Thanks for the Referral

My father was a real estate agent after his military service. When someone referred a client to him, he would give them a little thank you gift. Often it was a gift certificate to the Lobster Hut restaurant in Fredericton, NB, my dad’s favourite restaurant (sadly the restaurant is gone, as is my dad). This encouraged more referrals, more business for my father, more gifts – a virtuous circle.

I’d like to thank those who refer people to my site – although I have nothing to give you except my thanks, and this recognition.

But First, the Search Engines

Last year (2024), my site had about 185,000 page views, which works out to about 500 per day. Just over 90% of that traffic came from search engines:

• Google, 86%
• Bing, 3%
• DuckDuckGo, 2%
• Facebook, 1.3%

It’s sobering to see how dominant Google is.

On to the people that matter.

White River Division

George Dutka’s White River Division blog is the #1 non search engine referrer to my site. George, and occasional guest posters Don Janes and Peter Mumby, write very frequently about railway modeling, train shows, railfanning, and many other train-related topics. The posts are always interesting.

Trackside Treasure

Eric Gagnon’s Trackside Treasure is a, dare I say it, treasure trove of railway information. Eric takes deep dives into many railway topics, and lately has been examining VIA and CN with a critical eye. Keep them honest, my friend!

30 Squares

J D Lowe is a frequent writer on 30 Squares. J D writes about modeling trains, often with very deep dives into builds, and also has written a great deal about a “golden age” modeler, E.L. Moore. In fact, J D wrote a book about E.L. Moore and you can read it for free! I did, and it was a very interesting read.

The Beachburg Sub

Michael Hammond writes about “railways from Ottawa and beyond” on The Beachburg Sub. He makes the best of railfanning in train-poor Ottawa and provides some unique perspectives and interesting photography.

Musings on My Model Railroading Addiction

Stephen Gardiner has not only a great first name but also a great blog! He writes about model railroading as well as full size trains. I’ve been enjoying reading about his Bayside Canadian Railway “bigorama”, modeling a tiny and very shady “railway” in New Brunswick.

Everybody Has To Be Somewhere

“BWBandy” loves to explore abandoned places, and he writes about it at Everybody Has To Be Somewhere. Last year he was involved in a serious car accident and has been recovering ever since, but I think he’ll be back out on the back roads before too much longer. I had the pleasure of exploring some grain elevators in Alberta with him several years ago.

Prince Street

Chris Mears’ site Prince Street is a delight to read. He has a unique perspective on modeling and on life in general and I enjoy reading his posts very much, just as I enjoy his company. We railfanned together late last year and it was a pleasure.

Just Dave Gray

David Gray’s site is more of a reference site / portfolio site than a blog, but it is well worth a visit!

You! The Reader!

Last but definitely not least, thank you! The reader! Yes, you! (imagine my finger pointing out of the screen)

Thank you for reading, commenting, sharing. It keeps me here going. I appreciate you.

(lead photo shows the Concorde subway station in Paris, France, October 2024. The words are from the Declarations of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, originally drafted by the Marquis de Lafayette with Thomas Jefferson, but mostly by Abbé Sieyès)