scottystitch

And again for context purposes only, the same double oval with a basic terminus arrangement and the same Kato 880 units represented: I've used code 55 medium turnouts and a code 55 double slip, although obviously having the double sip and the crossover at the "station mouth" is superfluous - this just to give an idea of space available (or not available). Best Scott.

To give some perspective, this is a Code 55, basic double oval drawn on the size given. Inside radius is 12" (305mm). I personally don't build/plan any of my layouts with anything tighter. The dark green line on the inner circuit at the bottom is a representation of the size of Kato's 800 series train. Gaugemaster quote the overall length as 880mm. The grid size is 100mm square. Best Scott

Outstanding work. An inspiration. Best Scott.

What he said. Best Scott.

Ah okay. Thanks for that. I’m sure I was in it this time last year, so that’s a shame. an even bigger shame is I was in Scarborough yesterday and had no idea ☹️. ah well. Thanks again for the info. Best Scott.

Does anyone know what has happened to The Bookshop on Front Street, Grosmont? It appears permanently closed in this location. haas it moved or has it ceased to trade entirely? best Scott.

+1. And agreed, re the final sentence. Best Scott.

Agreed. I'd suggest one or else two completely new tooling projects per year would be realistic. Hopefully that is accompanied with re-releases as per the Black 5s, Ballast Hoppers, etc. These last two quarters have been particularly pleasing for the scale because along with the MK1 and Thomson coaches, Farish have released something to haul them (Black 5) at the same time. Best Scott.

Agreed. I don't think Bachman nor Kader are nimble enough to react so quickly to Hornby's TT announcements. This just feels like Bachman catching up with previous announcements after a very lean spell and, with the 90, the first of the new models that are being developed quietly in line with their announcement philosophy coming through. I've been quite critical of Bachman's Farish output in recent times, questioning whether they actually want to be in N gauge. I was wrong, and I don't mind eating humble pie in that case. But I don't think it's anything to do with TT. Best Scott.

Hello Andy, Is that process also appropriate if we ordered the initial 4 pack but no wish to have the new 4 pack all with large crosses? best Scott.

An excellent set of releases. Between last quarter and this quarter I've now managed to complete my planned maroon rakes, the Thomson BSKs being the cherry on the cake. I'm assuming the Thomson BG is the same tooling as the NGS model? Not my era, but good to see the 158s finally reach maturity. Some Black fives to haul some of last quarters' Mk1s. It's encouraging to see train sets return and with the EFE Austerity elsewhere, an accomplished couple of quarters from Farish. Best Scott.

International Services have confirmed that NZ will make up any difference between the UK pension and the Superannuation. I would qualify for NZ Superannuation through my working life in UK. This would appear to cancel out any issue regarding the UK pension being frozen. At present Superannuation is paid from age 65 compared to the UK's current retirement age of 67. There are two payment options for people who qualify for a pension from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Australia, Jersey, Guernsey, or the Republic of Ireland: THE SPECIAL BANKING OPTION Your overseas pension is paid into a special bank account in New Zealand and we put this money towards paying you a New Zealand pension or benefit. New Zealand payments are made every two weeks for pensions, or every week for benefits. With this option, payment isn't affected by exchange rates. This option isn't suitable if the overseas pension is more than the New Zealand pension or benefit (or is likely to become more if the exchange rate changes). This is because with the Special Banking Option we can't pay more than the New Zealand benefit or pension rate. With the Special Banking Option, we deduct tax before we pay you from the time your overseas pension starts going into the special bank account. You'll still need to pay tax for any overseas payments received before this date. THE DIRECT DEBIT OPTION With the Direct Payment Option you ask the overseas social security agency to pay your overseas pension direct to you. If your overseas pension is less than a New Zealand benefit or pension you'd otherwise qualify for, we'll deduct the amount of your overseas pension (excluding any portion from voluntary contributions) and pay you the difference. Your overseas pension will vary because of the exchange rate and you'll need to pay tax on the pension in New Zealand. If you qualify for a New Zealand pension or benefit, and your overseas pension is less, we'll deduct the amount of your overseas pension and pay you the difference. New Zealand payments are made fortnightly for pensions or weekly for benefits. You won't get a payment from us if your overseas pension is more than the New Zealand pension or benefit. We work out the New Zealand value of your overseas pension each month. This means the amount we pay to you is likely to vary due to exchange rate fluctuations. Although we deduct tax from any New Zealand pension or benefit before we pay you, you'll have to pay New Zealand income tax on your overseas pension and fill in a tax return each year. It's a good idea to keep your bank statements so you can work out what your tax bill will be at the end of the year. Best Scott.

Yes most of that I understand from a little bit of research this week. I wrote to that email address on Tuesday to ascertain if my thinking is correct because as I understand it, although I have not lived in NZ nor contributed to the NZ economy since I left the country in 1979, aged 5, and I carry an NZ passport based on that, the "ten year" rule would be covered by my working life here in the UK and so I assume that my situation will be like yours whereby the UK pension is deducted and NZ govt. makes up the difference, should there be any. What I'm not clear on is whether the situation allows for the fact that the UK pension would be frozen and the difference between super and Uk pension increases year on year (since the super would be subject to inflationary rises whilst teh UK pension would not.) Best Scott.

