Wednesday, December 31, 2014
1946 Cadillac 62 Series Club Coupe
meanwhile back in 1905...
...a weird New Year card. "Another one to smoke" - stop working and smoke the year away? And what is being smoked? Maybe it means, "if you smoke like me you'll soon look like me"?
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
vintage cars in NZ
About now book bloggers list what they think are the best books of the year, but there have been no standouts that we've encountered this year in our subject field, so here's one from last year that deserves an accolade, primarily because it was nicely designed and by a woman at that. The cover is intended to resemble an old-time mounted picture and a hole is cut through the coverboard to reveal the picture which is part of a montage on the front endpaper. We would have uv-overglossed the picture instead, but the effect is novel. Inside there is a nice use of backgrounds and fonts, while good pictures get blown up to the size they deserve, often full page, and less good ones are kept to modest proportions. Best of all, no car is spread across the gutter and there is no paper wastage with "artistic" white space.
The author has clearly relied on photos taken by various people who in some instances are not very skilled in the art - often pictures are taken against the light or inside and poorly lighted, are low definition and a bit fuzzy or have bad contrast. You can improve these things to some degree with Photoshop, but there are limits to what you can do. Nevertheless, the best photos are good. The author's texts strike a balance between the things that a follower of a particular make would want to know, including restoration practicalities, and the salient but general info which suffices for the casual car enthusiast. All up there are 192 color pages and the book is hardcover.
Leyland Leopard diesel bus of Wellington City Transport
Another photo considered for, but not used in the book Wellington Transport Memories. For info and lots more, see that book. (Wallace Trickett photo)
new Helgoland harbor, Germany, circa 1900
Helgoland is a group of islands in the North Sea, spelt Heligoland in English with a present day population of about 1,400. It was briefly a Danish possession, then a British possession from 1814 to 1890 when it was given back to Germany. During WW2 the islands were a regular target of the Royal Air Force and the population was evacuated in 1945. They didn't return until 1952; in the meantime the RAF continued to use the islands as target practice, changing the shape of the coastlines. Today it attracts tourists not least because of the tax exempt status.
tram in Leningrad, Russia, 1958
With some youthful fare evaders by the look of it. See earlier post.
early motor coach passes under Hawk's Crag, Westland, circa 1920
A feature of the road between Inangahua and Westport, and still there. With the use of reinforcing over the bank, the road is a bit wider today. The Buller River is alongside.
Monday, December 29, 2014
transport on a Mauritania banknote from 2011
On the 5,000 Ouguiya (worth $US 17) note there is an airport control tower and an iron ore train. Iron ore represents about 40% of the country's exports and all of it is moved to port by rail. The diesels are from EMD; on the banknote a SDL40-2, recently SD70ACS have been acquired, see earlier post.
Marilyn Monroe in 'Arrêt d'Autobus'
With a cowboy about to lasso Marilyn? Obviously, the French poster for Bus Stop, see earlier post.
'you are travelling at 167 km/h'
Seen in Germany. Presumably the info is intended for motorists, not trains.
trolley and cigars on a beer label from Tampa, Florida
The connection between the three isn't obvious.
selected British Railways steam locomotives 1813-1948
As featured on this National Savings poster from 1948, the year British Railways were nationalised. European railways didn't dieselize as quickly as those in North America. National Savings sounds like a central government scheme too.
cars and trolley at the bottom of the Magnolia Petroleum Building, Dallas, Texas, 1933
Mobil moved out of the building in 1977 and it is now the Magnolia Hotel. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
a 4-4-0 on the Madeira-Mamoré Railroad art, Brazil
From the look of it, a scene set in 1931 as the stamp marks a 50th anniversary in 1981. Info on the line is here
Sunday, December 28, 2014
fox hunting by the railway viaduct, Vielsalm, Belgium, 1930
The scene on the poster looks very British and the lady on the left is riding side-saddle which doesn't seem very safe when the horse is jumping over a hedge.
electric cigar at Bad Schwalbach, Germany
The 8 battery railcars of the class ETA 176 built over 1952-54 were primarily stationed in Limburg on the Lahn and were thus known as the "Limburger Zigarre" (cigars). They were the predecessors of the class ETA 150 and ran over main and branch lines. They were powered by two 100 kW traction motors (= 200 kW) on one of the two bogies (trucks), the other bogie was unpowered. They had a service weight of 86.3 tonnes, a top speed of 100 km/h and could seat 168 passengers. Withdrawal took place over 1982-84. The first of the class, unit 176.001 (later renumbered 517.001), was the DB's first battery railcar and was restored to its original state, given the original number and was made operational again.
people entering boxcars in Ukraine, 1943
During German occupation. You prefer to think these aren't Jews destined for what the Nazis euphemistically called "resettlement", but that seems likely.
an NZ homemade flying hovercraft
Hovercraft first appeared in 1958 in Britain and work by a fan creating a cushion of air under a rubber skirt which the craft floats on while a conventional propeller provides horizontal thrust. At around 70 km/h the wings enable this one to take off as the proximity of the ground (water) provides more lift than higher up and the turbulent eddies at the wings' extremities which create drag don't exist close to the ground like they do higher up.
It's probably not a suitable commuting vehicle though, as it would not be a good idea to fly it along a road.
Saturday, December 27, 2014
traffic outside Paris Gare du Nord, 1952
The station is clearly coated with grime, a lot of it probably from coal smoke from domestic fires during winter, and that was pretty much the case throughout not just Paris, but many big cities. The station has been cleaned of it in recent times, see earlier post.
Dehra Doon railway station, India, 1900s
Now spelt Dehradun. From the map this is the terminus of a branch line.
Hellenic Air Communications poster, 1930s
Probably depicting a Ju 52, one of which, SX-ACF, was the first airliner in Greece.
the first airplane to have a lavatory
The Lawson L-4, a 1921 trimotor biplane manufactured by the Lawson Air Line Company for use in its night flights between Chicago and New York, had sleeping berths, a lavatory and shower (below).
Outside of aircraft, the word lavatory is often used in the UK, but rarely in other English speaking countries.
