Trackside Lounge

[Modelcar]

....Chris:

Boy the pic you use in your explaination to emma is beautiful....!  Such definition....precise....sharpness....with excellent contrast...to my eyes.

Like your explanation of posting photos too, but seems I got so frustrated some times in the past I quit trying.

[CopCarSS]

Dan,

Nice shots. Any chance we could see them larger, though?

[CopCarSS]

PZ,

I haven't had as much experience with scans but here are my thoughts.

• I have noticed color problems when having scans made at most labs. I think a lot of the consumer, and even prosumer labs had a tendency to really kick up saturation levels. That really bugged me because everything I got back looked like Velvia (albeit with even less accurate colors and odd color casts). Generally speaking I was shooting Provia 100F with a little Astia 100 mixed in. Had I wanted the Disneyland colors of Velvia I would have shot Velvia so the extra saturation was kind of a pain and led to some loss of fine detail that wasn't retrievable.
• You mentioned scratches when getting photo CDs. I simply had far too many problems with scratches that I just gave up on photo CDs. Even the better labs seemed to get scratches on slides/negs. That was simply unacceptable to me, so I quit going that route.
• Today, on the rare occasion that I need a scan, I either do my own for web use or I get a drum scan from a Pro Lab here in Denver. Since the only film I shoot consistently is 4x5, drum scans cost a pretty penny. As such, I don't do too much with them. When I scan my own, I do notice that I don't get the most from the slide/negative, but the scan will generally suffice for web publication and small prints.
• I'm not sure if you've had this problem, but I've noticed that I have more problems with slides than with negatives, especially when scanning my own. I've read a couple solutions to this problem, but haven't tried either. 1) Unmount 35mm slides before scanning them. 2) Scan transperancies as negatives and reverse the color in Photoshop. Have you heard of/had experience with either?

[CNW 6000]

Here's some pictures that you folks might enjoy.  They're about 20 years old!

Western Coal & Coke number 1 at North Freedom, WI:

Saginaw Timber number 2 also at North Freedom, WI:


Two of CNW 1385 at Oshkosh, WI:

 

The 1385 is basically what got me started on trains!

[Poppa_Zit]

Chris --

I dunno, it seems like when I was shooting Fujicolor Press and Kodak Ektapress in my Nikon film cameras a few years ago, there was distinct difference in warmth and coloration when printing from the negatives and what was in the scans produced by the processor. Sort of negated any gain from using film v. digital.

The hi-res scans on a CD were convenient when we were on a tight deadline, and obviously we never had to worry about scratched negs. The pics also seemed a bit sharper than what I could get by running the film strip through a 35mm film scanner -- but not always.

Thoughts?

[blhanel]

One thing you didn't mention, Chris, that is crucial to being able to do this, is to make sure your picture developer gives you your pictures in electronic form as well as on prints.  Alot of developers are providing the shots on a CD along with the prints now, I think (although I've been digital for five years now and don't have any recent experience personally).

I've been using Flickr to host my non-railroad related shots, so if you choose them, I can be of some help there. 

[CopCarSS]

Emma,

The key to posting pictures here is that you need to have someplace else to upload the shots. For example, I use and recommend PBase. There are other options out there, too like PhotoBucket and Flickr. You might look around and see what suits you best.

After you have the pictures uploaded, it's just a matter of mastering the forum code and doing a bit of cutting and pasting. Here's an example with one of my shots:

{img}http://www.pbase.com/copcarss/image/84078704.jpg{/img}

The only difference is that you'll be using [ and ] instead of { and }. Also, you may have to (as I did here) add .jpg to the file URL to get the image.

The final result should look like this:

If you need any help, let me know.

 

[emmar]

Thanks for the good luck message Carl.  I have survived three and only have one more to go (calculus). Got on my bike yesterday and rode a mile down the tracks to get a picture of the Dinky crossing the over the canal. It was a little chilly (20 degrees) but it was sunny. I am going to get the film developed tomorrow so I should know soon if I got any good shots. If I do I'll have to finally figure out how to post pictures on here, (I've been on here over three years and I still havn't figured out how). Gonna have to figure it out one of these days. Oh well, bye for now.

emmar 

[CNW 6000]

I'm kind of excited for tonight.  I will be getting a disc of my scanned pictures dating back to WC SD45s and CNW's 1385 in operation.  I'll probably find one or two to share...lol.

[Modelcar]

....Don't know if this is the case with your units Carl, but hydraulics under pressure sure does create heat....Which by the way should help melt a bit of the snow from that specific area in these times.  Then again, I'm not versed on the units make up to know just where the hydraulics part of it is....

[CShaveRR]

Does the hydraulic fluid for those retarders deal well with cold or is it heated?

Dan, we have a couple of retarders that present problems.  Most of them don't, so I suspect that the fluid isn't the culprit.  It's not heated, but may be kept in circulation.

(I kid you not--sometimes they've poured large bags of ice over the retarder mechanisms in the summer to cool them down!)

[CShaveRR]

MC, I spent two days trying to think of the name of the barbecue place I liked in Ames so I could let you know about it.  Baby girl finally had to tell me, too late...Hickory Creek.

[mudchicken]

Did you know that fully 100 percent of the kittens on the Forum regularly attend institutions of higher education?

Not to mention the one that works there.

That's the one I meant, Larry!  (Compare this to Forum dogs, who...well, we won't go there!)

She spent yesterday and Thursday night trying to catch wayward dirty feathers wandering through Nebrasky (Headed to Cyclone Corn Tech to teach). Crawled back into Denver at midnight. Whilst on the way home, saw something in the east yard at Salina on the KP in fresh paint and wondered where it's going. (Got a photo, but it was almost dusk). Owners name was very carefully covered-over with tape and plastic.

