Friday, March 31, 2017

metre gauge 4-wheel passenger car of the Ferrocarril de La Plata al Meridiano V (later the FCPBA), Argentina


This was a network of 1,020 km which opened in stages between 1909 and 1930 and closed in stages between 1961 and 1977. The location of this isn't stated, maybe on the branches to Olavarría or Mira Pampa, the first sections to close.

cars in Bourke Street, Melbourne, 1961


Obviously just before Christmas. This is now in the Bourke Street Mall; Parliament House is visible in the distance, the Royal Arcade at the right.

Melbourne 'swing door' type electric multiple unit


From the beginnings of the electrified system. See the book Railway Electrification in Australia and New Zealand for details.

1941 Packard Super Eight One-Eighty as seen in 'The Godfather' (1972)




In black, of course. This is another 1:18 scale model we've added to our collection of them (we make room by revolving them from display); made by GreenLight and available commercially.

floating tram, Russia


"This man got his hands on an old tram and converted it to a floating house. It was spotted on the Desna river. Later it was abandoned and now stays uninhabited."

1965 Bedford TJ truck brochure cover


1971 Pontiac Firebird convertible


1963 Mercury Comet


1970s International Harvester Scout


This was a 4 x 4 off-road vehicle built from 1961 to 1980.

"A precursor of more sophisticated SUVs to come, it was created as a competitor to the Jeep, and it initially featured a fold-down windshield. The Scout and second generation Scout II were produced in Fort Wayne, Indiana as two-door trucks with a removable hard top with options of a full length roof, half cab pickup and/or soft top."

Tuesday, March 28, 2017

British Railways class 5MT portrait


See earlier post.

Saudi Arabia: panel of 'scientists' admits women are mammals, yet 'not human'


Riyadh -- In an unprecedented ruling, a panel of Saudi scientists has concluded that women are actually mammals, granting them the same rights as other mammal species such as camels, dromedaries and even goats.

Read the rest

More 'Muslim science'.  As stated, the disturbing aspect of this kingdom of inbred defective retards is that their crazy Wahhabist notions are not only responsible for creating Muslim extremists and terrorists in their own country, but around the world.

VW Transporter sidecar


From the Ural Sidecar Motorcycles FB page.  See the book 50 Years of Volkswagens in NZ for more.

Alco Century 415 switcher


A total of 26 of this Bo-Bo type were built between 1966 and 1968.

"The C415 was equipped with a raised cab mounted slightly off-center, with a lower, narrower hood on either side. The longer one contained the diesel engine, a 1,500 hp (1.1 MW) eight-cylinder turbocharged Alco 251-F, while the shorter contained auxiliaries. The C415 could be ordered with three different cab heights; a low one for minimum clearances, a regular height one, and an extra-height one for maximum visibility."

"Trucks fitted were either Type B road trucks or ALCo Hi-Ad (high adhesion)."

The pic shows one of the 10 that SP bought and is listed as being preserved.  More

Strasbourg air show poster, 1924


'but a transpress nz book is really hard to find'


1939 Renault Primaquatre-Sport


The model was produced from 1931 to 1941. "The last Primaquatre was the Primaquatre Sport (Type BDS2) with the 2.4-litre engine, but with 56 PS (41 kW; 55 hp), type BDF2 receive the engine too of 62 PS (46 kW; 61 hp). One final technical enhancement came in 1940 when Lockheed hydraulic brakes replaced the cable brakes specified for the original design." More

1957 Morris Minor brochure art



See the book The New Zealand Morris Minor story.

small cargo ship in Amsterdam, 1960s


The name not legible.  Perhaps this was used for short coastal voyages?

Monday, March 27, 2017

1969 Ford Torino ad


1968 Chevrolet El Camino SS


The SS stood for 'super sports'.

when a train collides with a UFO – Kentucky, January 2002

A train colliding with a vehicle on a grade crossing is a daily occurrence in America, but this case was rather different:

It was a cold Winter's night back in 2002, January 14, when a CSX Train which was pulling a 16,000-ton line of coal and freight cars from Russell to Shelbiana, Kentucky, that it had an encounter with something completely ‘unexplained’ and had destructive consequences!
Near milepost 42 the double track was running beside the Big Sandy River and a cliff face carved out of the mountainside to provide room for the tracks, when out of nowhere at 2.47 am that the Conductor at the time saw some strange lights up ahead when approaching a tight bend in the rail tracks.
Guessing that it was just another train up ahead, the conductor flashed the trains lights and blew the horn as a warning to the ‘apparent’ vehicle up ahead.
BUT this event went VERY strange all of a sudden, and the train experienced some kind of intermittent electricity power cut, and the diesel engines of both locomotives suddenly died! The proximity alarm then began to scream out into the winter’s night.  The train crew looked out again at the front of the train and saw a VERY unusual sight – Hovering over the river and the tracks were a group of ‘unidentifiable objects’.
The crew described the objects as ‘metallic’ in appearance, with multiple coloured lights on both the bottom and middle section of the craft (please see image above!).  The objects all appeared to have some kind of search lights looking ahead of them.
Read the rest

Sunday, March 26, 2017

1977 Lincoln Continental ad


1975 Cadillac Eldorado coupe


Western Pacific FP7 unit 805-A with the 'California Zephyr'


Seen in 1969, retired in 1972, now preserved - info.  Those boxcars look interesting.

1974 Cadillac promotional material





the 'Clyde' paddlesteamer at Balclutha on the Clutha River


This was 130 gross tons and in service on the Clutha River from 1901 to 1922.

According to a report in the Otago Daily Times of 9 December 1914:-
Some consternation was caused in Balclutha yesterday when the news was heard that the Clutha River Board's paddle steamer Clyde had sunk during the night at her moorings at the upper landing in Balclutha, off William street. Up to the present the cause of the mishap is a mystery.

According to custom, the steamer, after being loaded at the jetty near the railway yard, was brought up river to the upper landing on Monday, this course being always adopted so as to ensure no loss of time in the run to Clydevale and the other districts up-river served by the boats.
Under ordinary circumstances the boat would have left on the up-river run at 8 o'clock this morning. All was well when Captain Butler and the boat's crew departed for their homes last evening.
Only one of the crew, the fireman (Mark Hansen) slept on the boat when she was in Balclutha. On this member being approached to-day he said that he went to bed on Monday night about 11 o'clock, when everything appeared to be as usual.
About 2 o'clock this morning he was awakened by hearing plates falling in the galley, and leaving his bunk to investigate, he discovered that water was rushing into his cabin. The steamer had a heavy list, and when the fireman hurriedly emerged from the cabin he tumbled into the river, from which he safely emerged, and ran to alarm Captain Butler, who resides about half a mile away.
It was obvious to the captain and fireman on returning that nothing could then be done to right the boat. She had a heavy list to starboard, and her keel was resting on the rocks at the bed of the river, the mooring ropes holding her in that position.

trams in the Plaza de Espana, Zaragoza, Spain, 1960s


Two types. See earlier post.