4mm Llanfair ....

[John Duffy]

I also think it's rather too dirty, the cement would be in sacks. If they leaked that much powder the company would do something about it. I would imagine that under the doors you may get spillage, but the rest of the van would be more road dirt and soot.

Being even more specific, I too feel it is too dirty, but in a specific way. It looks like it was been 'weathered' only by the cement. I suspect that the real thing got as dirty as many other wagons but not just from the load it was carrying. Perhaps more road dirt on the under frame and a lighter washing on the body.
One other factor to consider is that the company has gone to the trouble of using this van as an advert, they may well then have taken more care of it.

There are images here;

Harbury Cement Works: A Private Owner covered wagon belonging to Associated Portland Cement Manufacturers in 1948

Hatton Station: Ex-GWR 0-6-2T 56xx class No 6624 north of Hatton Junction with a cement train from the Harbury Cement works located at Greaves sidings on 9th May 1953

Five Ways Station: LMS Stanier 2-6-2T No 117 leaves Five Ways station with the 6.43 pm Birmingham to Redditch local passenger service

Stratford on Avon Station: Close up showing metal bodied covered van No 292 on the middle No 2 road of Stratfords goods yard

These tend to show fairly clean wagons with subtle weathering.

John

 

[LarryG]

Judging by the interest in weathering that my remark on post #325 created, I have asked the mods to move this discussion to my WB thread where I for one am happy to see it develop further. For anyone looking to weather their models, particularly cement wagons, numerous colour images of 'steam-era' cement wagons are to be found on flickr, pinterest and paulbartlet websites, to name but a few.

In the meantime, carry on posting here until this weathering subject is moved. As has been mentioned by some members, such wagons were not solely 'coloured' by the materials they carried. Rusty rail dust and lubrication oil also played its part and more so on fast moving traffic. Restored wagons traveling at 25mph would never weather in the same way as they did when BR used them. In fact, it is doubtful if any carry cement .

 

[simond]

I have a pristine one, awaiting the airbrush & powders…

 

[oldravendale]

Back in the '70s Mrs D and I were looking for our first home near Hemel Hempstead where the Kodak Head Office was to be sited. We spent a long time looking around the area and one of the places we went to was Pitstone which had a significant cement works associated with it - now long gone. The whole place was white with chalk or cement dust so I can quite believe that any wagons adjacent to a works would easily be covered thickly in cement dust which sticks for obvious reasons.

Frankly I don't think that wagon is overdone. Maybe you'd expect a bit more brown road dirt around the chassis but the body would have been white - really white.

Brian.

 

[LarryG]

Passenger parcels vans at Welshtown. The narrow bodied 8ft 6in wide LMS van is tucked in behind the GWR 9ft vans. The nearer K42 has not long been out of the paint shop...

 

[Dai88D]

I dont know if I am alone in thinking that weathered models look like models of the real thing while ex works models look like toys. Similarly, highly polished heritage steam has no chance of bringing back memories of the real days of steam for me. And so following yesterday's photo shoot of the '3-coach Inter corridor set', I weathered the other brake third. If nothing else, the coaches do at least match now...
View attachment 161250

PS: I like the idea of the 'inside out' brake. It mirrors the untidiness of BR.

I agree totally. For the life of me, I don’t understand why someone would buy a pristine 72xx when they they were filthy workhorses for practically all their life. Rant over.

 

[LarryG]

I was experimenting with the iPhone this morning in the gloom of the shed. The first photo was taken on the iPhone and shows the limited depth of focus for three-quarter views. The nearer Hornby coach is straight our of the box...



Below is a single shot image taken with an aperture of f32 for maximum depth of field. The lack of sharpness is usual with lenses when closing down apertures beyond the optimum sharpness (typically f8) ...


Below is a composite image where I focussed on the nearer coach (f32) and then took a second shot focussing on the rear coach. The two images were carefully married in Photoshop. It is vital that the camera remains locked in position for the two shots. It is also worth watching the exposure does not change. One should use manual exposure but I am lazy and simply reset the aperture if it changes...

 

[LarryG]

Further to the above, I took two pictures at f22 using a Canon Standard 50mm/f1.8 lens. Made in Japan, the optic of a prime lens would normally out-run a cheap China-built 18-35mm zoom. But 'marrying' the two images proved impossible because the sharp rear coach was smaller in proportions than the leading coach. I can only assume the optics in the 50mm lens zoom out ever so slightly when the focus is changed from the leading coach to the rear coach.

 

[Focalplane]

I have one lens that can do the job, the Nikkor 60mm “micro” f2.8. Just to be different Nikon called their macro lenses micro lenses. Sadly the 60mm lens becomes 90mm with a D sensor so normal angle shots are not possible.

 

[Heather Kay]

I can only assume the optics in the 50mm lens zoom out ever so slightly when the focus is changed from the leading coach to the rear coach.

I’ve found the same. I use a 35mm prime for most model shots, but when I've attempted focus stacking I discovered the internal optics move the image. I would need to arrange a method of shifting the whole camera rather than refocusing, which is technique used by the best ultra-macro photographers but beyond my interest and means at present.

 

[LarryG]

Glad I'm not the only one Heather. The cheap China 18-55 Mk.I (£99) does stacking admirably. But I have yet to try photographing at f8 to get optimum sharpness using 3-stack. Some of my triple-stack images are already on WT.

 

[Peter Cross]

Nice models Larry.
I must be old fashioned, I dislike photo stacking, to me it produces pictures that look unreal. No perception of depth. As I am here writing my phone is in focus, but I can see my feet and my son, but neither are as clear and sharp as my phone, and vise versa.

 

[LarryG]

Nice models Larry.
I must be old fashioned, I dislike photo stacking, to me it produces pictures that look unreal. No perception of depth. As I am here writing my phone is in focus, but I can see my feet and my son, but neither are as clear and sharp as my phone, and vise versa.

Yes, I can go along with what you say about lack of depth Peter, but I'm looking at this from another angle. When I photograph real trains, I do not expect the focus to fall off after the second coach. (It does with large format unless the camera has movements). So I am trying to show two or three model coaches sharply in focus.

 

[Gismorail]

What an interesting subject reference the pictures you have been composing of the two coaches. I’m afraid my photography is very much ‘point and shoot’ but your explanation has open new avenues for me. Thankyou Larry every day is a school day as they say

 

[LarryG]

An update on post #350 showing the C54 nearest the camera after a run though the paintshop. Incidentally, they represent the oldest post-Grouping GWR design with the final GWR design...

 

[LarryG]

The newly finished E162 composite. The bodysides are not weathered....

 

[LarryG]

The two Dia. C70 corridor thirds at Llanfair....

 

[Heather Kay]

Making work for the timetable printers again, Larry?

 

[LarryG]

Making work for the timetable printers again, Larry?

You refer to the name of the terminus Heather? Hahah.. Waterhead seems so obvious a name now, but it took some getting there. My late wife came from Waterhead, Oldham and that is a head of water near the bottom of the moors.

 

[PhilH]

So are we back in Oldham ?

or if you're still in the Welsh Borders - "Pen-y-Dwr"