Dave F's photos - ongoing - more added each day

[Guest B Exam]

The number is just too small - there isn't a note of it in Dad's catalogue so he probably couldn't read it on the original slide.

 

David

Looks like a Damiler Fleetline #108. 108 lasted quite late on into the mid 1980s, it was a regular school bus to our school (Redhill Comprehensive, Arnold).

 

As for the Bartons #914, trawling the internet, I cannot find any record of it. Was it a one-off?

[Clive Mortimore]

Was the photo of Chelmsford railway station taken from the bus station? The position of the pub opposite suggests it was but it is years since I saw this area and my mother who still uses buses in and out of Chlemsford says there have been major changes.

Hi Mullie

 

The photo is taken from the town center side. The bus station is the other side of the bridge, and the pub that side is the Plough.

[DaveF]

Some photos from the ECML in County Durham today.

 

The newest one is only eighteen years old.

 

 

Hett Mill Loadhaul 60038 empty lime Redcar to Hardendale 31st May 95 C20581

 

 

Hett Mill Class 43 Aberdeen to Kings X 23rd March 96 C20816

 

 

Sunderland Bridge 37684 down Thopmsons Lime 24th Oct 95 C20568

 

 

Croxdale Class 55 Edinburgh to Kings X The Talisman 5th Aug 76  J5392

 

 

Croxdale 91008 up ex pass 16th Oct 93 C19108

 

 

Croxdale EWS 90020 down special 18th Oct 97 C23153

 

 

David

[BoD]

Great photos again David, thanks.

 

They aren't my preferred era but there is something quite delicious about 60’s in Load Haul livery.

[mullie]

Hi Mullie

 

The photo is taken from the town center side. The bus station is the other side of the bridge, and the pub that side is the Plough.

Like I said, long time since I've been there and I don't think it looks like that anymore. My parents also used to tell stories about how the Germans tried to bomb that bridge and managed to miss it every time. They lived and worked along with their parents on farms in the outlying villages and used to watch the bombers lining up to bomb various targets in the area.

[Clive Mortimore]

Like I said, long time since I've been there and I don't think it looks like that anymore. My parents also used to tell stories about how the Germans tried to bomb that bridge and managed to miss it every time. They lived and worked along with their parents on farms in the outlying villages and used to watch the bombers lining up to bomb various targets in the area.

Hi Mullie

 

The area around Chelmsford station was heavily bombed. Marconi's radio factory and Hoffman's ball bearings plant both being close by were the main targets. Many times the Luftwaffe bombed Chelmsford, not as the primary target but as the secondary one. They would fly towards London following the GE mainline and the A12. If they were unable to bomb the main target they would drop the bombs on Chlemsford  on their way back to base. Also if on the way to the main target the lead aircraft met too much opposition the ones following would release their bombs over Chelmsford and run home.

[Market65]

Hi, Dave. Always good to see photo's of the ECML. I also like seeing the 60 in Loadhaul livery. And Croxdale, a nice looking place.

 

With best regards,

 

Rob.

[DaveF]

I was asked this evening(by PM) about quality of scans etc, so I though I'd post three scans and the same images as modified to put on this thread.  I'm not saying the colours etc are perfect, but it gives an idea what can be done for those who are just starting.

 

I should add that some of the originals are a lot worse than these examples.

 

 

168

 

 

Stanford on Soar BR Class 5 73157 Marylebone to Nottingham Victoria Sept 64 J168

 

 

579

 

 

Taunton Silk Mill Crossing Class 35 D7000 down cement Aug 66 J579

 

 

0800

 

 

Edge Hill Derby dmu Liverpool to Warrington, away shot Jan 72 C0800

 

 

David

Edited December 14, 2015 by DaveF

[BoD]

Very impressive Dave.

 

Are you making the adjustments yourself or are they auto adjustments within the software that you are using?

[DaveF]

Very impressive Dave.

 

Are you making the adjustments yourself or are they auto adjustments within the software that you are using?

 

 

All done in Photoshop, usually CS3 as I still have my work copy, unless I use a laptop then it is either CS2 or Elements 10.

 

The sequence is:

 

Straighten the image, if needed.  

 

Crop as needed.

