Thank you Don Strack for suggesting FastStone Photo Resizer!

http://www.faststone.org/FSResizerDetail.htm

Just did a batch of about 400 slides and FastStone Photo Resizer was a big help with the post-scan processing, labeling & resizing.

It didn't automate everything, but it cut down what I had to do manually by a significant amount of time.

-Hudson

Many thanks to the experts here on the science then art of photo/slide/film scanning to digital rendering. From what I'm reading here and other places scanning and rendering color digitals from negatives is a whole "nother" level. The Family collection of circus and train "Photos" is a mixture of prints/negatives and slides color and B/W. Also have all the 120 format negatives from my wedding (the photographer retired and sent them to us). I suspect that my getting into this will be a process of ever advancing skill, understanding, and investment. For now I'm just tinkering with prints.

Cleanliness is next to godliness. I noticed scanning the print below that the lab that did the print in 1996 had some issues with dust bunnies. After scanning the photo I was taken back by white "fibers" in the digital rendering. Upon close inspection I could see them in the photo. Little fibers that made it in when the print was made in the lab. (being black on the negative they translated to white on the print)

Here is one of the little fibers I took out of the pic

I scanned the image using the flatbed of my HP LaserJet M1212nf MFP (not exactly your first choice for quality renderings but for the occasional print not bad)
Set it to scan at 1200 dpi as a tiff, then used FastStone to fine tune it, clean it up and down size it for posting. (got tired of tinkering and left the "one shot" camera date in)
I second the thank you to Don Strack for the FastStone tip!

Additional Information:

I have found the month taken and location info for the following slide (see end of post).



I noticed another listing on Ebay of the same slide, with the seller including the following info:

Regarding where this slide was taken, "K Burd" posted the following comment on RR Picture Archives:

Here's another slide I've scanned:

UP E8A #937 leads an A-B-B-B-A lashup, the power for the eastbound City of St. Louis ascending Cajon Pass in 1964. Depending on the exact date, this might actually be the combined City of Los Angeles-City of St. Louis. This slide was taken by F.H. Wolsford, and the duplicate that was for sale on eBay was marked as Blackhawk Films. (Apparently the slide of GN FA1's #276A and #276B which I featured earlier in this thread also had duplicates sold by Blackhawk.)

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=4258670

2 more scanned slides. These are both original Kodachromes, taken by an unknown photographer in April 1970 of 2 SP chairs in Tempe, AZ. The cars are being used as a shuttle service out to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, providing transport for those taking the tour of the stored/retired aircraft at the Aerospace Maintenance & Regeneration Center. The signs attached to the sides of the cars give instruction as to where to board and advertise the train, respectively; unfortunately, these signs are placed over the car numbers.

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=4258617



http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=4258618

Another slide:

CN (Newfoundland Railway/Terra Transport) narrow gauge lightweight baggage car #1301, built as NFLD #221. This is an original Kodachrome slide taken by John C. Benson in St. John's on July 13th, 1981.

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=4258604

I recently acquired 7 Dick Wallin duplicate slides from John Benson of GN engines and passenger trains, and here's one of southbound train #460 leaving Tacoma Union Station in April 1965, led by F7A #364C and rebuilt F7B #350B. On this day, #460 has at least 9 cars, the last of which is a NP lightweight. The GN storage mail appears to be from the #239-#241 series, and I belive it is #239. The first 3 coaches/chairs are from the #950-#979 series built by B&S in 1914 as #4500-#4529. The first is one of several from this series which were streamlined and switched from a coach to a chair configuration, the next 2 are of the modified variety with A/C installed in the mid-1930's, no way to tell without knowing the car number if these are coaches or chairs. The #364C was built in October 1950 and was later BN #9728. BN sold the engine to Precision National in November 1974. The #350B was built in November 1947, originally as a F3B, and was rebuilt after a wreck as a F7B with the same number, outshopped on June 22nd, 1952. F3A #350A was also rebuilt to a F7A after that wreck. The #350B was later BN #9701, and was sold in March 1974 to Simon & Sons. I don't know who the photographer was, and this is a duplicate Kodachrome slide, which is stamped June 1978.

Just a note: I have previously posted 2 slides which I also acquired from John Benson: UP E8A #937 at Cajon, CA, and Santa Fe motorcar #M190 in Clovis, NM.

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=4287014

A correction: only 2 of the 7 slides I recently acquired from John Benson are Dick Wallin duplicates. 1 is a C.G. Parsons duplicate, and 1 is an Al Chione duplicate, which will be posted in the Al Chione thread. At this point in time, I don't know if the other 3 were duplicates made by John or by someone else; this includes the slide I posted above of the #364C at Tacoma. Also, I mentioned that I had previously posted 2 other slides acquired from John: UP #937 and AT&SF #M190. That number should have been 4: the other 2 were C&O 60' RPO #112 at Washington Union Station in 1965 (an original Kodachrome slide taken by George H. Menge) and UP 10RM-6DB sleeper #1427 Pacific Mist in Denver (another Dick Wallin duplicate slide).

