Tuesday 16 November 2021

Wandering Wellington Street - In Scale

What good is a model if we can't imagine ourselves in it? This often takes the form of photos taken from helicopter or drone height. Using a point and shoot camera, I'm able to 'get down' to layout surface height. Getting back into the modelling season of fall to spring, I am operating the layout most nights, combined with maintenance, building or photography. It was photography this night, and here are the results. Rideau Street (top photo) and Wellington Street (below):
The rear of the Bajus Brewery buildings:
Garage at Place d'Armes coal yard:
Rear of the City Steam Laundry on Wellington Street:
Another view near the coal yard:
Mileboard for CP's station, telltales, and the River Street bridge, under which CN and CP cross. Pay no attention to that secondary track at right. More heavily camouflaged seen from the layout edge, it provides (nearly) hidden track access to a (nominally Anglin) bulk fuel tank spur. Just because I could!

 

Tuesday 9 November 2021

Photographing Work on the Waterfront

In an earlier post called "Watching Work on the Waterfront", I was inspired to build a scene of several workers at Canadian Dredge & Dock, on Wellington Street, working on an unspecified project. Returning to the layout room after a long, enjoyable summer, I did some layout-level photography. Specifically, exploring several angles around this scene. 

Kingston's Hanley Spur is most definitely a model railway, but it also comprises a compendium of discrete scenes. These scenes are built around trackside industries, or portray life in Kingston's Swamp Ward neighbourhoods, as well as those from Wellington to Montreal Streets. 

I like the perspective that actually placing my point & shoot camera (hey, should try with a smartphone - note to self!) on the layout and manoeuvring it around to various angles. This not only lets us view these scenes not from the traditional drone/helicopter height, but helps us sharpen our modelling and scenery skills. 

These guys are working on Canadian Dredge & Dock tugboat Traveller in the drydock, that unnamed project and also show the company's stores buildings and heavy industrial equipment.