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mick

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Everything posted by mick

  1. Another selection of photos from up in the attic, taken today within the space of 25 minutes but which have taken me an hour or so to edit. I've added the black & white versions of all these images to my photo gallery but for a change I'm including the colour versions here in this post. I've added replacement 'sky' to conceal the attic roof and exposed timbers as well as adding some loco exhaust - pity I haven't yet got round to adding drivers to the cabs of most locos! Firstly 2 photos as 60048 passes the sidings and heads beneath the bridge from where the layout gets its name. In the opposite direction 60005 in Transrail livery makes its way on the up line past Skew Bridge And this is one of my most satisfying images to date and a vantage point I will certainly use again in the future for the large expanse of sky. Just a pity again about the driverless cab! Another view of 60005 and the Tilcon stone hoppers as it heads away from Skew Bridge And as mentioned yesterday, I've managed to get some better photos of 31233 on a short ballast/engineers train I have thoroughly enjoyed taking these photos and editing them to add a greater sense of realism. I do personally prefer the black & white versions but I'm also delighted with these colour ones . There's also a tremendous saving in sound decoders!
  2. From the album: Skew Bridge - Attic Railway

    31233 passes the down main signal and approaches the bridge from which the layout gets its name
  3. From the album: Skew Bridge - Attic Railway

    31233 passes Skew Bridge with a short engineers ballast train
  4. From the album: Skew Bridge - Attic Railway

    Transrail liveried 60005 departs Skew Bridge with the Tilcon stone train
  5. From the album: Skew Bridge - Attic Railway

    One of my favourite and most satisfying images to date as 60005 hauls the Tilcon train on the up line past Skew Bridge
  6. From the album: Skew Bridge - Attic Railway

    60005 in Transrail livery passes Skew Bridge on the up line with a rake of Tilcon branded JGA stone hoppers
  7. From the album: Skew Bridge - Attic Railway

    60048 passes beneath 'Skew Bridge' from where the layout gets its name.
  8. From the album: Skew Bridge - Attic Railway

    EWS liveried 60048 passing through Skew Bridge with a rake of steel coil wagons
  9. In recent months both my layouts have taken a back seat and it's been a while since I stepped up into the attic. I remember seeing some slightly buckled sections of track in the storage roads after the heatwave during the summer but thankfully it all appears well again now. As much as I enjoy running trains I get a lot of enjoyment simply by using them to create images which I can further enhance to create something a bit more dramtic and so today I've had a go with a couple of scenarios and come up with the following 3 photographs. The first two depict 37692 'The Lass O'Ballocmyle' hauling the ballast/engineers train. I actually took 5 photos in total but I've chosen these two because they just feel to be at the correct viewpoint for my liking. I've added a sky effect and some exhaust and changed them both to monochrome which in my opinion adds to the effect. Although the layout was fully powered up these are all static posed images. The third photograph is of a quartet of class 56s, again with added sky and lots of exhaust. 56095 'Harworth Colliery' is the lead loco but again it's just a static pose and the loco's aren't even coupled together but it matters not. In the down loop there's a class 31 the subject of some additional photos that I didn't feel had turned out very well and so I'll have another go with that one on another day. I should mention that all these photos are the result of 'focus blending' using the Canon R5 to take a series of photos automatically, with the camera adjusting the focal point between each individual shot. The series of photos are then blended together in either Photoshop, Helicon Focus or on occasion Affinity Photo to create images with greater depth of field.
  10. mick

    56's in multiple

    From the album: Skew Bridge - Attic Railway

    56095 'Harworth Colliery' heads a quartet of class 56s past Skew Bridge in readiness for the coming weeks workings
  11. From the album: Skew Bridge - Attic Railway

    37692 'The Lass O'Ballochmyle' passes Skew Bridge with an engineers train
  12. From the album: Skew Bridge - Attic Railway