[CNW 6000]

Does the hydraulic fluid for those retarders deal well with cold or is it heated?

[CShaveRR]

Did you know that fully 100 percent of the kittens on the Forum regularly attend institutions of higher education?

Not to mention the one that works there.

That's the one I meant, Larry!  (Compare this to Forum dogs, who...well, we won't go there!)

[tree68]

Did you know that fully 100 percent of the kittens on the Forum regularly attend institutions of higher education?

Not to mention the one that works there.

[CShaveRR]

Emma, academic excellence is encouraged here.  Good luck on those exams!

Did you know that fully 100 percent of the kittens on the Forum regularly attend institutions of higher education?

[CShaveRR]

Yes, that looked familiar, though I've never seen it from that angle.  Spectacular!

No car at Tower A; maybe the operator had ridden his bike.

Thanks, Brian!

I had to do some cold-weather working today (and again tomorrow).  It didn't seem to cause too many problems, except that cold hydraulic retarders don't always give the instant gratification that our pin-pullers seem to desire.

[CopCarSS]

Hey Carl, check this out!

SWEET!!!

As to cold weather railfanning...well I didn't do that, but I did do some volunteer work out at CRRM this morning. Got to work on Goose No. 7. I think tomorrow I'll be headed out to the area of the world around Big Ten curve if the sun is shining in the morning. Haven't shot a morning eastbound at Blue Mountain Rd. in awhile. We'll see what the morning brings weather-wise.

[blhanel]

Hey Carl, check this out!

http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&cp=qzgmb67p7yqg&style=o&lvl=2&tilt=-90&dir=0&alt=-1000&scene=11379100&encType=1 

 

And, if you grab the image and pull it to the right a few times, you'll see something else very familiar... 

[emmar]

Not that cold around here in Jersey, just checked the thermometer and it is sitting at 37 degrees. I am thinking about trying to go out and finish up a roll of film on some local NJ transit passenger trains. Personally i am looking forward to next week after my finals are all over and i have a few days off. I am planning on getting some good train watching in before my spring classes start. With any luck I will have some pictures to post on here soon.

emmar 

[Anonymous]

So, with all this exceptionally chilly weather in most of the country (its even cold here in South Texas), are any of you planning on braving the elements to see what trains are running in your area? 

I'll be out doing the required Saturday errands, so I'll have a chance to see what UP is doing in and around town.

 

 

 

 

[Poppa_Zit]

As a on and off diner member I hope I'm allowed to ask a question on here. Anyway does anyone here know of any good railfanning spots within a couple hour drive of Trenton, NJ? I would like to take a day trip and see some east coast freights, but being new to the area I have no idea where the good spots are. If anyone has any suggestions they would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

emmar 

I've spent some rewarding days on the station platform in Bound Brook, NJ. Lots of everything. If it's still there, a nice bar with really good burgers and stuff is in the station building.

[emmar]

As a on and off diner member I hope I'm allowed to ask a question on here. Anyway does anyone here know of any good railfanning spots within a couple hour drive of Trenton, NJ? I would like to take a day trip and see some east coast freights, but being new to the area I have no idea where the good spots are. If anyone has any suggestions they would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

emmar 

[CNW 6000]

That was my supposition as well.

This week I'm going to try and catch some more WSOR action.  I'll post anything I get if it's decent.  I'm also attempting to use the manual setting on the camera so this could be interesting.

[CShaveRR]

Sorry, I don't "do" pics.  As I mentioned, the first day's escapade was only about an hour; yesterday's was actually a little over three hours (Greg probably saw most of the Dinky Parade without us, as he would have stayed around for a couple of hours more).

I didn't know (pics).  Hope I didn't bug ya by asking.

Question for anyone: I was fanning today and saw CN 6003 which is labelled as a SD40u.  What's the "u" for?

Not a problem--I realize how much of a minority I am, in this case (the avatar photo was actually taken by my wife).

"U" usually indicates an "Upgrade" of some sort.  I don't know what CN did to it--probably gave it modular electronics to give it "Dash-2" qualities.

[CNW 6000]

Sorry, I don't "do" pics.  As I mentioned, the first day's escapade was only about an hour; yesterday's was actually a little over three hours (Greg probably saw most of the Dinky Parade without us, as he would have stayed around for a couple of hours more).

I didn't know (pics).  Hope I didn't bug ya by asking.

Question for anyone: I was fanning today and saw CN 6003 which is labelled as a SD40u.  What's the "u" for?

 

[CShaveRR]

That's one of the advantages to cab signals.  Block signals would allow you to safely run at the prescribed speed, too, but cab signals give you a further degree of safety in that they become more restrictive at the moment that the restriction becomes necessary.  Rules don't discourage movement at track speed, but a restricting signal is just that, and you'll be moving at a apeed that makes it possible to stop within half the range of vision--which may mean that you're not moving at all.

It may sound like I've talked around the issue, but I think that the answer is "yes".  Somebody who does this as a matter of routine (Jeff, are you out there?) might be able to expand on it.

[spokyone]

OK Carl. I'll start it off. When cab signals are used, do the trains run at track speed in very limited visibility. Fog, driving rain, etc.

[CShaveRR]

The Forum recently received a request from a relatively new member for a place in which people like him could post questions for quick answers.  We used to have a "stupid question thread" a long time ago--many people objected to that name, but, in spite of the fact that the questions and those who asked them were anything but stupid, it was the most memorable incarnation of such a thread, and it served the purpose.

Maybe it's time to resurrect the concept of such a thread, anyway.  And, since this thread is a bit underutilized, why not do it right here?  Thoughts?  Questions?  Buehler?  Anyone?