Peterborough North

[great northern]

Today's " must get on with it" score........ five out of ten. That might be a bit generous  actually. Anyway, some trains did things, the first to appear being the 6.15 KX- Cleethorpes, which would get you to that jewel of the east at quarter to eleven, if on time.

 

 

 

A tidy and well presented loco, at least. Hot on its heels came the last local of the day from Peterborough East to Leicester. A D16 on loan from Cambridge to Spital Bridge does the honours.

 

 

 

This was one of those times when the sun came out during the four seconds delay on the camera.

[Mallard60022]

Good morning Gilbert. If you get fed up with thrashing you ba11s this afternoon then take a little tootle down to your local Station and watch a magnificent Pacific thunder through, heading for Nottingham, at around 14.37 (flooding permitted of course). Not to be missed on such a wonderful day.

Duck.

Edited March 18, 2019 by Mallard60022

[CUTLER2579]

Phil,

any more information regarding said pacifics route and timings ,please.

[great northern]

1 hour ago, Mallard60022 said:

Good morning Gilbert. If you get fed up with thrashing you ba11s this afternoon then take a little tootle down to your local Station and watch a magnificent Pacific thunder through, heading for Nottingham, at around 14.37 (flooding permitted of course). Not to be missed on such a wonderful day.

Duck.

I'm expecting TW today Phil, to sort out a recalcitrant point and speak severely to a couple of malfunctioning locos. If we get on well, we may be able to take a break and have a look.

[great northern]

There is an unwritten law that a lovely Claud posed against the canopy on Platform 6 must be photographed, however many times it has been done before.

 

 

 

Close behind the Claud comes an 02 with a Class H from Letchworth. First seen about to pass the box as it creeps along the  Down slow.

 

 

 

Now I await the arrival of TW, while trying to sort out golf club stuff which is kicking off a bit.

[Mallard60022]

15 minutes ago, great northern said:

I'm expecting TW today Phil, to sort out a recalcitrant point and speak severely to a couple of malfunctioning locos. If we get on well, we may be able to take a break and have a look.

If you do please make sure TW notes the detail difference on this loco, driver's side

[uax6]

3 hours ago, Mallard60022 said:

Good morning Gilbert. If you get fed up with thrashing you ba11s this afternoon then take a little tootle down to your local Station and watch a magnificent Pacific thunder through, heading for Nottingham, at around 14.37 (flooding permitted of course). Not to be missed on such a wonderful day.

Duck.

 

She passed here blowing off for the 30mph restriction through our up road platform 6mins up on the schedule at 1131 (not bad for 20miles run..).That's even after having to stop and attend to a brake pipe issue further north....

 

I feel if she was left to her own devices, she could really gain some time on the booked path....

 

Andy G

[Mallard60022]

58 minutes ago, uax6 said:

 

She passed here blowing off for the 30mph restriction through our up road platform 6mins up on the schedule at 1131 (not bad for 20miles run..).That's even after having to stop and attend to a brake pipe issue further north....

 

I feel if she was left to her own devices, she could really gain some time on the booked path....

 

Andy G

Thanks Andy. It would appear that this recently returned to service loco is a proper job machine with a typical MN Boiler that steams like a dragon. Once the fireperson gets used to the balance required and if it is in good mechanical nick, then it should/could go like the clappers. Had no Diesel support at Retford on Saturday and went off and up Gamston like s### off a shovel despite the vile weather and pretty poor railhead conditions. Sounded magnificent as well. Quite surprised some bemused passengers at the station as well…..great fun when that happens.

Phil

Edited March 18, 2019 by Mallard60022

[uax6]

Phil,

 

She certainly sounded in very good health, and on both her runs past me (yesterday and today) she has made easy work of the timings. 2mins yesterday and 6 mins today. Yesterday caught me on the hop, as we only have a long approach track circuit and a stopwatch, so gaining 2 mins thew my guess out of the window, and I ended up having to run for the gates not to distant check her! Today I guessed a bit better and got the gates in plenty of time....