    An engineers train hauled by 37692 'The Lass O'Ballochmyle' passes Skew Bridge
  13. Your shed looks of similar materials to one we used to have at the bottom of the garden when we first moved here. I used to keep a large fibreglass tank inside overwintering a few Koi before I got round to building a bigger pond. You are right about the inside walls freezing - ours used to do exactly that, made worse due to the condensation from the fish tank. When it wasn't frozen it was constantly dripping down from the roof and running down the walls. Any form of heating isn't going to be cheap for you these days. We are lucky because we have solar panels installed on our roof so providing the sun's shining our electricity bills aren't so bad as most peoples. We're also fortunate to have taken out a fixed rate tariff just before the bills started rising so our price per Kwh is approx half that of most people (18p) and runs through to August next year. Today I was switching underfloor heating and dehumidifiers on just to take advantage of the free electrictiy generated from our panels! I believe I've been good this year but I'm not expecting any railway items in my stocking, nor have I wished for any. I'm more than happy with the ones I already have. Have a great Christmas if I don't get chance to chat with you again beforehand and all the best for the New Year!
  14. Little has changed since my previous post back in early November. We're still enjoying getting out and about with George visiting local country parks and nature reserves, most on our doorstep and which we'd never visited before. We do miss being up in the Dales and walking along the Leeds & Liverpool canal but we have no doubt that we made the right decision to sell the caravan and not have to worry about it especially given the weather we've experienced over the past couple of weeks along with the extreme cold. I've not really kept up to date with what's been happening in the model railway world until a couple of days ago. It appears I can no longer access RMWeb without disabling my ad blocker so I've now deleted the bookmark from my browser and will get by without. I see there's a number of new models on the horizon from Accurascale and 12 months ago I would have been seriously tempted to pop an order in but I no longer have the same desire to obtain everything new that comes onto the market, though I have to admit that the 50's do look very nice! I'm also reminded of the number of new models I would have added to my collection by now had I not cancelled all my pre-orders for Deltic's, class 37's, and Caledonian Sleepers. No, I have no regrets about doing so. I just recall some of the many disappointments I've experienced with very expensive models in the past and feel extremely relieved to have kept money in pockets. I replied to a recent comment on YouTube that I might attempt to do some running outdoors (that's on Worsley Dale...I'm not about to start jogging) when we get a bit of snow but I wasn't ready and fully prepared last week when we did in fact get a sprinkling. I also hadn't fully appreciated just how cold it can actually get as you yourself get older and so on this occasion I had to give it a miss but maybe next time....
  15. I was wondering how you were getting on with the snow and especially the cold Ken? It's been an extremely cold start to December, at least here in South Yorkshire it has. Hopefully you've been able to continue working inside the shed and I'm looking forward to seeing what you've been up to and what progress you've been able to achieve in there.
  16. There was no need to go rushing on my account Chris! All I can say is it was worth the wait - you've made an excellent job of it. Not that I know myself but it must be extremely satisfying to produce something yourself rather than it being shop-bought.
  17. I'd never seen so many Kingfishers in my life until we started getting out and about. It seems they're everywhere once you start looking and taking more notice of what's around you. I've taken loads of photos of them and these are just a few examples. And swans are commonplace but I purposely waited for this opportunity to grab the following photo at a local country park.
  18. I've taken many, many photos recently, mostly while out walking George and the following photos of an Osprey were taken within walking distance of home. Walking alongside the river we noticed it perched some distance away across a small area of water and were able to watch it for several minutes. It eventually dived down but unfortunately I wasn't high enough to be able to photograph it entering the water though I did manage to capture the initial dive. A few seconds later it emerged with its prey Neither of us had ever seen an Osprey before and I never expected for a moment to be able to see one so close to home.
  19. Thank you Andrew. I'm hoping there'll be quite a few years ahead yet!! Anyway, so much for having more time to spend on the layouts now that we no longer have a caravan! I haven't done a thing on the outdoor railway and barely set foot up in the attic since we got 'George' and we seem to be devoting most of our time to getting out with him. Now, instead of getting up in a morning at any random time we're now in a routine of rising just after 6am and getting ready to take George out for a morning walk. It's been really nice I have to admit and we are so glad we made the decision to get another dog. The house hasn't been the same since we got him as there's now toys and other doggie related stuff all over the place but that's a small price to pay for the enjoyment they give. In time I'm sure things will settle down and we'll be able to get back to doing other things again. Neither of us are in any particular hurry at the moment because we're just enjoying being outdoors a lot more visiting local places that we'd always tended to overlook.
  20. Good to see you still going at it Ken and pleased to hear that it's proving reliable in operation. In my opinion the weather doesn't create that many problems with the actual track or associated wiring and it's amazing how quickly everything can dry out even after a torrential downpour. I've run trains on several occasions shortly after showers and even after snowfall once I'd cleared accumulated snow from the tracks. It's not something I would highly recommend but it's doable!
  21. Somewhat belated birthday greetings Andrew. It looks like you all had a really good day on the Bluebell and it's an extra special occasion having family and friends to share it with you. Here's hoping that the remodelling project on the DGR gets under way soon.
  22. Just catching up (yes, once again!) with what everyone's been up to and it's great to see you back up and running Chris after all your remedial work this year. The layout's looking as good as ever. It's hard to believe that (just had to double-check) it's been over 12 years! I take it that everything's settled down and is working fine again?
  23. The second half of 2022 has been a year of change for myself and Pam, having got married in July after having obtained our new Westie puppy 'George' the week previously, neither of which we had envisaged happening just a few months before. Now, after owning our own static caravan on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales since 2014, we have decided to sell up and let it go. We have both absolutely loved our time there over the past 8 years but we do feel it's now time to move on and do other things. Travelling back and forth, even though the journey time was only approx 1hr 40mins each way, had started to become a chore. The journey was something we used to enjoy but there's only so many times you can do it and feel that way. Our time at the caravan had also become almost all-consuming meaning we had very little time to do anything at home. So anyway, over the past week or two we've been sorting things out and bringing things home. Because we spent so much of our time there it was like another home for us and so there was an enormous amount of things to bring back with us - and to find room for here! It's done now so a new chapter begins and hopefully it will allow me much more time to devote to the garden railway among other things.
  24. I think well supported timber is fine for an elevated layout and suitable prior treatment should allow water to run off and away before it can cause any serious damage. A layer of roofing felt on top and draped over the edges would give additional protection and enhance its appearance. It should be good for a number of years. Progress on a garden layout tends to be slow so don't be dismayed to find that we tend to speak in years on here rather than months. The main thing is to enjoy the whole experience and yes, every little bit of progress should give you the incentive to continue even if it does rain occasionally. It's good to get something running even if only end-to-end for a while. That's exactly what I did and that end-to-end section gets longer and longer as the months (and years) pass by.
  25. I'm not sure of the actual differences between the Z21 white version and the Z21 black version that I use outdoors but I do prefer to use it along with the Multimaus to actually control a train rather than using a phone or tablet. I just prefer using an actual hand-held controller - it seems the most natural way to go and is far easier to operate when trying to film simultaneously than it is when using a mobile device. The range of the Multimaus is pretty decent and connection is reliable enough and rarely does it lose signal when I'm moving around the garden. It is an additional cost however. I do occasionally use a tablet (I prefer the larger screen) if I have multiple trains running and more especially when double-heading as it's far easier to control the speed of multiple loco's along with the sounds (horns etc) of one individual loco. I do like the consisting feature of the Z21. I also had great success with the Wireless Gaugemaster Prodigy though I now use that up in the attic.
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