the last Boeing 747 gets constructed and delivered

The sun sets on an era of aviation manufacturing as the very last Boeing 747 lands at Paine Field after a January 10 test flight. The jet will be delivered on Tuesday to Atlas Air, which will operate the plane for freight forwarder Apex Logistics. One side of the aircraft is painted in the colors of Atlas, the other side in the livery of Apex.

From the Seattle Times--

On Tuesday, Boeing will wave a final goodbye to the 747 jumbo jet.

In the years after its launch, the 747 elevated the Puget Sound region to the world’s premier airplane manufacturing site and boosted Boeing to preeminence in aviation. It made international air travel routine.

A diverse cross-section of the Boeing workers who helped bring this transformative piece of engineering to life tell their stories below. They reflect upon their affection for the jumbo jet that changed their lives, and aviation.

Almost exactly 54 years after the first flight, thousands of current and former employees and guests will attend a bittersweet ceremony in Everett on Tuesday before cargo carrier Atlas Air flies away a 747 freighter model, the 1,574th and last “Queen of the Skies” ever built.

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the terminus of the NZR's Southbridge branch, 1920s

The railway lasted from 1875 to 1962.  Here it looks like a tank engine is in steam by the goods shed and a rake of passenger cars is at the station platform.  This view is to the south-west.

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1950s Austin Devon art

"An Austin Devon four-door saloon, introduced by Austin in late 1947. It was a complete contrast to the Austin's which had gone before in terms of styling and engine design. Its flowing lines, lack of running boards and built-in headlamps stressed the break with the past, while the interior was room, though the boot was rather small. It was powered by a 1200cc ohv pushrod engine, and could attain a top speed of 65mph and give 30mpg. The engine was rated. at 40bhp and drove through a four-speed gearbox, with synchromesh between the upper three ratios. Excellent access to the engine compartment was provided by a rear-hinged bonnet. The model was so successful, especially in the USA, that by 1950 it had established itself as Britain's biggest dollar-earning car of all time. It was a comfortable and solid car, pleasant to ride in, but with a tendency to roll on sharper comers! It actually weighed just under a ton, but was only 13-feet long. Having also inspired a little sister, the Austin A30 and the larger A70 Hereford, the Devon was superseded in September 1954 by the Austin A40/50 Cambridge."

A Malcolm Root artwork, available commercially as a print.

steam traction engine truck in Greenwich, London

No date, but probably pre-WW1.

'reading a good real book is much better than a little screen'

cars on Pier Ave, Hermosa Beach, Greater LA, late 1950s

Hermosa Avenue left to right.

Brad - Criscior narrow gauge steam railway, Romania

 
The 760 mm gauge industrial line from Brad to Crişcior served brown coal transport from Brad to the power station of Crişcior until the beginning of the 21st centiry. Today it provides occasional museum transport. In the video is the loco EMBA 5 Reşiţa 1336 of 1957.

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readers' camouflage cartoon

(Tom Gauld cartoon on The Guardian)

cars on Girard Avenue, La Jolla, California, circa 1957

1985 Peugeot 505 Turbo

"Built between 1979 and 1992, the 505 first showed in North America in 1980 and then got its Turbo credential for the 1985 model year. The 505 left the US in 1990 and by the time the end of regular production occurred in 1992, the world had seen over 1.3 million 505s – it was a significant model for Peugeot."