Annie's Virtual Pre-Grouping, Grouping and BR Layouts & Workbench

[Compound2632]

23 minutes ago, MikeOxon said:

Even those now- blackened walls and buildings were once clean bright stone.

 

Or often enough vice-versa. 

[MikeOxon]

39 minutes ago, Compound2632 said:

 

Or often enough vice-versa. 

I agree that there has been a major programme of 'cleaning up' many of our towns and cities in recent years.  I was recalling my own impressions from the Lancashire of my youth, when black was the prevailing colour.

[Annie]

1 hour ago, MikeOxon said:

Excellent colourising by Adrian Knowles.

I would really like to know how these colourised photos are done.  I'm sure the methods being used would be useful for the kinds of texturing work I do for Trainz models.

[MikeOxon]

10 minutes ago, Annie said:

I would really like to know how these colourised photos are done. 

I've done a little myself, although not to anywhere near the standard shown here. 

 

My approach has been to select the 'colour' mode of the various painting tools in Adobe Photoshop.  There are various controls for transparency and flow of the colours being applied.  The basic light and shade of the image is retained from the black and white original, so that the colour can be applied in quite large 'washes'.  Great care is needed at edges and it is always advisable to work with the image at 'actual size' and to keep 'standing back', by reducing the size, to assess the overall effect.  In this respect, I think it is similar to the ways in which artists approach the fine brushwork in their works.   Unfortunately, most of my attempts on this site seem to have been lost in the general image cull since the recent crash.

[Annie]

Sounds similar to some of the basic recolouring work I've done with Paint.NET only to a much higher standard than I could ever hope to do.  Thanks for explaining how it's done Mike.

[Regularity]

3 hours ago, MikeOxon said:

I agree that there has been a major programme of 'cleaning up' many of our towns and cities in recent years.  I was recalling my own impressions from the Lancashire of my youth, when black was the prevailing colour.

 

[Annie]

Afternoon Broad Gauge Cheer Up Picture:  'Hawk', no other information about this photo unfortunately, but it has to be a fairly early photo.  EDIT:  After doing a little research; - 'Eagle' class, one of 15 in the class.  Built 1859 for the South Devon Railway by Slaughter Gruning & Co.  Withdrawn in 1892. 

I'm sure I had a later picture of 'Hawk' somewhere, but I can't find it.

 

Edited April 14, 2022 by Annie
More information

[rocor]

7 hours ago, Annie said:

Afternoon Broad Gauge Cheer Up Picture:  'Hawk', no other information about this photo unfortunately, but it has to be a fairly early photo.  EDIT:  After doing a little research; - 'Eagle' class, one of 15 in the class.  Built 1859 for the South Devon Railway by Slaughter Gruning & Co.  Withdrawn in 1892. 

I'm sure I had a later picture of 'Hawk' somewhere, but I can't find it.

 

 

At first quick glance, I wondered why the driver was playing a double bass.

[Annie]

45 minutes ago, rocor said:

 

At first quick glance, I wondered why the driver was playing a double bass.

I know,  I had to look twice before I realised it was the reversing lever.

[Annie]

Watching the trains go by on my WIP Penzance to Camborne and Branches layout.  I realigned most of the track between Marazion and St. Erth and fixed a few signal faults so that meant that I needed to do some testing afterwards to make sure it all works properly.  Some of the track still needs a wee bit of adjusting to complete the job, but overall it's a lot better than it was.

I wasn't feeling so well today so it was nice to immerse myself in my own little world for a while.  I'm trying to make up my mind which station and its yards I should rebuild next.  Marazion, St. Erth and Hayle all need work (sooooo much work) with Hayle being the worst with its wharves & etc.  St. Erth needs a lot doing to it as well, - so I'm considering Marazion to be the focus of my attention for the next couple of weeks or so.

 

The goods train for Helston seems to be my chosen test train at present.  The 45xx is one of Paulz Trainz older models from early TS2004 days.  It's had a general overhaul and a tidy up and its paintwork got a polish up as well and it's now a very nice runner in Trainz TRS22.

 

 

 

Edited April 14, 2022 by Annie
can't spell for toffee

[Annie]

Morning Cheer Up Picture:  I like single driver well tanks at the best of times, but this ever so slightly scruffy Buddicom well tank locomotive from the Chemin de fer l'Ouest really made me smile this morning.

 

Edited April 14, 2022 by Annie
Picture not behaving

[Compound2632]

9 hours ago, rocor said:

At first quick glance, I wondered why the driver was playing a double bass.

 

Watch him like a hawk; he may be on the fiddle.

[Annie]

Evening GWR Cheer Up Picture:  'Scott' class 'Atlantic' No.179 'Magnet' built 1905 at Swindon Works.  Renamed ‘Quentin Durward’ in March 1907 when the decision was made to select names from Sir Walter Scott’s novels for the 4-4-2 'Atlantics'.

 

(Picture shamelessly borrowed from the Didcot Railway Centre)

 

For some reason I have four of these that I know off, - or is it five........

This is No. 181 'Ivanhoe'

 

Edited April 15, 2022 by Annie
added a picture

[Annie]

Supplementary Point of Information:

 

I have checked and I have only four 'Scott' class Atlantics  (I wonder if I need another one?).

 

No.181 'Ivanhoe' as pictured above.

No.185 'Winterstoke' which like 'Ivanhoe' has been through the works and overhauled for use in TRS22.

No.183 'Red Gauntlet' which is still in TS2004 condition and awaiting its turn in the works.

No.179 'Magnet'.  Now this was a surprise as I thought this model had the later name ‘Quentin Durward’, - only it doesn't.  As a TS2004 condition engine still awaiting overhaul I hadn't had a good look at it for a while so I'd forgotten its true name.  (Hmmm that sounds like the beginning of a fantasy novel..........)  Though this does open up the possibility of equipping No.179 with a tender with the nice GWR script on the side.

