Craig Munday
My dad always nagged me 40 years ago to keep negatives. I begrudgingly did thinking dad knows best. He did, of course as here I am in 2021 (rather like Indiana Jones!) gently taking these delicate strips of film and passing them through the Epson scanner and giving them new life through Lightroom. It's surreal in this day and age of digital photos to think that the strips of film actually passed through the camera over the years and were developed and returned! I used Photopost Express in Newton Abbot. Their processing was fair in those days, but with today's technology and time being a major factor, the results can be breathtaking. Many prints just didnt have the colours and sharpness one can obtain with lightroom or photoshop.
Time has taken its toll on some images with marks or blemishes, most of these can be covered or edited out, but this is a painstaking process. Perfect for lockdown, I have sometimes spent 25 mins on a single image.
Here are some reasonable results from around 1985. The visit of 7029 Clun castle was recorded in Truro yard. You may have seen these before - but not in HD!
As the loco was being serviced in the yard, 45003 passed by on the 06.50 Swindon to Penzance, and 47602 arrived in the yard from the Penzance direction. Also of interest now, but not on the day were the Warflats bearing the vast green tanks in the Truro Farmer complex. I wonder now what this consignment was?
A super summer evening at Hayle saw 50030 pass on a down stopper, the colours absolutely sting on this image. How I wished I had spent more time composing pictures back then. We spent all our time on the platform trolleys on the downside. I should have been opposite Alfie Hubbard's chip shop on Penpol Terrace for the up postal each evening instead. Hey-ho.
Cheers for now, Craig .
Many thanks Craig.
Southampton
Clive Smith
Crediton & Eggesford
Chris Osment
Eggesford. After the untimely demise of the ex-LSWR signal-box from flood damage in 1967, the passing-loop was taken out of use temporarily and as far as I know all trains used the Up loop until the new signal-box was opened in September 1969. One result of this was that the boxes at Lapford and King’s Nympton survived unexpectedly until mid-1970, having been planned for earlier closure. But how were the level-crossing gates worked and protected during the 1967-9 period – was there some form of temporary covered or uncovered ground-frame to work some of the signals?
Regards, Chris
Carbis Bay
David Ward
I spoke to Roger this morning 20th January he seems quite bright and cheerful - his leg is still being treated and is improving. No plan for a return west just yet;