My copy of TUGS is a bit different...but informative.

Might as well share a new BTS pic for the current status of Miniature Railway Adventures's animated test episode. A slight update to one of the set dressings which I think is a big improvement.

Thomas is getting ready for his first exhibition for this year. After doing his test runs with Annie and Clarabel, he retires for the night ready for another day to dawn.

Casey and Whitehouse have been feeling a little down lately. They recently got some news from Michael during his recent visit and since then had been very quiet all day as they went about their work. Would anyone know of anything that could help cheer them up? ~ Jane.

Rev. W. Awdry’s Little Engines Weekend Sir Handel, Rusty & Fred, will be back in Tywyn on the 18th & 19th July 2026. This event will be smaller in scale, but promises to engage fans young and old with activities to enjoy – and of course, plenty of trains to catch! More information coming soon!

Quick tea break during some Miniature Railway Adventures animation work. The Fat Controller is watching over checking that I'm meeting my daily quota.

An all new Ffarquhar branch video is in the process of being filmed while animation work on Miniature Railway Adventures continues. Watch this space.

So this week had a few ups and downs for me, but I'm trying to make the most of it by catching up with some much needed animation work. So far I've made good progress and hope to have another scene for MRA finished hopefully before the month is out. I just needed a good break to focus more on it.

Doing a Miniature Railway Adventures BTS Stream if anyone is interested in joining. Working on Character design and rigging. www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Z3i...

Planning ahead. Not going to be making this one yet, but going to see about getting the body shell and chassis ready in advance for when I am ready to make this model. Might take a look at completing Edward this week and then look more into Henry before resuming work on Gordon.

It is a good song that. Reminds me of some the tunes I used to listen to in my teens.

Never has a can of Pepsi MAX tasted so good right now after sorting out nearly 1500 metres worth of track. Will have to order in more sleepers to replace all the back left ones. The FG ones are all good to go. Back right ones have yet to be sorted out. But I can see to those tomorrow.

Haven't been sleeping too well lately. Every night this week I've been getting strange dreams which have confusing outcomes and ones that play against my subconscious, often resulting in me waking in the early hours in a confused state.

Would be nice to have another attempt at building this layout again someday. I'm sure with some careful planning, it could work.

Today I took Henry, not to Crewe, but to Drumawhey Junction where my friend Keith helped with getting the firebox opened out for the new motor to fit in place. Now I just need to sort out the footplate, but I can sort this out with my Dremel tool.

Henry, now packed and ready to go to the works in the morning.

Henry is going to be taken to my engineering club tomorrow to get his footplate and fire box seen too. I've a new motor for him on order so we should be seeing further progress on him very soon. I'll also enquire tomorrow about seeing about getting some Deep Bronze Green ordered for him.

You can watch the announcement trailer now, and at 7pm GMT there will be a livestream going more in-depth about the game over on Dovetail Games' YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0nN...

BIG Break was part of my Saturday night watchings along with The Generation Game and Blankety Blank etc. While I found Jim Davidson's antics funny, I always admired John's dedication and skills as a pro snooker player. Thoughts and prayers to his family. RIP John www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvgZ...

I found these while looking for spare parts. My first attempt at kit bashing. Thought I'd thrown them out, but here they are 18 years later. I think I've still got the tutorial on how I made them. Very outdated now though and I have since improved my modelling since. www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPZ7...

A while ago we were asked what rolling stock we have at the railway. I've asked Whitehouse to draft us up a list of what stock we currently have. We use 4 coaches pre day with guard's vans attached as well as a display goods train at 2pm, hauled by Puffa or Hector, whichever engine is free. ~ Cars.

Test fitting the motor in Edward to make sure there's plenty of room so that the chassis can also slot back into place. Needs a little bit of padding inside to stop it from moving about, but it's getting there. Pick ups are next.

Nearly there. Just the other side of the tender to do and he's ready for final varnishing. Will work on the chassis tomorrow after work as the new cutting broaches will be arriving then.

Tonight's progress on Edward. Loco end painted and lined. Now just the tender to work on, but I'll leave that till tomorrow evening. Also need to get a makeshift brake pipe put on too.

Still waiting on some cutting broaches for sorting out Edward's gear box to come in the post. In the mean time I might as well see about painting him up. This time round I've given Edward a coat of Garter Blue paint as it gives him that vintage look the original model has.

