[Phil J]

There would seem to be an arousal of interest in 'the power of steam', in particular steam powered Loco's. Certainly for those of us old enough to remember, there seems to be a certain 'living quality' to them. This is largely encapsulated in the sound, sight, smell and heat of these 'noble Iron Horses' of yesteryear. Or is it yesteryear? Might there be a comeback to the future for this means of propulsion as the inexorable rise in the price of oil makes diesel locos uneconomic to run? Something you may wish to consider, the next time you 'get on board' a train.

All these photos were taken on an incredibly miserable, overcast, VERY COLD, 'and boy do I mean cold', you know, the cold that gets into your very bones, sometimes referred to as 'too cold to snow', March day 2013 along different sections of the West Somerset Railway. (http://westsomersetrailway.vticket.co.uk/)

Techie Stuff. For most images.
Nikon D300, F/5.6, 400sec, ISO 1000, M/Mode Pattern, Exp/Bias +0.7, White Balance Auto, Focal Lengths Various.

   

   

   

   

   

[Barbara G.]

Nice! I am really drawn into the last two photos! I have always loved trains and enjoy these photos! Thanks for posting!

[Phil J]

Thank you very much Barbara, your comments are greatly appreciated.

During the day, we encountered the 'little trains' as well as the full size variety. This model was made (literally piece by piece including turning the rivets and cutting the nuts, bolts and screws) by an enthusiastic chap, who, whilst I didn't have the cheek to ask, gave all indications that he may well have been in his eighties. I think you'll agree he is a very fine engineer, just by looking at the images.

Hope you like these.

Phil.

Nikon D300, F/5.6 200sec, ISO1000, Bias +0.7, 52mm, M/Mode Pattern, Manual Exp, Auto White Balance.

   

   

   

[Browser Mike]

Fantastic Phil. Real craftsmanship. Mike.

[Phil J]

A few more living, breathing, HOT Steam Engines from our freezing 'day out' on the West Somerset Railway, located in Somerset, England.

   

Re-watering the tender.

   

With some of her fan club.

   

The Footplate & Firebox.

   

[Phil J]

Fantastic Phil. Real craftsmanship. Mike.

Yes Mike. I quite agree it is indeed "real craftsmanship" and I hope & pray that these skills are not lost to our country (or any other country come to that) in the headlong rush to mass produce products with built in obsolescence. Of course real craftsmanship is the result of the practitioner having had the benefit of a conventional five year apprenticeship. It's interesting to note that, we in Britain are bringing more engineering work 'home' after years of subcontracting it's production overseas. The same applies to America and Canada it seems. So maybe the accountants of this world have finally realised that best value in manufacturing comes from using 'home grown talent'? Well, one can but hope.

I'll post some more pictures in a while. However, whilst we were there we had to have a look in the 'Engine Sheds and Workshops'. As you might immagine, it made me proud, to think that my late father could have used ANY and EVERY machine in the machine shop. Then again he had the benefit of an apprenticeship from HM Royal Naval Dockyard, Devonport, Plymouth, as a Ship Fitter & Turner.

Best regards.

Phil.

[Phil J]

Inside the mysteries of 'the engine shed'

A relatively new CNC controlled centre lathe

   

A rather larger manual (not CNC) centre lathe

   

Set up to machine a driven wheel for a Loco

   

Manual engineering dexterity being displayed.

   

[coachline56]

Loved the photos, Phil

I'm old enough to remember going by steam train from Wormit to Dundee in the sixties.

Also, glad the cold weather didn't put you off. It makes me think I'll make more of an effort to get to the West Coast Railway and the Caledonian Railway this year.

Regards

Coachline.

[Phil J]

Loved the photos, Phil

I'm old enough to remember going by steam train from Wormit to Dundee in the sixties.

Also, glad the cold weather didn't put you off. It makes me think I'll make more of an effort to get to the West Coast Railway and the Caledonian Railway this year.

Regards

Coachline.

Hi Coachline,

If it's blooming cold when you go, DON'T WEAR JEANS. That was my principle mistake. Jeans provide 'no protection from the cold', my legs were perpetually freezing on that day, and if my legs are cold, I'm cold all over. So, a good thick strong pair of 'cavalry twill's' or an equivalent would be my suggestion and frankly if it's really cold (as it was when we went) a pair of 'long-johns' under your trousers would be a very good idea as well.

Regards.

Phil

[coachline56]

If it's blooming cold when you go, DON'T WEAR JEANS. That was my principle mistake. Jeans provide 'no protection from the cold', my legs were perpetually freezing on that day, and if my legs are cold, I'm cold all over. So, a good thick strong pair of 'cavalry twill's' or an equivalent would be my suggestion and frankly if it's really cold (as it was when we went) a pair of 'long-johns' under your trousers would be a very good idea as well.

Regards.

Phil
[/quote]

Hi Phil,

Good advice, but I'm quite 'at home' in the cold. I usually wear overalls and ski jacket when out and about at this time of year. It's rain that has put me off traveling long distances in the past but I now have a weatherproof (it's claimed) Pentax K-30 and one weatherproof lens so no excuses now.

Cheers

Coachline

[MrB]

Phil, these are good compositions of interesting subjects. They make a very good set of photos and I like them, except for the first one, in which the wide angle has stretched the tender to occupy too much of the frame. Most of the shots of the full-size loco images are quite contrasty - very bright skies (some are pure white) and dark shadow areas. If they were mine, I think it might be worth trying to moderate the glare (to give a more overcast sky) and to get something more out of the shadows. E.g. -

   

Philip

[Phil J]

Hi Philip,

I actually had a go at what you suggested and ended up with a very odd shade of sky. So how did you achieve this rather pronounced improvement?