 

I was surprised at the size of the manhole that is the chimney, its diameter is huge, you could loose quite fat old bloke down it rather than a small child....

 

Andy G

[Mallard60022]

29 early at Peterborough Gilbert.

P

[Mallard60022]

18 minutes ago, uax6 said:

Phil,

 

She certainly sounded in very good health, and on both her runs past me (yesterday and today) she has made easy work of the timings. 2mins yesterday and 6 mins today. Yesterday caught me on the hop, as we only have a long approach track circuit and a stopwatch, so gaining 2 mins thew my guess out of the window, and I ended up having to run for the gates not to distant check her! Today I guessed a bit better and got the gates in plenty of time....

 

I was surprised at the size of the manhole that is the chimney, its diameter is huge, you could loose quite fat old bloke down it rather than a small child....

 

Andy G

I am not saying this...…..when I was at school we used to try to lob conkers down those chimneys at Devonport KIng's Road Yard overbridge. Was quite easy and the exhaust was pleasant as well......probably why I'm like I am today.

Well done with the gates.

Phil

[Tony Wright]

Thank you for your hospitality today Gilbert,

 

I hope your golf meeting goes well this evening.

 

The results of my pictures below (explanations are on Wright Writes).

 

 

 

 

 

I'd be intrigued to see how you get on with the ones you took, using pulses of fill-in flash. 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

 

 

[great northern]

No time to do anything today Tony, and I doubt I will have any tomorrow, so Wednesday is most likely. The meeting was difficult, as they are always going to be when people have genuinely held differing views.

[great northern]

No time to go trainspotting, but one loco back in running order, and another diagnosed as having a sick decoder. Quite a lot of experimental photography , a tutorial on derailment causes, and a cure for a particular problem, so as always Tony's visit was very productive. The point has to wait though.

 

A couple more of yesterday's photos, again featuring 02 and Claud.

 

 

 

 

[great northern]

A lovely calm day, golf in Wollaton Park to come, and its a freebie too. What's not to like?

 

We have a couple of photos of 61098 starting off for Cleethorpes. The first one was taken before I learned how to use the lens hood, and thus shown in black and white.

 

 

 

 

and one from behind, as it approaches Spital Bridge.

 

 

 

Please ignore the decapitated water column. The eraser tool occasionally gets closer than I intend, and the result is not detected until much further along the photoshopping process.

[great northern]

Another Friday only working, this one all the way from Dundee. By the time it gets this far south though there have been several engine changes, and so it is Lord Faringdon which is seen approaching the platform end.  First from the Up platform ramp..

 

 

 

and then from further along the down platform.

 

 

[great northern]

More golf club stuff this morning, but two hours firefighting is quite enough, so I shall get on with the rest of my life. It was always the case that cameras got pointed at beautifully clean Pacifics. and things are no different now, so here is a full view of a resplendent A4.

 

 

 

One of our men at the other end awaited developments on the Up, and after 60034 cleared section got a head on view of the first fish from New Clee on its way to the capital.

 

 

[great northern]

For a while today I'd had enough, and seriously considered writing a letter containing the R word. In the end things improved, and so I'm still in the straitjacket, voluntarily of course. The railway got very little time in the end, but one or two trains did run, including the 8.30pm to Melton Constable. Off goes 43067, the relevant signal having been returned to the on position commendably quickly.

 

 

 

I also found time to photoshop a couple of the photos taken with TW's assistance. So here we go, Gilbert on camera and lens hood, and TW on fill in flash.

 

 

I'll be interested to hear what Tony thinks of this. And anyone else, of course.

[Tony Wright]

8 hours ago, great northern said:

For a while today I'd had enough, and seriously considered writing a letter containing the R word. In the end things improved, and so I'm still in the straitjacket, voluntarily of course. The railway got very little time in the end, but one or two trains did run, including the 8.30pm to Melton Constable. Off goes 43067, the relevant signal having been returned to the on position commendably quickly.

 

 

 

I also found time to photoshop a couple of the photos taken with TW's assistance. So here we go, Gilbert on camera and lens hood, and TW on fill in flash.

