D1047 Posted May 14, 2014 Share Posted May 14, 2014 Thanks for the kind comments guys.RMWEB has helped inspire me to try and complete Shenston road and up my standard with the knowledge and fantastic modelling that's shared on here. I must thank Paul James, a life long friend who has helped me develop this layout over the passed 14 years and also Kier Hardy who after moving to the area about 8 years ago becoming firm friends helped kick start a stalled project with some fantastic buildings and help with the dark art of the electrics. A lot of work is still required to complete my vision of a chunk of my childhood pre tops 70s, in the industrial midlands but there is enough to now loose myself in time and recharge the creative batteries . It can also be operated to a later date with careful selection of the stock I have built up to revive my memories of working on the railway from the mid 70s to the grey era , present day hasn't quite got the magic for me. Its getting there as long as I don't get distracted with new must have's. .I hope to show further progression through Paul's expert camera lens , as my box brownie don't cut the mustard!!. Thanks for looking. Greg 13 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Swindon 123 Posted May 27, 2014 Author Popular Post Share Posted May 27, 2014 Hello everyone. I thought I'd drag Shenston Road from the depths of the topic with some more photographs. First some hydraulic action. D836 "POWERFUL" approaches Shenston Road. Another shot of D836 "POWERFUL" as it runs into the up platform as Cl 47, 1813 runs through on the down main. Finally D1007 "WESTERN TALISMAN" approaches Shenston Road with a train of bogie bolsters. Finally some diesel electric interlopers. 402 runs through Shenston Road on a driver training run. A busy time at Shenston Road with D5059 + 5084 heading down the branch to the steelworks as Cl 47 1720 runs past on the down main and 1932 waits in the down platform. Enjoy. Paul J. 32 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobster Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 Superb Paul - One of my favorites. Cheers, Bob. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh Flynn Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 Some great photos thanks for sharing. Buildings all look just right. Hugh Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Module00 Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 Realy great and beautiful layout. I like it very well. Very good work. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
0O00 Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 Cracking stuff. One of my 'Desert Island' layouts (plus Wibdenshaw). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
porkie Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 Absolutely stunning. Love your attention to detail on the scenery and back drop. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swindon 123 Posted June 9, 2014 Author Share Posted June 9, 2014 Hello all. Here are some more photos of Shenston Road and its rolling stock. (2nd attempt after making a complete hash of the first). Mostly hydraulic influence this post with the odd Diesel Electric thrown in. First D6327 in the down platform loop at Shenston Road with a freight Next continuing the Cl22 theme, D6320 and D1028 'Western Hussar' in the steelworks exchange sidings. Now continuing with Westerns, another view of D1023 on the Western Finale railtour in 1977 exiting the tunnel at the Wolverhampton end of the layout. Diesel Electric interloper in the form of Cl31, 5809 waits in the Down Platform loop as D1028 'Western Hussar' passes on the Down main. Before finally getting under way its self. More to come as soon as I sort them out, (or take some more). Paul J. 18 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobster Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 First class pics Paul - Looking forward to more - This looks like 7mm to me. Cheers, Bob. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swindon 123 Posted June 21, 2014 Author Share Posted June 21, 2014 (edited) Some more photos of Shenston Road for you all to look at. D1028 "Western Hussar" stops at Shenston Road with a northbound train. A general view of the station with a Class 108 waiting to follow D1028. The destination of Hunts Cross seems highly unlikely. D337 approaches Shenston Road with a train of covhops. Finally some of Greg's wagons in the guise of some 21T minerals. Chivers kits with the coal represented by foam. The packing from Heljan locos looks just right. B31008. (Looks like the sign writer missed off a number. Not unknown on the prototype). B312948. Paul J. B313542 Edited June 21, 2014 by Swindon 123 16 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobster Posted June 21, 2014 Share Posted June 21, 2014 First class layout and pics - Can't have enough of this Cheers, Bob. