Hello. First of all Thank you for your help and suggestions for the build.. I had a productive weekend, got the scenic base cut for my mountain range and waterfall. Next up is building the range. It is going to be a sweeping S shaped range with a steep craggy side (waterfall area) and sloping hills down to the spur on the other side. I am posting pics with a 16"backdrop for perspective. What I need help with is: how tall should I make the range? I am thinking that 16" may be to tall but I think that 10" would be to short. Thoughts and suggestions would be greatly appreciated. SceneIt
I agree that 10 inches would seem short. Somehow in N scale it does not quite seem to be a mountain. Height? Looking at your pictures, sixteen inches is plenty tall.
Mountains need to be not only proportional to the trains but also the the overall layout. Making 20" tall mountains would be fine on a large layout but would look out of place on a 3x2 layout. For what I see of your layout something around 16" would prolly look the best. Don't lock yourself into that measurement, start building them and if they look good at 12 or 14" then let it be at that.
I have a 16" mountain on my HCD layout. It's actually 20", with 4" below track level. For a mountain railroad, it works for a smaller layout than an HCD, it might be overkill to go 16-20". It's all personal preference and what looks right in your eyes. It also depends on the style of mountain you seek. The Alps look different than the Appalachians. Here's what it looks like on mine.
