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5 hours ago, rocor said:

A colour photograph taken in 1910 by Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky, giving a indication of the quality that colour photography could obtain 110 years ago.

 

Having

1 hour ago, rocor said:

I should have at least given a reference.

 

https://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/prok/

 

Thanks for the reference.  It was the "sharpness" and colour saturation of the image that had me puzzled, the description of Prokudin-Gorskys method explains all.  The colour photograph is achieved using a camera that takes three images in rapid succession, using Red, Green and Blue filters in succession.  Its how a colour image used to be prepared for printing in a book or magazine. Prokudin-Gorsky prepared lantern slides to project his photographs onto a screen using a triple-decker projector, while the individual negatives would have made the preparation of colour printing plates relatively easy.  Modern digital transcription and enhancement of the images produced the vibrant portrait of a "Tzarist" locomotive you posted.

 

The quality of the image was inherent in the three filtered monochrome images that were taken of the subject, and the later digital manipulation has produceded the colour balance of the image which must be conjectural as unless filters were given to the Library of Congress in 1948, there must have been a degree of guesstimation for the individual filter values.  The method was a well-known one and not suitable for "domestic" use, unlike the Autochrome.

 

10 minutes ago, rocor said:

A full size working replica of one of these beautiful engines deserves to be constructed. 

 

It would be more fun to have TWO 3031 class locos built, on in the original 2-2-2 format that disgraced itself in Box Tunnel in 1894, when 3021 Wigmore Castle derailed when its leading axle broke, and the rebuilt form of the 4-2-2 later known as the Achilles class.  I don't think the 2-2-2 would be allowed out on its own, however.... :jester:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GWR_3031_Class

 

Triang produced a model of the Achilles locomotive "Lord of the Isles" way back in the early 60s.  Hornby has just released their latest version of this venerable model as 3031 "Achilles"...

 

Edited by Hroth
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On 24/05/2020 at 10:28, Edwardian said:

Right-ho, I have finished de-cluttering the office, moving furniture and re-distributing stuff.  Things still need sorting out, but I'm pretty much at the point at which I could start construction of the boards to complete the circuit, as and when I choose to. 

 

IMG_9409.JPG.eeebd64c35baf732f5b2d4502cdea1a8.JPG

 

 

I've not done much modelling of late, my office chair developed a slow gas strut leak so that every time I sat in it I had this initially vague, but then accelerating sinking sensation;

 

 

Not comfortable modelling when your chin is level with the workbench.

 

Madame, taking pity on me (and being irritated at my use of the dining table for spreading out stamp albums) has bought me a new one for my birthday (having first checked that it has a "fat b4st4rd" rating sufficient for well-built gentlemen). And I am back to having comfortable use of my desk.

 

1725250585_340650.JPG.1923e0b14ea1f82afa3aa1b6ffd31f76.JPG

 

But it has occured to me that, leaving the chair issue aside, I've hardly touched my layout since mid-April. Back when I was commuting before this madness, every minute of evening time available was precious and occasional boring and lengthy meetings at work could be used to be mentally drawing up detailed plans and rehearsing the next task; sequence, materials and tools needed etc.. whilst maintaining a manner of attentive yet bland interest and the interjection of occasional "mmm, yes" and nods of the head at the appropriate moments. But now, released from all that I just seem to be suffering from an indolent lassitude, manana, strangely not bovvered...  ?

 

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Regarding pictures of happy Edwardians at the beach, it's almost certain that they would have arrived there by train which leads me on the mention a book I'm reading at the moment, 'Early Victorian Railway Excursions, The Million Go Forth' by Susan Major.  Yes I know the book mostly covers the early Victorian period, but it reviews the social changes as well as the railways' responses to a large section of society who were now able to travel much further from home than they ever have historically done before.

Due to narcolepsy messing up connections in my brain my ability to read books has been much reduced (sigh), - so it's a slow process reading any book, but I'm finding this one an interesting read.

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1 hour ago, TT-Pete said:

 

I've not done much modelling of late, my office chair developed a slow gas strut leak so that every time I sat in it I had this initially vague, but then accelerating sinking sensation;

 

 

Not comfortable modelling when your chin is level with the workbench.

 

Madame, taking pity on me (and being irritated at my use of the dining table for spreading out stamp albums) has bought me a new one for my birthday (having first checked that it has a "fat b4st4rd" rating sufficient for well-built gentlemen). And I am back to having comfortable use of my desk.

 

1725250585_340650.JPG.1923e0b14ea1f82afa3aa1b6ffd31f76.JPG

 

 

 

Very plush!  Is that the old chair, put out on the Naughty Step?

 

 

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9 hours ago, teaky said:

Ah, a nice slice of Windsor Mountbatten Battenberg.

Is this a believable explanation of why Battenberg cake is so called?

2

Referring to the previous posting:

How clever to drop a Ha Ha in at the bottom of the garden too.

 

 

Edited by runs as required
Hadn’t realised I was so far behind CA catch up reading
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9 hours ago, Compound2632 said:

 

Recent months have demonstrated that the most effective way of reducing A&E costs is to prohibit amateur sport and evening pub opening at weekends - so going forward, it is clear what activities need to be taxed more heavily.

 

I suspect A &E has found its burden reduced as those who should never have been attending A&E have been put off by the prospect of being near people with Covid19

 

Don

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7 hours ago, Compound2632 said:

 

It's worth reading the article on Prokudin-Gorskii's method, the way in which he reconstructed colour images and the way they have been reconstructed using modern digital techniques. But that locomotive photo is astounding. Why couldn't he have visited Carlisle Citadel Station?

