A Few Words about Wordless Wednesday #348 - Colorizers

Long time readers of this blog will no doubt recall my persistent road block (pun not intended) when it comes to running foreground roads straight into the backdrop. I have no less than 3 such roads in my Wethersfield scene - and, thus, I have avoided doing the backdrop in Wethersfield for years. Literally.

So, instead, I've been focusing my efforts on completing the Dividend section of the layout. But I inevitably eventually had to confront the Backdrop Problem. Fortunately, no need for roads going straight into the backdrop here. Unfortunately, I needed to try and relearn PhotoShop Elements in order to even start a photo backdrop. Thankfully Bill was willing to help walk me through some of the basic tools and along the way I happened to mention the old Hartford postcard another friend had colorized for me to create a "Hartford" backdrop at the north end of the Wethersfield scene. Then he casually mentioned that he'd been playing with some online colorizers.

Whaaaaat?? There's such a thing? I had no idea.

Before he had a chance to send me a link to the one he was using, I worked the Google on the Internet Machine and came up with a few to try out. I'll go through them here to give you a sense of what's possible - and I suspect you're going to be just as excited as I am to discover such wonderful technology.

The four I tried out were:

• Algorithmia
• DeepAI
• PlaybackFM
• MyHeritage

Here's the image I started with:

As you can see, this would be a perfect image for a road-going-into-the-backdrop on a layout set in 1948, like mine. In fact, MANY photos that would provide great backdrop fodder for older-era layouts would be wonderful - but for the fact that almost all of them are in black & white.

That's where colorization comes in - and you don't have to do it yourself manually in Photoshop.

Here's the same image uploaded and processed by Algorithmia:

Same image uploaded and processed by DeepAI:

Same image uploaded and processed by PlaybackFM:

As you can see, each site processes the image a bit differently, with different colors, saturation, etc. And, while they're all free (at least to try), they accept different image sizes. For those reasons, IMO, one site came out on top. For direct comparison, here's the original photo again:

And here's the same image uploaded and processed by MyHeritage:

It just looks right to me and noticeably better than the others. The trees & grass are a nice shade of green, the road a brownish gray, and even the Woody is rendered much more accurately than the others. Overall, the colors all appear much more saturated. And because MyHeritage also accepts much larger (read: higher resolution) images than the other services, you have a much wider range of freedom on how to size the image for your particular situation.

Now, lest you think these free (and fast! each image only took a few seconds to process) are perfect, remember YMMV (your mileage may vary). While the above image was my first attempt, I realized it was also a bit of beginner's luck. Here's the next image I tried:

The original size of this photo is over 8 megs, so to use it on three of the sites, I had to resize it much smaller (under a meg) in order to get it to process. Here are the results:

Algorithmia

DeepAI

PlaybackFM

As you can see, it barely looks like any colorization happened at all on the first three - and the MyHeritage one (which is the best, IMO) is a bit muddy and dark.

But for backdrop use, it's still a lot more suitable than the original B&W image. And I should be able to take this image into PhotoShop Elements and play a bit with the lightness/darkness, etc.

Heh - and I'm back full circle to having to deal with PSE(!) But now that I can (relatively) easily convert late 1940s images to suitable backdrop photos, I have a much stronger incentive to master PSE and finally get that Wethersfield backdrop done!

For those of you that model the "black & white" era, don't despair for finding suitable images for your photo backdrops. Sure, you can do what I and others have done (and will likely continue to have to do) and take current-day photos of scenes that "look like" the scenes you need for your backdrops. But for in-town photos, or - as in my case - road photos, you can't beat finding shots that have lots of vintage autos and architecture already there for you. And now that we can colorize these image so easily, a whole new world of photo backdrop possibilities opens up for us.

If you've found a colorizer that you like - or if you have any additional tips or suggestions on how to create photos backdrops for pre-color eras - I hope you'll share them here!

Wordless Wednesday #335: Eastbound at Old Saybrook - Feb. 21, 1941

 

A Few Words about Wordless Wednesday #334: 3016 at Saybrook

 

You may have heard me mention that I'm doing some research on the New Haven RR's class J-1 2-8-2 Mikados in preparation for an article in the NHRHTA's Shoreliner magazine. Like most NHRR fans, I'm pretty familiar with the J-1, especially since one of them was brought off the scrap line for a movie starring Doris Day (which, incidentally, was also mostly filmed along the Valley Line). Alas! that locomotive - the #3016 - was the last remaining New Haven steam locomotive and it was scrapped shortly after the movie wrapped up.

You may have also heard me mention that I'm planning to model two of the J-1s: one as power for the Airline local (#3022), and one as power for one of the Shore Line locals. I haven't/hadn't decided which one to do, though my 1948 era limits me to two numbers: 3013 and 3016 (long story - it has to do with tender size - and I'm not going to take you down that rabbit hole, at least not yet :^). 

Now, all things being equal, I'm a bit of a contrarian and since most NH modelers that model the J-1 choose to model the 3016 (for the sentimental reasons above), I figured I'd model the 3013.

Then this image popped up during my research. Actually, I literally had just randomly grabbed it out of a sleeve to test a transparency scanner I'd just installed. I didn't even bother looking at what was written on the slide - all I figured is that it was a J-1.

Imagine my surprise when this image filled my screen! The setting looked oddly familiar - and then I looked at the writing on the slide: "NH 3016 Saybrook 1948"

!!!!!!!!!!!

It's a New Haven J-1

In color

In a town I model

During the year I model

The photo is even taken from the "other" side of the tracks (a fairly uncommon perspective) - which also happens to be how my model of this area is oriented.