 

 

I'll be interested to hear what Tony thinks of this. And anyone else, of course.

The latter picture has certainly resulted in stronger shadows, Gilbert; suggesting a sunny day? What time did that parcels/ECS run? Late afternoon from the shadows. 

 

You've still taken the picture from the 'illuminated' side, though, not contre-jour. Did you take any a few inches further left, from the 'dark side'? And, how did the one you took of the C12 turn out? 

 

 

One of mine again in comparison.

 

Three things to note, if I may, please? For one, the programme I use for taking out the backgrounds doesn't nibble away at the edges of structures, and, two, the greater depth of 'clarity' obtained from a lens capable of stopping down to F32. Three? I think your picture looks more 'natural', the fill-in flash on mine resulting in shadows from two directions - look at the figures' shadows on the platform and the 9F's shadow on the platform's wall. 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[great northern]

33 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

The latter picture has certainly resulted in stronger shadows, Gilbert; suggesting a sunny day? What time did that parcels/ECS run? Late afternoon from the shadows. 

 

You've still taken the picture from the 'illuminated' side, though, not contre-jour. Did you take any a few inches further left, from the 'dark side'? And, how did the one you took of the C12 turn out? 

 

 

One of mine again in comparison.

 

Three things to note, if I may, please? For one, the programme I use for taking out the backgrounds doesn't nibble away at the edges of structures, and, two, the greater depth of 'clarity' obtained from a lens capable of stopping down to F32. Three? I think your picture looks more 'natural', the fill-in flash on mine resulting in shadows from two directions - look at the figures' shadows on the platform and the 9F's shadow on the platform's wall. 

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

I'm putting in one of those we did, but also one of my normal recordings of things happening during the sequence, Tony.  My challenge is that I'm always going to be faced with a strong light source from the West as the layout is set up, so for most of the sequence day the shadows fall in the wrong direction. That parcels comes through late afternoon, so it is more right than most. There's nothing I can do about it of course.

 

My photoshopping programme is a free one, and so naturally it is somewhat less sophisticated than the ones that you and Andy Y use. Add in a less than sophisticated operator as well, and the results are never anywhere near perfect.  I try to make them look presentable if blown up from 25% to 66%, but offer no warranty above that! As usual it is all about the time one is prepared to put in, and I don't want to spend hours on a single image as professionals have to do.

 

Golf club politics took over my day yesterday, and today I'm off to Doncaster to take my frustrations out on poor innocent golf balls, but I'll gradually put more of the shots I took contre jour(ish) when I have time.

[great northern]

Before I take off for Doncaster there is time for a couple of images. I'll start with the normal record of events on the day, or rather I would have done if I had any prepared. Instead therefore we shall ahve another of the experimental shots taken on Monday, which seems a very long time ago now.

 

 

 

This is very much contre jour, and even though I've tried to darken it as much as possible, it still comes out much lighter than I would prefer it to be. It certainly wouldn't have come out this well without the lens hood though.

 

As Tony pointed out to me at the time, the limitations of my camera mean that we still get bleaching on the signal box roof.  For a relatively cheap and cheerful camera though it does quite well, and for me the great advantage is that it can get into places where a more sophisticated but larger camera can't.

[Oldddudders]

Since Tony has used the F-word (flash - I offer no evidence that he is foul-mouthed!), is there any scope for using off-camera flash bounced off the rear wall to impove the impression of morning lighting? 

[Jesse Sim]

Gilbert, you seem to have trouble with the light coming in....I remember when I visited, it is beautiful to sit and watch the trains in the basking light. 

But, for photographs, could you not just get a set of blackout curtains? 

 

Close them for photos and then then open them up for running? 

 

Layouts looking good! 

 

Will you be attending Warley? If so, I shall see you there! 

 

Jesse 

[Martin S-C]

On 20/03/2019 at 10:22, great northern said:

 

I could stare at that double slip all day.

[great northern]

A very quick visit, as I am seriously knackered. I'll deal with posts above tomorrow. Let's have another WD.

 

 

 

followed by another of the lens hood experiments.

 

 

 

and its goodnight from him.