A few years ago, I started working on a project to restore and re-imagine my childhood model railway layout. But to be honest, it didn’t get very far. When the COVID-19 lockdown hit, I ended up burning out, trying to tackle everything all at once. In my last post about it in 2022, I said I’d try to finish it if I found the motivation, but at that point I was in the middle of packing up the models and the layout board I’d built. I kind of thought that was it; that I’d given up. But, as it turns out, I’m still that little kid at heart when it comes to model trains—and here I am, looking at the project again.

Now that everything’s cleared away and the layout board I built is tucked into storage, I’ve had some time to rethink my ideas. Looking back, I think I know what really led me to give up last time, and it comes down to a few key things:

1. Lack of realism: I ended up with a mishmash of model trains from different eras and places that wouldn’t ever realistically be seen together. Many of these models are ones I’ve had since childhood, and I think nostalgia played a big role in wanting to run them all—even if they didn’t really belong together.
2. Taking on too much: I had far too many vehicles in my collection and wanted to run them all at once. This wasn’t helped by the fact that I’d chosen OO scale (1:76.2), which, in hindsight, didn’t leave much room to showcase everything without it all looking crowded and chaotic.
3. The layout got stale: Because of space limits, the whole layout ended up being basically just a double oval—nothing really exciting or dynamic.
4. It was just too big: The layout board itself was massive—almost 2 meters squared. It took up a huge chunk of space, which could’ve been used for other things.

It’s been nice to take a step back and reflect on all of this. Feels like I’m in a better place to figure out where to go next.

When I was a kid, I’d go to model railway shows with my dad, who probably got tired of taking me after a while! I was always fascinated by the smaller-scale layouts. N scale setups were my absolute favourite—they’re about half the size of the OO trains I have and can fit a lot more detail in a much smaller space (UK N scale is 1:148, which is just over half the size of OO). Now, as an adult (well, mostly) and looking back on those shows, I’ve realised that the best way forward might be to give up on running my OO scale locomotives and switch to N scale. If everything goes well, I’ll end up with a layout that takes up way less room in my house. If not, at least I’ll have an excuse to break out the power tools and cut up the board I built! I’m also planning to sell some of my OO scale trains to help fund the change, so I’ll be diving back into the wonderful world of eBay again soon!

The plan going forward

So, what’s the plan this time around to avoid the burnout I’ve hit before?

Well, I’m starting fresh—with a brand-new scale, no leftover mistakes from past layouts, and a better plan from the get-go. I’ve decided to switch to N scale, and I’ve also settled on a location and era: the modern-day GWR Didcot Parkway Station (UK era 11). It’s a practical choice—not only does it ground the layout in realism, but it’s also right down the road from me. If I need inspiration (or an excuse for a little field trip), I can just pop over and take a look in person.

Now, I get that the modern railway scene doesn’t have the same nostalgic glamour as the steam era, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less fun to model. In some ways, it’s actually more manageable—diesel and electric locomotives are simpler, with fewer moving parts compared to their steam-era counterparts—a.k.a. less parts to stop working. Simpler doesn’t mean worse though, as many models of modern locomotives have much more details on them than some of my OO scale steam ones. Plus, most new models come ready for Digital Command Control (DCC), which means I could eventually have independent control over multiple trains, lights, and sound effects. I’m not planning to dive into DCC right away, but knowing it’s an option for the future is a nice bonus.

And this brings me to another passion of mine: software engineering. I’ve got a few Raspberry Pi machines lying around, and I’ve already tinkered with getting them to interact with the world. Why not bring that into the layout? I’m thinking small automation tricks—street lights that turn on at real-life sunset, or real-time station announcements triggered when a train pulls into the platform. It’s a rabbit hole of possibilities, and honestly, that’s part of what makes this new attempt so exciting.

Starting off

Kato Precision Railroad Models, a Japanese manufacturer, has released a GWR Class 800 Intercity Express Train in GWR livery—and I know these pass through Didcot Parkway station as I regularly travel on them. The plain GWR livery one is no longer sold, but a depiction of the named Class 800 “Michael Bond and Paddington Bear” is available with an oval of N gauge track. The Class 800 is partially manufactured in Japan, so I figured that a Japanese model company would have the best representation of this train.

