Great Western Coffee Shop

Took this picture on Saturday 2nd April when the charter passed through Thatcham station on the way back east.

Interesting point to note - it was 5 minutes early coming through...but then I guess it didn't have to worry about picking up passengers at a specific time

Sorry for poor quality - light was on it's way out.

No problem with the quality of that picture, BerkshireBugsy - it's good action shot of a train going through a station at dusk!  :)

I note a very calm spaniel on the platform, apparently unfazed by the passage of a noisy steam engine.  I remember bignosemac's dog being startled witless by the arrival of Tornado at Bishop's Lydeard, a few years ago.  ;) :D ;D

Thank you CfN- I managed to get a shutter speed of 80th Sec but had it have been any later the clouds were threatening and so I think I was lucky

I printed a copy of this off and handed it to the very helpful GWR person at the ticket office because he takes pride in his job and is always helpful - he was very appreciative. I wanted to get this before the gantries go up.

There were a number of small children who came down to the station to see Tornado pass through - they were suitably impressed but showed no interest in the 165 that was going the other way

In low light, 1/80th sec and, I presume, hand held, that picture is pretty good. What was your ISO setting?

Oh, and does anyone know why Tornado was 'Matey'/'M8Y' for this trip?

... which is exactly as it should be.  :-X ;D

Yes.  ;)

See youtube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZ7riIch5c4 and the description appended to that clip:

The camera was on auto but I've just checked and it was equiv to ASA500 (It's ages since I have even had to worry about ISO settings!)

f3.3 1/80th sec

I was leaning against the footbridge side to get some bracing.

The MBY reference was something to do with someone who had a strong connection with the preservation programme...I will see if I can dig the details out. I saw it on Facebook in the The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust group


EDIT~ Beaten to it by CfN

I thought 'matey' was Inspector Morse's boss's catchphrase?

Or bubble bath if you are - ahem - old enough to remember.

BB, I take it you mean Peter? He is indeed cheery, helpful and goes beyond the call of duty on occasions as far as I've seen.

Yes I do but I didn't think it was permissible to use staff members names in the forum.

Ah, you may be right, but if it was negative feedback it would probably be more of a problem.

Norman at Twyford seemed to get quite a bit!

It was a nice thought on your part to do this for him anyway  :)

Forenames are generally alright - after all, it's what is shown on their name badges.

Surnames, for other than managers or above, would indeed be frowned upon - if used without their permission.

Hope this helps.

Chris.

from Nailsea.  ;)

That was my first thought on seeing the name!

(http://i598.photobucket.com/albums/tt68/bignosemac/Matey%20Bubble%20Bath%2070s.jpg.opt175x326o00s175x326_zpsttctm0vr.jpg)

This made me laugh - what a random (thread) distraction!

Random distraction? How insulting! It's lateral thinking...  ;D

I think I prefer this one...

Link to soap (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Thomas-Friends-Foam-Hand-Soap/dp/B008OLJV0C)

Ta CfN

Personally, I no longer use it.


By accident or by design, it's a very nice photo, and shows the power of the modern digital camera. The big aperture gives a sharpness to the locomotive, with the focus softening towards the rear of the train.

It also demonstrates the ability of the photographer to frame the picture nicely and make the best of the fleeting moment he is presented with!

In Inspector Morse Matey was usually said by Superintendent Strange .

Many thanks for the compliment - It was by design but I agree about the power of a modern digital camera. When I first switched to digital from film (SLR) I missed two two things..which were

1) The ability to have an external flash and avoid red eye
2) The ability to control depth of field

Thankfully when I could afford a digital SLR those issues went away...

I bought my first one in January, and quickly transferred my previously knowledge from film days to the new technology. Now for the rest, which is taking time, although it is fun. The shop I bought the camera from offered me a course at a fee. I declined, because without the need to buy film or pay for processing, I can take 500 pictures of my wheelie bin until I get it right.

I had the camera shooting at 3 frames/sec because I didn't want to miss a chance. I *think* one of the big pluses of digital is that you can take many photos and delete the ones you don't like but I like to at least try and get it right in the camera - I guess old habits die hard.

If I get time I may try and photoshop out the CIS on P1 and possibly the dog.

I think the photo is excellent. It catches the mood and the time of day perfectly and I don't think it needs any Photoshopping.

I had a somewhat different challenge with my attempt at photting Tornado on that tour. I was at Broadclyst, just east of Exeter when lighting conditions were probably at their brightest (1:15pm), but I chose a location where I had just one chance of getting a good picture. The loco would have been at speed and the angle was almost side on from below so I needed a relatively wide angle (34mm). I was in a rather boggy field with no chance of setting up a tripod, so had to rely on a steady hand.  This was a tailor-made situation for a good DSLR and I think I turned out extremely lucky.  I chose 'Shutter Speed bias' rather than pure 'Auto' and opted for 1/800 sec - the camera determined the other settings . The aperture was no bigger than f/5 and ISO 100 equivalent.

Thank you. I guess the reason I wanted to remove the CIS display is because I didn't think it was in keeping with the steam engine but it is totally subjective

I think your choice of Shutter Priority was a good one. For most of my stuff I used AP which is what I used for this pic but then it doesn't really matter if you remember changing one also changes the other. I didn't have the luxury of sunshine but then sometimes I think that isn't always a good thing having it too bright

An excellent image. So much so that a Facebook group has chosen it as their cover photo!

Is the FB Group one I can join?

Search Facebook for "South West Railways and Heritage". You may be 'out of area' though BB.

And my request to join has been pending for 3 days now...

Thanks also to CfN from me - don't want to break any rules.

Well, it's not strictly a 'rule' - more a convention, or guidance, really, born out of politeness.

Front line staff generally have name badges with a forename on them (apparently, it doesn't have to be their real name, if they have personal reasons for not wanting that to be given).

Staff at manager level (for example, station managers) will have posters displayed at their stations with their full name and picture in the public domain, so that's rather different.

Likewise, directors will have their full names, picture and indeed a brief biography published on their company website.

We therefore simply ask, out of courtesy to passenger-facing members of railway staff (of whichever company) that we only refer to them in any posts on the Coffee Shop forum by their name badge name (unless they give their permission to be identified more specifically).

We also encourage you to consider whether identifying any particular member of staff (even by just their forename) in an unfavourable light, where it will be apparent from the circumstances exactly who they are, is appropriate.  For example, referring to "the train manager on the 25:62 from Nailsea on Monday" would perhaps be tactless, if you are complaining about her.  In such cases, it's better to go through the official channels with a formal complaint, rather than 'naming and shaming' them here on the Coffee Shop forum.

Having said all that, we have seen many examples where members of railway staff have given really great service to their customers, and 'Peter' at Thatcham and 'Norman' at Twyford  (Norman Topsom MBE, now retired (http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=11377.0)) are cases in point.  ;) :D ;D

Well, as Groucho Marx said, "I don't want to belong to any club that will accept people like me as a member".  ;) :D ;D

Indeed - played by the late, and great, James Grout (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-18720117).  :-X

BTW PhilW - I do like your picture - am I right that this is without any filters such as HDR?

This reminds me of a quote from the Woody Allen film Annie Hall (that dates me!) ..but as some may find it offensive I will refrain from posting.

You are indeed correct - I rarely use any filters.

A man after my own heart :)

Woody Allen: "Hardly ever, maybe three times a week".
Annie: "Constantly. Maybe three times a week".

That one? If so, I'll refrain from posting it too.

Something like that...so let's leave it there!