Manuel Station on Bo’ness and Kinneil Railway

A quiet morning. I went for a run around what I call the Balerno loop which involves a mile of uphill towards the end.

In the afternoon we all went to the Bo’ness and Kinneil Railway, home of the Scottish Railway Preservation Society for a ride on their Black Bun express to Manuel and back. The last time we were here was to ride the last train of millennium. Here we are again, twenty years later. Where did all those years go?

Lacking inspiration for my 7 year anniversary I chose to superimpose the number 7 on the cabside of today’s loco, a last minute stand in for a loco that failed this morning. Of course Thomas aficionados will know that he is Number 1. Knowing my interest in heritage railways it was almost inevitable that a railway blip would figure in the milestone photo.

We’re back where my blip journey all started on 1st January 2013 having read about it in a local paper while we were up here for Hogmanay.

What a journey it has been so far and I’m hoping for just as good a trip in the coming years. Blip is a fine community, full of wonderful, positive and supportive people. I thank you all for your contributions to my journal over these seven years and look forward to continuing to meet with you in the future