L.A. Metro's Gold Line extension to Azusa opens this Saturday

Another 11.5 miles (18.5 km) added to L.A.'s suburban rail system with the extension from Sierra Madre Villa. Parties at five of the six new stations are being held between 11 am and 4 pm; trains begin running at noon and rides will be free from noon until midnight on Saturday on the entire Gold Line.

Parking is first-come, first-served at all the new Gold Line stations.

Full article

Missouri-Kansas-Texas GP38-2

Otherwise known as the MKT or the Katy. Seen in Kansas City in 1980. Is that a slug behind the Geep?

a TWA 'Connie' over Florence, Italy, 1950s

With the Ponte Vecchio (literally 'old bridge') the central feature.

another member of the Dhimmi Leaders Club

Well, Australia is a country which has 19 of the world's 25 most venomous snakes, and it is illegal to kill one.  Turnbull's statement fits with that.

1922 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost convertible

Painted white, though.  This also had entertainingly dressed occupants, including a chauffeur (not in the pic) with a large gold turban.

mid 1920s Hupmobile

The occupants of this one chose costumes that were a bit different.

new-look TV motoring show 'Top Gear' without Clarkson in shambles already?

The episodes of the new show are to be reduced and it will miss the announced start date according to this report.

tram in Elizabeth Street, Melbourne, 1900s

'this transpress nz book has good technical info'

1941 Plymouth DeLuxe Woody

L.A.'s metro line extension to Santa Monica to open on 20 May

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has announced that the Expo Line extension to Santa Monica will open on May 20. 

And because the name “Expo Line” is a little on the dull side, Mayor Eric Garcetti coined a new slogan for the light rail line that travels between downtown L.A. and downtown Santa Monica.

“For the first time in 60 years,” the mayor said in a news release, “Angelenos will have a railway to the sea -- taking us from 'Grand to the sand' just in time for summer.”  If you don't that slogan, you can propose something better.

LA Times article

Jaguar with a boattail

Made of cedar wood, as are boats. Obviously a custom creation.  For more on custom-built cars, see earlier posts, and the book Alternative Drivestyles.

traffic in El Paso, Texas, 1969

AB 608 excursion in the north Wairarapa countryside near Eketahuna

Another Stu Hammond photo from last year.  Two versions; the original and with the telephone pole and wire removed via Photoshop.

a Fiat railcar passes through Napier, 1960s

Two coupled. This environment has since totally changed.  For more, see earlier posts and of course our books.

trams in Collins Street, Melbourne, circa 1910

for some light relief: a Muslim suicide bomber class in Afghanistan results in a 'Darwin akbar' x 7

A senior Taliban commander was demonstrating how to handle explosives
The safety demonstration was to show recruits how to build suicide vests
However, the commander accidentally detonated the device prematurely
Only two of the suspected terrorists survived the blast in the Madrassa

Read more:

apart from Yemen and Syria, where else do Saudi Arabia and Iran indulge in proxy wars?

It has long been known that Saudi Arabia funds the building of mosques and promotes its extremist salafist/wahhabist ideology among Muslims around the world, including in Australia where new 'mosqtrocities' have been springing up faster than McDonalds outlets.

Now there is this report from Israeli intelligence that Iran is doing the same, and Iran's ability to do this has been given a huge boost from the release of hundreds of millions of dollars of frozen assets in the "we'll trust you not to build nuclear bombs" deal from late last year.

While Israel is naturally concerned about Iranian-backed Muslims targeting Israelis and Israeli assets in other countries, it seems more probable that Iran has Saudi-backed Muslims primarily in its sights. In a post last October, we mentioned that Bahrain discovered an arms stockpile hidden there and blamed Iran.

As if Western security services don't already have enough on their hands with the adherents of "the religion of peace"...

Erie Lackawanna passenger train arrives at Corning, New York state, 1965

The rails are still used by freight trains, but the station has gone.

the European Parliament calls for an arms embargo on Saudi Arabia

unexploded Saudi cluster bomb

The European Parliament called on the European Union to impose an arms embargo against Saudi Arabia on Thursday, saying Britain, France and other EU governments should no longer sell weapons to a country accused of targeting civilians in Yemen.

