Comments from phmilesc

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phmilesc
phmilesc commented about Wallaw Ashington Film Racks on Mar 11, 2022 at 11:45 am

Well again. I’ve commented on this before too. The fire safe for the film reels came into being before safety film was introduced. But it also kept the reels in order and labeled for each show. To the right you can just see one end of the winder. And out of sight on the right should be the splicer too.

phmilesc
phmilesc commented about Wallaw Ashington Projection Room on Mar 11, 2022 at 11:40 am

I reckon I could still thread the film through the gate correctly. So I think I commented on this photo before. You can see the lens for cinemascope slung to the side. The standard lens would be put in the box (right/bottom) when used. So in some shows you would have to change the lens during the show. Cant get over that I worked with this back in the early 80s.

phmilesc
phmilesc commented about Wallaw Cinema on Mar 11, 2022 at 11:34 am

Just before the Regal closed, 2 new long player projectors where delivered and put in storage there. I seem to remember that speculation was rife about where they where intended for. Never did find out. Yours truly is in one of the photos taken of the staff outside the Wallaw on its last day.

phmilesc
phmilesc commented about Wallaw Ashington Projector on Mar 11, 2022 at 11:11 am

Thanks Ross for uploading these photos. And Hi To Lance :) So I was probably one of the last people to operate this and the other projector. Yes there was a switch for the curtain out of sight on the left. Photographer is standing between the 2 projectors. I broke the curtain motor one morning doing maintenance with Dennis by flicking the switch before the curtain reached the end stop. What else can I say. On the back on the Kalee arc lamp you can see one of the viewing windows. Ypu would open the lamp using the large handle for access to change the rods and for cleaning. Also you can see the small worm motor for feeding the arc rods. The aim being to ensure the burn of the arc is constant. The white handle to the front of the arc lamp is the main shutter from the arc to the projector gate. You use this to manually switch from one projector to the other at the end of a reel. And in front of that you can see the main gearing viewing window. You would see the oil that lubricates the gears flowing around in there.

phmilesc
phmilesc commented about Regal Theatre on Sep 29, 2018 at 3:29 pm

Dennis was the name of the last Chief Projectionist. We opperated 2 projectors with peerless arc lamps and 1 stills lamp. I was the apprentice in 1976. We both moved to operate the projectors an the Wallaw after the Regal closed. The projectionist room has two windows to light the winding room which you can see on the photo at the top left. Dennis took Fridays off. I would play my own records in the auditorium of that day. Your welcome. :)