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swindon 123 Posted June 26, 2014 Author Share Posted June 26, 2014 Hello all, Some more photos from the Shenston Road files. A couple of Greg's wagons included. Cl 47, 1728 on a freight passes under the rail bridge by the steel works. Part of the train consist incudes. TTA TRL51667. Coil K B934576 KEV BB935247. (seems to have lost the V in "KEV". The things you notice on a photo) Hopefully Greg will be able to fill you all in as the origin of these wagons. One thing I do know is, the loads in the coil carriers are made from 13A fuse wire, patiently wound round a tube to create individual coils. Finally back to TOPS with 40141 on a train of cement hoppers. Paul J. 18 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold simonmcp Posted June 26, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 26, 2014 (edited) I thought you had sneaked in a prototype photo of the Western on the bottom of the first page. Superb modelling, extremely realistic. Simon Edited June 26, 2014 by simonmcp Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Swindon 123 Posted September 16, 2014 Author Popular Post Share Posted September 16, 2014 Well after a summer break, I've finally been able to process some more photos of Shenston Road. This time the emphasis is on Peaks, the original ones. Greg has done 4 of them in Pre TOPS livery. Here are 3 of them with a couple of other loco class thrown in for good measure. first up is D1 seen approaching Shenston Road station. Next D4 is seen waiting to depart from the goods lines at Shenston Road. This loco was unusual in having extra footsteps and handrails on the nose. Something that Greg has faithfully reproduced. Another oddity was D9 with its odd ends. Once again Greg was up for the challenge as seen by the next photo of D9 running past the steelworks. And now the other end as the loco approaches Shenston Road station. To finish off this post a couple of photos of some of Gregs latest handy work. First the latest 40 into the Shenston fleet, D218 approaches Shenston Road. And lastly the latest addition to the Eastwell Ironstone fleet that had been in the Shenston Road workshops for weathering. D8231 approaching Shenston Road. Until the next post enjoy. Paul J. 34 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Ramblin Rich Posted September 16, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 16, 2014 ....... Until the next post enjoy.Paul J. Oh, we most certainly do! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Jamiel Posted September 17, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 17, 2014 (edited) Shenston Road must be one of my very favourite layouts. The weathering of the rolling stock and buildings is excellent, and it has just the right amount of detail, not packing to many details into a too smaller space (which is hard to resist I know). The grass and moss work is also just lovely.I would love to know a little about how Paul achieves such fabulous photographs, the depth of field, and the realism in the lighting. Do you photograph the model in natural light/direct sunlight? Do you use a tripod to allow long exposures and a trigger lead? and what lenses do you use? Primes to get the most light in I would presume.Do you use split focus, combined in Photoshop?Lovely to see the layout on Rmweb, although I always check the Emgauge70's website at the start of every month too.Thanks you for sharing the photos.JamiePS. I have ofen shown friends the below photo from the website, http://www.emgauge70s.co.uk/ , and asked if it is real or a model, it is so hard to tell. There was slightly cropped version, that ended at the signal box, and that was impossible to tell if it was a model. I hope you don't mind my linking this image. Edited September 17, 2014 by Jamiel 14 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunmar Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 (edited) I have followed your layout Paul on the EM website along with 'Wibdenshaw' which I was fortunate enough to see in the flesh at Glasgow both are truly amazing! Jamie your pic is superb - you're right it is almost the the real thing. Bill. Edited September 17, 2014 by Dunmar Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunmar Posted September 17, 2014 Share Posted September 17, 2014 OOoops! Sorry - only just realised the pic was from the website! Bill. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swindon 123 Posted September 19, 2014 Author Share Posted September 19, 2014 Shenston Road must be one of my very favourite layouts. The weathering of the rolling stock and buildings is excellent, and it has just the right amount of detail, not packing to many details into a too smaller space (which is hard to resist I know). The grass and moss work is also just lovely. I would love to know a little about how Paul achieves such fabulous photographs, the depth of field, and the realism in the lighting. Do you photograph the model in natural light/direct sunlight? Do you use a tripod to allow long exposures and a trigger lead? and what lenses do you use? Primes to get the most light in I would presume. Do you use split focus, combined in Photoshop? Lovely to see the layout on Rmweb, although I always check the Emgauge70's website at the start of every month too. Thanks you for sharing the photos. Jamie PS. I have ofen shown friends the below photo from the website, http://www.emgauge70s.co.uk/ , and asked if it is real or a model, it is so hard to tell. There was slightly cropped version, that