The Magic Railroad chase scene, but with the song 'Footsteps' from the anime City Hunter. Quite surprised by how this works, IMO anyway. Plus it's a good song for action scenes.

My Henry model in the works. Chassis block still needs a file down to fit and the firebox and footplate also need milled and cut out to allow the replacement motor to fit in place. Extra pick ups will be added to the tender as well as the chassis block, just incase.

Writing for it will start later in the year.

NGL, I really hate self anxiety. That period of time when you get mentally angry with yourself for something so trivial of your wellbeing and the events are on a constant loop like a broken record player or an annoying YT short. Its that one piece of me that I just wish would leave me alone for good

So what I had originally planned for powering my Henry replica didn't go according to plan. However this doesn't mean I'm quitting this build. I am not giving up on this model. I will look into Henry's build another time, because right now Edward's new motor and gearbox finally arrived.

So while I'm waiting for Edward's gearbox and motor to arrive, another engine in my backlog of Awdry replicas has got me thinking. I'll say nothing more until I sort out the two main things I need to know regarding the build. But fingers cross I hope it does work. And if it does, I'll be very happy.

Still no sign of Edward's gearbox and motor. The post has been very slow lately. Anyways, at least his paint is now sorted for when it's needed. Notice how I'm not using my usual Humbrol 109 WW1 Blue this time around. There's a reason for that, but I'll explain that another time.

TBH I didn't find anything al that interesting with Hornby's 2026 range. IMO it feels like a recap of what they've already done with some new additions that are hit and miss. The Jinty looked alright, but thats all I can say.

Before and After. How this tired model became really useful again.

If you ever see these books in the shops or at your local heritage railway, do give them a read as well as give the author's YouTube channel a like as there's more good content there too. I might write up a review on them, plus they are a good reference for my current WIP project.

I used to love playing old Sonic SEGA games in my teens so seeing this definitely gave me some positive vibes. The graphics to even the music style not to mention it's one of my favourite Series 1 episodes. The BTS videos are also worth a watch too. www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRJr...

Working on something different while I wait for parts for Edward to arrive in the post. Been meaning to get these made to complete the layout's stock.

A new gearbox and motor for Edward have been bought and hopefully will arrive some point next week. While I'm waiting I must see tomorrow about getting a load of sleepers bought from the timber yards to get a few that have rotted and eaten replaced as well as some new screws and washers too.

Parts for Edward's renovation are going to take a while to arrive, which is fine. I can preoccupy myself with other things. Something a little outside the box. Maybe more outside than that. And more exciting. 2026 is already off to a great start.

Happy New Years!!!!!

Looking back, I wouldn't say this year was my favourite year. There were a few good things happening that I will look back on with fondness, but there were also quite a few things that didn't go so well for me. But hopefully 2026 would be more sparing for me and I wish you all a happy & peaceful one

🐈‍⬛🤍

Edward's model in its current state. Currently undergoing checks to see what needs replacing or upgrading. New gearbox, motor, pick-ups and pony wheels are among some of the items required. But first things first. Get the new gearbox and motor ordered.

My Edward model in 2020. Like with the original, this replica had remained non running for quite some time and the paint work had gotten damaged and the motor burnt out during a servicing. So this model will need a full rebuild from the ground up. This will be an on and off project so stay tuned.

About a week ago I was inspired to write a Christmas-themed Postman Pat prequel, set around 10 years before the first series in 1971. This is the first fully original story I’ve written in a long time. Hope you enjoy. docs.google.com/document/d/e...

From all of us here at the Model Engineers Society, we wish you all a Peaceful and Merry Christmas. Wishing you all the best for 2026. As a thanks for your support of the series, here's a BlueSky exclusive viewing of the new opening titles for Miniature Railway Adventures The Animated Series. ~ Cars

OMG Rizzo is back!!!! www.youtube.com/watch?v=qne0...

This is a BlueSky only viewing. So be sure to keep an eye out for it later this evening. Huge thanks to those who helped with the digital work on these titles. Couldn't have asked for more.

A second teaser for this. Hope to have the story published and ready to share by this evening. 🤞

The Advent Calendar didn't happen this year, but I did want to do *something* for the festive season... ...So I can now reveal a newly written Christmas themed Pat story will drop tomorrow, with some carefully edited artwork to illustrate it. A little teaser for now. :)