I also know that a Class 66 diesel locomotive “66017” in DB Cargo livery works around the Didcot Parkway station, and there’s evidence that it has been stationed there back in 2018. Revolution Trains are currently taking pre-orders for N scale Class 66 models in several liveries, where you can choose the running number. Needless to say, having a bespoke model of the train that has actually been in the station I’m modelling was too good of an opportunity to pass up.

Limiting myself to these two should help me stay focused and avoid getting overwhelmed. They’re a solid representation of both passenger and freight traffic through my chosen location, which makes them a great starting point. Now, the challenge is working out the best layout I can create within the board space I have, using a small selection of track pieces.

Beyond the trains themselves, I’m also starting to explore how I can integrate some Raspberry Pi magic into the layout using the hardware I already have tucked away in my desk drawers. There are so many small but exciting possibilities, and I’ve been taking inspiration from videos online. As I refine my plans, I’ll be sure to share updates here!

There’s a lot to think about, but I feel like the pieces are finally coming together. I’ll try to post regular updates on this blog and hopefully, in the coming months, I’ll have something interesting to show. Stay tuned!

Credit to ChatGPT for helping refine my writing and make it less technical.

It’s been almost six months since I last wrote about the Framework laptop — and at least eight since I first got the machine. I mentioned in the last post that I’d write a follow-up about my experience after having had a bit longer to play with it, and reflect on whether my thoughts were the same.

To start, I have made some small tweaks to the laptop since the last post:

• First and foremost, the machine is now purely running Linux. Recent firmware updates no longer need a Windows installer so I have removed the Windows partition on it as I didn’t use it. I have Manjaro Linux taking up the full SSD now.

• I swapped out the provided WiFi card — going from the AMD RZ616 WiFi to an Intel AX210. The original WiFi card was fine when it connected, however I found that there was a gap of a few minutes between the computer turning on (or waking up from a low-power state) where WiFi just would not be detected or work reliably. This frustrated me enough to switch.

• I found a cheap pre-owned version of the RAM module I have in a second-hand shop, so have doubled the memory capacity. Not something I’ll ever really use outside of software development work, but for the price of a bag of sweets the offer was too good to turn down.

• I’ve also recently switched the desktop environment from KDE to GNOME. This is mainly a personal preference that wouldn’t be a thing that happens to every user — more on this below.

Has my verdict on the machine changed?

My verdict on the machine is the same, I still think it’s a great idea and implementation. I’m still happy I gave it a try and will keep using and repairing my machine going forward.

My thoughts on getting the Framework AMD over the Framework Intel variant have changed, as I believe the AMD platform is now stable enough to use as a daily machine. The latest firmware updates have fixed a lot of the minor gripes I had — for example, the computer fan performance seems to have been tweaked so it stays cooler without spinning up to maximum speed and the general stability of the overall system is much better.

Now that the 16 inch variant of the laptop is out in the wild, I can see a use case for a larger screen with even more modular components; however, that use case isn’t for me as I have a powerful desktop computer I use at home. The 13 inch still wins out for my use case due to its portability and size. The good thing is that the 16 inch machine is based on the same AMD platform as the 13 inch AMD laptop, so any software fixes for that will most likely be rolled out to both of the sizes. If you’re looking to get a Framework laptop, it’s now simply up to personal preference which one you get!

In summary: the Framework laptop is definitely still a recommendation from me if you’re looking to get a new laptop — bonus points if you get the DIY edition and put it together yourself! Being able to repair and reuse components is so much better than disposing of a device just because a single part fails.

Why did I switch from the KDE to GNOME desktop environment?

For those unfamiliar with the terminology, a desktop environment can be thought of (in simple terms) as the user interface and applications that come with it. If you’ve used any modern PC, you’ll probably have used the Windows or macOS versions of these. Most Linux distributions are modular and you can switch out any component with another — including the desktop environment. There are several available to use: two are KDE and GNOME.

I’ve been using KDE since I first started out with Linux, only playing with the alternate desktops in virtual machines or through temporary environments like live boot devices. It’s always been the environment that I come back to as I know it the best and can customise it easily.