Another slide:

F7A #274A and another A unit are the power for a short, 4 car westbound passenger train at Skykomish. This slide dates from sometime in the latter half of the 1950's, after the electrics were retired but before the catenary was taken down. This is another one of the three slides for which I don't know who the duplicator was, and of the 7 I acquired from John, this is the only one which isn't stamped with the brand. However, it is stamped: "Pallas Photo Labs Inc Chicago/Denver/Milwaukee".

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=4287012

Another slide:

BN F7B #9709, still in Big Sky Blue paint. Built in August 1952 as freight-geared #460B, and in 1969 it was regeared for passenger service as #380B. After the BN merger, the #380B was renumbered with other passenger-geared units into the #97xx-series. Several years later, after Amtrak ceased leasing units and a number of E's were assigned to the Racetrack, the #9709 was renumbered/regeared again for freight service as #705. It was retired and sold to Precision National in December 1980. This is a Kodak-processed Ektachrome duplicate, but like several other slides purchased from John Benson, I don't know who made this particular duplicate, where or when it was taken, or who the photographer was.

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=4287015



_________________
Additions and corrections are welcome. Thanks in advance.

Another slide:

GN SD9 #577. 1 of GN's first 6 SD9's (#573-#578), built in February 1954. These 6 engines were renumbered as BN #6100-#6105 (#577 to #6104), and this slide dates from after the merger, as 2 of the 4 ex-GN engines seen here have already received their new numbers. The #6104 was retired in September 1984 and traded in July 1985 to EMD on an order of GP50's. As for the other 3 engines: on the far left is freight-geared F7A #314C, which was built in April 1952, became BN #646, and was retired and sold to Precision National in April 1974. Behind the #577 is BN-renumbered GP9 #1832, which was built in May 1954 as GN #680, sold in October 1987 to MRL, renumbered #103, and then renumbered again to #127. Finally, in the far background is BN-renumbered, freight-geared F7A #644, which was built in April 1952 as GN #314A, and was retired and sold to Precision National in December 1980. This is a Dick Wallin Kodak-processed Ektachrome duplicate, and I don't have info on the date, location, or photographer.

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=4287013



_________________
Additions and corrections are welcome. Thanks in advance.

Another slide:

GN GP9's #706 and #704 in Klamath Falls, OR, on June 7th, 1970. These were 2 of 8 GP9's (#704-#711) built in April 1956, and these 2 were later BN #1779 and #1777 respectively. The #1779 was retired in December 1990 and sold to National RY Equipment in February 1991. The #1777 was retired in February 1991 and sold to the Great Western RY in June as GWR #1777. It was later (when??) sold to Omnitrax as OMLX #1777, and then resold (when??) to Bay Colony Lines as BCLR #1705, apparently having been rebuilt as a GP9R. This a Kodachrome duplicate made by C.G. Parsons; no clue on whether or not Mr. Parsons was the photographer, or if it was someone else.

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=4287011



Sources:

1. Ben Ringnalda's Great Northern Empire website: http://www.greatnorthernempire.net/GNEThisMonthsFeature.php

2. The Diesel Shop roster page for Bay Colony Lines: http://thedieselshop.us/BAY.HTML

3. The Diesel Shop roster page for Great Western RY: http://thedieselshop.us/GreatWstn.HTML

_________________
Additions and corrections are welcome. Thanks in advance.

re: GN SD9 #577

GN Roundhouse Superior, WI

Thanks, Hudson, for identifying the location!

Here's the last GN slide I acquired from John Benson, a Dick Wallin duplicate of an A-B-B-A lashup on what is obviously the Empire Builder. While the location is not written on the slide mount, this appears to be somewhere in the Twin Cities area, but I don't know exactly where. The first 2 units are F7A #350A and F7B #364B. The #350A was built as a passenger-geared F3A in November 1947, and after a wreck, was rebuilt in June 1952 to a F7A, and was traded in to EMD in February 1966. The #364B was built in October 1950, and was later BN #9723. It was traded in to EMD in February 1972 on an order of GP38-2's.

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=4287010



Source:

1. Ben Ringnalda's Great Northern Empire website: http://www.greatnorthernempire.net/GNEThisMonthsFeature.php

_________________
Additions and corrections are welcome. Thanks in advance.

re: F7A #350A

St. Paul, MN, coming up the hill from St. Paul Union Depot.

Just before Westminster Tower.

Heading for Minneapolis.

-Hudson