an Ab with a suburban train to Rangiora heads through Christchurch, 1960s


Not a very clean example -- normally the road number on the headstock was the only part of a steamer to be cleaned at this stage, but with this one, not even that has been done.

Isn't it time for suburban trains in Christchurch to make a reappearance?  (Peter Parker/Canterbury Railway Society pic)

Japanese ED11 electric locomotive from 1923 model


HO scale. The original was built by General Electric, the model by Dauphin,

More pics with more info (in Japanese) here.  A pic of an original is here.

Polish narrow gauge 0-4-0


Although as is obvious, a tank locomotive for water but not fuel.  These were 600 mm gauge and dated from the 1900s. This one, T49.115 was (we think) built by Fablok of Chrzonow in the 1920s. Seen at Lobzeniza in 1976 which was about the time they were withdrawn.

Trans Europ Express map, 1957


"Between 70 cities in Europe." The year that TEE trains made their debut, see earlier posts.

This is the front of a Dutch produced pamphlet for them and the artist seems to have expected that the Dutch-built TEE sets would look like the existing multiple unit Mat '54 "Dog Head" (Hondekop) design, but they were a bit different.

Egyptian military destroys 12 munitions-laden vehicles crossing from Libya


Egyptian air strikes destroyed 12 vehicles trying to cross from Libya. They were loaded with ammunition, explosives and weapons, the official spokesperson of the Army said on Tuesday.

“In light of the continuous efforts of Egypt’s Army to secure the borders and its forceful fight against all the systematic campaigns targeting the Egyptian security, the Army successfully destroyed 12 vehicles trying to cross the border from Libya. The Army acted after it had received information from the intelligence suggesting that ‘criminal elements’ had gathered to cross the Western boundary of Egypt,” said the spokesperson.

The statements didn’t mention the exact timing of the air strikes. The spokesperson said that military forces are currently searching for the militants to take the proper legal actions against them.

In May, the Egyptian Army carried out six air strikes on terrorist locations in Libya after gunmen had opened fire on Coptic Christians in Egypt, killing at least 29. The attack was claimed by the militants of the Islamic State.

Finnish railtour poster


Age uncertain, maybe 1950s.

Rivarossi tramway model packing art


From the look of the fashions at right, quite early in the electric tram era.

transport activity in Maashaven, Rotterdam, 1970


A two-car diesel multiple unit, a conventional cargo ship, various small boats, a 1964 Chevrolet and a truck.

a Mexican 2-8-2


A KR2 class, crossing the plains of Queretaro to the north in September 1962: road number 2127 -- info here.

Paris to Milan train in the Iselle station, Italy, circa 1910


Just on the Italian side of the Simplon tunnel from Switzerland. We figure the train was hauled through the tunnel by the electric loco on the left and the steamer, a 2-8-0 type, has just been attached.

The guy in the middle, presumably a supervisor, has an impressive hat.  See earlier posts.

bus in Frévent, France, 1919


It looks like a ladder mounted along the side -- for putting luggage on the roof maybe?

canal, tram and cars in Nantes, France


A photo from 2012.  See earlier posts on Nantes trams.

Dennis open-sided bus, 1910s


This was almost certainly a factory promotional photo.  The front seat seems a little crowded: the guy wearing the pale coat is probably the driver, but he is holding the steering wheel with his left hand only.

Monday, June 26, 2017

cars in Ginza Street, Tokyo, 1957


The same intersection as in the two previous posts with a close-up of the curved Wako building.  The cars are British and French, although the van is probably Japanese.

traffic in Ginza Street, Tokyo, 1971


Virtually the same location as in the previous post.

traffic in Ginza Street, Tokyo, 1950s

The tramlines have since gone and most of the buildings have since been replaced with much taller ones.


Essen Strassenbahn (streetcar) exhibition stamp, 1928


Not a postage stamp, but probably intended for use with them as a city promotional item.

1957 Leyland Comet bus art


Blue Bus fleet number 2 is shown at Mauriceville in the Wairarapa on its morning school run with the regular driver of the day Margaret Goodin, circa 1981.

This is another in the TRANZIT 100 series: Crawley Ridley new to Martin Smith Motors of Masterton then sold to Blue Bus Services. The bus never carried the company's new branding of Tranzit, but ran on local school runs with no company name on its bodywork from 1985 to 1995 when it was retired and sold for preservation in Hawkes Bay. The same owner bought this Wallace Trickett oil painting.

cars in Kaitaia circa 1970


With a Ford Zephyr Mark IV at the right. This is pretty much NZ's furthest north significant town.




Saturday, June 24, 2017

German autobahn postcard, 1936


Showing Der Führer turning the first spadeful of earth in 1933.

Friday, June 23, 2017

Western Australian 4-6-4 tank loco


The Dm class was produced in 8 examples in 1945. They were built to haul suburban passenger services in Perth and as helpers on the steeply graded Midland Junction to Chidlow section of the Eastern Railway. All were withdrawn by mid 1971.

old wood-sided CIWL sleeping car seen in Helsinki, 1950s


Seen headed for Imatra, a city close to the Soviet border.

a tram at the intersection of Cuba and Vivian Streets, Wellington, 1910s


Tram number 20 trundles south towards Wallace Street according to its destination sign.  This location is still reasonably identifiable despite several building replacements in the years since.

For lots more, see the books Wellington Transport Memories and Wellington: a Capital century.

Wednesday, June 21, 2017