However, earlier this year version 6 of KDE was released. While it introduced a whole lot of new features, it also caused a lot of problems on my desktop computer which made it unusable. I thought about rolling back to version 5, but instead I took the opportunity to try out the GNOME environment instead. With a few tweaks, GNOME seems to work better for me right now — and more importantly, doesn’t cause issues with my desktop computer, so I’ve switched. GNOME also allows me to use more of the Framework’s features with minimal setup — the Fingerprint reader, for example, seems to “just work” in the GNOME environment.

The great thing about the modularity of Linux is that I can simply uninstall KDE and install GNOME just like I would any other application, without having to wipe or even restart the computer. I can always go back to KDE in the future, or maybe even try another desktop environment in the future if I feel so inclined.

The technology industry has a problem. In its relentless quest to get the next fastest thing and chasing the newest shiny, it leaves behind a whole host of fully functional devices that might not be able to run the latest software. Many of these devices ultimately end up as e-waste in landfill before their useful life is up.

Framework is a technology start-up whose aim is to try and reduce the environmental cost around technology by creating machines that are easily repairable and upgradeable. They empower users with right to repair, meaning that if something stops working you can relatively easily repair rather than repurchase. Additionally, their devices are made from post-consumer recycled metals and plastics, reducing the amount of resources needed to be extracted from the planet.

What is it

Framework’s flagship product, the Framework Laptop 13, is an extremely modular “portable notebook” that wants to give the users full control over their hardware and software. This is done by using off-the-shelf parts where possible and publishing spec sheets and designs of custom parts. Every component of the laptop can be removed and replaced, making it much more like a traditional desktop PC than a slim laptop.

Framework also recently introduced a 16 inch model, which features a modular keyboard and graphics processor, but I won’t be talking about this because it’s too large for my use case.

The laptop can be opened with a standard torx screwdriver, and one is provided in the box. Opening the machine takes less than a minute. Inside the chassis, every element is identified and documentation can be found on it by scanning a QR code. A set of spare screws is also provided on the top edge for easy access.

The laptop has four USB-C ports recessed into the chassis, and these let you add “expansion cards” that change what ports you have or add additional functionality to the machine – for example, an HDMI expansion card will let you add an HDMI port. Expansion cards are made to be easily replaceable without taking the laptop apart, so instead of taking docks or dongles with you on travels, you can switch out the ports on your machine.

There are two variants of the Framework Laptop 13 – a fully-assembled version, and a “DIY edition” where only the motherboard, screen and chassis are included by default.

A note before I go on

As I’ve said, a new piece of technology is not sustainable, but this review is about a new laptop. Surely this is a bit hypocritical?

Indeed. I try to keep my computers going for as long as physically possible and only replace them if they cannot be repaired, as well as only buying second-hand if I can. One of the more powerful machines in my fleet is a 2013 Mac Pro, which is pushing ten years as of writing this. It’s still my primary graphics editing machine – and plays a few less-demanding games to boot!

My old laptop was seven years old and was starting to struggle somewhat doing some of the tasks I need to do nowadays. As such, I have sold it on to a second-hand tech store which refurbishes and resells technology, so it will be useful for someone else – hopefully for many years to come.

However, I do understand that a new machine does contribute to the environmental impacts I have just mentioned. However, I intend to stick to my word here and make this my last laptop, opting to repair and reuse components wherever I can. As long as I can do this, I intend to make this machine last. And there seem to be interesting projects to do with components to keep them going longer.

The technical review

First and foremost, let’s start this review off with the facts.

Specifications

The unit I ordered was the Framework 13 AMD 7040 series “DIY” edition. This is because I had some components already that I planned to reuse, as opposed to ordering again.

These are the specs of the machine I ordered:

Note that the camera and microphones have individual privacy switches built into the screen, which physically disconnect them when the switch is off – they completely disappear as they get unplugged internally.

It is possible to purchase differently specced versions of the laptop, including ones containing Intel processors. Each of the variants uses the same shell and share core components, meaning it is possible to buy one and completely customise it at a later date.

