Sunday, June 30, 2019
Saturday, June 29, 2019
Stagecoach buses in Wellington impression
Art by Ellen Coup in 2004, probably a view from Midland Park on Lambton Quay. Wellington City Council sold its bus fleet to British company Stagecoach in 1992 and the Big Reds, as they were known (although by that point most were two tone with white around the window area), were replaced with the white and candy livery. In 2005 local company Infratil bought the NZ operations of Stagecoach. As part of the deal, Infratil had the right to use the "Stagecoach" name and livery for five years from the sale, but only did for about a year. It became GO Wellington in traditional Wellington colours of yellow and black. From July 2018, all services in Wellington were operated under the Metlink brand and the GO Wellington brand ceased.
For lots more, see the book Wellington Transport Memories.
Bermuda train stamps
The Bermuda Railway was a 21.7-mile (35 km) standard gauge common carrier line that operated from 31 October 1931 to 1 May 1948. It provided frequent passenger and freight service over its length spanning most of the archipelago of Bermuda from St. George's in the east to Somerset, Sandys Parish, in the west.
More
Another map
a 4-4-0 from 1893 of the London and South Western Railway at Corfe Castle, England
Obviously, this is a heritage loco, with the heritage Swanage Railway, and this scene has been set up to look Victorian period authentic.
Info
Friday, June 28, 2019
1962 Oldsmobile F-85 Cutlass
"I'm looking forward to lots of pleasure!"
"On the ski slopes, in bed or both?"
"How about a little partner swap for the weekend?"
"Sounds like a good idea."
Curtiss Seaplane arrives in Napier, December 1917
"Hot water free" presumably meant take your own teapot and cup. For lots more, see our books.
Thursday, June 27, 2019
Balclutha station, NZ, circa 1920
With an Invercargill to Christchurch express arriving with what looks like a Ub class on the point. The sign tells passengers to change for the Catlins River Branch, a.k.a. Tahakopa Branch, which lasted from 1915 to 1971. For lots more, see our books.
Wednesday, June 26, 2019
the Canadian Northern Steamship Co. ship 'Royal George'
Tuesday, June 25, 2019
JNR KiHa 56 class diesel multiple unit, Japan
PKP narrow gauge 0-8-0, Poland
A total of 111 of this Px48 class were built between 1950 and 1955, mainly for 750 mm gauge, some were later rebuilt for metre gauge. One was bought by a NZ businessman in 1992 and placed on a short section of track in Raratonga in the Cook Islands.
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Sunday, June 23, 2019
1962 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 4-door
"Where are we going for our night on the town?"
"How about the Showgirls Striptease?"
"Sounds great to me!"
"Oh, you men."
Saturday, June 22, 2019
Friday, June 21, 2019
Thursday, June 20, 2019
VIA Rail's LRC trains, early 1980s, Canada
"The LRC (a bilingual acronym: in English: Light, Rapid, Comfortable; in French: Léger, Rapide, et Confortable) was a series of lightweight diesel-powered passenger trains that were used on short- to medium-distance inter-city service in the Canadian Provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It originally consisted of both locomotives and passenger carriages designed to work together, though the two can be (and now are) used separately.
"LRC was designed to run with locomotives, or power cars, at both ends and provide 125 mph (201 km/h) service on non-upgraded railway routes. To accomplish this, the LRC passenger cars feature active-tilt technology to reduce the forces on the passengers when a train travels at high speeds around a curve in the railway tracks. LRCs have reached speeds as high as 130 mph (210 km/h) on test runs.
"On its only regular service route, on the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor, wear concerns, signalling issues and conflicts with slower moving freight trains limit this to 100 mph (160 km/h) or less. For service at these speeds, a single power car was used. Special signage allowed the LRC to run at higher speeds than normal traffic across a great portion of the Corridor when the tilt system was enabled.
"Although the last LRC locomotive was removed from service on 12 December 2001, the passenger cars are still in widespread use and form the backbone of Via Rail's services, albeit with the tilt system disabled. The same basic car forms the basis of the Acela Express in the U.S."
the world's most beautiful bookstores
And we're talking about real books, not e-books. An illustrated list with descriptions is on the Architectural Digest website here
Wednesday, June 19, 2019
circa 1970 Honda motorcycle
A still from the movie Vanishing Point (1971) when Kowalski meets up with a nude girl riding it through the desert in the Southwest. According to the director's commentary on the DVD (remember those?) the girl had her 'parts' rather scalded by the hot seat in the sun.
Vulcan railcar badge, NZ
An aftermarket item for railfans which we mostly chose not to include in the book New Zealand Railway Memorabilia, although we included a few items that were produced for a general market like glasses, plates and collector cards.
Tuesday, June 18, 2019
'The Lickey Incline' art by Terrence Cuneo
"Patrick Whitehouse bought Kolhapur as a wreck and it was restored at the Tyseley Railway Museum in Birmingham, which he founded. Kolaphur was one of the few locomotives which were powerful enough to take a passenger train up the Lickey Incline without needing assistance from a banking engine [although there is clearly one depicted here].
"'The Lickey Incline' was painted on site and from a photograph taken by Patrick Whitehouse. The two children depicted in the lower left corner are Whitehouse’s son and daughter.
This picture also featured on the 1974 Hornby model railway catalog.
Monday, June 17, 2019
cars on Sunset Strip, L.A., 1975
With a 1970 Dodge Challenger muscle car on the left and the famous Whisky a Go Go in the background. (la.curbed.com)
Sunday, June 16, 2019
1936 Morris 8 and an Ab-hauled passenger train in the Cromwell Gorge, 1950s
Customers will recognise this scene from the first edition of the book The Otago Central Railway: a tribute by Tony Hurst from 1990. (Derek Cross/NZR pic)
