Taitset in 2026

Hello everyone, and happy new year! This post is a bit of a general update, and a look at what I'm expecting to do with the channel in 2026.

First of all, the channel will be reaching number of milestones this year: In December, the channel as a whole will be 20 years old. I don't really see this as '20 years of Taitset' given most of that time it was just a place I put my railfan videos, and nothing like what it has become today. But December also marks 5 years since I uploaded my City Loop explainer video, which I sort of see as marking the start of my journey into making proper scripted videos.

The other milestone which we will (almost certainly) hit this year, is 500 members on Patreon.. we're currently at 460. I don't really know what to say about this other than.. wow! Starting something like Patreon, you never know if it's going to work out.. I was thrilled when like 15 people signed up on the first day. I NEVER would have imagined I'd get anywhere near this number of people signing up over the next few years, and I really can't thank you all enough. The size of the Patreon membership has been the No.1 reason I've been able to spend so much time on the channel over the last couple of years, without it I would have had to go back to part time work, would have been twice as stressed, and would have made half as many videos. So thankyou.

Another much more imminent milestone is 60,000 subscribers, which we'll probably hit in the next couple of months. If we follow tradition it might be time for another Q&A, the previous two were at 20k and 40k. I'll probably do one some time this year, but It might be a bit later on, after I've got some higher priority stuff out the way.

Speaking of higher priority stuff, what videos am I working on?
The next video is another Metro Tunnel video, this time a much longer look at all five stations. It's basically my thoughts and observations on the project as a whole so far, and will include some quite critical parts as well as positives. An example of a positive is the picture above this post: did you know both Arden and Parkville get sun on the platform in the middle of the day? Despite being very long (vicinity of 40 minutes I think) I've smashed this one out very quickly, as I basically filmed it in one day then wrote the script chronologically, in a bit of a 'stream of consciousness' way. I'm aiming to record the voiceover tomorrow, then hopefully have it up some time in the next week. I then won't do any more metro tunnel videos until the new timetables are published.

Another video I've been quietly working on is one about tram stops, basically a look at the nature and history of 'roadside' stops in Melbourne (the ones with no platform or saftey zone). I've actually already filmed and recorded this, and am part way through editing, it's just going out of order because the metro tunnel one is higher priority. I hope to get this one done later in Janurary.

Other ongoing videos, I am of course still working on the Lilydale video.. still a way to go but I've almost filmed all of it, and written most of it. Not too long to go now, whenever I can fit it around other stuff. The accessibility video is still in very early stages, but certainly happening. As well as the wheelchair user I interviewed for this, I've had some very helpful advice and suggestions from a member here with a vision impairment. It's going to be a complicated video to put together, but I'm looking forward to working on it.

Lastly, you may have noticed my last two videos both mentioned that'd been in the Blue Mountains chasing V sets, and a lot of people have asked if this is leading to a video. The answer is: I hope so. My recent visit was really part of my ongoing coverage of V sets, the Blue Mountains and the NSW system in general, which I've been visiting at least once a year since 2009. The V sets are going to be fully retired very soon, and I really do want to make a V set video. It won't be a full history, but more a video about why I like them, why I think everyone else likes them, and what my experiences have been like on them over the years. I won't start on this video until after the withdrawal is complete, because I'd like to include coverage of the last public V set run, if I am able to.

Thanks for all your support!

~Martin