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Meanwhile yours truly has been quoted on the matter in everyone’s favourite publication “Reinsurance News” 🤓 https://www.reinsurancene.ws/high-number-of-cargo-claims-anticipated-from-stuck-vessels-following-baltimore-bridge-collapse/ Got a couple of follow up interviews tomorrow, watch this space for more vague comments about the cost of it!

Why can’t it…? I often use Dapol mk3s to check point work as it’s easy to remove the bogies.

Haha, they’re very tempting! I eschewed the 3 as the 2 is great, but I feel I may ‘need’ a 4! Look forward to hearing about it either way 👍

Does look very interesting. I need to work out if the marked reduction in Z height is a problem for anything I print. as ever with us it’s a gamble on pre-ordering and getting stung with taxes versus just waiting until Amazon have stock. The prices are compelling though.

It's a nice depot diorama, but they've messed up the red stripe on the back 47 - it doesn't extend around the cab side like the other two, and they've obviously not yet done the weathered Railfreight logos. The dry brushing is good, but I'd urge the modeller to look at photos of the real thing - the brush marks on the roof that one in the foreground look really unnatural, and they've missed altogether the bit above the windscreens. Don't get me started on the opening door gimmick too. At least they've not gone with the cliche of having a driving leaning out.

Personally always preferred the red, but I like the heritage concept and they’ve done a great job on 611.

That’s really helpful. That does suggest it would be useful to add one to the arsenal! If the print volume was slightly bigger than my existing FDM printer it would be a no-brainer!

Thanks, that’s helpful. I guess I’m more interested in the Bambu alongside other FDM printers. I’m totally happy with the workflow for resin, although I can see how much more faff it is, and I definitely see me always using resin printers more. The speed is sort of attractive, but ultimately I start a print and leave it, so it doesn’t really matter. essentially I only ever use my resin printers for railway stuff at the moment because the finish on FDM is so massively inferior, and it’s whether the Bambu printers have closed that gap, for things like buildings where you’ve got lots of straight edges and hard corners where resin will not be optimal.

As a precis to stop the “well for detail buy a resin printer” comments - I have multiple resin printers and I have an FDM printer, so obviously I need more! I’ve been impressed with what I’ve seen from the Bambu Lab X1/P1P (I believe they’re the same hardware, but no enclosure on the P1P and it foregoes some of the bells and whistles), anyone using one? I confess I’ve never messed about too much with my FDM printer, it works fine for what I want it to do (which is basically never railway stuff), but the Bambu Lab printers really look like they’re blurring the lines (often literally) between FDM and resin. Obviously at a fundamental level the technology is still the same, but with the speed and the finish they seem to achieve it’s a tempting proposition!

Even if you did slavishly recreate it I’d argue that just laying a 36-road yard is easier than building a complex shed building in an already complex yard!

It’s by design, and it’s wrong. All 4 lights should be illuminated. I have seen it fixed, but not sure how.

I think Nick is probably right to pose his ideas, becuase if I was spending £20,000 and many years of my life on a layout I would want everyone's considerations, even if I eventually ignore them! I think what Drew has come up with is a little bit the 'safe' option for people who find themself with a large space in which to build a layout. Ultimately it's a scaled up version of what you'd build on a 6x4 board; roundy roundy outside, with some sidings in the middle, there's just more of them. Nick's idea really is ripping that up, and probably making better use of hte space, insofar as you couldn't build huge elements of that in a small space. It's a more adventurous approach too, which could be seen as better or worse. I think scale plays a factor here - N gauge is brilliant for watching scale length trains meander through scenery, and less good for lots of nadgery (definitely a word) shunting. If that's what the OP wants then great, sitting back with a tea/beer while your trains circulate around you, or shuffling stuff around in the yard while that goes on is probably quite therapeutic, if not the ultimate operating challenge. I've no dog in this fight - like others I was attracted by the idea of a large N gauge layout, and a lot of the considerations are ones I have had for when I get around to undertaking a garage conversion to give me space for something similar! From a completely blank canvas I prefer Nick's idea, but I fully understand the rationale Chris has employed of evolution versus revolution, and I think where he's got the plan is excellent. TL:DR: they're both good!

Any good? https://www.trains4u.com/p/301250/Revolution-Trains-OO-IWA-Cargo2-Cargowaggon-IWA-Holdall-Wagons

I'm a big fan, it's my 'day-to-day' resin. Well priced, although the grey is often out of stock (I usually use black in these instances). I typically pay £16-18/litre. The 3 litre bottles are particularly good value. I don't have a MonoX2, so no help there though I'm afraid.

Yes

You cure for an hour?! IME if you intentionally break something it’ll often fail along a layer plane. I printed turnout bases at an angle. They came out well. No chairs failed. I’m happy with this. I note your opinion based on theory though. 👍

That’s the headhunt. The siding is behind the camera. It’s 330m long (2.2m in N). Look on Google Maps, turn on satellite view, there’s a 5-car unit there, as said.

So you mean you heat to 60 degrees for an hour prior to curing…? I’ll confess i skimmed that video, but it hasn’t changed my mind - printing something like track bases flat to the bed will make failure of the chairs in sheer far more likely than if you print at an angle.

That was my other concern, by printing flat you’re compromising the shear strength of the chairs, as the layers run ‘through’ them. Personally I’ve shelved rhe printed track at the mo, as lots of stock bumps on the chairs and the running is poor! Adjustment takes longer than building with copper clad! One to return to in future…

FDM is totally different in this respect. You don’t get elephants foot with FDM. I printed track bases at an angle, use lots of light supports with a 0.15mm contact patch and depth, minimises the marks.

The flipside there is how many thousands of vessels successfully navigate under bridges without hitting them? What's the limit? No barges under Tower Bridge without tug escort? The video of the collapse and the daylight footage is harrowing, we can only hope the casualty list remains short.

Rugby: https://maps.app.goo.gl/AoX5LcvbVFih2MTo7 The new building is off to the left, but the old station building is the red brick one atop the platforms that can just be seen. Sure there are plenty of other examples.

Of course. But you’re paying for their time. It’s probably more like 25% of the cost! You’ve got the Medium in your list though? It’s the only Unifrog one they do. I’d ask a few dealers if you’re going to be buying that all in one go, see if they’ll do a price. Wouldn’t just go to KMS. Another +1 for waiting until the shed is built before dropping £1000 on points.

Hopefully most of them understand how tax brackets work. You don’t suddenly ratchet into a new tax bracket, you only ever pay tax on the bit over the threshold. Worst place to be is £100k-£123k, where the marginal rate of taxation is 60% (ie for every pound you earn you lose 60% of it). However that doesn’t mean you don’t still take home more on £101k than on £99k. I’ll have a go driving a Pendolino for £600 a day, tax brackets be damned!

I’ve used servos in the past, but would recommend MTB MP1s now. That’s another major expense though. I’m not sure I understand the list, it seems to be repeating? You say point types might need to change for DCC, but there’s nothing “DCC” about Peco points, they’ll all work fine. I’d urge you to use the large points wherever possible, you’ve got bags of space and you’ll be rewarded with better running.