Pending the sale of our old house, I am getting close to starting benchwork construction. First, new electrical in basement needs finished, then new lighting. I’ve made some more changes to my track plan and now have two different plans to go with depending on the benchwork height considerations.
I have been experimenting with heights for several days now with a temporary set up in the basement. I may have settled on something that might work. The bottom level would have the main classification yard and staging, with the middle and upper levels having the rest of the mainline run. In the attached pictures, the heights are set at 28”, 45” and 62”, with about 14” between levels using 1x4 framework.
If I use 1x3 lumber, I can buy a couple inches and drop the top deck down 1-2 inches as well as adding to the space between levels. I stand 5’-11” and 62” at the top (30” deep) is quite comfortable if most of the track work is kept within 24” from the face. I may still make more adjustments, but I think I’m really close to settling on the standard benchwork heights (variations of elevation around the layout, of course).
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| My reach at the 62 inch height |
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| Reaching into the lower level |
