Favorite benchtop height?

Is there a recommended bench-top height for the base elevation level of a model railroad? Or does anyone out there have a preference for a particular height? I am doing my layout planning now that I know what kind of space I'll have (about 13 feet by 11 feet) to work with. It is going to be HO scale.

I am a little taller than average, I suppose, at 6' 2", and I know you want to be able to see things at eye level at times, so I'm thinking I might build this up a little higher than standard counter-top height. Any suggestions are welcome.

I'm 6' 4" and my benchtop is 44" from the ground. If we did it to our eye level no one else would get to see our work, if I want it to be eye level i grab a chair.

That was kinda what I figured - maybe a tad higher than standard kitchen counter heights. I was planning on building a car storage yard underneath the main layout, so I had thought about going as high as 48". That way I don't have to stoop too low to see what I'm doing when I'm bringing up or putting cars back from down underneath.

Benchwork height also depends on:

1. Your audience. Kids 5-10 can see over the edge of a 40" high layout. We use short legs to set our modules at 30" when we go to Childrens' Hospital in Boston.

2. What kind of layout you're building. Deep scenes, particularly where track is more than 12" from the front, are much easier to build and operate with a base elevation of 40-50". Multi-level layouts pretty much require the lowest deck to be at 30-40". People who hate duck-unders tend to build high so they don't have to bend over. Scene depths of 2' or less work well with track heights up to around eye level.

3. How much time you'll be spending under the layout. DCC and ground throws on most or all of your turnouts minimize this. DC block wiring and under-the-layout turnout mechanisms will have you down there a lot during construction, and from time to time after. With 40" nominal track height, I do most of my under-layout work sitting on the floor. Working on a club layout with a 48" nominal height, we used stools with casters to roll around.

My audience is largely going to be me, and perhaps an adult friend or two. I'm sure my 4-yr old nephew will be absolutely transfixed by the layout, and while I would never discourage him from interacting with it, he lives 6 hours away and isn't here enough to warrant serious consideration in the building. I am looking at building some small viewing platforms so my sister's kids (and eventually my own kids) can "play", but I suspect I'll be building this mostly with adult use in mind.

I do not have DCC right now. Eventually, perhaps (probably?) But for now, I'll be block wiring this. Turnouts will all be remote throws. The layout is going to be two larger sections about 8x6-ish linked by some long shelf sections in a sort of uneven horseshoe shape. I am building this in such a way that I will have access to all sides except two, which will be up against the concrete wall. It looks like I'll need one small and unfortunately necessary duckunder to do what I want to do.

I expect to be under this thing a fair amount, particularly during the build. I like the idea if the stool with the casters; probably save me a lot of wear on my knees and back.