 

He must have been using some of the earliest panchromatic films to be able to shoot through a red filter. His basic technique was later used by Techniclour for their film stock except of course they had to expose the three images simultaneously.

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6 hours ago, Hroth said:

 

Very plush!  Is that the old chair, put out on the Naughty Step?

 

 

Indeed, banished to the garden it now whines to be let back in. :^) Actually it's cascaded to garage-worshop duties and awaits being trundled there. In the meantime it serves as a perch for the cats, there's one sitting out there right now, glaring at me through the window as it wants to be let in for its' breakfast. Apart from the new chair all my furniture is salvaged/scrounged; I saw about a hundred of the quality solid-wood cabinet/glass display shelves being broken up for the skip by a worker with a sledge hammer during an office refurb. An insane waste. I had a chat with the foreman who quite happily let me reverse up to the loading bay and just take as much as I wanted (and could fit in the car).

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9 hours ago, wagonman said:

 

He must have been using some of the earliest panchromatic films to be able to shoot through a red filter. His basic technique was later used by Techniclour for their film stock except of course they had to expose the three images simultaneously.

 

Prokudin-Gorskii used glass plates for his images. According to Wikipedia, panchromatic stock for still photographic plates became available commercially in 1906.  It would be interesting to see a camera that would shuttle three glass plates "24 x 9 cm"* through the focal plane, simultaneously change the filtration for each plate and make the exposure!  An expensive business too - each panchro plate then cost up to three times that of an equivalent ortho plate.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panchromatic_film

 

* Quoted in the LoC info, which is an odd size as 9 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches doesn't align with any of the common glass plate sizes, the ratio is odd too.

http://camera-wiki.org/wiki/Plate_sizes

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My reading of the LoC description is that each photograph used a single plate that could sit in three positions. He was Russian - a nation of chemists at the time - so he could well have been preparing his own plates.

Edited by Compound2632
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One way to get the multiple exposures was to use a complex system of beam splitters and filters, but such a system would be prone to mis-calibration and colour fringing. It seems likeliest that Prokudin-Gorskii used a simpler arrangement whereby the long thin plate was moved across the camera back between exposures – hence the long thin format. The downside would be the time taken to make the exposure which would cause problems with any subject not totally immobile – apparently some of his plates did show this effect which have had to be removed digitally.

 

It's interesting to think that the idea of three colour additive photography goes back to Clark Maxwell in the late 1850s, though how he coped with the limited spectral sensitivity I have no idea.

 

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9 hours ago, wagonman said:

It seems likeliest that Prokudin-Gorskii used a simpler arrangement whereby the long thin plate was moved across the camera back between exposures

 

The direction might depend on the projector he habitually used for displaying his photos. The LoC pages illustrate a triple-decker Magic Lantern so it might be that the the plate was moved vertically between exposures, admittedly with more scope for vibrations and the possibility of damaging plates if things went wrong.  In such a situation, my preference would be to lift the plate frame by frame, rather than dropping it through the camera, more controllable, less vibration.

 

9 hours ago, wagonman said:

It's interesting to think that the idea of three colour additive photography goes back to Clerk Maxwell in the late 1850s, though how he coped with the limited spectral sensitivity I have no idea.

 

He developed the theory, Thomas Sutton took the photo for him

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Sutton_(photographer)

The result was a bit murky, with mainly red tones. At the time, photographic plates were barely orthochromatic so even this partial result was something of a triumph!

 

Ummmm....   All this talk of photographic history appears to have driven our Chairman to speculate about the Ankh-Morpork & Sto Plains Hygienic Railway.  Perhaps we ought to rein in this interesting pre-grouping aside and return to Castle Aching!

 

 

 

 

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8 minutes ago, Nearholmer said:

Oh well, with that in mind, here is an interesting pre-group aside, which is at least railway-focused.

 

Can someone please urgently make a model of this https://www.flickr.com/photos/blue-diesels/5969235291

 

 

Oh yes.  Would make a great Directors' Saloon for any minor line.  I quite like the structure sheltering it and would like to model that, too.  

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There's a later Bass saloon at the Foxfield Railway, sitting on the underframe and bogies of an 1880s Midland Railway 43 ft carriage. Also at Foxfield is the body of a Midland Railway 43 ft 7 compartment third of the same era. If the two were to be united and restored, the railway would have a 70-seater carriage to supplement the vintage accommodation provided by their splendidly-restored but small North Staffs 4-wheelers.

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42 minutes ago, Compound2632 said:

There's a later Bass saloon at the Foxfield Railway, sitting on the underframe and bogies of an 1880s Midland Railway 43 ft carriage. Also at Foxfield is the body of a Midland Railway 43 ft 7 compartment third of the same era. If the two were to be united and restored, the railway would have a 70-seater carriage to supplement the vintage accommodation provided by their splendidly-restored but small North Staffs 4-wheelers.

Well the bass coach is hideous. I think your plan is a good.

 

At least the 4w coach in the post earlier is preserved and sympathetically restored.

 

1520237378-1694662953-the-national-brewe

 

(To be fair, its covered over and looks cared for, which beats a huge amount of stock on preserved lines).

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There’s something curious about that huge gaudy lettering, I don’t think it’s painted or even vinyled onto the coach. I wonder if the letters are foam board or something, fixed with double-sided sticky pads.

 

Its not a photoshop job is it?

 

 

Edited by Nearholmer
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Well the is no evidence of it being formed around the beading and the bottom of the g goes over the bottom rail ( the wood bit not the track rail). So it cannot be simply painted on. However hardly photoshoped just a superimposed image maybe.

 

Don

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