Castle Aching

[Northroader]

Looking round the other day, I counted over a hundred and fifty individual modelling jobs I've got that are unfinished. So what did I do? Start another one!

[Edwardian]

Looking round the other day, I counted over a hundred and fifty individual modelling jobs I've got that are unfinished.

 

That way, madness lies.

 

So, sorry to flog the same bit of model you've all seen before, but I have come to a decision on baseboard height.

 

I had decided to mount the baseboard with a datum level of 50", with the village rising from this as it recedes into the distance.

 

I set this up in the house to get used to the 'proper' viewing height, i.e. chest of drawers, plus suitcase, plus hat box (for my top hat, obviously).

 

The Memsahib said this was too high, and, so, obviously, it was.

 

Marriage is, of course, the art of compromise, and, so, we compromised at a drop of 4" , i.e. chest of drawers, plus suitcase, plus Ikea drawers.

 

It turns out that you can see rather more of the rear of the scene than I had expected would be the case, but, to me at least, the slight perspective effect is not lost.  I am now getting used to this viewing height.

[nick_bastable]

 

Marriage is, of course, the art of compromise, and, so, we compromised at a drop of 4" , i.e. chest of drawers, plus suitcase, plus Ikea drawers.

 

you mean you do as your told then 

[Northroader]

That way, madness lies.

 

They said Beethoven was mad when he dug the Mersey Tunnel.

[mullie]

They said Beethoven was mad when he dug the Mersey Tunnel.

 

That was one busy dog!

[runs as required]

That was one busy dog!

But nevertheless Deaf to criticism

dh

[Donw]

I think it was Geoff Williams (Alyesbury in EM) who decided 4ft 8.5ins was an appropriate height for a layout.

 

It may seem ideal to have it at eye level, but it can make it difficult to see what you are doing especially uncoupling on the rear tracks.

 

Don

[BG John]

I think it was Geoff Williams (Alyesbury in EM) who decided 4ft 8.5ins was an appropriate height for a layout.

 

It may seem ideal to have it at eye level, but it can make it difficult to see what you are doing especially uncoupling on the rear tracks.

 

Don

In which case, one of my layouts should be at a height that even I have to stand on a ladder to see, although in my current railway room it would actually have to be on the floor of the loft, as the ceiling is slightly less that 7ft 0¼in high .

[Donw]

In which case, one of my layouts should be at a height that even I have to stand on a ladder to see, although in my current railway room it would actually have to be on the floor of the loft, as the ceiling is slightly less that 7ft 0¼in high .

 

I did think of that after posting. I hadn't got round to considering what to do with a Ffestiniog layout. although 1ft 11.5 ins would be a reasonable height to run my Taliesin round the garden. 

Don

[BG John]

I did think of that after posting. I hadn't got round to considering what to do with a Ffestiniog layout. although 1ft 11.5 ins would be a reasonable height to run my Taliesin round the garden. 

Don

What about mixed gauge? My Cheapside Yard is 4ft 8½in and 2ft 4.25in. Do I take the average, mean or median, or make the height adjustable so I can change it depending on which gauge is running?

[BG John]

Operate it standing up for narrow gauge, and sit on the floor for standard gauge...

I'd have to get rid of half the magazines I've decided to keep, to lower it to 2ft something, as it lives on top of the cupboard I keep them it!

[Donw]

I was discussing layout height with Chris Payne (builder of some wonderful narrow gauge layouts) after he had receiveda complaint about his layout height. We decided the only answer to being able to offer all visitor to exhibitions the same chance of view was to have the whole layout including the operator on an adjustable support so rather think the dentist's chair it could be raised or lowered to the optimum height. Going up or down to suit the height of the viewer. Totally impractical of course 

 

Don

 

Incidentally Edwardian has the right idea trying out a mock up to determine what height suits him before cutting out any baseboard legs.

Edited September 14, 2016 by Donw

[Stubby47]

I was helping on Treneglos at Barnstaple when a guy rolls up in his electric wheel chair. I apologised for his inability to see the layout, where upon he said no problem and proceeded to raise the seat on the chair to a suitable viewing height !

[Edwardian]

Kevin has been spotted out and about:

[Nearholmer]

Well, that's a whole lot better than the worst representation of my alter-ego that the SR came up with, which was this, faintly scary, tailor's dummy version.

Edited September 14, 2016 by Nearholmer

[nick_bastable]

Well, that's a whole lot better than the worst representation of my alter-ego that the SR came up with, which was this, faintly scary, tailor's dummy version.

that's Tony Hancock

[Nearholmer]

Or some poor innocent, snatched from the embalming slab.

 

K

[Caley Jim]

that's Tony Hancock

You mean Tony H-H-H-Hancock.  An that left arm looks as if it's had a whole pint of blood taken out of it, leaving it empty!

 

Jim

[runs as required]

I was discussing layout height with Chris Payne (builder of some wonderful narrow gauge layouts) after he had receiveda complaint about his layout height. We decided the only answer to being able to offer all visitor to exhibitions the same chance of view was to have the whole layout including the operator on an adjustable support so rather think the dentist's chair it could be raised or lowered to the optimum height. Going up or down to suit the height of the viewer. Totally impractical of course 

 

Don

 

Incidentally Edwardian has the right idea trying out a mock up to determine what height suits him before cutting out any baseboard legs.

