Post #5

 I wrote on Post #4 that I had taken some 8mm footage of my HO tramway when I was constructing it probably in the late 70's. So the project today was how to digitise the movie.

A second 8mm projector was sourced as a spare backup and after testing with the seller and all OK it was brought home. It was an Eumig Model 610D, the D standing for dual usage meaning it will show both regular 8mm and Super 8 film by merely moving a slide switch. Eumig are Austrian and it is the same brand as one I previously owned. The crazy thing is that it is cheaper to source second hand projectors just for the lamp and are often sold at a price less than the cost of a new lamp.

I was given a gizmo from a friend long ago which is basically a box where the projector is shone onto screen and then the image is reflected at a 45 degree angle to another screen at the front. This is where you are supposed to capture the image onto another format.

A random pile of 8mm film was selected from many to look at and almost unbelievable a film of some of my HO tramway was found. In todays world with the internet everything has to be digitised, so my first attempt was made to transfer by using the projector showing into the 'gizmo box' and then setting my phone up on a tripod. The projector was turned on along with the phone but for some reason there seemed to be a flickering issue which transferred over to the recorded video on the phone. A fail, so then I shone the projector onto the nearby door but there was a reflection due to the gloss paint on the door but the flickering was absent. I eventually found a spot to reset the projector and with the tripod and phone I was able to record the film taken over forty years ago. The end result may be taken crooked, in and out of focus and not as crisp as a 4K video these days but to view again this footage was a magic moment.

 Back then to lay my track I cut cut up shim brass and glued it down to the baseboard which from memory was Pliobond that I was told the bond got stronger from heat applied, not sure if that was true. Although this video doesn't show any movement of the trams it eventually came at a later stage, I hope I can find footage of that moment. Most of the track appears to be completed even if it looks a bit flimsy. The baseboard looks like it was made on a normal door. This was actually the second portable tramway layout built on a door as space was not really available for a permanent layout. Brass trams at the time were considered a step above any plastic tram around but one annoying thing it why didn't they supply any glazing in their trams?? Would have been on drafty trip for any passengers. So top prices but no glazing, was it too hard to do? Or did the manufacturer state that the models need painting so we won't put glazing in as you would only need to take it out to paint?

I was also able to receeive a few more packets of overhead wiring hangers courtesy of Brian Weisman (Jason's Brass Poles) when he attended the recent West Penn meeting. I presumed he sourced them from that meet. They are now safe in the draw waiting for the time to be hung up. But that's still a little way off.

So enjoy the video a big nostalgia hit for me.