Something for the Weekend - Part 248 - What goes up...

[davescm]

Hi,

A big thank you to all who took part in our previous 'Finest Cut' challenge. Who would have thought that so many ideas could start with a pizza cutter.

This week we start outdoors. This is the Saltburn Cliff Lift which is a funicular railway on leading down to the promenade and pier, in Saltburn on the north east coast of England. Constructed in the 1880s, it has been updated several times, but is still powered by water. The tank underneath the upper car is filled with water and when it is heavier than the car at the bottom it descends and pulls the lower car up, all controlled by the brakeman in the wheelhouse. At the bottom the tank empties and the upper car is filled. The water is pumped back to the top.

So that is the scene - what can you do to bring it to life?

When you post your response can you add just a few words on how you went about it. It may help others see the potential of different approaches, software, and tools to such a challenge.

The “rules”:

• Use the starter image as at least part of your own image entry.
• Anything goes, as long as it meets the forum rules on decency, copyright, etc.
• Anyone, and everyone, is welcome to have a go, whether you are a complete beginner or a Photoshop expert. This is not just for our forum “regulars”.
• The challenge is not limited to Photoshop. Any Adobe software can be used. 
• There are no prizes apart from the chance to practice, show off your skills, or bring a bit of humor and fun. Don't be shy, join in and have a go!
• The starter image is made available for you to use in this forum challenge only.

To download the starter image, hover over the image and click on the circle with the arrows at the top right. Then, when the image opens in its own window, right click and choose “Save Image As/Save Target As” (or similar depending on your browser).

When posting back your image — please use the blue reply button in this first post and use the 'Insert Photos' icon at the top of the reply box. If posting a comment on someone else’s entry, then please use the grey reply button next to their image post.

Have fun!

Dave

[EuanWilliamson]

Winter when they put away the carriages 😞

Summer when it's very busy!

Ok, who's next?

Courtesy of Gemini 2.5

[davescm]

Haha - brilliant Euan, and very quick, I posted this less than an hour ago! I see Gemini appears, like other AI generators, to struggle with hands though.
 
Dave

[EuanWilliamson]

But, an excellent job of putting them behind the railings 😉

The old trade off: good, cheap, quick, which two do you want?

(Doesn't seem to know much about rails either)

[Jacob Bugge]

                               A GHOST FROM THE EARLY DAYS,

                             DOING THE IMPOSSIBLE AS ALWAYS

Click to get closer, Click again to get closer still

[davescm]

Could it, perhaps, be Lord Marks who designed and installed it, coming back to check on it? Or is it his predecessor J Anderson who had designed and built a vertical lift leading down to the pier, which he also built, 10 years before it was replaced by the funicular.  🙂
Dave

[Jacob Bugge]

Dave, actually it is Blondin, redoing one of his (late) unknown performances, like in Teesdale, only this here was among his most seriously impossible ones, carriages moving together and then apart.

It would be great to know how the vertical one looked, and what Marks and Anderson might think now.

[davescm]

Ah, I see him now, Jacob. 🙂

Dave

[Jacob Bugge]

Click to get closer, Click again to get closer still

[davescm]

We're not far from Heartbeat land, Jacob. He must be investigating the case of the stolen door locks! 🙂

Dave

[Jacob Bugge]

Ah, of course, Dave, right you are.

I thought Alf had just decided to go a bit further than to Whitby for a day off by the sea.

But obviously he would never do either in his uniform.

[Greg_S.]

What Angels Flight Railway may have looked like if Los Angeles had more water?

[davescm]

Thanks for the link, Greg, I see the connection.
I was bemused by the fact that Angels Flight is the worlds shortest railway at 298 feet of track, whilst the Saltburn track is only 207 feet. Maybe Saltburn's cliff railway doesn't qualify as a railway for the purpose of that record. 🙂

Dave

[AlanGilbertson]

This instantly reminded me of Lisbon. There are several funiculars still in use. They were also powered by water counterweights, back in the day, but they're now electric.

[Jacob Bugge]

Greg, further to what Dave said, the Angels Flight Railway funicular is more than twice as long as each of the two currently operating funiculars in Bournemouth, the Fisherman's Walk Cliff Lift/Railway and the West Cliff Lift/Railway, so longer than both of them combined; and it is also longer than the third funicular in Bournemouth, the East Cliff Lift/Railway, (hopefully temporarily) closed owing to a landslip.

[Greg_S.]

Jacob, I forgot that I had seen this in Bournemouth, last year. 

[Jacob Bugge]

Indeed, Greg.

[Trevor.Dennis]

He deserves that cuppa.  That must have been a hard days work!

[davescm]

Well done Trevor! That has smartened it up. He does indeed deserve a cuppa. 🙂
Dave

[Trevor.Dennis]

I'm struggling for ides this time Dave 😞

[davescm]

The range of ideas that come out of these SFTW threads always amazes me, Trevor. 🙂
Dave

[PaintedKitty]

Made it so much cheerier.  Nice!

[Trevor.Dennis]

[davescm]

I like it Trevor, it looks well worth the trip to see the view, hence the need for the extra cars.
I do forsee a slight technical problem keeping the water defrosted at the top though! 🙂
Dave

[AlanGilbertson]

After all, who doesn't love an alien invasion? Well, except the cow. She does seem a bit confused. The alien on the right is looking at the BBC natural history crew filming the event. (They may have been abducted, or gone joyriding in the alien transport. If you come across them, tell them Broadcasting House wants its cameras back.)

Techie bits: Removing the carriages involved using the Object Seletion tool on each engine and removing the selection around the tank and wheels, which seemed the quickest way to select them, then GenFilling with the prompt, "remove." (This is more effective than the regular Remove tool for some situations.) The extra bits on the tanks and the insectoid "aliens" are 3D models from the Substance 3D collection, processed through Stager and/or Substance 3D Viewer. After extending the canvas with the Crop tool, lots of Remove tool and GenFill to finish things up. Oh, and the "mother ship" is at 70% opacity to give it aerial perspective.