46233 Duchess of Sutherland - Oxfordshire Explorer

[sidmouth]

Sadly a grey day but ventured out to see 46233 on the PMR tours Manchester to Didcot tour. Seen here on the return at Hatton North Junction gathering speed after the climbof Hatton Bank

Hatton North by Martin Creese, on Flickr

the 24C was being carried for photography and Duchess enthusiast #AlanCastle who sadly recently passed away. In January 1956 the former GWR Kings had to be withdrawn due to the discovery of Bogie Fractures. A number of Stanier Pacifics were loaned to the British Railways Western Region to cover.

 

[JohnC6]

Interesting shot,Martin..tilting like a pendolino.Dark skies force you to ip the ISO . I hate it when it's a bright sunny day and just as the train is due a couple of clouds appear and one blocks out the direct sunlight. Sod's Law.

That's interesting re. the 24C. When I first started on steam locos which was only a couple of years ago my first attempt was awful because I focused on the jet black of the boiler front and the shutter speed dropped immediately so I now focus just behind the black on the green..it's generally green or maybe one of the white lamps. Also, I was really disappointed that I'd miss this loco because I'm not going to be able to get to see it on it's trip in September Rugby>Bristol, I thought it was that wonderful crimson colour. (Crimson Lake) I can cope with missing a green..lol That class, as I'm sure you'll know, were once blue..Prussian Blue. I'm hoping to King Edward 11 this season…that's blue.

 

[sidmouth]

@JohnC6 , thanks for the comments . The ISO was still 100Asa . 3/4 stop under exposure and highlights reduced , shadows lifted . Exposure around 500th @ F4

She does look good in green and for me at least nice to see her on a Maroon rake . The law of sod being just that meant the sun came out about 5 minutes after the train had passed

KE2 does look good although I am not a fan of the sawn off look now she has had her height reduced .

 

[JohnC6]

I've not seen KE11 yet so the difference wouldn't be something I'd notice. I shoot at 1/800 sec. f8 (to get the carriages sharp too) ISO generally 400 but having said that yours at f4 looks fine. I usually have 200 ISO when not on a tripod but to help get the shutter speed up I go for 400 which my camera can easily cope with (1D 1V..Canon have stopped making them and gone to the 1DX..£4500 at WEX)

The near neighbour who I go with to photograph the locos..he knows every location,I haven't mentioned lone yet that he isn't familiar with so a great navigator to have whilst I drive. Anyway, he has a friend who is as knowledgeable but never takes photos..I couldn't do that..just go a watch them steam by..he passes on his weekly magazines and my friend eventually drops them into me and I read in last November's issue that Duchess of Sutherland will very soon be back to that crimson lake,although it's great news for me I now wish I could get it in green before it's painted. It's going in for something else and they'll take the opportunity to change the colour.

 

[shreds]

Interesting shot,Martin..tilting like a pendolino.

Not quite, its the 'cant' or elevation of the track that makes the train look as if it is leaning into the curve. Pendolinos and their forerunners the BR Advanced Passenger Trains actually had powered 'cams' on top of the bogies to increase the tilt which allowed the trains to negotiate the curves faster.

BR experimented with around 8-9 degrees of tilt although they had the ability to crank it up to 12 degrees on occasion. This was all on top of the 'super elevation' or 'cant' of the track.

Steam engines and older Mk1 coaching stock cannot 'tilt' as such.

Nice shot nevertheless. I am not in the editors 'only shoot when sunny' camp at all

 

[JohnC6]

Thanks, Ian.

Re. Sunny days,it's not for the scene I prefer the sun but to be able to keep the ISO to a minimum and the shutter speed up to at least 1/640 sec .Despite the claims by manufacturers I find ISO values above 400 undesirable. As long as there's a decent level of light that's fine by me.