Phil.

[MrB]

Hello again, Phil.

I usually make small changes, step by step, comparing the result of each change with the original image. In this one, I found that alternating small reductions in overall image brightness (to reduce the glare), with small values of fill-light (to get some shadow detail), after a few steps, seemed to me to improve the lighting. To restore the local contrast throughout, I then applied some Unsharp Mask values to the whole image (radius=50 pixels, strength=15%), and then normal sharpening, to get the result shown above.

Cheers.
Philip

[Phil J]

Philip,

Thanks for that, it's a brilliant result. Especially considering you were working with only 20% of the original image.

Thanks again.

Phil.

[Phil J]

Here is an example of an American Steam Loco. 2-8-8 configuration and compared to the UK locos a completely different sounding engine. Other than that, I know nothing about her, other than she's a whopper. The other significant difference between this USA example and the UK locos, is the very much greater protection from the elements enjoyed by the American driver and fireman. Note the extensive cab to the rear which marries up perfectly with the forward extension of the tender. our American cousins seemed to value the well-being of their footplate staff somewhat more highly than did the British companies or BR.

Techie Stuff.
Nikon D300, F/10, 125sec, ISO 1000, 18mm, Bias+0.7, M/Mode, Pattern, Manual Exp, White Balance Auto.

   

[kNox]

Lovely photos, these old trains made history and it's so cool that they are being maintained so well!

About that last photo in your first post - is that man really turning the whole locomotive manually?

[Phil J]

Lovely photos, these old trains made history and it's so cool that they are being maintained so well!

About that last photo in your first post - is that man really turning the whole locomotive manually?

Hi kNox,

Yes the whole Loco and Tender (which is also fully loaded) are being turned manually, a good 100+ tons I'd hazard to guess. However, there's another chap at the other end on the far side who is also pushing the Loco around, as it's a two man job. So a mere 50 tons each, no wonder people were fitter in those days!! It's another example of just how good and precise yesterdays engineers were in their abilities to put together equipment of such fine tolerances and balance without the aid of computerisation.

Mind you it also speaks volumes for the dedication of those who run the Steam Preservation Lines. This turntable was operated by British Railways at Exeter St Davids station for many decades. When it was eventually declared to be redundant by Railtrack, it was purchased by the West Somerset Railway and moved piece by piece about a 100 miles by road and refurbished on site before being installed in its new home, so thankfully some people still possess the 'old skills' needed to achieve engineering excellence.

I agree with you kNox. It is good to see that some people are prepared to put in the time and effort to ensure that these fine old Locos and rolling stock are maintained to such high standards. If you take a look at some of the shots inside the Engine Sheds and Workshops you can see some of the Locos and Carriages being stripped and rebuild.

Best regards.

Phil.

[kNox]

Thanks for the info! We only have one of these old beauties up and about nowadays (and it's quite famous, the "Mocăniţă" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moc%C4%83ni%C8%9B%C4%83).

[Phil J]

Hi kNox. Your link doesn't seem to work!!

In the meantime, some shots of inside the Engine Shed and Workshops where some diesel locos are awaiting restoration, and some carriages and other rolling stock are partway through restoration and maintenance.

   

   

   

[MrB]

Phil, your indoor shots are very good - if they were also on the overcast day, the available lighting and colour balance have been captured (and/or processed by you) very well.

Philip

[kNox]

Sorry for the link, this should work: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moc%C4%83ni%C8%9B%C4%83

[Phil J]

Phil, your indoor shots are very good - if they were also on the overcast day, the available lighting and colour balance have been captured (and/or processed by you) very well.

Philip

Hi Philip,

I didn't do much processing, just a bit of adjustment to levels & contrast. The colour balance was OK so I left it alone, but added a little sharpening. All shot with available light on auto colour balance at ISO1000.

Phil.

[Phil J]

Sorry for the link, this should work: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moc%C4%83ni%C8%9B%C4%83

That worked . Such a shame that there is now just the one left, look after it, it's part of the countrys heritage. It looks to be a lovely little train.

I'm supposed to do a shoot sometime this year for a scaled down railway operator over here. When I have the images I'll put them up for members to see and suggest improvements. Don't know when it'll be just yet as we're waiting for long term weather forecasts.

Regards.

Phil.

[Phil J]

Depending on whether Barbara thinks it is appropriate to 'resurrect' such an old thread, here are some shots of my recent visit to the 'Romney Hythe & Dymchurch' light railway in Kent. The Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway is a 15 in gauge light railway in Kent, England. The 13 ¹⁄₂-mile line runs from the Cinque Port of Hythe via Dymchurch, St. Mary's Bay, New Romney and Romney. They run a fleet of 1/3 scale Locos all of which are in immaculate condition. Apparently, during WWII they clad a couple of locos in armour plate and these locos had carriages attached, to which were mounted RN Boffours (SP?) guns. These locos and guns enjoyed some success in taking down some of the German aircraft overflying the vicinity.

As always Techie Details.

Nikon D300, Various Nikkor or Tamron lens's & settings. Where additional/auxiliary light was required, this was provided by either Nikon SB800 or Nissin 340T strobe/Flashguns.

Here are some Pictures.

   

   

   

   

   

[Phil J]

Here are some more.

   

   

   

   

   

There are a few more to come. These are really magnificent 'little beasts' and do a sterling job hauling delighted passengers along the tracks. Of course the benefit of this well run little railway is in the convenience offered, plus the fact that the passengers can see much more of the local countryside than would ever be seen traveling by car.