Although it’s impossible to have an ideal height for both decks,
I felt the upper level ended up just a little too high. I set the
lower level between 45” and 48” as it seemed like a nice height
for the lower level yards. At some point I decided the upper
level needed to be 16”-18” above the lower, which put the
track at 61”-64” – which always seemed a little too high for
most folks to see/operate without a step or raised platform.
The narrow aisles (32") meant building a permanent step
would interfere with standing near the lower deck.
Laying the track and painting the backdrop I also got sick of
going up and down the step ladder to work on it - and a few
times caught myself reaching just a little too far. I never fell,
but I "forgot" I was on the step a couple of times. The takeaway
is you can easily get away with less than 16" of separation
between decks – 12”-14” seems like a reasonable separation
provided the decks are kept relatively shallow.
And try to avoid having to use step stools or short ladders, or
even platforms. But, if you must use them try to limit their use
to isolated "pocket aisles" away from the main aisle and make
them true platforms and not steps. A low "toe guard" is also
suggested. – MM
