Breitefurt (my first layout)

[KaiL]

From Z to N?  Changing from electric ants to electric june bugs?   

Hans-Jörg you know of course that you possess an evil steak... hahaha. This comes close to accusing Märklin fans of running cog rail roads  (Zahnradbahnen). But then, I think they do....

[Chris]

Hi KaiL I don't think Maerklin do that. I think that yopu are thinking of Fleischmann. I do have some of their rack railway track and a loco and carriages - another possibility I guess. No photo I'm afraid.

No prizes at weekend's expo. More later.

All the best,
Chris.

[RhB_HJ]

Hi Chris, 

The "cog rail" refers to Märklin's three rail track. Way back when it used to be a solid third rail at the center of the track. Today it is just small contacts (Punktkontakte) in every tie, hardly noticable but due to location being similar to a cog rail.

BTW the insect comparison goes back to the time when live steamers (5" and 7 1/4" track gauge) refered to my HOm stuff as electric mice, it's a matter of size.

[Chris]

Hello, dear friends.

Well, the Moray MRG exhibition in Elgin (Scotland, not IL) has been and gone. It all went pretty well though the usual problems of tired locos on the second day afternoon manifested itself. Anyway, I am happy, which is the important thing. The visitors had a lot of positive comments though quite a few just walked past noses in the air. No prizes though.

Anyway, I have been very busy on the web. I have completed reports for the Dundee MRC and Moray MRG expos. Sadly the former is very patchy as I did something to my camera and most of my photos were unusable. I have only competed the Breitenfurt part of November's Elgin exhibition and the rest will follow over the next week.

Do have a look and I hope you like what you see. Here are the links.
Dundee MRC exhibition, October 2011
Elgin MRC Modelfair, November, 2011
Moray MRG GNOS* Exhibition, March 2012

With best wishes,
Chris.

*GNOS: Great North of Scotland.

[Later: I have also added 13 detail photographs to my Breitenfurt diary (link in sig.]

[Jeff]

I think the Dundee show is revealing. Given the small scale you work in, I would think some 'dwarfing' is to be expected. Even in the small online photos, though, I can see that you could give them some lessons on how to get good ground coloring. A few of those pix show what I would regard as 'strange' earth colours .
As for the tired loco, maybe it's time to either pack two locos instead of one for that train or retire it to local goods service, just like the real thing.

[Chris]

Hi Jeff. Thanks for responding.
I wouldn't be too judgemental. I made a right mess of Dundee and wouldn't be surprised if the white balance is up the creek. Have a look at the sheep picture on my diary. The sheep are on a brown area but the bit in fornt should be a dull green. I will need to sort that out if I re-do those pics.
All the best,
Chris.

[RhB_HJ]

Hi Chris,

Quite a bit of that can be corrected with photo software, all of it if you shoot with a camera that can produce RAW files.

[Chris]

Yes, I appreciate that except that graphics apps and I don't get on very well with each other. I have several (not Photoshop) some of which are used for a single function that is not on any of the others. I usually try to get it right on the camera then there's less to do. I juts wish that I could use the camera's screen instead of the silly little viewfinder. Sometimes I wish I had stuck to my old Nikon with its rotatable screen.
All the best,
Chris.

[Jeff]

Chris, there are some apps out there that can fix 'common photo problems' with what amounts to one click without operator intervention. I haven't found any that can fix really big problems, but minor color balance is something most of them do okay. The best photo programs of that kind will have ways for the operator to take what it spits out and tweak the pic into submission. In many cases, you can get hold of a trial version.  I think they're worth checking out to see if you like any of them.

[RhB_HJ]

Chris, have you tried Photoshop Elements? Much more user friendly than the full version and I seem to get an upgraded copy every time I get a new camera or scanner. Never bought a copy yet yet, but I upgraded COREL since ver3. 

[Chris]

Hello again.
Mostly I use Microsoft's Photo Editor. Very simple program which allows one to do some colour correction. All this reminds me of a story of a printing service that spent ages trying to correct a green telephone box (enclosed booth) from green to red. They managed it eventually. It was only when the customer got the print that the truth came out. The picture had been taken in Hull which has its own city owned telephone system and their boxes are green, unlike the old Post office ones which were red.

No, I'll stick with the apps that I already have. Learning yet another one is asking tooooooo much.

All the best,
Chris.

[Chris]

My Elgin 2011 report is now complete.
Best wishes,
Chris.

[Chris]

Dear Friends,

I feel rather bad as I have not been posting updates in the last 7/8 months. I have mixed feelings about posting as really this area of the forum is about Track Plans whereas my posts tend to be about my layout. The trackplan was pretty well fixed ages ago and, apart from a couple of modifications in the hidden sidings, nothing has changed so there is nothing to talk about. On the other hand people have responded re the general progress on the layout so I feel that I can justifiably update as to where I am.

Since my last post I have continued to add more detail to the layout and have been to four exhibitions. If you are interested here are the links for those expos.

Moray MRG's Great North of Scotland model rail exhibition (March)
Inverness and District MRC's model rail exhibition (September)
Oxford MRC's Zedex Z scale convention (October) and
Elgin MRC's Modelfair models exhibition (November)

Enjoy.

With best wishes,
Chris.

[David]

Hi Chris,

Good to hear from you! Yes, it's exhibition time, here in Holland as well. Hardly any weekend left for other activities!

David.