I also made the following customisations, which are needed to complete the DIY package:

Screen Bezel: Black (choices are black, grey, orange, green, lavender and red)

Input Cover: British English keyboard, black keys with backlight and standard trackpad

Expansion cards:

• 4 USB-C
• 1 USB-A
• 1 HDMI
• 1 Display Port

Since this is a DIY edition I originally planned to use it solely with Linux, however the non-DIY edition is shipped with Windows 11 installed. I initially had to install Windows due to a bug in the laptop BIOS that caused a problem with starting Linux, but now that is fixed I use Manjaro almost exclusively on it. More on this below.

I have my own SSD which I used, and I originally thought I could reuse an old laptop’s RAM. I ended up selling that RAM with the old laptop. I also have a USB-C charger that is more than capable of charging the laptop so I didn’t buy one of those either.

Sustainability

Framework is not the first company that has attempted to do this, nor is this the time a repairable laptop has been done. With a product like this, you need to be able to trust that the company supporting it will do so for a while, and that if they go bust then it'll still be possible to repair the machine. I didn’t rush out to get the first edition of the laptop; instead I decided to watch what the company did for a few years to see if they still existed after their first product. And I definitely think that their products are a step in the right direction for the industry.

The laptop itself is made from recycled materials to reduce its environmental impact:

• 50% post-consumer recycled aluminium housing.
• 75%% pre-consumer recycled aluminium.
• An average of 30% post-consumer recyclable plastic.
• Fully recyclable materials for packaging.

In terms of carbon footprint:

• All shipments are fully carbon offset.
• Carbon capture and sequestration options when ordering – see a carbon-neutral laptop option.

However, to quote Framework directly:

The single best way to reduce the environmental impact of electronics is to make them last longer. You can repair and upgrade the Framework Laptop 13 to last as long as you need it to.

Framework provides hardware documentation and CAD designs for their machines so that third-parties can build components or things are compatible with the laptop. These designs can also be used as a reference for repairing components too.

Design

Design is subjective, but I think the Framework Laptop 13 is a good looking machine – and proves that user-repairable device doesn’t need to be a huge, bulky eyesore. At not much more than 1.5cm thick, and not much wider than a sheet of A4 paper, the machine doesn’t have a big footprint on your desk or in your bag. The 1.3 kg weight isn’t too heavy to move around can easily be put in a backpack or messenger bag without feeling like a burden.

I’ll admit that I made mine look a bit like an Apple MacBook, but with the customisable components like the bezel and keyboard you can make it more your own.

As an aside, the 16 inch version gives you even more customisation options – including being able to convert your keyboard on the go and adding visual flair such as an LED matrix, RGB keys and more.

My personal experience

Many reviews go into the details of the hardware and software, and how things hold up in benchmarks versus competitors. This review, however, won’t. If you’re looking for that kind of stuff, you’ll have to look elsewhere; I’m going to try and focus on this from how the laptop has been for me so far.

Overall, I think this is a solid machine, and I am genuinely glad I have purchased it. I’m a tinkerer at heart and the idea of being able to build a laptop just like I have built my primary desktop machines is too good of an opportunity to pass up.

The benefits of having a laptop that is also repairable and upgradeable right from the get go is also a huge plus for me, and is one of the main reasons I chose this machine over any of the competitors. Some components in a computer have finite lifespans – for example the solid state storage – and will eventually need to be replaced. Being able to do this by popping out the component using a screwdriver is much preferable to it being soldered directly to the motherboard. Due to the off-the-shelf nature of most of the components, it's easy to find replacements for ones that fail, without needing Framework-approved components, or for the company to even exist in the future.

It's possible to take the core components of the laptop, such as the motherboard, and use them as their own stand-alone machines if you do choose to replace or upgrade parts in the future. Framework have released the schematics and 3D printable designs for motherboard cases, alongside teaming up with Cooler Master to make a custom case.

The machine itself is responsive and works well in both Linux and Windows – for the most part. Default settings are geared toward Windows 11 productivity machines (i.e. secure boot and TPM enabled) but these settings can be changed quite easily in the BIOS firmware.

