As we steam into the new year it’s nice to look back and appreciate everything we’ve achieved in the year that’s just ending.

There was a lot of progress on my O9 layout Thomas and Sons in 2019. The back scenes and picture frame front were completed, I painted some menacing grey skies, battled with clay to make the setts in the yard, made the factory buildings and detailed them with gutters, downpipes and doors, made lots of stock including covered wagons, bulkhead wagons, coal wagons, a little Ruston loco, and made loads of loads for the wagons too. I’m pleased with the progress although the layout isn’t quite finished yet. I need to weather the buildings and add some clutter to the yard. Definitely something to finish next year.

OO9 took a bit of a back seat this year, but ‘First’ was featured in British Railway Modelling Magazine and I did make a new 009 loco. I suspect I will be doing a little more 009 next year as the Beds and Bucks Narrow Gauge Modellers are planning a group modular layout. That should be fun 🙂

I was fortunate to visit 12 exhibitions this year and they were all enjoyable making it difficult to pick a particular favourite, you can see the full list here.

There were visits to several real railways, highlights have to be the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway gala, the Littlehampton Miniature Railway, a week on the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway and driving St Christopher, a 15 inch gauge locomotive, on the Waveney Valley Railway at Bressingham.

I’ve tried my hand some other things too: resin casting, collecting postcards and memorabilia and I started making on O9 industrial loco (which I still need to finish). The ‘dabbling’ will continue in 2019, I just like trying new things….

In the virtual world I’ve written 104 blogs, an average of two a week. The blogging happens in time snatched in the early mornings or evenings and it’s a pleasant surprise that I’ve written so much. Thank you for reading it!

Whatever you have planned for 2020, I wish you a very Happy New Year.

.

The photo at the start of this blog is by hpgruesen and shows the Furka Cogwheel Steam Railway in Switzerland. Used under a Pixabay license.