SBB 4-4-0 steamer from 1891, Switzerland


Seen near Freudenstadt, Germany, in 1972.  Info

Spanish Norte (Northern) Railway poster, 1930s

The Compañía de los Caminos de Hierro del Norte de España (Company of the Iron Roads of the North of Spain) was founded in 1858 and operated until 1941 when the state-owned RENFE was formed.

DB (West German Federal Railways) poster summer 1963


Featuring a class V200 diesel-hydraulic graphic.

Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway SD40's


Seen in 1994 next to what look like piles of aggregates in Huron, Ohio.  The W&LE is a Class II regional railroad that provides freight service, mainly in Ohio. It took its name from the former Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway, most of which it bought from the Norfolk and Western Railway in 1990.

Victorian Railways R class 4-6-4 with a goods train at Ararat in the mid-1960s


A nice display of semaphore signals in the background.  See earlier posts and this page.

Friday, September 28, 2018

Fairbanks Morse gasoline rail motor cars, 1925


Known better in America as Speeders and in NZ as jiggers.

token rear spoiler


They act like an aircraft wing in reverse to keep the rears of racing cars on the ground at high speeds, so they became cool attachments with the boy street racer set even if they have no effect. 

This may be a satire?


télépherique de Veyrier poster, France, 1934


The year it was opened.  Inauguration took place on 29 July 1934 to the delight of Anneciens and tourists. With an annual record of 69,050 passengers carried in 1948, ridership stabilized between 35,000 and 45,000 journeys in the 1960s. This installation, the 4th in Savoy after the Aiguille du Midi, Brévent and Roche Brune in Megève, transported 25 people at a time over a distance of 1525 metres. It took 7 minutes to ascend the 800 metre vertical change and arrive at the top station which was also a hotel frequented by an upmarket clientele in the golden age. 

But with the exorbitant cost of compliance with safety standards, the operation ceased in 1984 after 50 years of operation and in 1988 the facilities were sold for a symbolic 1 Franc in the town of Veyrier. The abandoned building deteriorated rapidly and it took a fatal accident to cause its demolition: in the spring of 1998, a group of friends decided to make a picnic on the platform of the summit with a breathtaking view of the surrounding mountains. During the descent from this platform a 17-year-old girl fell into the well of the passage of cables and disappeared into the cliff to finish its drop 300 metres lower.

In 2001 the 315 m3 of reinforced concrete were demolished. Once scrapped and crushed, the rubble filled in the irregularities of the forest road. Protected by barriers, the site has been returned to the natural environment.

Canadian Pacific V4a class 0-8-0


Seen in 1958, one of thirty 0-8-0's rebuilt from M4 class 2-8-0's by the CPR over 1928-1929.

diesel multiple unit on Cambodian banknote, 1979


That was the year the murderous Khymer Rouge were ousted from power. The train is of the class ZZ, built in Germany in the late 1960s by Waggonfabrik Uerdingen in Germany, the same company that built Germany's well-known railbuses.

1959 Ford Thames Trader cement truck


Seen at the Certified Concrete plant in Thorndon, Wellington. A Commer truck is beside it

vehicles in an English village circa 1940 art


By Ronald Lampitt (1906-1988) who was a magazine illustrator.

NSW 43 class diesel


One of this 6-member class of Co-Co type built by A Goninan & Co, Broadmeadow in 1956-1957 is seen with a passenger train between Sydney and Newcastle in the late 1960s.

"These locomotives were unique in Australia in having Alco power units in GE Transportation Systems designed bodies, a legacy of the former Alco-GE partnership which was dissolved in 1953. Although their design originated in the United States, only two similar UM20 cab and two booster units were ever built in that country, for the Erie Railroad."

One of them, 4306, "returned to traffic in June 1996 and has since been used extensively on charters in New South Wales as well as interstate to Brisbane and Melbourne"

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the great railway zigzag at Lithgow, NSW, Australia


A view circa 1900; see earlier posts and of course our books.

1939 Chevrolet Master

2-door coupe
4-door deluxe sedan

Tuesday, September 25, 2018

traffic on Victoria Bridge, Brisbane, Australia, circa 1910


One notes the motor garage in the left foreground. The scene has changed a lot in the meantime, although the treasury building in the right background, now a casino and hotel, is still there.

SJ electric multiple unit at Hässleholm, Sweden, 1955

An Xoa5 set of Statens Järnvägar (SJ) which were used between 1948 and 1986: a class of 6 three-car units constructed by ASEA and delivered in 1948. The design was very similar to the Xoa class delivered in 1947 to the Bergslagernas Järnvägar (Railways), but the Xoa5 class had a higher top speed of 135 km/h. The car bodies of the Xoa5 were manufactured by ASJ (AB Svenska Järnvägsverkstäderna) which also made the appearance slightly different. The trains were first used in express services on the main lines. During the 1970s, they were transferred to regional services in the Goteborg area. The last set was withdrawn from service in 1986. Axle arrangement: 2'-Bo '+ 2'-2' + Bo-'2; power output: 1,000 kW.

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Lynwood Pacific Electric and Greyhound bus depot, greater L.A, 1956


Built in 1917 at 11453 Long Beach Boulevard and a stop on the Green Line today, although the I-105 now runs over the top. One notes the 'wigwag' grade crossing warning.  More pics

Monday, September 24, 2018

British Railways 'Unceasing Service' [to Industry] art, early 1950s


One of the more more dramatic of the BR posters of the era. By Frank Henry Mason (British, 1875-1965)

Soviet ZIL 157 truck


"The ZIL-157 is a general purpose ​2 1⁄2-ton 6×6 truck, produced in the post-World War II Soviet Union The ZIL-157 was the standard Soviet truck until it was replaced by the ZIL-131 and Ural-375 series that became the standard Soviet army trucks alongside the GAZ-66. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army also produced the CA-30, a copy of the ZIL-157."

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Sydney trams at the north end of the Harbour Bridge, 1950s


Passenger cars of a suburban train also visible in the right background. These tram tracks gave way to 2 more vehicle lanes. See earlier posts.

a bus in the ditch, NSW, Australia, 1930s



A general view and a close-up. From the names on the back it seems it was running between Cessnock and Kurri Kurri.

Oddly, these two views were published as postcards.

Sunday, September 23, 2018

steam coal train on Lydbrook Viaduct, England, art


By Eric Bottomley.  Although an English scene it could easily pass for Germany.

Saturday, September 22, 2018

Northern Pacific steam in Montana art


"March 7, 1941, at the Jack Smith Crossing in Montana, Engine 5108 Challenger crosses the open range heading to Livingston. Mount Livingston can be seen in the background.

"Pictured is the 4-6-6-4 Northern Pacific 5108 Challenger, 14 car Army recruit special for Fort Lewis." A painting by Jim Jordan -- website

Thursday, September 20, 2018

Dutch Mat '34 diesel multiple unit art


Also known as DE3 class, these first Dutch diesel trains consisted of 40 three-car sets which had a gray rather than green main body color used on the electric sets.

More

Wednesday, September 19, 2018

old portal in the mountainside, Greece


At first glance it may look like an abandoned railway portal, but this predates the railway age by quite a long way. The approach gradient would be too steep anyway, at least for a normal adhesion railway. Nevertheless, the whole scene should be inspirational for modelers!

A picture of the Acrocorinth Fortifications, circa 1900.

Tuesday, September 18, 2018

1953 Chrysler New Yorker


With a Hemi engine.  The two front doors have a M.A.S.H. sign -- Mobile Army Surgical Hospital -- as used in the Korean War of 1950-1953 -- see our book.