Being able to switch the side ports with different ones is great. When at home I can simply use all USB-C for charging, file transfers and display connections, but then switch out some to HDMI and USB-A when visiting family. I can even bring all the expansion cards with me instead of a set of dongles or adapters. An expansion card is smaller and easier to carry than the equivalent Apple adapters – in a way I prefer these to the dongles I need for my work laptop!

There are also hardware privacy switches on the top of the screen that physically disconnect the camera and microphone. If you need privacy, you can count on those as opposed to needing a piece of tape over the camera.

So far, so good.

Good, but…

There is always a but. And in my case, there are a few.

The AMD variant of the laptop uses the 7040 series Ryzen processors – which, at the time of writing, is a very new platform. So new in fact that the initial version of the BIOS firmware on the board had a bug in it that meant Linux could potentially not boot. It also had issues with Windows installs where the machine could just blue screen and restart randomly. This was fixed with an update a week after I received the laptop, but didn’t leave the best first impression. Even with the current BIOS, the laptop occasionally still doesn’t boot up properly unless you plug it in and hold the power button. I can only hope things get better over time.

Additionally, with the laptop having an integrated graphics processor, it shares some of the laptop’s main memory with the main processor. The “out-of-the-box” setting for this led to a lot of instability with the system, including Windows crashing when working with graphics or the screen occasionally going white under Linux. It’s only after stumbling around in the Framework support forum where I was told to change a setting in the BIOS software to make the laptop “game optimized” – not something I’d have thought to do on a machine I didn’t primarily intend to use for gaming!

Finally, I want to cover two minor things that can get on my nerves when using the laptop for a long time.

The first is the touchpad click. The whole touchpad moves down for a click, however the first half is spongy and doesn’t actually do anything. It then connects with the clicking mechanism with a clicking feel and sound. In order to make the click, you then have to push down further, which makes a second clicking sound. This makes it easy to think the first half of the movement is the click, which is incorrect and can be quite frustrating if you don’t realise. The double click sound is also quite offputting when you’re only doing a single click! I generally tend to use tap-to-click – where a tap on the touchpad clicks an item – so I don’t mind, but occasionally I have to press on the touchpad and get the awkward behaviour. Framework have announced a potential fix by adjusting the trackpad screws though this didn’t work for mine at all.

The second is the system fan. It seems to have two states: either “off” or “max speed”; there is no in between state. The fan is also extremely loud when it is spun up – much louder than laptops I’ve owned in the past. This is probably due to there only being a single fan for the whole unit, so there’s more air needed to be moved to cool it down. For my use cases the laptop stays pretty cool so doesn’t need the fan, but it does sound like a small vacuum cleaner when I start up the Unity editor or play PlateUp!.

My verdict

If you’re looking for a laptop that is better for the planet compared to the competition and will be repairable by either yourself or a repair shop moving forward, the Framework laptop is definitely one of the better choices out there.

The AMD platform is a lot less mature right now so getting an Intel-based version may be better if you need the stability – you can always swap out the motherboard and use the old one for something else later down the line if you so desire. Based on past experience I have found that AMD BIOS firmwares generally start off unstable and get updates over time that make them much more stable. I can easily see the issues I mentioned above being completely fixed in six months time.

Unfortunately, due to this it mean I can’t recommend the AMD Ryzen based version just yet. I think this machine will certainly be something great; it just has a little way to go. For me, the pros far outweigh the cons for this laptop, although this may not be the case for everyone. None of the negatives make me dislike the machine as they can pretty easily be worked around. However, if you need a stable laptop right now and are looking at the Framework laptops, the Intel variant may be the better choice.

I’ll post a follow-up retrospective after using the machine for six months (or so!) to see if my thoughts are the same.

I started a project at the beginning of the COVID-19 lockdown, which was to restore and reimagine a 25-year-old model railway. While I ran out of steam over the course of the next few years, I did make a small amount of progress which I documented in another place on this site. I’ve decided to move that here now that I’m doing some much needed clean-up around here – it helps reduce the amount of duplication there is anyway!

That said, both the build and this website have been neglected for so long that most of it isn’t as relevant as it used to be. However, it probably makes more sense to have the updates all in one central location and it means the other posts aren’t as hidden as they were.