So what number do you think I'm gonna model now?! :^)

* * *

It's often easy, especially after you've been working on a layout for a while, to figure you know just about everything there is to know about your prototype and have probably seen all the photos of the area you're modeling that you're gonna see. So when a photo of your area, in your era, which also includes something you're planning on modeling, pops up that you've never seen before . . . . well, that's definitely something special - and about as close to treasure as you get in this hobby.

Thanks to Jack Swanberg for loaning me his J-1 images (which included this slide) and thanks to all of you for accompanying me on this crazy journey - though I suspect more than a few of you can relate . . .

Wordless Wednesday #326 - An Imminently Modelable Scene

North Main Street, Mansfield, MA. Stanley H. Smith photo.

Friday Flipping Fun

Thanks to Mike Kay for pointing out that the photo for this week's Wordless Wednesday was actually reversed(!). I'd suspected that, but didn't notice he was right until I looked more closely and saw the reversed engine number.

So here it is, flipped and corrected:

Also noted by Mike (and a bit more obvious now that it's oriented properly), this is Pittsfield, MA - at the north end of the New Haven's Berkshire Line. The Boston & Albany mainline is there on the right, and the New Haven's line branches off to the left and south. He also noted the NH's coaling dock up and to the left there. Check out that grade! And there must be some serious handbrake and wheel chocking on that tank car! Given the condition of the Alco RS-2 (Class DERS-3b on the New Haven), and the fact the coaling dock hasn't been taken down yet, I'd guess this was taken sometime in 1948 (the RS-2s were delivered first to the Berkshire Line in December 1947 & January 1948).

If you're looking to model a New Haven DERS-2b, be sure to click here (or check out the September 2019 issue of Model Railroad Hobbyist - Running Extra).

Thanks to Mike for pointing out what should have been obvious to me :^) and thanks to you all for your patience while this blog has been a bit quiet as I tackled some long-deferred car & house projects.

Planning on that changing - so be sure to stay tuned!

Wordless Wednesday #229: Name That Location

Wordless Wednesday #185 - iPhone 6 vs. Nikon Coolpix P4

A Few Words about Wordless Wednesday #182

The pic above is the full-image view of yesterday's shot (the cropped version that's most often seen was used a few posts ago) and it clearly shows NHRR K-1d #356, southbound just south of the Goff Brook bridge, hauling steel girders, ostensibly for the construction of the Baldwin Bridge over the CT River between Old Saybrook and Old Lyme, CT. I'm told that the girders were transported over the Valley Line (due to its noted high clearances) down to Deep River, CT where they were transloaded onto barges and floated down to the construction site.

The bridge was completed and dedicated on December 4, 1948, so I knew that this photo couldn't be any later than that, and - given the trees and foliage - couldn't be "3/48" which was what was written on the back of the photo. I figured the latest it could be was Summer, 1948.

John Wallace then pointed out that the date on the back of the photo is likely even farther off than I thought, noting that the #356 was gone off the Valley Line by spring, 1948 and replaced with #466. I'm not sure exactly when the 356 was replaced, since according to a motive power report commissioned by the railroad, the 356 was on the local on April 20, 1948.

In any event, it's pretty clear that this photo was shot during the summer, not spring, fall or winter. And I tend to agree with John - it's more likely summer of 1947 than 1948.  Contemporary accounts of the bridge's dedication noted that "it was completed in less than two years" and I doubt the support girders would have been delivered only 3-6 months before the bridge was finished.

Solving little historical mysteries like this is one of the most fun parts of prototype model railroading. For just a little while, you're transported back in time (though often down a rabbit hole!). One thing I know for absolute certain though - that house in the background was there then, it's still there today, and now I'm modeling it. And now it looks like I need to get some HO scale girders to add to a few of the trains . . .

Ghost Train

Happy Halloween!

Wordless Wednesday #142 - Builder's Photos

Friday Fun: Prototype Photo Fun

I needed a break from the heavy layout construction I've been involved with lately, so I decided to have some Foto Fun.

Like many prototype modelers, I'm constantly referring to photos to guide my efforts. My photos are on my iPad, which is super handy for bringing into the layout room. But the iPad's way of sorting photos is, to put it mildly, lousy. Everything's all together in one giant folder, so I have to do far too much scrolling/searching and that wastes time.

Thankfully, with modern laser printers and some glossy brochure paper, you can print out reference photos to full 8.5x11. You won't want to frame them, but they're certainly sufficient for quick and easy reference. Just tack them up in the appropriate locations . . .

East Haddam pics on the wall behind the (eventual) East Haddam section of the layout. The photos are located approximately where the scene will be depicted.

Essex & photos (and even a val map), with East Haddam in the background

Overview of Essex to East Haddam, with the "Mill Hollow" (Air Line) module in the background. You can just about make out Shailerville Bridge in the far back corner.

Ghost Train

Happy Halloween!

Wordless Wednesday #41 - Ghost Train

Wordless Wednesday #2: Ghost Train

Wordless Wednesday #1 (with apologies to Marty)

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.  For some time, I've been following Marty McGuirk's efforts over at http://www.centralvermontrailway.blogspot.com  - he's doing for the Central Vermont Rwy. what I hope to do for the New Haven.  I always enjoy reading his insights and learning about his process, but some of my favorite posts are his "Wordless Wednesday" posts where he just includes a photo and nothing more.

My post yesterday was pretty long, so to avoid overwhelming my readers (and causing myself early burnout), I'm borrowing a page from Marty's book blog.  Herewith, please find enclosed my first edition of Wordless Wednesday:

A Little Visual Inspiration

The Valley Local (HDX-7) at Middletown, CT (in about the same spot as the Southern Rwy boxcar in the banner at the top of the page) - Bill Beaupre, engineer.

Unlike most of the photos of the Valley Local that you'll see here which were captured by John Wallace, this particular scene was shot by renowned New Haven Railroad photographer Kent Cochrane.