"Screeners Choice"

Columbia River, east of White Salmon, September 1991. Following my life-threatening heart attack last year – I vowed not to leave my sister with an apartment full of stuff to get rid of. So, the goal this week is to sort through a mountain of 35 mm negatives – who knows where in hell the prints ended up!

I gave my late wife a Nikon 8008 as one of her wedding presents, and she took off on a 10 year shooting spree! She really enjoyed photography, and developed that right brain creativity quotient that she refined as the years went by.

I am of the unshakable opinion that shooters either have it, or do not have it. Of course, photography is a skill you can teach. But in the final analysis, a shooter has it or does not have it. Oh, sure, you can learn the principles of light; fill, key, side, and so forth. And you can learn the theory of balance, 3rds and all that stuff. And you can learn the concepts of shutter speed and depth of field. But in the final analysis, a shooter either has it or does not have it.

Patti definitely had it. Her biggest problem was, she did not have the time or patience to “read the manual.” And just like the fact you cannot teach your wife to drive, I knew better than to intercede.

And it came back to bite her big time when we drove cross country to Cass West Virginia to spend our honeymoon riding the sidewinders on Cheat Mountain! She fired off 54 rolls of 36-exposure film on that trip, and ended up with a dozen or so prints worth saving. She finally got that manual out!

So, this has been a nostalgic exercise for me, sorting through these negatives. When I first tripped over this shot, I though about sending it in to that “railroad photography” web site, but soon thought better of it.

It would be ripped to shreds; everything from “backlighting” “not RP lighting” “no RP sky” “poor esthetics” and “common power.” And if all that did not dissuade me, “cropping,” “noise,” so on and so forth.

Since I am the screener on this web site, I decided to run this photo, which I am sure my readers will see as just an “extremely back lit” photo of a train. This shot was on a roll taken in September 1991. I had just taken delivery of my new GMC van and we had gone on a drive from Vancouver out to Mt. Adams to see the lava caves and pick huckleberries.

On our return down State 14, we spotted the headlights of an eastbound freighter, and pulled over to watch it go by. The "clouds" are not clouds at all, but smoke plumes issuing forth from several forest fires burning on the Hood River side of the Columbia River.

Patti hoisted that 8008 up to her eye and fired – directly into the sun!

Now nobody every told Patti she could not fire into the sun, and so this shot represents to me one of the many facets of Patti that I enjoyed; the gutsy way she approached photography.

And today I name it “Screener’s Choice!”

Charles F. Kettering

Canadian National Railways 9096A, Prince Rupert BC, October 1958. It is pouring rain and windy outside. Really windy and wet. Typical for an area that receives up to 200 inches of wet stuff per year.

CNR 9096A and her sister 9042A sit quietly chanting to each other, in a voice invented in part by a fellow by the name of Charles Franklin Kettering. In a few hours, the doors will open and the duo will pull the time freight out of Prince Rupert’s stormy night into the vast wilderness of the Skeena River Country with a full five-man crew.

When you read the list of accomplishments attributed to Mr. Kettering in his lifetime, rather makes you wonder what you have been doing with your time!

The inscription on the plaque reads as follows:

Charles F. "Boss" Kettering was a prolific inventor. While at National Cash Register, he invented the first electric cash register. Kettering founded the Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company (Delco) in 1909 and developed the electric self-starter for automobiles, first used in 1912 Cadillac’s. He also developed no-knock Ethyl gasoline, lacquer car finishes, four-wheel brakes, safety glass, and high-compression engines; made significant improvements to diesel engines that led to their use in locomotives, trucks, and buses; and collaborated with Thomas Midgley, Jr. in the development of the refrigerant Freon. Kettering served as President of the Society of Automotive Engineers in 1918, co-founded the Engineers' Club of Dayton (1914), and was director of research at General Motors Corporation from 1920 to 1947. His interest in medical and scientific research led to the founding of the Kettering Foundation and the Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research.

The diesel engine was 40 years old by the time Charles Kettering became interested in it. In fact, he was working at Delco, and was looking for a diesel motor for his yacht when he encountered Winton!

The first 567 series engine was produced in 1938. Built on the V-block paradigm, with a bore and stroke of 8½” x 10”, in an arrangement of six, eight, twelve and sixteen cylinders, providing 600 to 1350 horsepower to the generator.

By standardizing the power module made up of a piston, connecting rod head and liner, spare parts could be kept to a minimum, with maximum interchangeability. Over the years, the improvement made to the 567 series was a triumph of diesel engineering, which contributed greatly to the displacement of steam.

