Position...
A recent conversation with good friend Chris had us thinking about operating position and our relationship with layouts. The result, perhaps unconscious decisions that can have a massive impact on our own layout success...
When I build a model railway I am creating a place I can visit. To be part of the scene, and to tell my own story through a silent narrative as trains shuffle in and around these miniature worlds. I joked with Chris about spinning around in my desk chair in the workshop and just running the DMU in or out of Wrecsam Canolog and how satisfying that continues to be... yet in a recent video I noted how standing up from the bench or desk and immersing myself, again at eye level, on Beaverbrook is equally satisfying.
Sat with Wrecsam it is like I'm sat either on the train, enjoying the journey, or on the platform waiting for it to arrive. Sitting feels part of the experience. Sitting is part of the story.
How could this, my own personal realisation, help you with your own layout plans? Does operating position matter for you? Sitting or standing?
Whilst I'd always argue eye level viewing is important for helping you immerse yourself (or your viewers) in the scene, this secondary element of how not only 'you like' to operate, but how this position can also enrich the experience?
Until next time, more soon...
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Sitting vs Standing, yes, but also where I'm stood in relation to what the train is doing. On my small freestanding railroad I will "railfan" sitting, watching a train roll by from one spot. But when I'm switching, I am standing at a particular spot as the train works that industry, then moving around to the other side of the layout to work the other area. I find this creates a sense of having traveled even on a small layout - physically moving from one location to the other.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who really encourages eye level viewing this was not something I'd considered - however, I can see again another thought here that I'd not considered and you're right, distance travelled by us as we observe can punctuate an operating session - and remind of us the real railway again.
DeleteI agree with the eye level argument for a home layout, but when the layout is also to be exhibited I feel the audience, be they children or viewers in a wheelchair (and therefore unable to view at the eye level of the creator), must be carefully considered. The Disability Discrimination Act was all the way back in 1995, and the spirit of that should be something we all strive to uphold.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I've ever built a layout designed solely for exhibition use... rather being asked to exhibit home based cameos - which I think justifies my position that these should be primarily designed to work for us, as modellers at home. If I were to show them, I'd still do that at eye level; but that's my choice.
DeleteI think if you're designing a purely exhibition layout it's equally difficult because you need to consider who your audience actually are, other modellers or the public, their heights and any accessible needs. As a result I think this muddies the water here with regard to what I was discussing in the blog.
I'd further add that designing for children or disabled viewers potentially means the majority will view the layout at a sub optimal height for their needs.
DeletePerhaps an adjustable table is the answer?!