EU lawmakers, who voted overwhelmingly in favor of an embargo, said Britain had licensed more than $3 billion of arms sales to Saudi Arabia since Saudi-led forces began military operations in Yemen in March last year.

Read the rest

Although there is much doubt about the capability of Saudi Arabia's army--the general belief is that it is just as bad as Iraq's army--that doesn't affect Saudi Arabia's ability to conduct bombing raids on Shiites in Yemen, simply because they are supported by Iran.  Saudi Arabia also needs to be prevented from any involvement in Syria for the same reason.

'Kumalla', of the USSCo, 1956

This was built by built by Henry Robb of Leith, Scotland, and was specially designed to carry pyritic ores from the shallow draft port of Strahan, Tasmania to Melbourne. The ship was sold in 1972 and traded for another 13 years in the Pacific and Indian Oceans.

Tonnage: 1,946 grt

Length: 235 ft (71.6 metres)

Propellers: 1

Speed: 10 knots

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1930 Triumph Baby

This has a 832 cc engine.

a DA with a passenger train in Kopuawhara loop, Napier-Gisborne line

Date unknown, however, as on most regional lines, locomotive-hauled passenger trains were normally only used at peak holiday times after the Fiat railcars were introduced circa 1956.  For more, see our books.

for some light relief: Muslim toilet routine

apartheid toilets in some airports

The impression given by the news coverage of the mess made by the Muslims invading Europe is that they simply relieve themselves wherever it suits them, and while many of them do, for the devout ones, there is a routine involved.

For one thing, they are supposed to squat over a hole rather than sit on a seat, also they are not supposed to face Mecca, or have their bottoms facing that way, so they need to be orientated at an oblique angle. And they are supposed to use water to wash the area involved after, for example with a hose, rather than use toilet paper, and use only their left hand.

Their ritual is quite involved, and detailed on this webpage

Muslim females in Sydney hold up a picture of the Coptic Christian pope in the toilet -- by Muslim standards this is being quite respectful of another religion

ships in Korea, early 1950s

Thus during the period of the Korean War; the extent of the info.

1939 Ford V8 coupe

the MV 'Juno', Sweden

Built in 1874, M/S Juno is the oldest registered cruise boat in the world, seen here in the 200-km Göta canal.

 
"Her passengers are said to have included Henrik Ibsen and Hans Christian Andersen, and, apart from exchanging steam for diesel power, she hasn't changed much since they trod her decks.

"Sailing on this grand old lady is like stepping back to an era before radio, television and the internet. None of these newfangled devices is available to passengers, and the use of mobile phones in her saloons is frowned upon."

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1930 Chrysler CJ Six roadster convertible

snakebite

Middle East Airlines poster, 1961

Appealing to water-skiers and snow-skiers (presumably for those living in the Middle East wanting to experience it in Europe). Middle East Airlines was founded in 1945 in Beirut, Lebanon, and operated flights to Syria, Cyprus and Egypt. Routes expanded later.  Early jets included the Caravelle and, on this poster, the Comet 4.

Mediterranean cruises on the Hamburg Amerika Linie poster

Age uncertain - interwar maybe.

cars in Calle Castillo, Cienfuegos, Cuba, circa 1930

going the pace in a classic car postcard, Napier, NZ

This was certainly true last weekend. A postcard from probably the late 1920s.

upside-down car

It would generate a few stares on the road...  From a viral e-mail.  More info and pics here

1937 Hudson Victoria Coupe

Also known as a Terraplane.

a Fiat railcar to Woodville passes through Upper Hutt, 1963

With English Electric multiple units on the right. For lots more, see the book Wellington Transport Memories

'Ottoman Germania' Muslim subculture threatens Germany in rap music video

Isn't Germany becoming a fun country now with Merkel's Muslims?

for some light relief: Muslim satire

no, Miss Piggy, they'll still behead you

Thanks to Bert for sending these in.

Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler's car is for sale

One of them anyway - a Wanderer built in October 1939.