At home this got resolved by a number of different height chairs and stools migrating up to my study beside the roundy-round that is set at metre height.

One of the most useful proved to be an Ikea stepped stool - much loved by our smaller grandchildren over the years for placing stray animals on the line in the path of approaching trains.

My favourite is my wheeled old 1960s Eames style office chair to whizz across from the computer - as a 'Welcome Break' to enjoy occasional eye level views of my weathered old LNW G2 wheeze past at walking pace with a long line of empties.

 

dh

[Nearholmer]

RaR

 

I'm with you on this.

 

My layout is set a bit lower than ideal, at about 800mm, but has to be, so that I can reach to uncouple things in the far corner, but I have a "barstool" which give a pretty good general height, two heights of Ikea step-stools for for children, and, when I want a near eye-level view to watch a train trundling round, I co-opt a folding chair from the garden.

 

Kevin

[corneliuslundie]

My feeling (which I will be able test one of these days when I actually have a layout to operate) is about 4 ft.3 in.  to track level. That gives roughly eye level viewing from a stool but I can work on it standing (I am tall). I want to see the trains the way I would havbe seen the real think, which mkeans my eye level should be about 2 cm above platform level. I'll report back in a few years when I have been able to test the theory.

Jonathan

[Northroader]

It's a funny thing that when we look at railways, more often than not we're at trackside level, and most pictures are taken that way, but in placing a model railway we put ourselves higher for a view, so it's rather like we are on a low hill looking down at it. Looking at railway pictures in a book I always rate pictures that are taken looking down in this way more highly than trackside, probably because I get a better idea of the surroundings and background as well. I've seen designers put in a strong bid for eye level layouts, which aren't popular, probably because of the huge volume of space left underneath. There's a good case for low levels when its something particularly with children in mind. In my own case I settled on ergonomic principles rather than viewing points, but in the event it worked out to my satisfaction for viewing. I set the height so that the track is at my elbow height when I'm standing up, making it the most comfortable position for working on. This makes rail level 41", 1,040mm, above the floor, and I like this as a viewing position. It's also quite satisfactory for the two granddaughters, 4 and 7, when they come:(no. 2 is kneeling on a chair)

Edited September 15, 2016 by Northroader

[TheQ]

Having just waded  through the whole of rapidly advancing thread ( my show new posts doesn't seem to have picked it up), I think the building modelling is wonderful.

as to the thread I loved all the wandering off topic, some of it seems to follow my life, having lived in the Outer Hebrides, Northumberland and Alongside the MSWJR. Now I'm resident within sight of a village mentioned in the text in North East Norfolk!

 

 WAY back in page fourteen the text mentioned two ugly thugs outside a night club in Norwich which was the Samson and Hercules https://shinealightproject.wordpress.com/2014/07/25/samson-and-hercules-icons-of-norwich/ ,they are now fibreglass replicas and unfortunately painted bright red!!!, as Samson is now 359 years old, sadly Hercules was replaced in the early1900s due to His poor state, the originals I believe are now in the Norwich castle museum, the night club from my past (well I propped up the bar) is now an apartment building.

 

Somewhat more recently in the thread was mention of churches with detached towers and  other strange layouts,  often this is because of Henry the VIII, where there was a friary or the like there would often be two ajoining churches sharing walls, one would be for the monks, one for the rest of the population. When Henry started selling things off, the locals would be given the choice of which one to keep as their parish church, the rest would be sold off as building materials

 leading to some strange layouts here's Wymondham Abbey.

 

Edited September 16, 2016 by TheQ

[Edwardian]

Welcome, TheQ, and thank you for those kind words. 

 

It is always good to have someone join us from the county with which I am taking so many liberties, if not a little worrying ...  Had our situation been a little different a few years ago, we might have moved to Norfolk.  As it is, I have come to love the county and its railway history as a visitor; it is one of the strangely relatively neglected but wonderful  parts of England.  But, then, Betjeman esteemed it,  which is all the commendation anywhere needs.

 

What a wonderful edifice. Wymondham Abbey!

 

Oh, I do love the diversions and digressions we have.  There is always something interesting that you did not know that someone will write about here.

 

Which is fortunate as I'm sort of stuck in a too much work/over faced by multiple Inkscape false starts rut, but I must find a way of moving the project forward.  All aspects of it seem just beyond my grasp at present.  

 

I have found a box of Triang clerestory bodies, a hangover from my adolescent attempts to produce more prototypical rolling stock for that inevitable Great Western childhood layout.  I did not get beyond attaching Slater's C10 (All Third) sides to a Triang body.  Armed only with an Exacto knife and a tube of poly cement in those days, I am surprised that it went off OK.  In contrast, my ham-fisted attempts to attach the clerestory sides to the Triang roof have had to be dismantled with care!

 

Thank goodness that I purchased Slater's sides for the Third and Composite all those years ago, because you try prising any Slater's stuff out of the cold, dead, grasp of Coopercraft these days!  Wish I'd purchased some replacement bogies at the time, too!

 

Not West Norfolk or Great Eastern, but perhaps something to keep my hand in until I can produce coach sides for myself?

[Edwardian]

Well, that's a whole lot better than the worst representation of my alter-ego that the SR came up with, which was this, faintly scary, tailor's dummy version.

 

There is something sinister about 'him'!

 

"This way to Brighton.... , no, a single fare is all you will need.  Mwahahahahahahah!"