Perhaps moving forward I’ll be able to regain the motivation to finish the project.

This is a pretty design-orientated post, so if you’re not into that, it won’t make sense.

Before we start, there are some specific definitions to the words I’m using here. Most people use these words interchangeably, but I’m going to try and use the correct terms in this post.

Typography – how text is arranged in a design.

Typeface – a design feature set for letters, including things like the shapes and whether it has serifs. If you’re using a word processor, this is the name that you see when you choose what your text looks like on the paper.

Font – a variation in the weight and size of a typeface. Using the same word processor example, this is whether your text is size 12, italic or bold.

After spending some of my professional life working as a visual designer, I find that typography has become important to me on my personal projects as well as my professional ones. It’s both a blessing and a curse to open up a page and find oneself wondering if the kerning is too much as opposed to reading the content on the page. And let’s not get started on the overuse of a certain comic-based typeface in printed media when there are far more accessible alternatives.

Anyway. I have a very particular way I like typefaces to look. For screen use, a sans-serif typeface with simpler shapes will be easiest to read on a variety resolutions and device types. Each of these typefaces needs a good subset of fonts – my works make use of both bold and thin weights as well as sections in italic. A typeface which doesn’t have these font styles isn’t going to cut it for me.

When I choose a new typeface for a personal project, I look for several key things:

• Is it readable on a variety of screens and systems? For example, Windows will render typefaces in a different way than macOS.
• Is it accessible for all users? Users with dyslexia may find it harder to read certain typefaces.
• Does the font have different weights and styles?

And finally:

• What does the lower-case letter g look like?

This final point is almost always the decider for me. Call me pedantic or snobby, but when I write the lower-case letter g, I don’t like adding a neck or a loop to the character. It feels excessive and increases cognitive load when reading.

Over the few iterations of design my site has had, the typeface and fonts have always been one of the first things I look at, trying out a handful to see how they work on a proposed layout. Google Fonts is usually a good place to start when working with prototypes, especially if the prototype is HTML. It lets you swap entire typefaces with a single line of code.

A few years back, I found that I couldn’t find any typefaces that fit any of the criteria above that worked well with the site design. The only way to fix this issue was to spend some money on a typeface which had a permissive web license. I settled on atipo’s Geomanist family.

As the name implies, Geomanist is a geometric sans-serif typeface. In simpler terms, it’s a typeface based upon simple geometric shapes like squares and circles that doesn’t have extensions on the end of strokes.

Geomanist quickly became part of the brand for my web materials, encompassing my portfolio, side projects and other unrelated things that lived on my domain. Its simple shapes and relative ease of reading on screens meant it it worked out as a drop-in replacement for areas of my site that used different typefaces.

Since then, the web has changed and web typography has matured significantly. All major browser vendors support it and digital foundries offer up vast catalogues of typefaces. One thing that I’ve started to notice in the last few years is that Geomanist has a condensed appearance when compared to other fonts – that is to say, it feels like the letters are a bit too narrow when set in paragraphs of text. It’s not a huge problem, but it has started to irk me somewhat now we’re entering an era with high resolution screens on even the smallest devices we own.

But changing one’s brand is hard, especially when it’s something as central as a typeface. Many companies have recently tried updating their core brand typefaces, with mixed results. The only reason to change Geomanist would be if the replacement offered better readability.

I’ve spent the last few years looking at alternatives to Geomanist and until recently had never found anything better.

If you’re looking at those two examples and thinking “but there’s no real difference” then it means this was a success. The fonts are so similar that the brand is kept, but the text on a page is slightly easier to read. The lower one in the image is Nunito Sans – a typeface I’d tried in the past but for some reason didn’t use. It has similar letter structure and shape while being less narrow. I find it is easier to read in larger paragraphs such as on this journal. I feel the sizing of the characters in Nunito Sans is a lot more consistent and the permissive licensing lets me use it throughout the site.

All these words to say “I’m changing Geomanist to something that looks similar but is more readable.” The change is rolling out to all pages of my site now so you might already be reading this in the newer typeface!