Das Fahrzeug wurde erstmals für die "Leibstandarte SS - Adolf Hitler" verwendet und wurde dann in den persönlichen Stab des "Reichsführer SS-Heinrich Himmler" übergeben, welcher der letzte Eigentümer im Zweiten Weltkreig war und mit diesem Fahrzeug im Januar 1945 als Oberbefehlshaber der Heeresgruppe Weichsel am Russlandfeldzug teilnahm. Der Wanderer wurde nach Beendigung des Krieges nach Russland verschifft und stand anschließend als kulturhistorisches Unikat bis 1991 im Museum in Riga und wurde dort als der Wagen des RFSS ausgestellt. Das Museum wurde aufgelöst und im Rahmen der Perestroika in den Westen verlagert.
Dieser Oldtimer ist kein Nachbau, sondern ein Original welches sich noch in sehr gutem, teilweise restauriertem Zustand befindet.
Der 6-Zylindermotor ist revidiert worden. Die Sitze und das Verdeck sind neu.

(The vehicle was first used for the "Leibstandarte-SS - Adolf Hitler" and was then transferred to the personal staff of the "Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler," the last owner in WW2 and with this vehicle took part in the Russian campaign in January 1945 as commander of Army Group Vistula.

The Wanderer was shipped after the war to Russia and then stood as a cultural historical unique item to 1991 in the Museum in Riga, as the car of the RF-SS. The museum was closed and relocated as part of perestroika into the West.

This oldtimer is not a replica but an original which is still in very good, partially restored condition.

The 6-cylinder engine has been reconditioned. The seats and the roof are new.)

Original page with more pics

'it's so hard to find a transpress nz book'

Canadian National 4-8-4

Not that it particularly matters what it is in this approaching high-contrast head-on view.  Number 6218 of the U2g class is now preserved at the Fort Erie Railway Museum in Ontario.

Buffalo Creek and Gauley 2-8-0

The Buffalo Creek and Gauley Railroad (BC&G) was a shortline chartered in 1904 and ran a bit under 20 miles (32 km) along Buffalo Creek in Clay County, West Virginia. The original Buffalo Creek and Gauley ended service in 1965.

The BC&G was one of the last all-steam railroads; it never operated a diesel locomotive and for this reason became popular with steam enthusiasts in its last years. Its primary purpose was to bring coal out of the mountains above Widen to an interchange with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad at Dundon.

For four decades the line sat dormant and abandoned until 2005 when the Buffalo Creek and Gauley Railroad Co-Operative was formed to revive the entire railroad between Dundon and Widen for a tourist railroad.

BC&G's Consolidation #13 was built by Alco in 1920.  It is now privately owned and stored inaccessible to public view at the Age of Steam Roundhouse in Sugar Creek, Ohio.  More on #13

More on BC&G

the RMS 'Gothic' of the White Star Line

Seen berthed in Wellington, NZ, this was a 7,755 ton (displacement) cargo and passenger liner which operated along the New Zealand route. The Gothic could carry 104 First class passengers along with 114 Second and Steerage class passengers. Operating from its White Star berth in Plymouth, RMS Gothic would sail along the west coast of Europe to the Canary islands, then continue down to Cape Town, South Africa, heading to Australia and finally arriving in New Zealand.

The ship lasted until 1926.

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1927 Leyland Lion LSC1 bus

From the Transport Illustrated blog

1949 Packard Super Deluxe Touring Sedan

We went to see the movie Carol yesterday in which the two lead characters go on a road trip of sorts in one of these (set in New York 1953, they get to drive as far as Waterloo, Iowa). Any movie involving classic cars in plenty of scenes gets our attention :-)

According to imdb.com:-

"a 1949 Packard Super Deluxe 8 with a 327-cubic-inch Straight 8 Flathead engine and a three-speed gear shift on the steering column. It features a very rare "Egyptian" hood ornament. The hood opens either from the left or right side. The vehicle was leased to the production company by the owner after responding to an appeal by the Greater Cincinnati & Northern Kentucky Film Commission for early 1950s cars, cabs, trucks and buses. Harge [a character]'s car is a 1952 Cadillac Series 75 Fleetwood Limousine. Abby [another character]'s car is a 1950 Packard Custom Eight convertible. The yellow-and-red taxis seen parked or moving in several scenes are a 1950 Chevrolet and a 1949 Dodge."