Wright writes.....

[Reorte]

Thee should try it.........  . Today, the lucky ones amongst us are grandparents and great grandparents so no one need worry about us. We are well able to mix it!

Well, I've just moved (a month ago) to a probably pre-Victorian house (not quite sure how old) with a fireplace, draughty doors, and a bit of damp (and I've lived in them before), although the biggest damp worry I've got is the canal, namely falling in to it on my way home from the pub. Not so sure about trying out rationing though. It has some modern things in it, although the internet connection there seems about as fast and reliable as posting a letter and waiting for a reply.

 

Thinking of some of the other things mentioned I think I'll give the asbestos a miss too.

Edited June 24, 2015 by Reorte

[teaky]

OT but watch WallE (it's a film). That shows what will happen to the Human species in a few years time.

Anyhow, sensible question perhaps?

I know I should have bought a proper Hornby A4, but I got a Railroad one from Rails some time ago just for fun and so I can practise modification of loco rather than my usual coach or wagon bodging efforts. My question is, apart from the obvious that it needs lamp irons and cab handrails as well as plates on the boiler side, what else might that version need? (Not replacement valve gear as I'm dealing with that). The tender is wrong for Mallard circa 1963 AFAIK but that can wait.

I'd appreciate any comments/advice thanks.

Phil

Plenty of info. over on the LNER forum Phil.

 

Here's just one example entry: http://www.lner.info/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2443&p=108365&hilit=railroad+a4#p108365

Edited June 24, 2015 by teaky

[it's-er]

Tony at post 5105 "Anyway, off to finish a J69 before it's too late!". Photographs when it is finished, please! I know your allegiance is to large locomotives, but some of us love small locomotives too!

 

John

[polybear]

I was reading a report recently where the more recent generations are more likely to pre-decease their parents than in any time in recent history. Why? Sedentary life-styles, poor (though substantial) diets and gross obesity. 

 

 

 Oh sh*t, that's me done for.....      

[micklner]

Tony

     On your previous J69 build you attached a wagon with added pick ups have you any pictures of the wagon and how it is attached to the Loco please ? I have a little old K's Y8 going nowhere on live frog points and this sounds like a solution to the problem !!. 

[polybear]

 

I was reading a report recently where the more recent generations are more likely to pre-decease their parents than in any time in recent history. Why? Sedentary life-styles....

 

Come to think of it, I wonder if anyone will ever have the following words written on their Death Certificate:

 

"Cause Of Death: RMWeb"

 

polybear

Edited June 25, 2015 by polybear

[RonnieS]

Good Morning Tony

 

As I mentioned on the ‘phone t’other night I am selling Rob’s ex Stoke Summit Diesels here on rm web “Buy and Sell”

 

The first of these is:-

 

D9019 - LIMA Deltic Class 55
 

Two tone green livery without yellow panels (c mid-1962).

 

Repainted body, lightly weathered, roof mounted air horns, detailed front end.

 

LIMA wheels re-profiled to run on SMP/C&L code 75 track and point work (14.5mm back to back). No traction tyres but extra weight added.

 

Goal post style coupling fitted at rear end, bar to suit tension lock couplings could be fitted if required.
 
Price £35 inc postage and packing

 

Any questions pm me

The photos do not do it justice!
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[46256]

Hi Tony on the subject of deisels do the prototype DP2 and lion get a run on little Bytham?

[Mallard60022]

Good Morning Tony

 

As I mentioned on the ‘phone t’other night I am selling Rob’s ex Stoke Summit Diesels here on rm web “Buy and Sell”

 

The first of these is:-

unnamed.jpg

Lima D9019 - 1.jpg

 

D9019 - LIMA Deltic Class 55

 

Two tone green livery without yellow panels (c mid-1962).

 

Repainted body, lightly weathered, roof mounted air horns, detailed front end.

 

LIMA wheels re-profiled to run on SMP/C&L code 75 track and point work (14.5mm back to back). No traction tyres but extra weight added.

 

Goal post style coupling fitted at rear end, bar to suit tension lock couplings could be fitted if required.

 

Price £35 inc postage and packing

 

Any questions pm me

The photos do not do it justice!

 

I've spent two hours searching my archive for the possibility of there having been a Deltic through Seaton Junction between 1961/2 and 1964; nope! Shame as it looks good.

P

[The Stationmaster]

I've spent two hours searching my archive for the possibility of there having been a Deltic through Seaton Junction between 1961/2 and 1964; nope! Shame as it looks good.

