Distance from deck to valence?

[Missaberoad]

What is the consensus on the distance between the top of the layout and the bottom  edge of the valance?

I'm thinking around 12-13 inches (at a 54" edit: 57" deck height) but am interested in hearing everyone's opinion on the topic.

[Rossford Yard]

Currently, mine is 36", but it has mostly been less. My current layout is a "roll around" layout at about 38" high, looking forward to later retirement years when it seems like a good idea.

I put the valence bottom at 6'2" because I am 6'1", and have hit my head on several leaning in over the years.  Lighting would be a bit better if it were lower, but in the interest of not swearing in front of the grandkids, 74" is it.....I suppose some kind of rubber bumper might allow it to be a bit lower.......At 54", that would be about 20".

As to the viewing angles, as John Armstrong noted, the deeper the scene, the greater the separation.  I have seen 12" deep areas that have less than 2 feet separation.  I think 2 feet deep probably needs a minimum of 2 feet vertical clearance.  I think your higher layout height would also allow less distance.  Still, I think 16-18" or 1" more than your highest proposed structure (i.e., grain elevators) would be the minimum I would be looking for.

[Chris333]

My basement has a low ceiling so...  no valence for you.

[thomasjmdavis]

My recommendation is that you do a mock up when you get the benchwork figured out.  Tape some fabric to the ceiling that drops to the proposed valance height, and see if that works.  If you brush your head against it, or it blocks the view, you can make adjustments before you commit to wood and nails.

With a layout height of 54", a valance 13" above would only total 67" (5 ft 7 in) which strikes me as pretty low for taller visitors, or even for reaching in and over things for many folks.  But then, I am also one of those who never finishes a layout, because I am constantly puttering around with it....so I may need more space than most.

[Missaberoad]

Thanks for the comments so far. I will definitly be doing some mockups to test drive everything before I commit.

I had a brain fart with the layout height, its going to be 57" not 54, so my theoretical valance will be at 70".

[davefoxx]

My basement has a low ceiling so...  no valence for you.

I’m too lazy so… no valence for me.

[MVW]

Deck 52", valance 72"

Jim

[BCR 570]

Hi Ryan:

This needs to be determined in accordance with layout height, number of decks, etc.  My layout is double deck with a lighting valance above the upper deck.  Prior to construction I spent some time with mock-ups; back in 2005 I still had some VHS tapes which at 1" each were useful for making height adjustments:




I used paper to resemble the proposed fascias.Once I was happy with the heights, I sketched the final layout design, including these cross-sections:




I hope this helps to answer your question.  Mock-ups are beneficial; so is visiting other layouts if you can, and of course posting your question here where there is lots of advice at hand!


Tim

[Chris333]

One thing I noticed it that if you put the lights the same distance from the backdrop as the fascia you will not get light to anything at the front of the layout. I had to move my lights back further.

[MVW]

One thing I noticed it that if you put the lights the same distance from the backdrop as the fascia you will not get light to anything at the front of the layout. I had to move my lights back further.

Bingo! My lights are about 6" outside the table edge, and while visibility at the front is OK, everything is still lit like high noon. IDK, maybe there's no avoiding that. And at least I don't have distracting shadows from conflicting sources.

Jim

[robert3985]

My layout is a portable, sectional layout, which gets taken down, transported, taken to shows several times a year...at least that is the way it WAS pre-COVID-19.  The idea was to make a sectional/modular portable layout that incorporated most the features of a permanent home layout, that was to be operated by adults and is not designed to be viewed by children, unless held by an adult.

Since the double-layer 1/8" tempered Masonite fascia is part of the stiffening structure of the L-girder benchwork, I put it on before the 2" Styrofoam scenery base is pieced in around my splined Masonite subroadbed, making sure that the fascia is high enough to accommodate pre-planned scenery profiles at the layout's edge.

To ease transportation and not damaging the painted exterior surface of the fascia base, it sits 1" higher than the bottom surfaces of the two L-girders composing the main structural components of my sections/modules.  This keeps the bottom of the fascia off the floor and also allows me to easily lift the the section/module by giving me plenty of finger room (1") between the bottom of my strong fascia and the floor.

The standard height of the layout between the top of the railheads to the floor is 52"

The standard distance between the top of the railheads and the bottom of the fascia is 8"...leaving a distance of 44" from the bottom of the fascia to the floor.

If my standard railhead to floor height was set at 57" like yours is, I think that 12" or 13" from railhead to fascia would be appropriate.  However, if you haven't already done this...I would highly recommend you set up a test section at least 6' long with some flex track mounted on it to test things like your viewing angle, reaching the skyboard, putting cars and engines on the track, coupling and uncoupling and re-railing, all at 1" height increments.  My son and I did this, starting at 48" and going as high as 55".   I am 6' tall...with boots on about 6'1"...and my son is 5' 10" in his shoes...52" was very clearly the ideal height for us...and 5" more height would have been way too high for us...especially with attempting to get as much scenery depth surrounding the mainlines as practically possible.

I use 32inch "swing-arm" drafting lamps (two per 6' section) with 5,000K (daylight), 16W (100W incandescent equivalent) LED bulbs.  The swing-arm lamps, which are mounted in Forstner-bit drilled holes in the tops of the skyboard vertical supports, allow me to reposition the lamps for troubleshooting, construction and photography and then easily put them back into their normal positions for operation.

Although I don't have a lighting valence, the standard skyboard height is 6', and most lamps when I am operating are set approximately at that height too.  You'll note that my skyboard is straight, so the swing-arm lamps can be positioned at different distances from the skyboard to accommodate track distance from the skyboard, much like what your lighting arrangement will be like if your valence follows your front fascia edge.  That means your skyboard will be greater than 72" tall, which is good...especially for photography....the taller the better.

Photo (1) - Layout Fascia on my Echo LDE at the Evanston Roundhouse Festival a few years ago: 


Cheerio!
Bob Gilmore

[Missaberoad]

Thanks everyone, lots of good food for thought here.

57" is definitely tall, its much taller then any layout I've had in the past. The majority of my experience has been in a N trak environment so this will be a change. The height allows the layout to share the space with my studio / library. I also like the idea of bringing the trains closer to my level.

Since there is only so much I can ignore good advice before giving into peer pressure i decided I should probably set up a mockup. Lacking VHS tapes I used what I had on hand that was a consistent thickness, in my case Morning Sun Books!  I pinned a bath towel to represent the valence, threw down some code 40 flex, dug out some equipment and took some pictures.

At 70" off the ground (13" separation) the brackets for the upper shelf (and the top of the backdrop) are still quite visible...





Lowering the valence by 1 inch makes a huge difference...





Thats 12" of separation, which I think I'm happy with. I have some work to do on the other walls before I have to tear this down so I'll leave it for a bit and see how it all grows on me. 

[garethashenden]

I think it can depend on how you want to focus people's attention. If you're modeling a wide open area, the prairies for instance, a big distance between the facia and valance can help achieve this feeling of openness. Similarly, a narrow opening restricts the field of view and can be better for smaller, more confined scenes. The valance and facia are the frame of the layout and it can be useful to think of it from an art or theatre perspective.
As with so many things in layout building, mock it up and see how it feels. Half an hour with a cardboard box and a knife should give you a good sense of what works and what doesn't.