Quick channel update!

Hi 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