More Great North American Modelling from Europe

What is it with those European model railroaders and their great photography and modelling?

A scoot around the Web brings up some fantastic pictures by modellers from places like Germany (Josef Brandl), Switzerland (Stefan Foerg), France (Phillipe Coquet), and now Sébastien Georges of Belgium.

I came across Sébastien's great modelling on the HO Scale Shelf Layouts Facebook group.

On that group page, Sébastien says he is modelling an area in the northeast U.S. close to the Canadian border.

The layout is 13 feet-long on one side with a 4 foot-six inches leg (an "L" shape).

So why do those Europeans produce such great models and photos? I don't know. 

One possibility is that having smaller layouts, or just dioramas, they have the ability to devote more time and effort to smaller scenes. (Like those trees; they are amazing!)

This is unlike some of us in North America, who have large basement layouts.

Whatever the reason, I'm just glad we get a chance to enjoy great modelling like this.

The "Fallowfield Effect"

The "Fallowfield effect."

That’s the term coined by my friend Eric Gagnon at Trackside Treasure about the unique photographic style of great Canadian modeler Bob Fallowfield.

The effect is easy to see in his photos, but hard to describe—the focus and lighting are soft is the best way I can think of describing it.

How does Bob achieve it? I think it is a combination of his lighting and camera—he used to use an iPad, but now uses an iPhone. (I also used an iPhone for my photos.)

Of course, the effect is helped along by Bob’s fantastic modelling and realistic modelling. 

I think I accidentally achieved a version of the Fallowfield effect on the CP Rail M & M Sub. recently, as seen by the photos on this page.

I’m not sure how I did it, but I’m pleased with the results.

Now, if only my modeling was as good as Bob’s . . . .

For a look at the real "Fallowfield effect," see some of Bob's photos from his great CP Rail Galt Sub. layout below.

Going All O. Winston Link on the Thompson Canyon Layout

I'm no O. Winston Link when it comes to night photography of trains. But I tried to be "Linkian" the other week by taking a "night" photo or two of the N scale Thompson River Canyon layout, using only a flashlight.

The result is on this page.

The colour version.

Great Canadian Photo Site: Your Railway Pictures

There are a lot of great websites out there that have great photos of Canadian trains. But one I really like is Yourrailwaypictures.com

The site, which has been created by John MacDonald, is old school. But that's no big deal; the photos are superb. 

On the site, John notes that "like most Canadians over 50, I have a fascination with railways and steam locomotives in particular."

He's turned that fascination into quite a collection of photos of older and newer trains, with a number of historical shots from across Canada.

There are sections about CNR and CPR steam, Canadian railway artifacts, RDCs, old Canadian rolling stock (freight and passenger), Canadian train stations, cabooses, Canadian streetcars and grain elevators.

There are also pages about bridges, trestles and tunnels (with a detailed look at the CPR Spiral Tunnels), old Canadian logging equipment, CP Rail robot cars, more CN, CPR and VIA locomotives, the Newfoundland Railway, Canadian rail yards and more.

I've never seen a photo of CNR steam at
Churchill, Manitoba before.

The photos are mostly submitted and all are captioned; John intersperses comments about the photos, providing information about time and place.

Be warned that the pages are very large; you have to scroll a long way to get to the bottom of most pages. But that just makes it more enjoyable--sort of like a treasure hunt. (What will I find next?) 

Also be warned that John has brief train sounds embedded on the home page and other pages, in case you open it up at work. (Turn the sound off!)

If you have the time, or even if you don't, Yourrailwaypictures.com is well worth a visit.

Into and Out of the Dark

The previous owners of my house installed a single pot light in what became the layout room. I turn it on occasionally for a bit more illumination.

But the other day I turned it on when all the other lights were off and thought: That might make for a good photo or two.

The results are a bit O. Winston Link-ish, recalling (in a very limited way) that photographer's famous photos of steam locomotives illuminated by flashbulbs. 

Click here to learn more about Link and his unique night-time photography (from the New York Times).

Anyway, it was fun taking and cropping the photos--and now posting them. (Too bad I don't have Photoshop, so I could add headlights.)

A Last Drone Railfan Video Round-Up

This past summer, I wrote a couple of posts about what was then a very new aspect of the hobby: Drone railfanning. (See Drone Railfanning and More Drone Railfanning.)

Back then, there were a few drone railfan videos on YouTube. Today, about five months later, there are dozens. 

Soon, there were will be hundreds as more people buy and learn to use this new technology.

In other words, after this post, there will be little point in writing about drone railfanning on this blog.

It won't be long before these types of videos will be so ubiquitous and easy to find they will hardly be worth mentioning. (Unless they are of exceptional quality or from a previously-inaccessible location.)

Watching drone railfan videos does prompt a few observations.

First, just like with still photography and other videos of trains, they vary in quality. 

Second, some drone videographers are forgetting the rule of videos on YouTube: Shorter is better. Two to three minutes is all most people will watch.

Finally, there’s the business of sound. There’s a reason almost all the drone videos I’ve seen have a music track: Drones are not yet equipped for sound. If they are, the engine noise drowns out the train sounds. 

At least one drone railfan videographer is mixing in real train sounds, to good effect. (See link below.)

Anyway, here are a few drone railfan videos I enjoyed watching, starting with two sent to me by Camerajumper1. The first is an amazing look at Tehachapi Loop from drone’s-eye perspective. 

