Passage - A Skarloey Railway Story

I’m sorry about no comments, nothing I can do about it 😞
Today marks one year since this video was first conceptualized. I didn’t imagine it’d have a one year anniversary before it was even finished, but here we are.
This story is very personal to me, as last winter I unexpectedly lost my dad. After a couple months, I was tired of stasis and wanted to do something. I wanted to MAKE something. It was during this time I was also becoming increasingly interested by narrow gauge railways, and would watch “Weekly Walkabouts” uploads from the Talyllyn Railway. I loved the charm and beauty of this little corner of the world, and decided I would invest in 009 scale, and tell a story on the Skarloey Railway.
I had the setting, but I didn’t have a story. I was feeling very stuck, about this and about life generally. Then I realized that WAS the story. I didn’t know how it would end, but I knew that I wanted to capture the feeling of being a little lost in the familiar.
Of course, that on its own is quite sad. The sadness was necessary, but it couldn’t stay there. After all, these are still talking trains. But beyond that, I wanted to give whoever saw this what I needed as well; hope.
I’d like to thank Dan, Stuart, and George in particular for bringing this story to life. Dan and Stuart actually got on together to record their lines, and I think that really comes through that they are really having conversations. The audio files were over an hour long. The dedication of time and effort went beyond my own expectations and I’m so grateful for that. They also ad-libbed and made the characters speak more naturally than I could write down in a script. George got a lot of the punchlines, and his impeccable delivery and nuance is what makes them much funnier than they are on paper.
I wrapped shooting in August, and the very next day after I’d finished filming, I flew to the UK to the Tallylyn Railway for the Awdry Extravaganza event organized by the incredible Luke Ryan. It was surreal leaving my tiny model of the wharf with little Rheneas, to then be at the real place it was based on, with the real engine he was based on. Here I had the pleasure to see Dan, and meet Stuart and George for the first time (amongst many old friends). I’m so grateful to know them. I hadn’t finalized a voice cast for this project yet, but I knew then and there that it had to be them, and I asked them same-day. I’m humbled that they all said yes.
Lucas' story "The Little Railway"
• The Little Railway
Owen's story "Railway Adventure"
• Railway Adventure
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