ended at the signal box, and that was impossible to tell if it was a model. I hope you don't mind my linking this image. Hello Jamiel I hope I can answer you questions to explain how I've achieved the photos I've posted. I use a Canon EOS 1100D with an 18-55mm zoom lens. It has taken me around 18 months to perfect using the camera so far, and I've still got a bit to learn and experiment with it. At least with digital cameras you can afford to trial and error and make mistakes without the worry of film costs! For lighting I use whatever is available in the room the layout is situated. If it's a nice sunny day there is usually enough natural light, but if not, artificial light has to do. The camera will compensate for this although I'm still experimenting on the best settings to get the best results. With regards to using a tripod I'll sometimes use one depending on the location, but some places it is possible to put the camera down at track level. I prefer to do this if possible. The very nature of the layout design makes for limited locations to take photos and what appears in the background and how easy it is to crop it out sometimes dictates where to place the camera. The lens is a Canon EFS 18-55mm. I usually use the camera in Aperture Priority mode with the F. stop set as high as possible, (usually F25-F29), with the lens at 18mm focal length. This seems to get me the best depth of field. I leave the camera to sort out the shutter speed but as this is usually quite a long exposure I set the self timer to 10seconds, press the shutter and let the camera get on with it so as not to get any camera shake. I use he cameras auto focus to ensure the focus comes out correct, adjusting the focus point of the camera as required. This means I capture a lot of background in the image that is not wanted, but with the camera being something like 12 megapixels I have found it possible to crop out what is not required without much problem. It's the depth of field of the photo that is important in my mind. As an example of this method below are a couple of photos. The first is the original one out of the camera. Although a reasonably decent photo in itself with a good depth of field, it is possible to crop the photo to nearly half its size and just concentrate on the 40 and its train with out much loss in picture quality. Apart from slightly straightening the cropped image I haven't altered it in any other way. Sometimes I will take multiple images of the same scene altering certain things like the cameras point of focus or the zoom length and then see which is the best shot, which I then post, but I don't combine multiple images to achieve one shot. Just getting a single shot altered to within the parameters to be able to post it on RM Web takes long enough. To do anything else would eat into serious modeling time. I hope the above answers some of your questions. I've enjoyed taking photos of Shenston Road as for one thing it has made me learn more about how to get the most out of the camera. It's a never ending learning process that will continue for a long time yet. As a parting gesture here's a photo I took. Is it real or a model. I'll leave you all to judge? Paul J. 13 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Jamiel Posted September 19, 2014 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 19, 2014 Thanks Paul.The exposure times and F-stops are very informative, and really helpful for anyone wanting to try to achieve the extremely high quality of photos you have posted.The self timer is a nice touch to avoid any camera shake.Have you tried using prime lenses? They would cut the exposure times down as they let in a lot more light than a zoom, but that said if the trains are static and the camera on solid base it is no problem.Of course none of that would matter if the layout itself were not such a fantastic model.I love the photos of the class 40 goods train. I would presume that the wagon shot is a model, perhaps something in the bricks in the background give it away, but wonderful work regardless.Thank you again Paul for sharing more images of the layout, and for the tips on photographing it. Inspirational for both modelling and photography.Jamie 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Enterprisingwestern Posted September 20, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 20, 2014 Hello Jamiel I hope I can answer you questions to explain how I've achieved the photos I've posted. I use a Canon EOS 1100D with an 18-55mm zoom lens. It has taken me around 18 months to perfect using the camera so far, and I've still got a bit to learn and experiment with it. At least with digital cameras you can afford to trial and error and make mistakes without the worry of film costs! For lighting I use whatever is available in the room the layout is situated. If it's a nice sunny day there is usually enough natural light, but if not, artificial light has to do. The camera will compensate for this although I'm still experimenting on the best settings to get the best results. With regards to using a tripod I'll sometimes use one depending on the location, but some places it is possible to put the camera down at track level. I prefer to do this if