 

Remove any bad marks with clone or spot healing tools

 

Auto colour

 

Then use "colour balance" and "replace colour" to fine tune colour,  sometimes selecting only a part of the image for each change.

 

hue /saturation to adjust colour intensity.

 

Then adjust levels (or brightness/contrast).  Again this may involve several selections of parts of the image.  Sometimes I do levels or brightness contrast first, it depends on the image quality.

 

Finally adjust sharpness.  Usually I used unsharp mask straight after scanning, so only a small amount of Smart Sharpen is needed to display well on RM Web.  Flickr rarely needs extra sharpening.

 

Then check it looks OK, if I am not satisfied tweak it a bit more or even go back to the original scan and start again.

 

Note. I never ever work on my original file copy of the scan, I always make a copy first in another folder, also I have a minimum of three copies of each original file on separate hard drives, plus DVD back ups.

 

Similarly when I put photos on RMWeb or anywhere else I normally keep at least three copies.

 

If I have a particularly problematic scan I use "Open as Raw" so I can adjust colour temperature and individual colours more easily.

 

To be honest the first two corrected images have slightly too much green when seen on RMWeb, they display better on flickr.

 

The sharpness and colour balance can vary depending on the host for the images - flickr displays images a bit sharper and with more contrast then RM Web.

 

Also the colours you see on your monitor may be nothing like I see.  My monitor is calibrated, but not to a professional standard, I just use a cheap(ish) "Spyder" and re do it every few months.

 

The best colour rendering I get is by showing my photos on my Sony TV from my newer laptop.

 

 

Edit: A very important point.   I always look out of the window every few minutes when I'm working on photos during the day, so I can check what roads, grass, sky etc actually look like, or you can get very odd results if you only look at the screen.  When working in the evenings I keep looking at good colour photos (prints) to maintain some grasp of what the colours ought to be like.

David

Edited December 14, 2015 by DaveF

[RANGERS]

Looks like a Damiler Fleetline #108. 108 lasted quite late on into the mid 1980s, it was a regular school bus to our school (Redhill Comprehensive, Arnold).

 

As for the Bartons #914, trawling the internet, I cannot find any record of it. Was it a one-off?

914 was a Duple Britannia bodied AEC Reliance, new to Parlanes of Aldershot in 1959 I think it was. Barton acquired it secondhand at a fairly young age where it joined a number of identical vehicles bought new by them. It was withdrawn in the early 70s, I'd need to look in the book to see exactly when, but I believe it survives in preservation.

[Guest B Exam]

914 was a Duple Britannia bodied AEC Reliance, new to Parlanes of Aldershot in 1959 I think it was. Barton acquired it secondhand at a fairly young age where it joined a number of identical vehicles bought new by them. It was withdrawn in the early 70s, I'd need to look in the book to see exactly when, but I believe it survives in preservation.

Thanks.

[DaveF]

Today we are in Northumberland once again, this time at Cramlington.  Most of the photos are from the 1980s.  Being not too far from home I visit the area quite often.

 

 

Cramlington South 47376 up Speedlink 5th July 85 C6980

 

 

Cramlington 56134 up coal 29th Oct 87 C9234

I took this from the footbridge south of the station.  It was replaced recently but the new one still has a good view of the trains.

 

 

Cramlington Class 40 Newcastle to Edinburgh , Class 47 to right Aug 80 C5135

 

 

Cramlington Class 101 Morpeth to Newcastle Aug 80 C5134

 

 

Cramlington North Class 142 up 12th Jan 91 C15545 (2)

 

 

David

Edited December 15, 2015 by DaveF

[SHMD]

I nearly didn't press 'like' because of the last photo but then I realised it is the fact that you, and your dad, photographed everything that came along that makes your work so valuable.

There is no prejudice in your subject matter and the world is a better place for it.

 

Thanks once again.

 

 

Kev.

[Market65]

Hi, Dave. Great photo's of Cramlington. The one of the class 142 is now of historical interest, since that livery has not been seen for many years now.

 

With best regards,

 

Rob.

[GRUNFOS]

I agree, presumably it's their shadows being cast along the field in photo 15545.

Edited December 16, 2015 by GRUNFOS

[DaveF]

I agree, presumably it's their shadows being cast along the field in photo 15545.

 

 

Yes, the shadows are from Dad and I.    By then he and Mum were retired and had moved to the north east,  I often took him out when I went to photograph trains.

