Friday, March 27, 2020

Emergency ambulances alongside the Wellington Town Hall during the 1918 flu epidemic

Emergency ambulances alongside the WellingtonWi

With the major attention given to the current pandemic this recalls what happened in NZ during October to December 1918 when about 9000 in the country died from the Spanish flu.  So far no-one has died from Covid-19 and at the time of writing only one person is in intensive care with another 7 in hospital.

Lviv bus station, Ukraine, in Soviet days


Before WW2 the city was Lwow in Poland, see earlier posts.

Loading bananas on a cargo ship, Colombia, 1950s


Thursday, March 26, 2020

Projecting $700 million in losses, L.A. Metro asks federal government for help


That’s a “massive hit” that could jeopardize the transit agency’s future plans. Metro is one of 10 public transportation providers seeking $25 billion in aid from Congress to cover financial losses related to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Given that most businesses are now closed and many Angelenos are temporarily out of work, Merton CEO Phil Washington says the agency is expecting to “take a massive hit” in lost sales tax proceeds over the next few months, amounting to as much as $700 million.

Without an injection of new funding from the state or federal government, the agency’s plans for future operation and expansion could be impacted.

With ridership plummeting and sales tax revenue on the decline, transit agencies nationwide are struggling to continue operating trains and buses.

Speaking to reporters last week, Washington said that ridership—and, thus, fare revenue Metro collects from passengers—has plunged between 50 and 60 percent since local officials ordered schools and businesses closed to stem the spread of the virus.

That’s not the agency’s most pressing financial concern.

Through four different voter-approved sales tax measures, Metro collects a total of 2 cents every dollar spent in Los Angeles County. That funding keeps buses and trains running and pays for transportation projects countywide.

1968 Ford Ranchero


1971 Oldsmobile cutlass



'I'm going to read real books during the quarantine'


Tuesday, March 24, 2020

circa 1950 MG TD


At least we're fairly sure it is, a still from HBO's Westworld series.

Tuesday, March 17, 2020

St Patrick's Day post -- trams at the Dublin Phoenix Park entrance, Ireland


St Patrick's Day post -- Irish class 141 diesel-electric from 1962


No. 146, one of 37 of the Bo-Bo type built by EMD with a two-stroke, 8-cylinder prime mover. Of these, 5 are preserved, 5 are stored and the remainder scrapped. More

St Patrick's Day post -- County Donegal 3ft gauge inspection railcar from 1906, Ireland


According to Donegal Railway Heritage Centre: "Railcar No. 1 from Donegal Railways. Built in 1906 by Allday & Onions in Birmingham, as an inspection car, it cost £237, and was powered by a Ford petrol engine. During the coal strike in 1926, it was used for passenger work, on a regular service between Stranorlar & Strabane. As well as its own 6 seating capacity, it also pulled a trailer with an extra 27 passengers. Larger railcars were then built powered by Ford petrol engines, and diesel power introduced in 1931."