possible. The very nature of the layout design makes for limited locations to take photos and what appears in the background and how easy it is to crop it out sometimes dictates where to place the camera. The lens is a Canon EFS 18-55mm. I usually use the camera in Aperture Priority mode with the F. stop set as high as possible, (usually F25-F29), with the lens at 18mm focal length. This seems to get me the best depth of field. I leave the camera to sort out the shutter speed but as this is usually quite a long exposure I set the self timer to 10seconds, press the shutter and let the camera get on with it so as not to get any camera shake. I use he cameras auto focus to ensure the focus comes out correct, adjusting the focus point of the camera as required. This means I capture a lot of background in the image that is not wanted, but with the camera being something like 12 megapixels I have found it possible to crop out what is not required without much problem. It's the depth of field of the photo that is important in my mind. As an example of this method below are a couple of photos. The first is the original one out of the camera. Shenston Rd steelworks.jpg Although a reasonably decent photo in itself with a good depth of field, it is possible to crop the photo to nearly half its size and just concentrate on the 40 and its train with out much loss in picture quality. Shenston Rd steelworks-D337.jpg Apart from slightly straightening the cropped image I haven't altered it in any other way. Sometimes I will take multiple images of the same scene altering certain things like the cameras point of focus or the zoom length and then see which is the best shot, which I then post, but I don't combine multiple images to achieve one shot. Just getting a single shot altered to within the parameters to be able to post it on RM Web takes long enough. To do anything else would eat into serious modeling time. I hope the above answers some of your questions. I've enjoyed taking photos of Shenston Road as for one thing it has made me learn more about how to get the most out of the camera. It's a never ending learning process that will continue for a long time yet. As a parting gesture here's a photo I took. Is it real or a model. I'll leave you all to judge? van black & white. (Resized).jpg Paul J. Definitely a model, the real B733214 had a 2" scratch on the left hand door and a rivet missing from the end corrugations. Excellent pics as ever Paul. Mike. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wibble Posted September 20, 2014 Share Posted September 20, 2014 Definitely a model, the real B733214 had a 2" scratch on the left hand door and a rivet missing from the end corrugations. Excellent pics as ever Paul. Mike. I think you'll find the scratch was on the right hand door. Nice photos as ever Paul..... don't tell them about focus stitching! :) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Enterprisingwestern Posted September 20, 2014 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 20, 2014 I think you'll find the scratch was on the right hand door. Nice photos as ever Paul..... don't tell them about focus stitching! :) I bow to your superior knowledge Kier Mike. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swindon 123 Posted November 27, 2014 Author Share Posted November 27, 2014 Well a couple of months have gone by and I finally got round to taking some more shots of Shenston Road, coupled with the fact that Greg had finished a couple of new Westerns to add to his fleet. So first off a couple of shots of the new Westerns, with a couple of other locos thrown in. When I've finished cropping the other shots I'll post them. First D1005 on a train of steel coils. Note that on the one end the headboard clips have been removed from D1005 after repairs to accident damage. Don't ask me which end this is as Westerns are not my strongest class. I'm sure Greg will be able to fill in that detail. Next D1054, Western Governor on a train of Gulf bogie tanks and then a passenger. To continue with the hydraulic theme for today, three from Gregs fleet. D1028, Western Hussar on a coal train. Hymek D7056 on a train of Bitumen tanks. And finally "Teddy Bear" D9535 on a trip working. Paul J. 17 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Swindon 123 Posted November 29, 2014 Author Popular Post Share Posted November 29, 2014 Here are a few more photos, generally of parts of the layout not covered before. First have a look near the station before moving on to some shots of the steelworks. 1813 departs the Up Goods with a loaded coal. The house backs just out of shot on the left in the previous shot. The street in front of the houses. A shot of the steelworks from the Blast Furnaces end looking towards the BR Exchange Sidings. 08951 makes its way out of the steelworks complex past the blast furnaces, with a train of BAA/BBA's. The blast furnaces. 08951 enters into the Exchange Sidings. To finish off with a couple of loco shots, here's D5382 fresh from the paint shops after weathering by Greg. One more to join the Eastwell Ironstone fleet. Paul J. 35 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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