Finally, after struggling with living at a friend's in a tiny room and then ending up getting work, only to end up moving to a place on my own again in August 2018, my mind is slowly starting to get something of its previous self back together. I'm not 'all there yet', but I'm a few steps further down the road.

One subject that is getting some 'neural energy' is my fictional railway line idea. I have been thinking about geography, geology, and the like, and have thought that my original line route was a little off. So I'm making some adjustments.

The town of Sayersbridge will be on a flood plain, with the Penmouth line making its way southwards via an embankment across the plain and the river's channels, to meet the gently rising edge of the river valley. Then it will follow another, smaller river's route as it makes its way up and through the uphills that occur before the coast. To get back to sea level there will be a bank to travel down, then a 'sharp' right turn to align with the coast, before ending up at Penmouth.

I will need to do a basic track route and gradient diagram to suit, so I can confirm that I'm happy with the idea.

I've thought more of Sayersbridge itself, and that would be far to big a station to model in a modest space, so that will have to wait for another time. So I think my first actual 'layout' would be a very simple affair with two four foot by two foot boards, level, representing the flood plain south of Sayersbridge, with an embankment for the line. A few simple details like a bridge for the line over a river channel, a few anglers, a small boat or two, not much else, other than pasture land, reed embankments on the river channel, and the river channel water itself. Plenty to practice and learn in constructing. I have existing boards that will probably serve quite well, but they will need clearing of my last abortive attempt to make a layout first.

There won't be much progress at first as I still need to clear space in the room where the build will occur and that's a more detailed and time consuming set of tasks than I thought they would be. But thoughts and ideas are heading in the right direction (touch wood that nothing comes up that scuppers everything, as has had a tendency to happen in the past).