UFO over Finse (or an Imperial scout ship)

 Spotted in Finse today...

Along the Bahnhofsstraße

A pinhole camera tour along Papphausen's Bahnhofsstraße... 

Entrance into the Hauptbahnhof Papphausen.

View down the Bahnhofsstraße with the Hauptbahnhof, one of my first scratchbuilt models.
It's based on the one in Duisburg.

Looking from the Hauptbahnhof towards the Feuerwache.
The post office was often attached to the station.

The Stellwerk.

Finally, reached the Feuerwache.

Back again towards the Hauptbahnhof.
The facade of the C&A was removed from the Palast der Republik.

The interior of the Hauptbahnhof is detailed, with a view through to Gleis 1.

A quick look back as we ride past the C&A and the Hauptbahnhof

An apartment block with retail/office space on the ground floor.
There is space available at the far end...

Heading down towards the more residential area with industry omnipresent...

The baker was swept away with a basket of Brötchen.

The Bergbau-Grill, a typical Imbiß/Bude which are everywhere. This layout has 4.
Zappelphillip knocked over his stroller with him in it... What to do? Well, at least he didn't die...

Pappeck and Different Ways of Seeing

I'm really enjoying running the trains and working/puttering about on the layout, but also finding it makes a great stage, especially when I turn off the full-spectrum/daylight fluorescent lights. Those bare bulbs in the corners of the basement can bring out other details and moods. 

I'm particularly loving the "artifacts" connected with using film, such as grain and other limitations like fixed focal length. The pinhole camera just added another dimension, in which the boundaries between reality and the stage fade away. A phone snap in color is different from one converted to black and white, which is different from one taken on [black and white] film.

I shared a few more views of the harbor side Kiez of Papphausen in my previous post. Here I head back to Pappeck to juxtapose snaps from my phone with those from the pinhole and the SLR, all scanned from negatives.

So anything to keep it interesting and find new details, or inspiration for more. All black and white images taken with the Chroma Camera Cube pinhole camera, the others with the Pentax, all on Ilford HP5 film.

Looking into Pappeck

Closer in view, looking past the Stellwerk and towards the Wartestelle.

Looking down the road with the some of the Arbeitersiedlung houses at left.

A vegetable patch between Stellwerk and Wartestelle.
Cleaning windows, working the beds, and having a chat.

The same view with the pinhole and ...

And here with the Pentax.

At least one Trinkhalle / Bude is a must.

Here with the pinhole, my first locomotive, the 3029 heading out of the station.

And, with the Pentax.

The Wartestelle while I was still working on that part of the layout.

With the pinhole. In the distance, the Burg...

With the Pentax. The Märklin 3029 was my first engine back in 1968ish. I still run it regularly.

The Blockstelle below Pappeck...

And just because it's fun...

Whimsy has always been a part of the layout. Here members of the Heaven's Gate cult are
offering themselves as take-out to the aliens who hid behind Hale-Bopp on their approach to earth.

Off they go...

Here more in the background as I was more interested in the bikers...
The UFO was tracked despite hiding...

Each camera presents very different moods, views, and details.
It's been fun to explore them all.

A Walk to the Shadows of Papphausen

Let's take a walk to the shadowy side of Papphausen. We were here before, but things can change...

First four images taken with the Chroma Camera Cube pinhole camera, the others with the Pentax, all on Ilford HP5 film.

A look down the main street and the Hauptbahnhof.

And along another road as we head to the Hafenkiez...

At the Bude...

What's happening here...?

Someone is keeping an eye on the Bordsteinschwalben, if that's what they are.

A couple strolling down towards Buchbinderei.

The window washer has moved to the side...

The guy with his Auspuffengel and the side-car better be careful...
And, the window washer missed a spot.

Bundesbahn in 1979/80, pt. 2

Was sorting through image files and was able to date the series at Bundesbahn in the '70s (to '81) to 1979 or 1980. Duisburg - Koblenz was my "home" trip as it connected my grandparents. Here two images that weren't included the first time around.

An unidentified 103 pulling an IC in Bonn Hbf. The driver looking back to make sure all clear as
he prepares to pull out.

The two love birds here can also be seen in the main series here. Just scroll down.

Revisiting Meschenich-Kölnberg

With one set of grandparents in Duisburg and my other grandmother in Koblenz, a lot of time during visits was on the train between the two. Going through some images I found two views of the same place between Cologne and Bonn, Meschenich-Kölnberg. This is a Trabantenstadt (satellite city) not dissimilar from the Plattenbauten in the DDR. The image below is from Google's Street View and was captured in 2008. Spinning the image around shows that it is really in the middle of no where.

Here an image of the same location from 1979 or 1980 taken from the train.
Film is super grainy, most likely because of my processing.
More images from that trip here.

And here from the trip I took with my daughter in 2004, my last time in Germany.

Who says you can't drop high rises amongst the farm fields in the countryside...

Down in Papphausen's harbor Kiez

Papphausen has its main freight yard and locomotive depot (BW) down near the harbor. There are also a few residences, and the most recent addition of a bookbindery. It's not a bad place to live with a Bude (kiosk) selling the essentials of beer, currywurst, sweets, and gossip. These Buden/Kiosks/Trinkhallen are everywhere and essential local fixtures. That said, unseemly things do happen from time to time...

All structures are scratchbuilt from card using scans from card models, Scalescenes sheets, and photographs. All images shot on Ilford HP5 400 speed black and white film using a tripod and cable release for these 2 second average exposures. And no, I did not forget the Farbfilm. Lighting for most of these was the bare 75 watt cool-white bulb on the basement ceiling. The layout lights were not on.

A view from the harbor towards the rail yard under the bridge. The faded signage advertises for Moden Doof (Dumb fashions) poking fun at the his n' hers jump suits that were once fashionable. The Bude is at the end of the block. The barge is a card kit from Schreiber-Bogen.

The Bude comes into focus. This is a child-friendly working-class Kiez

Looking down the street to the bookbindery.

The S-Bahn passing above the bookbindery.

What's this passing above the bookbindery in this looong exposure?

It's that coal train from the previous post carrying the coal mined from below Papphausen to the coke or steelworks. Looks like the window washer has finally arrived. Lots of grime on those windows.

It's gotten dark, and he's still at it. The binders are also working late, trying to finish a job the printers decided to let the deadline slip on... A mother with a small child is also walking by and looking in.

The bindery is detailed within, and lifting the roof up allows it to be lit with an LED flashlight. Still working on a better solution.

But, as mentioned, there is an unseemly side to this area. The Bretzelkäfer was found in the harbor, a body was removed, and it looked suspicious. Schimanski and Tanner are at the Tatort and on the case...