In addition to complete parts interchangeability, the 567 series set a high standard of performance and a long trouble-free service life:

• Two cycle Principle. Every stroke a power stroke. No wasted motion for high efficiency.
• Unitized Fuel Injection System combining a high pressure fuel pump, metering device and nozzle in a single unit, for quick replacement when necessary.
• Uniflow Scavenging with a Roots type positive displacement blower for clean combustion and maximum air movement through the combustion cycle.
  
• Oil-cooled floating pistons, free to rotate in the cylinder for uniform ware and longevity.

Building a motor around compact unitized components, one man for the most part could handle engine room inspection and maintenance. Indeed, two men, without the aid of an overhead crane, could remove and replace a cylinder head, piston and liner power package in about three and a half hours!

The role Charles Kettering played in the development of the 567 engine resulted in a highly reliable and robust locomotive engine that set performance standards for the rest of the industry, making General Motors the undisputed leader in rail transportation for many years.

So, what went wrong?

Railroad Stuff: Canadian National 9096A, built by Electro Motive Division in London Ontario, as an F7, 1,500 horsepower road class V-1-A-d in October 1952. Reclassed as GFA-15d in September 1954. Rebuilt from wreck as 9151 in June 1972, retired in December 1989 and ultimately scrapped in 1994.

Digital Diesels - Volume 1

Port Townsend, today. So who are these people and what are they smiling about? Well, that is my late wife Patti, and yours truly.

We are smiling about the unveiling of a couple of new screen savers at a train show in Puyallup Washington.

Following the shuttering of my video production company in Vancouver in the late ‘80’s, I floundered around trying to redefine myself, while the attorneys fed off my savings. I needed something immediate, low start up cost, and within my ability to produce, including graphic art, layout, advertising, and direct mail.

All factors considered, I decided to start a new company, Electric Book, Inc., and produce computer screen savers!


The plan was flawless. Gather all my locomotive slides and photographs into groups of 20 or 30 slides; make screen savers, which were the rage in those days, and launch a new business with a fantastic margin, huge audience and new career!

Once the plan was developed and a computer screen saver authoring program selected, the next step was to select the pictures. They of course had to be shot by me to avoid any potential copyright litigation. They had to be properly exposed, well composed, and require minimal manipulation. And, I had to have enough information about each photo to provide a decent description, so that the end user could really enjoy the presentation.

While I am not in the same league as O. Winston Link, or Richard Steinheimer, or Alfred Eisenstadt, I have never considered myself a hack photographer.

But after a few hours pouring over the light table, scrutinizing each photo with a magnifying glass, a sort of panic began to set it. The reject pile grew higher and higher; the acceptance pile was minimal! For the first time in my life, I was beginning to come to grips with the frightening realization that I may indeed be hack photographer!

[Ed Note: Somewhere along this timeline, my sister, knowing that I was not a hack photographer, asked me to shoot her wedding photos. She introduced me to the wedding party as her brother who was a photographer at Freightliner; a great photographer.

No problemento!

Well I was deeply concerned when I got the prints back, some two or three rolls. All the frames were ½ photos – perfectly exposed left hand side with the right half of the print pure black!

On the verge of hyperventilating, I hurried back to the processor, and demanded they reprint my film. Obviously the dunderheads had screwed up my shoot. Finally, a technician came over to me with a hand full of the dreadful prints, and asked me a mind-numbing but very profound question: “So, Mr. McDonald, what synchronization setting were you using on the flash?”

Weeks later, my sister and Mom began calling asking for the prints, while I began exploring how much a one-way ticket to Thailand would cost.]

I finally managed to find a couple of dozen photos and slides for what would become "Digital Diesels – Volume 1." (Think this is funny? I challenge you to sit down one afternoon and go through your photo collection, and come up with one or two dozen photos that really stand up to honest scrutiny! It can be a sobering experience!)

Rounding out the project, I created all the required graphics, ad copy, disk labels, purchased a high speed floppy disk copy machine, Visa credit card processing package, and did a massive mailing to every darned hobby shop in the country, announcing "Digital Diesels - Volume 1."

“Digital Diesels – Volume 1” was launched at the Great American Train Show, October 28 and 29th 1995, at the Western Washington Fairgrounds, in Puyallup, Washington. Featuring full color photos with documentation, adjustable transitions and timing between slides and an offer to create a personalized screen saver using your photographs for an amazingly low price!

It shipped on two 3 1/4" floppies (I presented 800 x 600 pixel x 300 dpi photos) required Windows 3.1 and above, at least a 386 processor, and 256 color VGA. Sorry! Available for IBM Windows only!

We advertised in both “Trains” and “Model Railroader” magazines late 1995 – early 1996. That in itself was a thrill, to see an advertisement that I had created, featuring a product I had created, in a magazine I had been subscribing to for a hundred years!