 

Edit:  I did have look around for any 'Star' class models that might be about for Trainz, but they're all 1930's rebuilds which was a bit disappointing.  Anyway I'm happy enough with my 'Saints' as both Longrock and Truro had allocations of 'Saints' at various times during my slightly flexible time period.

 

No.185 'Winterstoke'

Edited April 15, 2022 by Annie
added a picture, wrote more words

[Annie]

'Winterstoke' under test.  And yes I do know that the Atlantics didn't run in Cornwall.  My WIP Penzance to Camborne & Branches layout is too useful as a test track for me to get all prototypical about it.

 

 

[MikeOxon]

3 minutes ago, Annie said:

'Winterstoke' under test.  And yes I do know that the Atlantics didn't run in Cornwall.  My WIP Penzance to Camborne & Branches layout is too useful as a test track for me to get all prototypical about it.

Nice clean exhaust - good Welsh steam coal - although a lot leaking from the cylinders.  I enjoy these videos that bring the modelling to life.

[Annie]

1 minute ago, MikeOxon said:

Nice clean exhaust - good Welsh steam coal - although a lot leaking from the cylinders.  I enjoy these videos that bring the modelling to life.

Thanks Mike.  The cylinder steam animation is still the old TS2004 one which makes 'Winterstoke' look like it's blown something.  I've got a better scripted animation which has more prototypical steam effects, but I haven't got to fitting it and sorting it out yet.  The exhaust from the chimney is now controlled by a nice animation file that's an big improvement on the original, but the one for the cylinder draincocks is more of a fiddle to set up which is most probably why I've been putting it off.   The sound file I used is a recent rework and update of an older two cylinder Stephenson valve gear sound file which seems to suit 'Winterstoke' very nicely.

 

The coastal run from Ponsandane Sidings to just past the Longrock signal box is a largely completed scenic section so it's a good spot for doing short videos.  Marazion is next for a darn good tidy up and if I can get it to look as good as Gwinear Road turned out I'll be very happy.

[Northroader]

Annie, me dear, lovely run, but I have to say, for once there are far too many trees!  Its an exposed coast, wide open to strong south westerly gales, salt laden winds, with poor, stoney soils, and they just didn’t grow tall and in profusion like that. You could remove everything on the right hand side. In this picture the diesel depot on the site of the old steam depot is the bluey green building in the middle distance.

[Annie]

1 hour ago, Northroader said:

Annie, me dear, lovely run, but I have to say, for once there are far too many trees!  Its an exposed coast, wide open to strong south westerly gales, salt laden winds, with poor, stoney soils, and they just didn’t grow tall and in profusion like that. You could remove everything on the right hand side. In this picture the diesel depot on the site of the old steam depot is the bluey green building in the middle distance.

There were originally a lot more trees than that on the seaward side and I've thinned them out.  After looking at various steam era photos I was coming to the same conclusion that the trees need to go it's just that I hadn't got around to doing it yet.

The layout's original builder is an Australian and it's plain that he built it using fairly minimal information and a lot of his own imagination in some places.  Certainly here in New Zealand (and no doubt Australia as well) we have some very hardy native coastal tree species that wouldn't be put off from growing along an exposed coastline, but I do take your point that the stretch of coastline between Penzance and Marazion isn't like that. 

The trees do look awfully nice though, but despite looking nice they will be removed next time I'm working on the layout.

 

Yes I saw that blue abomination of a building in the photo that was built on the grave of Longrock MPD and the less said about it the better.

[Annie]

Morning Cheer Up Illustration:  An ink railway illustration by H.R. Millar 1903 entitled 'Only Toys' originally published in the Strand magazine.

 

[Tom Burnham]

The children are Irene and Torquil - 'A bored brother and sister are shrunk to Lilliputian size by Santa Claus. Irene and Torquil discover that not only are their toys alive but that the dolls, tin soldiers and other playthings regard themselves as completely human. Myriad adventures and mishaps ensue. At one point the miniaturized siblings are haled into court for boarding a train without tickets. The judge is utterly gob-smacked when he hears the charge: “No! I can’t — I can’t believe it. Whatever you may be, Prisoners, tell me you have not sunk to that!” Eventually, Irene and Torquil are acquitted when their brilliant lawyer, a jack-in-the-box, proves that the pair aren’t really “human,” that they are “only toys.”'

[Annie]

Thank for the background to that wonderful picture Tom.  I knew there had to be a story of some kind attached to it.

[Annie]

Morning Broad Gauge Cheer Up Picture:  Very much a cheer up picture this morning.  Details on the mixed gauge at Penzance are hard to find and this morning the Broad Gauge Society came up trumps.  This photo is believed to date from around 1870 approximately five years after the mixed gauge conversion.   The earliest photo I'd been able to find before this was dated 1908 so you can understand why I'm so pleased.

 

 

 

[Annie]

63 years in the making.

 

Amberdale 1890

[Edwardian]

7 hours ago, Annie said:

Morning Broad Gauge Cheer Up Picture:  Very much a cheer up picture this morning.  Details on the mixed gauge at Penzance are hard to find and this morning the Broad Gauge Society came up trumps.  This photo is believed to date from around 1870 approximately five years after the mixed gauge conversion.   The earliest photo I'd been able to find before this was dated 1908 so you can understand why I'm so pleased.

 

 

 

 

Fascinating, Annie. I'm not sure I'd ever seen the original train shed before.

 

7 hours ago, Annie said:

63 years in the making.

 

Amberdale 1890

 

Wow!

 

An inspiration to us all. I had never heard of this layout, but it is outstanding.