P

But you could (er sort of) get away with a  double-headed pair of EE Type 3s on a diverted WR 'high speed' train

[Tony Wright]

Tony

     On your previous J69 build you attached a wagon with added pick ups have you any pictures of the wagon and how it is attached to the Loco please ? I have a little old K's Y8 going nowhere on live frog points and this sounds like a solution to the problem !!. 

Mick,

 

I didn't take pictures at the time, but I'll take some of it next weekend. 

 

It's really just a four-wheeled wooden wagon with a gapped PCB pad glued underneath its base, to which .45mm nickel silver wire pick-ups are soldered, rubbing gently against the rear of the flanges. Then, two flexible insulated wires join these to the loco's pick-ups. The trick is to couple the loco and wagon together by a scale coupling and then adjust the joining wires so that their tension ensures that the buffers always 'kiss'. That way, the loco and wagon move as one. 

[Andy Y]

Tony mentioned that we'd had an afternoon photographing on Little Bytham earlier in the week. The intention being to recreate some original images in model form; I think it's fair to say we had a reasonable stab at it, I messed up some white balance settings on the camera which has led to some issues when processing and Tony has spotted a few more tweaks he can make in train composition etc. A little fine tuning is required with literally a millimetre or two to the side or in height but hopefully the end results will pass muster after we've had another crack at it.

 

The view northwards from Little Bytham's signalbox:

 

 

 

A view from the occupation bridge south of the station looking northwards.

 

 

 

A view from the embankment by the bridge looking south-eastwards towards the station.

 

 

 

 

Hopefully Tony will be able to post copies of the originals we were working from a little later. 

 

There are fudges around the horizon line compositing other stock images I have to fill in the gaps which inevitably happen, no matter how large a layout is but I feel the pictures are honestly representative of the accuracy of the whole scene modelled.

 

The layout itself and how well it captures the proportions and appearance is the star of the show and there are very few layouts out there where it is possible to even attempt this level of replication.

[coachmann]

Stonking shots there using the telephoto. Many railway photographers (of the real thing)  used the 35mm equivalent of an 85mm lens rather than a standard 50mm. On the assumption a Canon G12 was used with minimum aperture of f8, I presume you used the stacking method in order to extend depth of field and overall sharpness.

Edited June 26, 2015 by coachmann

[Mallard60022]

That last shot is just amazing. The 'backscene' gives me huge hope for a future project in a restricted space for background scenery.

Lovely shots......made my day.

Phil

[Andy Y]

I presume you used the stacking method in order to extend depth of field and overall sharpness.

 

Quite correct, it's not possible to replicate the depth of field the original photographer achieved in model form without doing so. It's small form helps to get the camera into some tight spots which a larger camera could not be positioned hence helping Tony out with these shots for the forthcoming bookazine.

 

This was my second G12 as it's a little bit poorly after over quarter of a million frames (my previous one racked up nearly a third of a million) and I'm just off to pick up a replacement, refurbished by a professional company and bought with a warranty for £120 which proves it's not essential to spend an arm and a leg on the appropriate equipment. If my third G12 accomplishes a similar workrate I'll be quite happy.

 

Why choose a camera model which is almost 5 years old and has several successors already? Its immediate replacement, the G1X will not focus down to the close-up distances needed for some shots - a compromise to accommodate the larger sensor in it, the G15 and G16 have marginally larger sensors but no flip-out display screen for working in awkward spots plus there is no software hack available for the G16 to enable scripts on the SD card to be used to control the focus intervals.

[Dr Gerbil-Fritters]

Anyone interested in focus stack can have a look here for a quick tutorial.  It's relatively straight forward to do, but requires patience, decent lighting, a good camera and a kickass good tripod.

 

I think Andy's final photograph of 60136 is one of the best layout pictures I've seen for a while.  For me, the only thing that mitigates against it being a perfect evocation of a full size scene is a lack of atmospheric perspective (colour and softening) and a slightly flat lighting set up.  

 

These are things that can be sorted in further post production - part of my job entails working with VXF Compositors, and some of the tricks they use to build convincing real worlds from CGI material could be used to enhance layout photography - but that would be taking it into another realm entirely, and I'm actually not that much of a fan of that sort of thing.  I'm an old analog 'in-camera' effects kind of guy

[t-b-g]

I know I am a bit old fashioned and way, way behind the times (and proud of it) but I would rather see a photo of a layout as it actually looks, rather than one that has been digitally enhanced to look as much like the real thing as possible.

 

I am quite happy with an "off baseboard" area being blanked out to remove clutter but somehow a grafted on scenic view, giving the impression that the baseboards are 60ft wide, may result in a nice looking photo but it is presenting an image of a layout that just does not exist in real life.

 

Little Bytham is a superb layout and I have been lucky enough to see it a few times but it just does not look like the photo when you see it.

