PLM passenger train at Menton, France, circa 1925

cars on the Santa Ana Freeway, L.A., late 1950s

Until 1958, a height ordinance prevented anything being higher than the City Hall in the right background (453 ft/138 metres). However, it took until 1966 for City Hall to be officially exceeded, when the 516-foot Union Bank building opened at Fifth and Figueroa.  Since then several buildings have exceeded it.

AEC Mercury tipper art

A circa-1960 model, what in America is known as a dump truck. By Mike Jeffries, available commercially in different forms.

1935 Panhard advertisement

When it came to style, Panhard were one of the leaders of the era.

cargo ship 'John B. Waterman' (1952)

This ship was built in 1952 by Newport News Shipbuilding in Newport News, Virginia. Formerly also known as Washington Bear, Tar Heel Mariner.

GRT: 12,505

Length: 171 metres

Breadth: 23 metres
Scrapped?

Info on the Waterman Line of Mobile, Alabama

1973 Renault 12 TS

Rimutaka Incline railway art, 1882

By John Gully (1819-1888). This has so much 'artistic license' that you wonder if John Gully ever visited the line and based this on sketches that others had made at the time the line was opened, which themselves were probably more imagination than reality. We never used this in a book for that reason.

1956 Hudson Hornet V-8 Custom 4-door sedan

locomotives of the Swiss Federal Railways 1847-1972 poster

The SBB/CFF/FFS wasn't actually founded until 1902.

cars outside the Statler Hotel, Downtown L.A., mid-1950s

Now the Wilshire Grand.

post-war Saurer bus in Alsace, France

The extent of the info. Saurer was a Swiss-based manufacturer of buses and trucks, active between 1903 and 1982, see earlier posts.

1953 Chevrolet Bel Air

In the background is the feature known as Stoney Point in Chatsworth, northwest L.A.

California Western Railroad motorcar M100 "The Skunk" from 1925

Named "The Skunk" because it was said that you could smell it before you saw it!

This 40 mile (64 km) operation between Fort Bragg on the coast inland to Willits has faced precarious times in the last two decades, but is still there. M100 is still operable.

More

cars in Gaza, 1966

At the time Gaza was under Egyptian occupation, the following year that changed to Israeli occupation.

Buicks in San Diego, California, 1957

At least that's the vintage of the one nearest the camera.  It looks like the couple on the lawn in the background are playing badminton.

'Read a smartphone? Give me a break''

FS 625 class, 2-6-0 type

A total 188 of these were built between 1914 and 1923. Of them, 153 were rebuilt, 25 have been preserved.  "The class is commonly known by the nickname Signorine (Italian for 'young ladies', also shared with the similar Class 640 locomotives), or Signorina in the singular, because of their perceived grace and beauty compared to other locomotives."

More

Sydney Harbour hydrofoil to Manly 'Curl Curl'

This was one of a fleet of 8 that operated from 1965 to 1991 and covered the distance from Manly to Circular Quay in close to 12 minutes. They could operate at speeds of up to 60 km/h.

Article in the Sydney Morning Herald

Sydney tram in Parramatta Rd, Leichhardt, November 1954

With a Vauxhall Velox in the right background. (pic by N.F. Reed)

Mexico City PCC car

cars on Hollywood Boulevard, L.A., 1961

A 1958 Fiat 1100 in the foreground. The location is well known.

1936 Büssing-NAG 375N bus

It had a 6 cylinder motor, rated at 95 hp. (MAN archives)

Christmas car(d)

1964 Mercedes 220 S

Christmas wishes to our readers

And particularly, to our customers. This year the battle for the appreciation of real books continued against smartphones taking over people's lives, and it will next year.  It feels like swimming upstream against a swift flowing river, but it's a battle worth fighting.

And on the subject of real books, if you have a project that we can provide services for, we are keen to do so, offering many years of collective experience.

giant beer bottle on a Bedford truck, Gore NZ, 1962

A float for Speights brewery, based in Dunedin. The railway line forms part of the background. (Bea Tee photo)

1949 Nash Airflyte ads

cars in South Main Street, L.A., 1952

An automatic rifle range is not something you'll find in L.A. nowadays.  (Charles W. Cushman/Indiana University archives)

earth-moving vehicles involved in the construction of Wellington airport, circa 1957

See the book Wellington: a Capital century

1914 GMC electric trucks, model 10a

(Colorized by Imbued with Hues)

SNCF take the train into Bourgogne poster, 1974

1972 Ford F100 Sport Custom

North Korean railway poster

The sign with barbed wire being driven through probably means the North Korean train is going into South Korea, on the North's terms naturally.

1939 Lancia bus

A 29-seat bus built the year before Italy's entrance into WW2, it was requisitioned by the Italian army for troop transport.  Abandoned in situ after the end of the conflict it was sold to a little transport business in Gers and used until 1961. Very appreciated for its extraordinary robustness, it is even considered by some to be one of the most reliable vehicles of WW2.

Source

SNCF tourist bus poster, 1963

The name on the grille logo isn't legible.

NSB Bergenbahn poster, Norway, 1909

See earlier posts, and of course our books.

'it's always good good when transpress nz books are on the shelves'

cars on Wilshire Boulevard, L.A., 1952

1949 Mercury

(Dennis Kristy pic)

a Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company train on the bridge over the Hutt Rd at Wellington, circa 1887

A mixed train of the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company, headed by one of the company's first tank locomotives built by Manning, Wardle and Company of Leeds, crosses the Hutt Road bridge at Thorndon, bound for Wellington. The sign on the bridge embankment advertises Flockton's Variety Stores.  To the left is the government line to the Wairarapa. For lots more, see our books.

trams in Helsinki, Finland, early 20th century

See earlier posts.

cars and trams at Berlin's Bahnhof Zoo, mid 20th century

It's not obvious whether this is pre- or post-WW2 as there's no apparent bomb damage. Berlin Bahnhof Zoo was the main long distance station in West Berlin for trains to West Germany during the DDR era, since replaced by the multi-level Berlin Hauptbahnhof.

cars and trams in Milan, Italy, early 1960s

The street not stated. See earlier posts.

1950 Nash Ambassador

Dodge trucks outside Cheltenham Co-Operative Dairy Factory, Feilding, circa 1950

Pre-WW2 models -- 1939 T110's?

1939 Buick series 40

Pushmobile with a powered option

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary a Pushmobile is "a toy vehicle resembling an automobile and propelled by pushing."  However, the addition of a "powerful motor" would make it a Go Kart?

a city-bound tram enters the Karori tunnel, Wellington, circa 1910

See the book Wellington Transport Memories.