it will be ok. she'll see how crazy happy the kids are when they get to watch and run the trains. the 2 year old is already begging to watch trains on my computer when i get home from work, so she knows she'll have to deal with it. i did promise to make the layout look nice.
i mocked up the main level above the staging yard - the rail is 57.5" from the floor. it really looks nice and makes the small trains really seem larger. the upshot is i can now fit a larger fridge under the layout.
too lazy to process the pictures tonight.