Thank you, that's very helpful. The government pension would not be the sole means of income, both myself and my significant other have what appear to be decent private pensions and anything the state pension provided would be a bonus. That said, I will start making enquiries with regard, in particular to the NZ position. Best Scott.

Thank you for this interesting and thought provoking post. I will have to speak to both the UK and NZ governments to ascertain the situation, most importantly if me being a New Zealand and UK citizen changes things. Best Scott.

After browsing through quickly with an afternoon cuppa, I have to say it looks like an excellent issue. The Getting Practical section is very good, particularly Jesse's weathering notes. Well done to all involved. Best Scott.

It should be beginning of August Best Scott.

100% agree. Also, 100% agree. I too play golf, deciding to take it up seriously about 3 years ago after dabbling in and out for a couple of decades, and at my current level (21HCP) I end up walking 6+ miles per round, over undulating terrain, burning circa 1000 calories. Excellent for the legs, for the heart rate and the core. And that fresh air just can't be beaten! Do that twice a week and the benefits stack up. My SO and I realised that we weren't in the best shape and whilst discussing the prospect of early retirement we decided we wanted to give ourselves the best chance of a decent quality of life in later life (as well as in the immediate term) and that meant improving our physical fitness. So she invested in a Peleton. We both do at least 30 minute classes on it every morning, and again it does wonders for heart rate, general fitness and weight loss. It really has been a good investment. As AndreuC suggests, lifestyle choices/changes can make a big difference as well; always walking to the local shop instead of taking the car, taking stairs instead of lifts, etc. As Billy Bragg suggests "..try to keep trim by living my life." Mental faculties, of course, of another matter, and I'm not sure if there are any guarantees in that regard. I've seen studies proclaiming exercising the brain with puzzles, reading, etc., as beneficial but equally I've seen studies saying it makes little difference, and there are different factors at play. That said, what have we got to lose by exercising our brain regardless? Best Scott.

Thanks for raising that, I wasn’t aware. I shall need to research that too. it is EnZed we are heading to; I wonder if the fact that I am a dual citizen will make a difference, although I haven’t contributed to the New Zealand economy in a working sense. much more research required. Best Scott.

I didn’t know that. Does that remain true if it is paid into a U.K. bank account? Best Scott.

I am hoping that we can live off of mine initially and the my SO's can be used later. We only have the two personal pensions (the General Accident one is effectively worthless - it might buy us a meal out now and then!) and then our state pensions, and so there is no other income. That said, I could possibly see us working (very) part-time initially. This thread is a very interesting discussion. Best Scott.

Hello, Yes that is true. I'm afraid I made a bit of a fool of myself. I don't think I could do the job I do if I was stupid, but I felt very stupid speaking to a finance person about pensions as I had thought buying an annuity was the only option, albeit wit the option of 25% being drawn tax free. I didn't know a thing about draw down pensions, for instance, and it forced me to go and look at things properly. Our plan is to move to another country (one of the ex-colonies) and downsize at the same time (although a 10m by 5m railway building is non-negotiable) and remain mortgage free, hopefully with some cash left over from the house sale. From what I can see, the draw down type arrangement means you can take a bit more out regularly in those first retirement years, when you are fit and able to "see the world" and then when things slow down you a) need less, and b) will be receiving the state pension to help things along. I realise there is a bit more care and consideration required, but that is my basic understanding of it. Best Scott.

In a similar vein to the thread on RMWeb regarding prostate checks for the over 50s, I must commend the OP for starting this discussion. It has been timely. I'd also like to thank the contributor who...contributed the link to the Which? calculator. Having put my details into said calculator, I'm now in the quandary of not believing it. It does seem too good to be true ( in respect of a draw down pension) so I will need to get that verified by someone in the know. I place myself firmly into the group of those who, if we had our time again, would ensure that from day one of my working life, I would contribute as much as I could reasonably afford into my pension. With my first job (starting in 1992), with General Accident (insurance), whilst I did at least have the sense to join the company scheme, I neglected to save any more than the bare minimum, retirement being "too far off to think about" then. Ten years later, a period out of work studying for a degree did nothing to improve the situation and it wasn't until 2006 when I joined my current employer that I started to take pensions seriously. Initially Bristow Helicopters matched employee contributions up to 7%, so almost from day one I sacrificed 13% (mainly because I like round, even numbers with things like this). Subsequently, a few years ago, the company increased their contribution to match 9.7%*, and so with my love of round numbers, I increased my share to...17%. Having just received a meagre pay rise, I'll be adding a percentage point to that now. According to the projections, it seems that the saving strategy over the last 17 years will pay off, after my neglecting pension saving for so long. But I would certainly do things differently if I could go back in time! I'm very lucky that I get paid pretty well for what I do, and whilst, due to my shovelling of funds into the pension, and us overpaying the mortgage as much as we can (due to my significant other's desire to be mortgage free by 55), we don't have nearly as much disposable income as some of my colleagues, it should mean we can both retire at 60 reasonably comfortably. We can then, using the draw down type pension, hopefully have a good ten to fifteen years before we start to physically slow down and have less use for currency beyond day to day needs. At least that's the plan. As far as having a strategy for retirement, I can honestly say that if I retired tomorrow I still wouldn't have time to do all the things Id like to, so boredom shouldn't come into it! Best Scott.

I’m very much an enthusiast of the IOM railways. Following with great interest. Best Scott.

Excellent post. Best Scott.