 

One very minor matter, have a look at the three way points in the comparison views, with special attention being given to the check rails. Even the great master misses something sometimes. It is good to know he is human after all!

 

Tony (G)

[Tony Wright]

Tony mentioned that we'd had an afternoon photographing on Little Bytham earlier in the week. The intention being to recreate some original images in model form; I think it's fair to say we had a reasonable stab at it, I messed up some white balance settings on the camera which has led to some issues when processing and Tony has spotted a few more tweaks he can make in train composition etc. A little fine tuning is required with literally a millimetre or two to the side or in height but hopefully the end results will pass muster after we've had another crack at it.

 

TWs - 60128 from Box.jpg

 

TWs - 60049 from Bridg.jpg

 

TWs - 60136 from MGNR.jpg

 

Hopefully Tony will be able to post copies of the originals we were working from a little later.

 

There are fudges around the horizon line compositing other stock images I have to fill in the gaps which inevitably happen, no matter how large a layout is but I feel the pictures are honestly representative of the accuracy of the whole scene modelled.

 

The layout itself and how well it captures the proportions and appearance is the star of the show and there are very few layouts out there where it is possible to even attempt this level of replication.

Just a short, but very sincere, 'Thank You', Andy, for producing such amazing shots. In my time as a professional model railway photographer, I thought I achieved some 'reasonable' results. However, it's a wise man (sorry to boast) who knows when his time has finished and it's time to retire! You, and your contemporaries, have taken the form to a level I couldn't possibly achieve. My congratulations. 

 

Now, I'm sure you can join these relevant prototype images with yours - I can't; yet another area in which I've been left miles behind! 

 

 

This shot was taken in 1951/'52 by the late Wilf (sorry, don't know the surname), who used to be one of the Bytham track gang. Apologies for the poor quality, but it's the best he could achieve with a Kodak Brownie box camera. Though the loco is the same one (60128 BONGRACE), note the differences in loco's appearance (the model is set in 1958) and the not-quite-the-same stock. 

 

 

 

The next two were taken in the summer of 1962 by the late Noel Ingram, and post-date the station's closure by three years. 

 

 

In this shot, taken from Marsh Bridge just south of the station, 60067 LADAS heads an Up express, mainly composed of Mk.1s with a Gresley leading. I don't have a model of 60067, so GALTEE MORE had to stand-in. It's a modified/detailed Hornby A3. 

 

 

Again, the same loco as in the prototype shot, 60136 ALCAZAR, heading a northbound express. The train is all Mk.1s, apart from the Gresley Catering Car (which I should have turned round to reveal more white windows). The tall, co-acting signals went in 1959, at the time of the station's closure. Both this loco and 60128 were built from DJH kits by me (painted by Ian Rathbone) and the carriages the work of Tony Geary and me. Any apparent wagons show Rob Davey's considerable talent for weathering. 

 

In Andy's pictures, I'm particularly pleased with the way Norman Solomon's trackwork has turned out - I got the best man at the job, no doubt! The signals, by Mick Nicholson and Graham Nicholas also look superb.

 

I think what pleases me the most is how the 'open' nature of the site has been represented. I know I caused some concern some little time ago by saying that too much 'selective' compression results in a lack of realism when modelling an actual prototype, but I stand by it. Main line stations and their environs (however cramped) come in two sizes - large and vast! Little Bytham is a small station but its site is big. 

 

I think it also proves (apologies for reiterating this) that if one is lucky enough to belong to a group of talented modellers who pool their collective resources and 'all sing from the same hymn-sheet', the results can work really well. Where all help each other by donating their individual talents and 'do what they're good at', in return for others doing what they do well. I commend it. 

[Tony Wright]

Tony mentioned that we'd had an afternoon photographing on Little Bytham earlier in the week. The intention being to recreate some original images in model form; I think it's fair to say we had a reasonable stab at it, I messed up some white balance settings on the camera which has led to some issues when processing and Tony has spotted a few more tweaks he can make in train composition etc. A little fine tuning is required with literally a millimetre or two to the side or in height but hopefully the end results will pass muster after we've had another crack at it.

 

TWs - 60128 from Box.jpg

 

TWs - 60049 from Bridg.jpg

 

TWs - 60136 from MGNR.jpg

 

Hopefully Tony will be able to post copies of the originals we were working from a little later.

 

There are fudges around the horizon line compositing other stock images I have to fill in the gaps which inevitably happen, no matter how large a layout is but I feel the pictures are honestly representative of the accuracy of the whole scene modelled.

 

The layout itself and how well it captures the proportions and appearance is the star of the show and there are very few layouts out there where it is possible to even attempt this level of replication.

