Model Train Journal

If I post a photo from an advertisement, should they pay me for helping advertise, or should I pay them for using the photo?

AI Overview
This image shows a detailed model railway city, famously built by musician Rod Stewart.
* The model, known as "Grand Street and Three Rivers City," was constructed over 23 years and unveiled in 2019.
* It depicts a fictional 1940s American city, inspired by New York and Chicago.
* The elaborate layout features towering skyscrapers, bridges, a rush-hour traffic scene, and a 275-meter mainline train track.
* Stewart worked on the scenery and structures while on tour, even requesting extra rooms in hotels to accommodate his construction work.

webenda wrote:If I post a photo from an advertisement, should they pay me for helping advertise, or should I pay them for using the photo?

Ask them when you get sued for posting copyright covered material,

The color saturation in this photo turned out quite nice in my opinion.

What did I do? Nothing except for cropping the image. The camera was set to iA (which is the same as AI).

On my monitor, it looks the same as I usually see the colors.

Rufus T. Firefly wrote:

webenda wrote:If I post a photo from an advertisement, should they pay me for helping advertise, or should I pay them for using the photo?

Ask them when you get sued for posting copyright covered material,

If you only used the image and not the entire ad, you might be on the hook for use of their photo.

If you link a photo from someone’s (other than your own) photo hosting repository, is that a violation? I’m guessing yes, although I see it done all the time.

healey36 wrote:

Rufus T. Firefly wrote:

webenda wrote:If I post a photo from an advertisement, should they pay me for helping advertise, or should I pay them for using the photo?

Ask them when you get sued for posting copyright covered material,

If you only used the image and not the entire ad, you might be on the hook for use of their photo.

Probably either way given today's atmosphere......

If you link a photo from someone’s (other than your own) photo hosting repository, is that a violation? I’m guessing yes, although I see it done all the time.

At one point it was a violation of something obscure regarding hot linking and all, but I never fully understood why, More likely it was something that some other forum did not want being done....

What about posting the research Google's Gemini AI did for me on the photo?
Is AI research copyrighted or trademarked?

webenda wrote:What about posting the research Google's Gemini AI did for me on the photo?
Is AI research copyrighted or trademarked?

Probably not. It's not done by a person.

Copyright rules can make your head spin (and it's likely to get a lot worse with this AI stuff).

Made some progress on the tree-stand project overnight:



I expanded the tunnel interior dimensions by an inch (additional half-inch of clearance on both sides). Ran a Bing clockwork coach and locomotive through there and it looks like plenty of clearance. Cut the base and portals/supports using an old B&D jigsaw.

The base is roughly 22 inches square (about the same as Rev-1).

Next steps are to (1) make the liner for the tunnel and get that cemented in place, (2) make a column out of a stack of one-by piled up to a height of six inches (same height as the supports), and (3) cut a top. Once the top is in place, I can drill the hole for the tree to sit in and the second hole for the tree power cord. Will put a few screws in it to make sure the whole thing stays together.

Lionel 300 Hellgate repurposed as a highway bridge:



Some nice diecast as well.

healey36 wrote:Lionel 300 Hellgate repurposed as a highway bridge

It looks great as a highway bridge.

healey36 wrote:Lionel 300 Hellgate repurposed as a highway bridge:



Some nice diecast as well.

This is a really nice looking scene Paul!

Regarding Wayne’s photo. Right or wrong who is policing this kind of stuff? Seems it would be a nearly impossible task.
There are some photos on line that flash or go blank when you try to screenshot them. I think this would be a better way to control your content in the modern era of sharing and posting pictures.

I "met" this guy while plowing through photos in Flickr. A couple years ago, I asked him if I could link one of his photos in an MTJ post and he was amenable. Shame on me, I've continued to occasionally do so.

He's a big diecast collector and has a knack for tracking down models of vehicles we might consider sort of generic. Stuff from the 1960s and 1970s seem to show up frequently, and if you're building a layout thematically set in that era, finding vehicles can be a challenge.

His use of the bridge caught my eye, and it looks pretty good. I think that's the big prewar Lionel power station in the background too. As far as I know, he doesn't have a train layout per se, but seems to have a few accessories. I recognize that dude on the sidewalk as Plasticville. The other buildings are unfamiliar. My take is he builds these small dioramas and photographs them, and his photo skills seem pretty good. My only criticism is that if you have your vehicles in traffic, they need drivers behind the wheel. Otherwise, it can look a bit like "The Day After Tomorrow".

Did a tune-up on one of the 259E locos we have here. While it was out, threw a string of 63X passenger cars behind it:



It's not a catalogued set, but I thought those four-wheel coaches looked right behind the four-wheel tender.

Rail fans were out...

The Deep Rock gas station seemed too small for an O-gauge layout.

A 6 foot tall (1 and 1/2 inch) figure says otherwise.

In my experience, "scale" figure dimensions are all over the place. If 1.5" equates to six feet, then I've got a bunch that are significantly larger. I need to pay more attention to this.

Who made your stations, Wayne? They are interesting.

Paul R.

healey36 wrote:In my experience, "scale" figure dimensions are all over the place. If 1.5" equates to six feet, then I've got a bunch that are significantly larger. I need to pay more attention to this..

If it looks right to you, it is right (opinion.) Or, even looser, if you like it, it is right.

Metrology is the scientific study of measurement. I am a Metrology Engineer. Measuring things is my hobby. Before I retired, I got paid for it.
I measured the figure to see how tall it is in 1/48 scale (one quarter inch = one foot.)
I used a digital caliper to make the measurement. The cheap digital caliper I used has a specified accuracy of ± 0.1 inch.
I compared it to a standard, a set of Starrett grade B gauge blocks with an accuracy tolerance ± 0.25 um (± 0.000009842519685 inch.)
The cheap digital caliper turned out to have an error of no more than ± 0.01 inch over its range of 0-6 inches.

As you might surmise from the above, I am into measuring things.

The caliper is plastic. I bought it for measuring live circuits. Today, Harbor Freight is still selling them for $9.99.


Once I calibrated* the figure height, I used it as a standard to see if the doorway "looked right."

I know... an ordinary person would just buy an O-Scale (or O-Gauge) figure and use it to determine if the building looked right.

*Measured it with a caliper of known accuracy.