How high are your layout backboards?

[DarkRedCape]

Well it’s taken far, far longer than I ever hoped, but I’m at the paint and carpet stage of my loft now, and the next job will be to plan and build a full layout. I’ve got it mostly figured out, but there is one thing that I need to decide as it will determine everything else. The backboards of my layout.

Being in a loft with a pitched roof, the lower down the layout is, the more surface area you get, and I want to maximise the area I have without it being too low to the ground. How low it sits is determined by two factors (in my loft at least), the water tank, which I’ve boxed in with a slide out cover so it can be repaired/inspected, which sits at 700mm maximum height, and the backboards. So I’m curious what most people have as the height for their backboards.

To keep it simple, I can have backboards of a height of between 300mm and 400mm from the surface of the layout. I plan to have two elevations on my layout, and 300mm feels like it would leave the upper level with little in the way of background scenery, and although 400mm looks better, it really does encroach onto the available surface area on the layout.

I know this may seem like a minor issue to some, but one of the reasons my loft has taken so long is that I’m a perfectionist, which has pros and cons, and my thinking is, I’m only going to do this once, so I may as well do this properly. Plus, forward planning greatly helps to reduce mistakes and things you are generally unhappy with because you rushed them.

Thanks all, I hope you all have a lovely Christmas.

[P-Henny]

If you are going to glue commercially printed back-scenes, rather than artistic painted license to create your own, then I would suggest that you research the back-scenes you want to use and use their dimensions as a guide. To the best of my knowledge, printed back-scenes come in 3 basic heights.

• 9" for N gauge
• 12 & 15" for OO

[Gricer]

The recently issued Railway Modeller free back sheets (Jan 24 ed.) are about 27cm plus a 2cm edge. My own backboards are approx. 12 inches as years ago I bought cheap hardboard sheets of 8ft by 4 foot and used the shop's free cutting service to cut each into four strips. I also painted the walls above in a light blue to reflect more light and make the sky appear to go further above the boards.

[Bulleidboy]

As Paul hinted at, the height of your backboards could be governed by the height of the backscenes. Mine are 15" high, as are the ID Backscenes that I used, and as the layout runs around three sides of the room, the backboards are actually screwed to the walls - easily removed should I want to change the backscene. BB

[Rallymatt]

I saw a YouTube video of McKinley Railway where they have elongated backscene a to create the perspective on eves and to match flat upright sections. That might be useful to grab some extra space?

[What About The Bee]

Hello DRC

How do you intend to run the railway? By that, I mean standing up or sitting down.

One channel I follow insisted that the baseboards be at his shoulder height, such that the height of eye was perfect for immersion as he follows the locomotive around the layout. Less backdrop will be required to fill the field of view, as the eye will be closer to it.

Some layouts are run while sitting down. The control panel is there and so is the operator. The backdrop should be larger, in an attempt to fill the field of view.

In the end, there will always be the hard edge between the real and layout world. Inescapable.

I also utilize my loft, albeit not for a layout. The affect of a sloping eve is a hard limit on utility when standing.

Whilst I very much commend you for forward thinking (the 6 P's of Engineering), the 100 mm delta in height of backdrop is a smaller affect when the delta in height of eye is considered.

Respectfully presented for consideration

Bee

[Tony57]

Question you say you are planning to have two levels is that two shelves one above the other or it that a raised area off the main board?

If its two shelves you may want to consider a 12 - 15 inch background behind each shelf, rather than one large sheet and the upper shelf cutting across it. I have a couple of books on shelf railways (American authors) and that's what they do.

If the later you need to think how does the background blend in with the foreground and the insertion of the track so it looks realistic to the eye. Does the background landscape height rise with the change in level or fall.

[DarkRedCape]

Hi Tony

When I say I will have two elevations, my plan is to have a ground level where I will have buildings, roads, stations, and where most of the track will be, and where I will have my main town located.

Then I will have another level raised 100mm/150mm higher that will sit towards the back of the layout that will connect to the ground level via hills, slopes, winding roads, rock faces, etc etc, and will have two tracks.

This second level won’t be a uniform level all the way around, but the track will be kept level via bridges and tunnels, so at points you will be able to see more of the background scenery than at other points.

[morairamike]

My layout has 3 back scenes at present.

One is a shop bought scene, but although my layout is OO it's N gauge to give a better perspective view. The top of the scene is 6" above the layout road. This is it.

The next two posts will show the others.

[morairamike]

Post 2

This back scene was home produced. It was taken at Stansted House West Sussex. I used PANORAMA setting on mobile phone. Then loaded it into POSTERIZA on my laptop. Adjust the size and then printed it out on 6.5 sheets of A4 MATTE photopaper on an EPSON XP-8600 printer, it has 6 ink cartridges.

The top of the scene is 13" above the lower track bed, 11.5" above the upper track bed at right hand end. As the upper track is inclined the scene top is 10" above the track bed at left hand end.

[morairamike]

Post 3

This was taken at Langstone, South of Havant, on way to Hayling Island. Again using PANORAMA and POSTERIZA. It is 7.25" above the track bed and is 67" long.

Trying to find a decent scene in the shops is difficult.

[Mikey1707822023]

I have used 9"12" and 15" backscenes. The board I place them on is a few cms taller where it is screwed to the layout. I have used various glues and only this Monday helped a friend and we tried 3M Spray Mount for the first time. It is fantastic!!! I now won't use anything else. I've ordered another can ready for my new shelf layout that I am about to start.