Deltic Surprise : 21/4/23

Fascinating shot of D9011 - was the lighter colour above the buffers a shade of blue, or just red? I can't recall how the early blue Deltic livery looked (in fact I'm not sure I've ever seen one in colour).

 

Well spotted. I'd not noticed that paler panel and unfortunately I don't know the answer in this case. This photo from a slide I took at Ulgham Lane in July 1967 shows the yellow extending all the way down. I've unfortunately lost the ID, but the size of the nameplate suggests it's a Gateshead loco. I wasn't a fan of the blue livery on them, to me it just looked drab, especially after a bit of weathering, and it made the deltic look 'lumpy'. I loved the two-tone green with the smaller yellow nose panel that extended to just above the headcode. The rot set in when they extended the yellow to wrap around over the whole nose. It just looked 'wrong'.

 

The lighter shade above the buffer beam was the lighter band of green.

 

If Chris Green had had his way in the 1980’s…

 

Counter viewpoint, I want mine on so I know the button action has worked. I would be disappointed with a camera that was fully silent. I guess it depends if you were brought up on non-digital cameras.

 

My question related to the photo of D9011 which was stated to be in early blue livery (1966 saw several experimental blues being applied), so not a green band. I rather suspect it was red.

I was brought up as a child with an old Box Brownie and countless 35mm cameras after that before I went digital. The shutters were never as loud as today's artificially-generated sounds as I recall. I agree about it being handy to have a sound on occasion but I default to mine being off (especially when near others who are filming, etc. to avoid impinging on their soundtracks). I am pretty confident that when I press the button on my Canon R5 or Sony RX10mk4, the camera will take a photo!

 

Like you I was brought up in the olden days of cameras. That slide of the blue Deltic on the mail train was taken with my Ilford Sprite 35mm, which had a fixed shutter speed of 1/50 sec (the last roll of film I used on that camera).

I was using my R5 for the stills for Clun Castle yesterday while my R7, which I usually use for birds, was next to me on the tripod doing the video. I had the R5 on electronic for the silent shutter to avoid the mic picking shutter sound up, but when I have my R7 on Electronic I have the shutter sound 'on' at the lowest volume setting, just so the very quiet sound gives me the comfort of knowing what's going on. It's nice to have a silent shutter for when you need it, but I prefer the option to allow the electronic shutter to be set to sound (or not), as on the R7. Many other R5 users on the various forums hope it can be introduced as a firmware update, but the fact that it hasn't been leads me to think it's not a goer.

 

The only place it could have done so was the stock move to Kings X.

The leak and subsequent engine close down happened just outside Kings X, within gasworks tunnel, despite being refilled with water at a stop, it leaked again, and the correct decision was to close it down. As the unit that leaked had been swapped at HNRC, evidently, it should not be an engine issue, but a cooler group, hose one instead.

 

Did you go for the recent R5 firmware update which gave the 400mp shooting option? I tried it and as far as I can tell the only way to make it work is to have all the atoms in the scene reduced to absolute zero (i.e all possible movement stopped!) because even on a tripod with a static scene there are so many pixel-shift artefacts that it's virtually unusable. Anyway, I digress - we are lucky to have the luxury of shutter sound options today.

 

Thanks for the information.

 

I haven't bothered with the 1.8.1 update yet. I couldn't see where the pixel shift 400MP image would be much use for what I do. 9 images stacked into 1 jpeg. It only works if everything in all 9 images from first to last are static throughout with respect to the camera, and that doesn't work for me. Almost half a second with no leaf, grass or subject movement? I just don't take shots where that happens.

Having said that, after yesterday's experience while I was waiting for 7029 I was getting some weird freezes with the R5 that haven't happened before. When I looked into the viewfinder when I was half-pressing the shutter button to wake it up, the image was there, but the shooting info across the bottom of the screen had vanished and it didn't wake up until I took out the battery. Could have been embarrassing if it happened when the action was about to start. When I've had the occasional freeze in the past, it's been while I'm shooting a burst and the photo at the time of the lock-up stated in the viewfinder. This was different. I've not tested it yet today, to see if it's persisting, but if it is I might download the firmware to see if it gives the system a kick up the backside.

 

Engine shutdown was later than that - there's photos and videos of it climbing Holloway bank with both engines running. More like New Southgate area judging by how much time was lost after there.

 

You had me looking at them at the very end of their service life and on the 31.12.1981 I took D9000/55022 on the final Deltic hauled 05.50 KX to Aberdeen from Newcastle to Berwick and I see on her arrival photo at Newcastle the horns are mounted below the window. The same also applies to 55015 as she headed north through Ackington with the Deltic Scotsman Farewell on 02.01.1982.

 

Thanks for that. Must have been a later modification, after I stopped paying attention after 11 August 1968. Maybe Ballymoss was just the first.

EDIT. I've done some more looking, and I came across some 1970s stuff I forgot about when I was looking through my old scans yesterday. 3rd July 1977 I was on The Journal Steam Special, hauled by 4472 from York to Carnforth. We were taken from Newcastle on the first leg by 55002, and on looking again, I see that by then it had the front of cab horns.