Hello there.
Some of you may know me on YouTube as WhitehouseFilms.
I thought I'd share with you a new project which I began at the start of 2015 in hopes what would be my final effort to reach the goal on which I set out to reach. Now, for those who've seen some of my videos will know of some the items which I cover. If not then I'll explain.

I began modelling railways at the start of 2002 when I wanted to get into the hobby and also wanted somewhere to keep my model trains that didn't agree being packed away in a cupboard all the time. My first attempt was the summer before when we tried to make a layout in our garage but due to the damp conditions the trains didn't agree to it that well and so the idea was dropped.
My Parents got me a baseboard with an operating hole for me to stand in and to be able to retch across when fixing a derailment of sorts and also for the development of scenery. With some modellers, your first attempts don't always go according to plan and your ideas start to develop. The original idea for this layout was to make it similar to that of a Harry Potter based one that I came across in a Model Rail Magazine which had several articles relating to it's construction, right down to modelling miniature broomsticks. Before it's dismantling in 2008, the layout looked more like the Beeching's Axe had a fair whack at it and several buildings were looking abandoned. So the idea of making a new start was needed and so in the autumn of 2007 the task was set. But what should I model?

It was during this that i discovered The Real Lives Of Thomas the Tank Engine that I came across the models built by The Rev W Awdry as well as a few articles on some of the layouts he built in his time. All were very well made and also were used to help the artists of the books get a geographical idea on what was needed in this location. One location which was modelled a lot was Thomas' Branch line which went through 4 versions throughout the Rev's modelling era. The first was a small section of line which was part of The NWR layout, the second was the same in a Mrk2 version. The third was a portable exhibition layout showing the top station, Ffarquhar, as well as the small village of Hackensack which was the home of a small community of people which the rev wrote stories about. The forth and final version was a smaller portable layout of Ffarquhar which was made to fit in the railway room when the Reverend moved to Stroud. This layout now sits in the Narrow gauge railway museum in wales and still operates for exhibitions on special occasions.

With the 3rd version of Ffarquhar looking like a good beginners layout, I chose to replicate this and set to work planning and gathering the essential items to order to build it. It was a good Christmas that year and soon by April 2008, the layout was completed. It was built to contain a mixture of the original layout and the one in the books which I used for reference a lot. Later that year an extension was made which allowed the line to go a a sheds area to store my locos. This was made with encouragement from none other than Christopher Awdry himself whom I met while visiting Devon that Summer. This extension was rebuilt in 2010 after a rain leakage damaged part of the original and ruined several scenery parts. During 2008, a final extension to Anopha Quarry was made but up till it's dismantle in 2010 was difficult to work with and just didn't capture the look I was hoping for. A small diorama model might be made to replace it but no conformation has yet been made.

In 2011, I was asked by YouTuber, NewController01, if I had any plans of taking my models to exhibitions. It hadn't crossed my mind but then it would be something of an experience to tryout. My response was a smaller version of Ffarquhar station which can be transported to shows in the boot of a car. There was one problem with this layout and that was it just didn't feel like Ffarquhar to me and even though many fans of my work liked it, it just didn't have the right look to it and didn't have that much scenery. In 2014, after my last model exhibition, my Dad suggested I'd have one more go at Ffarquhar. Only this time making it the proper original that I wanted to model 7 years ago. Time to think it over took a while but in the end I agreed and so the materials and items required were ordered that Christmas.

During the build I have made a series of videos which you will be able to see on my channel:

I'll have more info on the build later but if anyone has any questions on the build, I'm more than happy to answer them for you.