It is an immutable truth that it takes money to make money. Before we got really rolling with the product, a series of life altering experiences hit 1-2-3, which ended the project forever. And I moved into the major league, that of learning the programming required to produce an Interactive Computer Based Training program.

But that's another story, another time.

There never was a “Digital Diesels – Volume II.”

Passages.

Port Townsend, today. Monday June 22, 2009 Eastman Kodak announced the passing of an old friend. Kodachrome color film, the formulation against which all other films were measured has been retired after 74 years.

What a void.

For those of you who have been with me since the beginning of this blog, you have probably noticed most of my photography in those early years was in black and white. Supporting a hobby and a girl friend took most of my box-boy earnings, and it was only on special occasions did I purchase color film.

It has been said that over a span of 180 years or so, the yellow pigment in Kodachrome will diminish by aproximately 20%. That is very stable film!

In the early days, you not only bought the film, but you also had to get the pre-paid mailer which included processing.

The attraction of higher speed film always pre-empted the unquestioned beauty of Kodachrome. Kodachrome was the official film for many years of National Geographic photographers, and some of their most memorable shots were taken on that remarkable film.

And who can forget the "Kodachrome" paint scheme, which floundered around during the failed merger between Santa Fe and Southern Pacific!

As a society, we have always taken “faster - cheaper” over “slower - better.” As an example, the technically far superior Sony Beta (“quality”) max format was squashed by Japan-Victor’s Video Home System (VHS) format. Vinyl records gave way to the Compact Disc, although recent evidence suggests that there is a resurgence of interest higher quality vinyl pressings. And now digital cameras have forced the end of a world class film.

There is one remaining photofinishing lab in the world – Dwayne’s Photo in Parsons, Kan.– that processes Kodachrome film, with support anticipated into next year.

Current supplies of the film will last until early fall at the current sales pace.

Actually, there was another passing – last week, which barely went noticed. Joseph Houghtaling, the inventor of the coin-operated vibrating bed, which delivered 15 minutes of “tingling relaxation and ease,” passed away at the age of 92.

Thousands of vibrating beds were installed from coast to coast, and promised a good nights sleep. I know I pumped more than a hand full of quarters into these apparatus; and that’s about as far as I’m going on this subject!

Positive Train Control - Again!

Port Townsend, Today. Previously I wrote about my involvement with the short-lived “National Association of Train Order Collectors” back in the late 50’s. This classic train order was passed along to us by one of the club members.

For those of you too young to recognize the strange brown paper, it was copied on a thermofax machine. As the onionskin-like copy paper passed through those machines on its carrier sheet, things got hot! The copy would be passed to you all crinkly! Do you remember those machines?

And there was imminent danger of your paper catching fire if you turned up the contrast too much, slowing the paper through past the heaters. Especially if you were making overhead transparencies on them!

Anyway, this is an actual train order issued to six trains crews, three of them double-headers.


Chicago and North Western Ry Co. Train Order No. 5, issued on Form 19, March 14, 1911, reads as follows:

“To Engines 1169 Smith, 82 Brown, 559 and 460 Henry, 549 and 522 McCune, 56 and 1225 N Strawhorn, and 1221 Yates, will run extra Belle Plaine to South Iowa Jct and return to Belle Plaine. Extra 1169 North Smith will meet extra 82 South Brown at South Iowa Jct, meet Extra 559 South Henry and Extra 549 South McCain at Wright and meet Extra 56 South N Strawhorn and Extra 1221 South Yates at Tioga. Extra 82 North Brown will meet Extra 559 South Henry and 549 South McCune at Wright and meet Extra 56 South N Strawhorn and Extra 1221 South Yates at Tioga. Extra 559 North Henry will meet Extra 549 South McCune at South Iowa Jct, and meet Extra 56 South N Strawhorn and Extra 1221 South Yates at No. 9 yard. Extra 549 North McCune will meet Extra 56 South N Strawhorn and Extra 1221 South Yates at No. 9 yard. Extra 56 North N Strawhorn will meet Extra 1221 South Yates at South Iowa Jct. Brown will not pass Smith, McCune will not pass Henry, Yates will not pass N Strawhorn South Bound.”

There are several remarkable issues here. First, the movement was carried out accident and incident free. Second, greatest delay to any train was 10 minutes. And third, how in hell could anyone decipher the handwriting! This is a table topper simulation script if ever I saw one. If you work on it, let me know how it turns out.

And you figure out how many copies had to be created and verified between engineers and conductors!

I dunno. Those fellers knew how to run a railroad. Like I mentioned in a earlier posting concerning computers taking over Positive Train Control, what happens when the engineer looks down at his computer screen, only to see the dreaded “blue screen” or worse ...