Taitset
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Quick channel update!
🕑 Added 2023-06-05 09:04:26 +0000 UTCHi everyone, first things first - I have been absolutely blown away by the positive reception the Hurstbridge line video has received. I really, really thought this would be for a pretty niche audience, but it's been up 3 days and already clocked over 10k views. Remarkably, about 35% of people are watching the full 40 minutes. The average watch time of most youtube videos is often less than 5 minutes, so this is really quite amazing. This video took about 7 months to produce (in lots of short sessions obviously), so it's really good to see people appreciating this kind of long-form content. I've had countless requests to make something similar on other lines, and I would certainly like to do that. But it will be a very long-term process, which will happen in the background while I work on other more regular videos. There were a lot of things that made the Hurstbridge line easy for me - it's got loads of interesting features, so there was plenty to talk about. I've lived on the line my whole life, so I've had plenty of time to spot interesting things that I probably wouldn't have spotted on other lines, and I already had loads of imagery to use. Also - I commute on the Hurstbridge line, so any extra pictures/footage I needed were very easy to get without going far out of my way. That said, I will be giving other lines a crack! Next would almost certainly be Upfield, because it also has an interesting story and I'm fairly familiar with it.
Ok so, why am I posting this picture? This is my HO scale Y170 leading the last train to operate on my current layout, Upper Glen Park. I am moving house this weekend, and the layout is being dismantled after about 3 years of operation. This layout has featured in lots of small snippets in my videos, but if you're interested in a general overview of it there's one here: https://youtu.be/F8LzvSLBOp8
I expect parts of the layout to be reassembled at my new house in some form, but don't have a final plan for it yet. I am still renting, so the design is always heavily influenced by that. The main reason I'm telling you this is that I expect there to be a bit of a delay before the next video - obviously moving house is always a big deal, and I'm doing it with two kids in tow, and I will likely be without my computer for a bit. For those who are curious, I've been living in Eltham (also where I grew up), and my new place will be at another Hurstbridge line location - In fact I can just glimpse trains in the distance from my new loungeroom window!
While the next major video might be a while off, I do have something else that will most likely go up in the meantime: it's a cab ride from Clifton Hill to Rosanna, filmed on a dark rainy night in 4K, taken with the assistance of a friendly driver!
Thanks as always for your ongoing support!
Martin
Comments
Taitset
Oh cool, I haven't seen that book! That would definitely be helpful if I could borrow it. I'll send you a message once I've finished moving and my computer's up and running again!
Alex Pennini
There's tons of cool stuff about the Upfield line like the rock cutting in Royal Park and the runaway Harris train in the 1970s! Speaking of history, I found my copy of an Upfield line history book called "Down the line to Upfield : a history of the North Melbourne-Coburg-Somerton railway" that was written in 1991 and partly commissioned by the Coburg Transport Group when the line's future was looking quite grim. If you want to have a borrow of it for your future video's research, let me know!
Taitset
I didn't know about that plane crash at Macaulay, that's definitely an interesting bit to put in there! Looks like there's a plaque somewhere, I'll have to go have a look. I got a little bit inspired last night and started making some dot points of things to include about the line. I have ordered an Auscision Harris, I probably *can't* afford it but somehow convinced myself I could back when they first put out the order forms! Maybe you could go the best of both worlds and build a lego layout?
Alex Pennini
It's a really great video! I think I've watched it twice now actually, once with my partner as she was knitting. I like the way you went down the line, station by station, pointing out something interesting along the way at every stop. It felt like a little virtual tour guide and as someone who's only ever gone as far as Heidelberg, it was interesting to see some shots from further up the line in the rolling hills! As a daily commuter of the Upfield line since I moved to Pascoe Vale in 2006, I'm excited to see you hopefully tackle my line in the future. It's an odd little line, with lots of interesting history like the Fawkner Funeral Train, the fighter plane crash at Macaulay in the 1940s, the multitude of sidings and spurs to places like the Lincoln Mills, Ford Factory, and of course the Inner Circle connection and the near closure of the line in the 1980s. There's lots of amazing footage from the late 80s and early 90s of the workings of the line and the mechanical systems - it was almost a working museum with the age of the equipment on the line! I love your HO scale layout, it's super compact and practical! I'd love to do something like that with shunting and yards but I've filled my house and shelves with Lego. I'd love to pick up the Auscision Harris Trains that are coming soon, but I also don't have a spare kidney to sell for them. I hope your house move goes well! Cab ride videos are great, especially for historical purposes. I find one of the best ways to look at old Melbourne is from historical cab videos of trams and trains - they end up being valuable historical records, much in the way your walks through the CBD will end up being in years to come.
