will be maybe 5 feet off the floor.

4) In this way, the layout will be a good height for visitors and yet I will be able to walk underneath it and even have my staging yards and WORKSHOP underneath the layout. 

 

I can't wait to do that.

 

-Eric Siegel

This post has just made me rethink the layout I am planning!