He also sent this one of MetroLink and coal train action in California. 

As for others, do you like Amtrak? This one features Amtrak and NS in Jackson, Michigan. 

Do you like steam locomotives from the air? Then you’ll like this drone video of Pere Marquette 1225. 

How about drone video of bridges, rivers and trains? One thing drones allow us to do is see railroad action from the middle of the river.

Here’s that drone video that combines trains sounds and video. It sounds pretty good to me.

Drone videos like this one in Tennessee  remind us that trains spend a lot of time amidst trees and out of normal sight (until drones came along, that is).

Not all drone railfan videos feature mainline action. If you like bucolic locals, this one is for you. Bonus: An NS unit running long hood forward.

Finally, an interesting view of the CPR HolidayTrain at night. 

So, that’s it—what may be my last drone railfan video round-up. (Unless something spectacular comes along.)

CP Rail M & M Sub. in Black & White

There's something pure about black and white photography. It seems cleaner and simpler, somehow.

It also helps that it hides imperfections, not to mention making those of us who started out in photography long ago a little nostalgic. (I can still conjure up the smell of chemicals in the darkroom.)

Anyway, I decided to take a few black and white shots on the M & M Sub. Forgive the terrible depth of field; I used my iPhone camera.

What's it Like to Lie on the Tracks and Watch a Train Go Over Your Head at 75 Miles an Hour?

What's it like be beneath a train when it passes over your head at 75 miles an hour? Watch this video and find out. If you're impatient, skip to the 56 second mark.

(On a railroad forum, someone disputes whether the train is actually going 75 miles an hour. No matter; it's fast.)

As it turns out, this isn't the only train-passing-over-your-head video on the Web. There are others, like this one of a Norfolk Southern train going slowly over the camera. It gives you a chance to appreciate the wheels and the underbody detail in a way that the first video doesn't. Skip to the 3:26 mark to enjoy the show.

You can also enjoy this bottom view of a CPR train passing overhead. It's a little faster than the NS one, but the video is short--just 31 seconds.

Earlier I posted about drones taking great video of trains from above; now it's GoPro and other cameras taking interesting footage from below. From above or below, railfan photographers have got you, and trains, covered.

Note: I am not condoning unsafe behaviour around railway tracks. I am just pointing to videos that show an unusual point of view. 

America in Colour, 1939-43

What colour was America (and Canada) in the 1940s?

On the one hand, the question seems obvious--colour is colour, after all. But few colour photos from that era actually exist; it's hard for those who model that period to know what it really looked like.

What colour were the bricks? The wood sides of buildings? The signs? Railroad cars and locomotives?

But a new collection of colour photos of the U.S. from 1939-43 has been posted on the Web. Taken by photographers working for the Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information, they are some of the only photos of small-town America during the depression and early war years.

Click here to see more of those photos.

These photos are a great addition to those taken by Charles W. Cushman, an amateur photographer who took colour photos of America in the 1940s-60s. Click here to learn more about his collection and see some photos.

More Drone Railfan Videos and Drone Railroad News

In an earlier post, I wrote about how drones are poised to change railfanning photography--take it to a new level.

Since then I've discovered other drone videos of trains on the Web. Like this one, taken in Memphis, TN.

And here's a very short drone clip by Norfolk Southern at its Atlanta yard.

And another one, shot by someone who goes by the name of B LPHOTO, of CSX and KCS action in Ohio.

There are other drone railfan videos on YouTube, but it's clear that taking good drone video, like any other kind of video, takes practice. Some of them haven't yet mastered the slow scan or zoom. Of course, adding the need to fly your camera introduces a whole new level of complexity.

Meantime, Union Pacific is exploring using drones to inspect track and bridges along its system.

And the Deutsche Bahn, Germany's national railway, would like to use drones to prevent vandalism and graffiti in its yards.

Personally, I'm looking forward to when some enterprising railfan photographer uses a drone to video hard to reach places like B.C.'s Fraser Canyon or the CPR spiral tunnels. That will be something to see!

For a drone railfan video update, click here. 

More iPhone Photos of the M & M Sub.

Some more iPhone shots of the layout. Click here to see the first batch.

Drones: Taking Railfanning to a Whole New Level

A drone's-eye view of the Cumbres & Toltec RR.

Talk about taking railfanning to a whole new level! Like about a quarter mile in the air, using a drone.

It used to be that if you wanted an aerial view of trains, you needed to use an airplane. Even then, you needed a good telephoto lens since you couldn’t come too low to the ground.

No more; now you can buy your own personal drone, like the DJI Phantom 2 quadcopter, which comes equipped with its own video camera.

The DJI Phantom 2

In 2013, Daniel Luke Fitch was the pilot and aerial cinematographer was the DJI Phantom Grand Prize video contest winner with his drone’s-eye view of the historic Cumbres & Toltec Railroad. Check it out here. 

Meantime, someone who goes by the name CSX600 posted a drone video of NS action in Tennessee and Kentucky. Check out that video here. 

The advantages of drones are many; they can go where normal photography isn’t possible, and get photos and video that would otherwise be impossible to get. 

We modellers have been taking drone’s-eye photos of our layouts forever; now those who are primarily interested in the prototype can do the same. 

For a drone railfan video update, click here.