Hey Kevin
How about posting your photos again, since the server ate the last ones?
PLEASE!!! PLEASE!!! PRETTY PLEASE!!!
Brian, there are a few here that won’t darken their doorstep.
Warren Mumpower said:
Brian, there are a few here that won’t darken their doorstep.
Hey, they’ve only gotta be there long enough to read my stuff. 
They don’t have to tell anyone they were there. Anyway, the link Brian gave will give you the more-or-less full story of the loco with history, prototype photos, etc. Since I’m not a fan of redundancy, and saying the same thing twice isn’t my bag, I won’t copy the entire post here. I will, however, offer some highlights: Before:
A stock Bachmann 4-4-0, in a rather garish red color scheme. The loco used to run on my dad’s railroad until I swapped him for it. I had plans. I’ve wanted to repaint that loco ever since he got it, and if I were still living at home when he did, it would have been painted long ago. However, at that time, I hadn’t discovered the TVRR yet, so I’m glad things worked out as they did. This was a perfect loco for TVRR #5. After:
Tuscarora Valley #5, a 1877 Baldwin product (cn 4082). It came to the TVRR around 1900ish from the Eagles Mere RR. It served on the TVRR until 1913. It’s disposition is unknown. The classic 3/4 view:
There were some simple cosmetic mods done to the loco. The most prominent being the extended smoke box and new, stubbier cowcatcher. The air pump was lowered midway through the running boards, and fenders were added over the drivers. The tender:
The tender was pretty much left alone, save for the addition of a new coal load to hide the batteries.
I had some fun with the weathering and detailing on this one… What else ya gonna do with the leftover coal dust?
I did this loco as fodder for my “Garden Railways Basics” column in GR. The series will start with the February issue, and will cover all the steps in repainting the loco, from disassembly to painting, to reassembly and weathering. Later, K
Amazing work… .I love the weathered-yet-well-cared-for look. That what I strive for (and fail!) on my weathering…
The weather was unseasonably warm today, around 70°, so after clearing the leaves out of the back yard, I decided it was high time to do some railfanning along the Tuscarora. TVRR #5 was taking care of the day’s activities, which–being Sunday–were pretty much limited to the daily milk train.
Sunday’s supposed to be a day of rest, but folks still want fresh milk to go with their Sunday brunch. So, the farmers still have to set their milk cans out by the tracks, and the railroad still has to deliver them to other points along the line. But this is easily handled today by a single combine (EBT’s #18). The train has come up from Burnt Cabins, and is heading west after stopping at Neelyton.
Westbound towards Shade Gap
Approaching the Shade Creek bridge just east of Shade Gap
The engineer gives a friendly wave as he passes by, eastbound to Neelyton. The engineer and fireman figures were ones I had made for a 1:22 loco project a while back. The loco is history, but they’ve found a new cab to call home. They’re not likely to leave the TVRR for the NBA, but that’s just as well. (They are both around 5’ 4" tall, so they’re really not too short.)
Turning north out of Neelyton headed for Blair’s Mills and back to the TVRR’s home rails. Alas, I didn’t get my camera over to Shade Gap or Blacklog, perhaps later this week when there’s a bit of freight to be moved as well. Later, K
Kevin,
Your railroad and track are really looking good as you use them for illustrations and backgrounds with your articles. I’ve enjoyed your work on #5. Thanks for sharing.
Kevin , that is model railroading , to the highest level . You have raised the excellance bar to a new high !
Will you make another great video , like the last one , useing that loco #5 please ?
Kev posted this request on the GR forum too…feel free to only answer once.
I am interested if you have any photos of #5 with your Delton Hoppers? and or your Bachmann Wood Ore Cars?
I’d love to see them together for comparo!
thanks
cale
As always, your modeling work is superb and your photography is top-notch! Beautiful stuff!
How do you get so close yet maintain so much depth of field?
Cale, try these…
More can be found here: http://www.trains.com/TRC/CS/forums/1316128/ShowPost.aspx#1316128 Ray, wide angle lenses, small apertures, and long exposures. Later, K
Kevin Strong said:I must be doing something wrong. With a 35mm wide angle lens, I can't get nearly as close as on your shot looking down the side of the loco towards the cab. Even at f16, the depth of field is still pretty limited. Anytime I try to get a closeup shot of a small model I've had to use a 2X converter, and then the depth of field is almost zip.
Ray, wide angle lenses, small apertures, and long exposures.
Ray, I’m no photographic expert, but have dabbled, would not call 35mm real wide angle, get down a bit, like 28mm or less… although I don’t see any distortion on Kevin’s pix.
Then stop it down to high F stop, over F16 should be possible, and away you go.
Regards, Greg
thanks Kevin, that is just what I was looking for!
now it’s an easy decision if I can find some deals at SELSTS!
Thanks Again!
cale
For the cab shot, that was f22 and 18mm (on a cropped sensor camera, the equivalent of a 28mm on a 35mm film camera.) I rarely use anything wider than f20 for shots of the railroad unless I’m purposefully playing with limited depth of field. The lens I use (Sigma 18 - 200) is quite crisp in the f-16 to f-28 range. Outside of that range, it tends to get a bit soft.
That’s actually one of the few wide-angle shots I’ve taken of the railroad. The narrowness of garden doesn’t lend itself to broad views, so most shots are taken at longer focal lengths to block out the unwanted background crap.
Later,
K
Thanks. I guess I’d better start shopping for a better lens.