That won't be for a couple of years yet. Please contact me again nearer the time.

The client got a kick out of that one too.

The new workshop was built specifically because of this project.

Maybe. The containers that "ship viewers" are made by Boeing and Airbus, and seats are available to rent from time to time.

The client also got a kick out of that one.

Construction videos will start being published soon. I've already completed the lower staging and benchwork for much of the middle level.

You're right. The first plan was drawn with 42" aisles because we thought the basement might shrink slightly. In my experience, very few people want to allocate space for aisles wider than 36". Most other designers I know say that 30" is plenty and often my customers initially want me to squeeze it even further. 36" is an amount that I can usually get my customers to "waste" on the aisles. There wasn't originally going to be a dispatcher at all, but it's something that the signalling system dictated. The client has been following another build series over the past couple of years, and that layout has the dispatcher's office inside the helix.

Australia does produce plenty of suituable timbers.

@@terryflynn8830 The potential issue is that this is being made in the USA and shipped to Australia. The fact the wood was sourced in the USA might be an issue. I know wood used for shipping crates going overseas needs to be certified for export use. Not sure if this is a concern here or not.

The mezzanine staging yard branches off the ramp that connects the levels. There's a cross section that shows how it fits.

Yes. It will be a full 40' container.

I can't wait to see it at the other end, and hope you get to reassemble it there, too. @@mpeterll

@@mpeterll I wonder whether at some point during this massive project you'll be able to make a short (?) video on the issues/challenges you encountered with the logistics of shipping it to Sydney?

I generally do keep to a fully linear plan as much as possible. Sometimes however, there is a need to stray from that ideal. In this design, for example, the upper deck is the main operating layout (where all routes are strictly linear). the lower scenic sections are simply additional scenic runs. Even these are not far from the ideal. Coming out of staging westbound, one first runs through the fall scene before disappearing from view for the non-scenic climb to the main level. This is effectively a one-lap helix wrapped around the outside of the room. The train will reappear at the top right corner of the plan having traveled almost 3/4 of the way around the room, while the operator has to walk a much shorter distance to be ready for the train's reappearance. After negotiating the upper level main line (fully linear), the train returns to the lower level by way of the central helix, reappearing directly below where it disappeared, making the canyon scene around the bottom of the peninsula also linear. It is only at the very end of the run that there is a need to depart from the train's route as it returns to staging. With the low speeds appropriate for such a mountainous route, there would be plenty of time to watch the train enter the tunnel and then get back to the other end of the room in time to stop it correctly in its staging track. All in all, I don't see the problem.

Only for people who's shins stick out further than their bellies. No human I know has this feature, but maybe the owner will host intergalactic operating sessions some day.