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SKEW BRIDGE - Attic Layout


mick
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There have been some quite good videos where people have used real recordings overlaid on the model video.

There have been some awful ones too where the sound doesn't match up, usually because the real train is far longer than the model or going at a completely different speed.

You'd have to choose your sound recording first and then match the speed of your train for the video, it might be too much of a faff.

I've said before that I don't think little speakers do justice to the noise of a loco. One of my thoughts was whether a decoder could be outputted to a proper amplifier. Since I have a pair of Tannoy Mercury V4 floorstanders that will do anything justice. Or I could stick them under the baseboard and play a recording from YouTube.

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I believe part of my problem concerning the actual video sound quality is the fact that I'm in an enclosed space where the roof and sides are lined with insulating foil. It's a bit like playing music inside a tin can! The addition of an external microphone hasn't made a great deal of difference.

As for background music I was actually thinking about running the trains without sound and adding a music track rather than loco sounds. I've been trying a few examples out and if you can find a complimentary track then it works pretty well and you often end up tapping your feet rather than covering your ears! You can even mix the music in with some of the more pleasing loco sounds.

As for your thoughts, I'm sure there'll be an easy way to hook sound up to an amplifier and speakers or at least play recordings via YouTube. There's got to be a way that's better than some of the poor quality sound installations we've had to endure to date.

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  • 2 months later...

It's been a few weeks since there was anything running on Skew Bridge but after an enjoyable day in the garden yesterday I decided to have a short session up in the attic this afternoon.

If there's anything guaranteed to put a smile on your face then it's the sound of a class 37 so I doubled up on my 2 EWS ones, attached them to the steel coils and simply let them run while I captured some action on video. Unfortunately the acoustics in the attic don't do DCC sound justice due in part (I believe) to the foil insulation fastened to the roof which appears to deflect sound back down into and all around the confines of the attic space, particularly when heard back on video. 

37411 and 37419 head past Skew Bridge with the steel coils.

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The rear loco (37419) is unpowered and operates as a dummy loco but has a sound decoder and speaker fitted so they are a great pair to double head as there's no problem keeping them running smoothly together.

 

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I've been saying for some time now that I need to sort out which loco's I want for use on Worsley Dale and which I want to retain for Skew Bridge, well this afternoon I've finally made a start sorting them out. There are some loco's that could actually be used on either layout but what I'm looking for are the ones that definitely belong on the Worsley Dale roster such as Scotrail 47s and the large logo BR Blue class 47/4's. It's been so long since some of them were touched that I couldn't even remember which of them were fitted with sound.

In addition I've done some weathering to some of the ones that were still 'pristine' concentrating on the loco bodies and leaving the chassis until later when I get the airbrush out.

It was interesting to compare the different sounds from the 37's but the best of them in my opinion is 37248 Loch Arkaig which has Jamie Goodman class 37/0 sounds and a Rail Exclusive Chunky Boom Box speaker in the fuel tanks. I have the same sound decoder in another class 37 with a double iphone speaker under the fans and there's a marked difference in sound quality. I'd better get myself some more speakers.

What I want to do now is have one or two sound-fitted chassis that can accept any of the non-sound fitted loco bodies. As I'll never be able to use all the loco's at once it makes sense to swap them about and save money on further decoders. I also want a 'dummy' sound-fitted loco so that I can use it for double heading behind any other loco without the need for speed matching, similar to the EWS 37419 that I already have. I probably have a chassis somewhere that I can utilise.

Coal sector liveried 37692 'The Lass O'Ballochmyle' and 37698 'Coedbach' are two loco's that will spend most of their time on Skew Bridge but it would be nice to see them outdoors too on occasion. I've had this pair running round while I've been sorting out and it's a great soundtrack to work along with. They run very well together with only the occasional bumping and grinding. They're both fitted with Locoman class 37 sounds and have speakers in the fuel tanks.

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  • 2 weeks later...

37692 and 37698 have been out running again this afternoon still with the PFA wagons in tow only this time, for a short while at least, they were joined by 37419.

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If you can manage it, having a sound-fitted 'dummy loco' is pretty handy as it can be added to any consist without any problems and there's no need to speed match. I plan on adding another one in the near future once I sort out the best donor to use.

The triple header can be seen running in a single clip at the end of the latest video upload.

 

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Great work. There was recently a guy selling new Bachmann class 37 chassis's on ebay quite cheaply, probably worth keeping an eye out there if that is all you want. I have one I bought which is still in the packaging somewhere. I bought it for a Bachmann class 37 I bought on ebay for £15 which has quite a bit of cosmetic damage to the chassis ends. Another project that sits patiently waiting.... LOL

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2 hours ago, Loco Hauled said:

...There was recently a guy selling new Bachmann class 37 chassis's on ebay quite cheaply, probably worth keeping an eye out there if that is all you want....

If there's one thing I'm not short of (other than Hornby A4's) it's Bachmann class 37s! However, some of them are a good few years old now and although they're all operational some of them run more smoothly than others so it's just a case of me determining which one(s) would make the best donor(s), taking into consideration the potential for swapping loco bodies around.

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  • 7 months later...

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.

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Although the layout was fully powered up these are all static posed images.