Just a short, but very sincere, 'Thank You', Andy, for producing such amazing shots. In my time as a professional model railway photographer, I thought I achieved some 'reasonable' results. However, it's a wise man (sorry to boast) who knows when his time has finished and it's time to retire! You, and your contemporaries have taken the genre to a level I couldn't possibly hope to achieve. 

 

Something else I cannot achieve is the insertion of images to a previous post, so perhaps you can put these in in time. 

 

 

This is the prototype shot of 60128 BONGRACE, taken in 1951/'52 by the late Wilf (sorry, don't know his surname) using a Kodak box camera. Apologies for the poor quality, but he was a member of the Bytham track gang, not a photographer! Note the differences in the appearance of the loco (the same one), but the model represents 1958. I did my best to replicate the train, but it's obviously not the same. 

 

The next two shots were taken by the late Noel Ingram in the summer of 1962, post-dating the station's closure by two years.

 

 

In this view, 60067 LADAS heads southwards on an Up express (I don't have 60067, so 60049 GALTEE MORE - a detailed/modified Hornby product - had to suffice). The train is mainly Mk.1s with a Gresley leading. 

 

 

This time it is the same loco, 60136 ALCAZAR, heading a Down express. The train is almost all Mk.1s, with a Gresley Catering Car (which I should have turned round to show the side with more white windows). I built both the A1s (painted by Ian Rathbone) and the trains are mine and Tony Geary's work. Any weathered wagons apparent show Rob Davey's expertise. I can see I'll have to do further work on the telegraph poles. The tall repeating signals were removed in 1959, when the station was closed. 

 

I think what pleases me the most is how the open nature of the site has been captured by Andy. Norman Solomon's trackwork is peerless and Mick Nicholson's and Graham Nicholas' signals look the part absolutely. Some little time ago I caused concern by stating that trying to cram too much in (selective compression?) on a model of a prototype main line just doesn't 'work', and realism is lost. I still stick by that view. Real main line station sites, however cramped they might be, come in two sizes - large and vast! Little Bytham is a small station but its site is big. Thanks Andy for reproducing that effect so well.

 

I also shows how lucky I am to be part of a band of skilled modellers who've pooled their resources to produce something of 'worth'. We've all actually 'made this' (though I abstract myself from the 'skilled' category when I see Norman Solomon's trackwork), helping each other out by trading skills in the main (I assisted Norman with a DVD).  

Edited June 26, 2015 by Tony Wright

[Andy Y]

Apologies for the almost duplicate post above; we had some technical issues at the time was posting this but as there subtle differences in the posts I'll leave them in situ.

[davidw]

When will the Bookzine (correct spelling?) be released?

[Tony Wright]

Thanks Andy,

 

When I tried to post my reply, I got a service unavailable. And, it didn't appear to have saved. So, I tried again, but had forgotten exactly what I'd written. 

 

I note that you've cloned the real background onto the shot of ALACAR now. Though it's very effective (and brilliantly done!), I have to say I'm with Tony Gee on this one. 

 

But, many thanks again. 

Edited June 26, 2015 by Tony Wright

[coachmann]

Thanks for the useful info on the G12 Andy. Camera manufacturers are well known for messing successful models up, which is why I kept to a basic box (Mamiya 645 with WLF) and separate meter for many years. Today it would be too much like hard work, as the current Canon 600D will is so instinctive and will do anything I demand of it,  except get as low as your G12.

[Dr Gerbil-Fritters]

Folk can judge for themselves the quality of modelling and photography on display here.  

 

 

 

 

If the mission was to recreate LB, then I would judge it a success against the harshest critic of all - reality.

[Tony Wright]

Folk can judge for themselves the quality of modelling and photography on display here.  

 

AY_TW01.jpg

 

AY_TW02.jpg

 

AY_TW03.jpg

 

If the mission was to recreate LB, then I would judge it a success against the harshest critic of all - reality.

Thanks ever so much for putting these into sequence - something way beyond me.

 

Looking at the A3 picture, I can see I've got to do a fair bit more with regard to the limestone outcrops, though that's not too difficult. Today, such protuberances are completely hidden by dense growth.

The trees in the middle left-hand distance are also incorrect, or at least they're position. Citing hypocrisy with regard to selective compression, the trees should be at least a scale 50 yards away to the left, beyond a strip of grass between fields. When viewing from the east, they're there behind the signal box in reality, but I've got them much too close. They hide the locos in the kick-back sidings. 

 

I think what militates (not mitigates, sorry - pedantry) most against the model images (particularly the first A1) is the narrow look of the track, despite its being superbly made and laid. An inevitability of OO I'm afraid. 

Edited June 26, 2015 by Tony Wright