Tomr91

As said countless times in this thread, the project is stunning and the scale of the layout is beyond comprehension. Great idea on the live streaming! Love to see a camera from inside of a detailed cab - it would look like a train simulator! I played about with an idea about 12 months ago of live streaming with the ability of viewers to select what happens next. The idea came about from playing about with some Arduino autom ation (stopping at red lights, waiting in a siding etc), but rather than a pre-planned programme, a user could select the next action; the next train to stop at the station, speed to do a circuit etc - but unfortunately I just didn't/don't have the time to commit to making it work. If you're working on live streaming and automation, something similar shouldn't be too difficult. It would make the whole layout incredibly interactive, especially if it's going to be online only for the foreseeable. Just make sure there are plenty of failsafes in place to stop people speeding and causing collisions!

I'm a printer by day so work with this inside and out. Although I can only expand on what katwigan has said, the main issue you may experience is the ribs showing slightly as the faces can follow them and create a corrugated effect, this becomes less of an issue the thicker you go. And for joining, I'd avoid melting, the only way I'd join is with tape on the reverse, you won't have any issues with that. What is it you're doing with it? You mention flexibility, is it being curved? It will 'snap' if you bend it so far, not in half, but will create a crease down the middle of the ribs. and you say waterproof, are you having it printed directly? If so, Foamex covers both of these point quite well and I'd go for that, the finish will be much better, although, is slightly more expensive. The issue you will encounter with both of these materials however is if you go to screw or nail them to the baseboard, they have no structure to them really, and if you over tighten you will go straight through or crush them. I can do all of the above in quite cheaply, and I'm still going for a print mounted onto 6mm ply... I think it's the best all round solution.

I think that looks superb. Really adds a bit of depth.

That looks great! I'm sure it will do the job without any problems.

Do you already have the prints for the backscene? Reason I ask is I've been experimenting with printing and curving some board I have which has been very successful - obviously only of any use if it's a digital image you have.

It's been said plenty, but I have to say how impressive this is. Can't wait to be able to see it in the flesh, Every element is just superb. I'm not sure I can fully comprehend the scale of it!

That's a beauty. Bargain.

Yes, same kit. I think Kitmaster acquired the moulds from Airfix, and then Dapol purchased the rights to use them and their name - I think, happy to be proven wrong.

Some small updates from the weekend, but a major leap - I have settled on the layout. I've made some small tweaks from the plan, due to there being some anomalies in the angle of the points (I used Empire Express to design it), but I'm happy with the final layout, I even plugged in an old Hornby control and had a bit of a play - I mean did some very important research! So here it is properly mocked up in track (minus one part I'm yet to fit). All the shuts and sidings are the correct size, I can easily fit 5 wagons into the main siding, and 8 between the two at the top of the layout (well bottom left on the photo) and 4 at a push in the loop. The 2 loco sidings are being made big enough for 2 loco's, for those times when the timetables go out of the window and too many consignments turn up together. I am also going to create an abandoned line to the side of the dock, and I've already made a couple of eBay purchases today to make a start with that. This week however will be creating the baseboard and backdrops. After some research, I am going to attempt to make the crane move along the tracks, I'm confident it will work, and I will document it as I go. So time to rip it all up, and get everything prepared properly, ready for it to go back down again.

They wall look really good! The crane went together very easily (I haven't painting, or put the chain on yet however). Will you be mounting the servo inside the hit itself?

Thanks for that Simon, could become a bit pricey as I'd need at least 3 for the layout to be effective. I'll do a bit of research and see what can be done. Thank you very much for that Phil, very helpful indeed, it's incredibly effective. I'm on the hunt for some lolly sticks already. I shall be updating as I go, thank you for your help thus far,

Yes starting to get an idea now, just a case of making sure the sizes are correct! That's very true, it will be operated from the front - and again, automatic uncoupling hasn't crossed my mind, which it probably should as those rear sidings will be a right pain to do manually. Am I right in thinking (and bare with me), that the magnetic couplings are uncoupled with an electro magnet under the track? - It's not something I've looked at in any detail, only in passing.

Yes I'm a big fan of the mk2 plan, just having the quayside run straight onto the 'mainline' makes things flow much better. Good suggestions on the boats, I've still not really decided on what industry is going on here, I do like the dredger idea though, plenty of modelling scope then. It was my intention to run the dockside line off the scene, the board will have a backboard, and what I might attempt is a 1 and a half open viewing side, rather than just the long side, so the backboard on the right edge ends at the inset track section - This will give some nice interesting viewing angles, especially if I can get the crane moving! (stopping it falling off the edge could be entertaining). As for the bottom left, something going off scene interests me, I'm not too fussed about it being part of the layout, If I do something there, it will be something derelict definitely. That's superb Phil! That Steamship crane is amazing. How have you made he wooden dock wall if you don't mind me asking? In other progress, I couldn't resist making the crane when it turned up earlier! Roof is loose still, as I still want to light the interior if it moves or not, so that needs furnishing and painting properly! I also printed out a 1:1 plan of mk2 with an additional siding, which if I go with the crane, can't be there as there isn't enough room, or it has to move over slightly, we shall see when I lay some loose track tomorrow.

The first purchase has arrived! Not 100% it's going to be used, but I am going to construct it and see how it looks. It gives me something to be getting on with - As I can't make the baseboard until I've decided what I'm doing!! I'm definitely leaning towards the second plan, however a parallel line along the quay edge isn't a bad idea, I could run it off the loco siding and make that slightly longer - I've got a couple of rail mounted crane's too. My worry since mocking it up is the board is going to be crammed with track and not enough scenery, I'm going to lay out scenario 2 this evening and see what I can squeeze in. Same as above, I do want some area's focused on scenery/buildings, and I'd rather have more line in the inset track area than going the other way.

Thank you for the info Johnster! Plenty to consider. I might look into sorting out a bigger crane to sit atop the traversing section to suit a dock, as I'm not sure anything bigger in itself would fit - same story with a dry dock, I really am trying to shoehorn a dockside into this space as it's what I want to model, the rest is fitting around it if I'm honest. Some research on the Bristol preserved dock has already proven useful however - I had no idea it existed. I have dropped the engine shed from the plan, again, a case of me trying to shoehorn too much in and missing my actual point, I wanted what is effectively a shunting puzzle. The plan has now been amended to fit the industry buildings towards the front of the board, and much more appropriate sidings. The purpose being the incoming wagons are shunted to the warehouses, and then shunted down under the traversing crane, ready for heading back onto the mainline. On the moving crane however, I have discovered this RMweb thread: Link Possibilities!