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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.

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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.

 

Edited by mick
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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.

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In the opposite direction 60005 in Transrail livery makes its way on the up line past Skew Bridge

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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!

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Another view of 60005 and the Tilcon stone hoppers as it heads away from Skew Bridge

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And as mentioned yesterday, I've managed to get some better photos of 31233 on a short ballast/engineers train

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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!

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Back to a couple of black & white images today

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EWS liveried 66022 with a loaded HTA hopper set passes Skew Bridge on the up main as it makes its way to one of the Aire Valley power stations....

...while in the opposite direction 31233 is about to pass on the down main with a short rake of ballast wagons. A loaded HAA set can be seen in the down sidings.

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A few additional images have been added to my photo gallery

 

Edited by mick
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On 21/12/2022 at 17:57, mick said:

I should mention that all these photos are the result of 'focus blending'......

EDIT: Essentially I suppose 'focus blending' is an appropriate term for the overall process but the in-camera technique is actually called 'focus bracketing'. 

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For those who prefer colour images rather than black & white I'll include these two

66068 on a rake of Thrall BRA/BYA covered steel wagons that still require some weathering and attention to couplings

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50037 on an excursion passing the aforementioned covered steel wagons

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Edited by mick
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I hope everyone's well and that you've all enjoyed your Xmas holidays so far.

I'm back again with another selection of photos and I must admit that I've enjoyed posing models and taking photos of them just as much as I've ever enjoyed running trains. It will be nice to be able to get back out into the garden and do likewise out there and as I've said already, it's much less expensive than buying and installing sound decoders.

My Bachmann Autoballaster rake rarely makes an appearance on the layout mainly because they haven't yet been weathered and they do look kind of out-of-place as they are but I've got them out of storage today just so I'd have something different to photograph. All the photos are focus bracketed images, blended with Helicon Focus and further edited in photoshop.

There are 15 wagons in the rake and they're seen here behind 66068 passing Skew Bridge

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To add further interest I had 56049 hauling 100t TEA tanks heading in the opposite direction

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No doubt I'll get fed up with doing them before long and it'll be another few weeks before you hear anything further from me but for now I'm just enjoying myself.

Edited by mick
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I've photographed a variety of stock over recent days but my overwhelming inspiration for the layout and its setting was coal traffic and in particular MGR's. I probably went a little over the top putting together four full rakes of Hornby MGR wagons, especially when I can only run two of them at any one time, but I wanted to see loaded and empty sets running round simultaneously with the additional sets stabled in the sidings or waiting in the down loop.

So today I removed some of the subjects from previous photo sessions to make room for me to photograph some MGRs and I'll include 3 of those photos here with some additional ones added to my photo gallery page.

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Large logo BR Blue liveried 56084 makes its way along the up main with a loaded MGR set as 56095 heads in the opposite direction with another loaded MGR set. It may appear strange to see loaded sets heading in opposite directions but it was a regular occurrence at the time.

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Here 56084 is given a green signal and is seen moving off on the down main opposite Skew Bridge sidings after being held while a class 09 shunted some MGR wagons in the yard. Another loaded MGR train passes by on the up main.

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A lovely shot of 56084 as it powers along the down main past Skew Bridge sidings with a loaded HAA set. The MGR wagons in the sidings are being shunted.

Edited by mick
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Mick, as always superb photos, with loads of atmosphere. I bet you are enjoying the warm inside these past few weeks have been rough. What with the freeze here down to 16c and now rain and wind. Still the reservoirs around here need the water.

Yes the shed is plastic and we have now insulated the roof and it seams to have stopped the water forming. I have not notice any on the walls , (could be as the walls are a little thicker than the roof panels. Have started to lay cork under the track, then hopefully when a couple of points appear can start running some of my Christmas gifts.

All the best for the coming New Year. Wishing you and everyone here all they hope for.

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Hi Ken. Yes it's certainly warmer up in the attic than it would be out in the garden shed and I've not yet had to turn the heater on up there. The weather's not good for getting out and about with the camera so the attic is as good a place to be as any.

I'm pleased to hear you're still able to get things done and look forward to seeing what those Xmas gifts are.

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One of the main shortcomings with some of the photos I have taken is the fact that the many of my loco's don't have a figure sitting in the driving seat. I don't relish the task of dismantling loco's and prising cabs out in order to install a driver in the cab, though maybe it's something I should look to do in the future. When I'm running trains it's not something that really bothers me but on video and in photographs the omission is quite evident.

One of the photos I posted on 22 December was of 60005 which is a loco without a driver figure and the large cab windows draw the viewers attention to that fact. So anyway, today I copied a photograph of a loco I found online, pasted it correctly over the top of my image and then masked out everything apart from the driver. A minor addition to my own photo but it finishes it off nicely as seen below.

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Another loco without a driver is 58048 and this time I've been able to add a faint indication of one which again makes a difference to the photo

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No such problems with 56084 as I've previously added figures in the cab of this one.

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A slightly different method with this photo. As well as' photoshopping' in a driver figure and adding a replacement sky along with some loco exhaust, I've also altered the position of the train on the opposite line slightly between shots so as to give an impression of movement.

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