 

David

[DaveF]

Some photos on the Southern in Kent today, at Swale and Cuxton stations.

 

 

Swale 2HAP Sheernes to Sittingbourne May 75 C2122

 

 

Swale 2HAP leaving for Sittingbourne June 75 C2123

 

 

Swale 2HAP 6076 Sittingborne to Sheerness May 75 C2127

 

 

Cuxton, view north March 79 C4363

 

 

Cuxton Class 416 5727 Strood to Maidstone West Oct 79 C4879

 

 

David

[hmrspaul]

As always plenty of remarkable views.

 

Never having heard of Cuxton , (view north March 79 C4363) I looked on Google Maps as I assumed it was the Medway Motorway bridge. Now it would look quite different, apart from the loss of the layby sidings, HS1 briddge would be in front of the Motorway. Happy memories of racing across there on Eurostar with the traffic appearing to go backwards! I have a rough old video I took of that somewhere.

 

Paul

Edited December 17, 2015 by hmrspaul

[Fat Controller]

The 'marina' at Cuxton has grown a bit since 1979, though that vessel visible between the station shelter and the 2nd from right bridge pillar is still there. To me, it looks as though it could be an ex-Air-Sea-Rescue craft.

The string of 21t hoppers in the siding are presumably empties from Cuxton Cement Works (Rugby Cement), which was off to the left, I believe.

[eastwestdivide]

...The string of 21t hoppers in the siding are presumably empties from Cuxton Cement Works (Rugby Cement), which was off to the left, I believe.

Not exactly, Rugby Cement was at Halling, a bit further down the line. No cement works at Cuxton at that point, although there was a Martin Earles works of some kind of white stuff - we always called it a lime works - just the Strood side of the M2 viaduct, almost visible in those photos.

One of mine showing Cuxton from the M2 here: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/544-southern-region-photos-1980s/?p=634174

Current view of the 3 viaducts here: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/42623-maidstone-west-to-strood-mid-1970s/?p=495421

Also, those loops often had rakes of wagons in for weeks at a time.

Edited December 16, 2015 by eastwestdivide

[Fat Controller]

Not exactly, Rugby Cement was at Halling, a bit further down the line. No cement works at Cuxton at that point, although there was a Martin Earles works of some kind of white stuff - we always called it a lime works - just the Strood side of the M2 viaduct, almost visible in those photos.

One of mine showing Cuxton from the M2 here: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/544-southern-region-photos-1980s/?p=634174

Current view of the 3 viaducts here: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/42623-maidstone-west-to-strood-mid-1970s/?p=495421

Also, those loops often had rakes of wagons in for weeks at a time.

Was the 'Martin Earles' plant the place that produced 'Snowcem'?

Looking at an early Baker (1980), there's a Metal Box plant at Cuxton, then Rugby Cement at Halling and Blue Circle Holborough near Snodland.

[Market65]

Hi, Dave. Love the SR of BR photo's. I think, in that last one, the class 416 is one of those from Tyneside. The bigger guards/luggage van is the main clue.

 

With best regards,

 

Rob.

[eastwestdivide]

Was the 'Martin Earles' plant the place that produced 'Snowcem'?

Looking at an early Baker (1980), there's a Metal Box plant at Cuxton, then Rugby Cement at Halling and Blue Circle Holborough near Snodland.

The Metal Box plant was actually in Strood, the other side of the M2 from Cuxton, and had closed to rail traffic well before 1980 (think the rails were still embedded in concrete there for a long while). That site later turned into a Tesco warehouse, and now Royal Mail centre. It was more or less the opposite side of the Maidstone rail line - Metal Box on the inland side, Earles on the river side.

Metal Box approx here

Martin Earles approx here (you can see its quarries "Diggerland" and the quarry the other side of the lines)

Not sure if Martin Earles produced Snowcem, but it wasn't rail connected at that period. It was part of Blue Circle though. Some sources say it closed in the 60s, but I've got photos of it definitely in action belching white smoke in the early 80s, so what it reopened for I've no idea.

Edited December 17, 2015 by eastwestdivide

[The Lurker]

Diggerland - every boy (and grown up boy) gets drive diggers and generally get very muddy! they even do children's parties....