Engraving machine
Posted some photos of the old Deckel pantographic engraver that I recently brought into my shop. It needs some work, but will eventually, hopefully, be used to cut matrices or punches for the creation of new designs in metal printing type.
Boxcarchitecture
Another view of the Landisville Railroad property. No Quonset hut in this shot, but something equally interesting: a very old boxcar has been transformed into a permanent building addition, complete with outdoor lighting fixture and newish architectural "dove gray" paint scheme. The car appears to be slumped on its trucks. Is this why it was converted into a building or did it happen later? Anyway, the corrugation on the end door is one of the nicest patterns I've seen in some time. (Of course the lighting angle helps a lot.)
Some more Quonset hut info and fun, courtesy of J.C. Groff:
http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi1278.htm — a brief history of the Quonset hut.
http://mcnally.cc/ideal.htm — a particularly memorable application for folks who were within about 100 mi of Philadelphia in the late 70's.
Wood Engraving #2
This is actual size. I find that I really like the small working scale and the focus. The hands tend to cramp, though. I think this one shows a bit more control than the first attempt. Better tonal variation. Squishy letterforms. But overall worth trying again.
Wood Engraving
This was my first attempt at wood engraving, done sometime last year. It is not a good drawing. It was a technical exercise, the results of which were promising enough to permit me further study in the medium. In retrospect, I wish the modeling—the rendering of light and dark—was much more extreme. This image is very flat. Still, it has some qualities I like.
I have executed a few more wood engravings since this trout: they will be posted 'in the fullness of time', as my boss would say, apparently quoting Paul Rand.
Quonset lust
I just discovered this most interesting industrial compound. These buildings comprise Landisville Railroad, Inc. (LRI), a recently defunct railroad car building and repair shop just west of Landisville, Pennsylvania. LRI is represents the end of a short spur of track that branches off the Amtrak mainline at Salunga/Landisville.
I have always liked metal quonset huts for their rugged, no-nonsense construction and sheer visual appeal. The unpaved lot on which these are situated just intensifies the feeling. Notice the traditional 6-pane windows placed as different angles--chords of the circular surface they breach. Also interesting is the scalloped metal awning over the nearest window and over the window of the building in the center background. Sweet. There are several quonsets on this compound, which I am afraid will soon be lost to progress. If I could paint...
I will try to post more shots of this location when time permits.
Trains and Grain
If trains are big, then feed mills are huge. I love the scale of this mill in Denver, PA, photographed January 2005. This is probably quite small by Midwest standards. Notice the spiffy new-ish Archer Daniels Midland covered hopper (ADMX 7240) on the rail siding: a bit clean for my taste, but some rust-staining is evident.
Something about trains...
Welcome to the next manifestation of my continued interest in things industrial, uh, that is, my lastest obsession. Trains. The grimier the better. This photo shows a GE EMD SD38-2 at the head of a coal train just outside of Newmanstown, PA. The photo was taken in 2005 but this engine was built in the early seventies. Isn't it beautiful?!