Soo Line 'Mikado' steamer #1003

Built at the Schenectady plant of the American Locomotive Company in 1913, Soo Line 1003 is a 2-8-2 "Mikado" type of the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad ("Soo Line") L-1 class.

It is operational, owned by the Steam Locomotive Heritage Association and based at the Wisconsin Auto Museum in Hartford WI.

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Rowan street steam railcar, Paris, 1890s

The type was designed by William Robert Rowan, Managing Director of the Scandia Company of Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1875. One was used in Melbourne and several examples were used in Budapest, Berlin, Moscow, and Stockholm. They appeared in Paris in 1889, year of the Exposition Universelle, as well as in Lyon and Tours.

In Paris three of them were put into service which shuttled back and forth on avenue Henri Martin on a short Trocadéro-Ceinture - Exposition of 1889 run, connecting the Chemin de fer de Ceinture station to the gates of the Trocadéro Exhibition.  The vehicles were single deck and comprised a vertical boiler at the front, resting on a bogie, and a passenger compartment at the rear, mounted on a single axle.

Because of their noisy operation and the continual release of steam the Rowans did not stay long in Paris. Sent after the closing of the Exhibition on the Trocadéro - Place Pigalle line, they were relegated to the suburbs on the TPO (Tramway Porte de Choisy - Orly Ville) line Auteuil - Boulogne where they provided service from 1891 to 1900 (pic above). They also circulated on the TA lines, Louvre-Saint-Cloud (1896-1902) and TK, Louvre-Charenton-Créteil (1903-1913) where they ended their career.

1920s Stewart Six bus in Otahuhu, Auckland

The Stewart Motor Corporation of Buffalo, NY, operated from 1912 to 1942(?)

1931 Austin 16/6

1955 Ford Prefect, Australian ad

1958 Mercedes Benz 190 D

traffic in Cuba Street, Wellington, 1939

Exceptionally for this era there is no tram in view.  There is a circa-1930 Ford truck visible parked in the mid-distance.

Since 1969 this has been the Cuba Mall pedestrian area.

For lots more, see the books Wellington: a Capital century and Wellington Transport Memories.

Dawlish Warren station, England, with the arrival of the Cornish Express, circa 1910

This is in Devon; "Cornish Express" may mean the Cornish Riviera Express which began in 1904 -- info

Dutch flowery fields from a train window poster, 1950s

'a real book is so appealing, don't you think?'

Sernftalbahn, Switzerland, re-creation project, 2020

Website

This 13.8 km metre-gauge line, powered by 800 Volts DC from overhead and with a maximum 8.6% gradient, lasted from 1905 to 1969.

Since 2009 there has been a museum in Engi devoted to the railway, the Sernftalbahnmuseum.

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MoPac's 'Sunshine Special' train, depicted mid-1930s

This train ran between 1915 and 1960. "Until being shifted into a secondary role by the Texas Eagle diesel powered streamliner in August 1948, the Sunshine Special served as the flagship of the Missouri Pacific Railroad's passenger train service."

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traffic in Tokyo, 1920s

See earlier posts

1947 Bentley Mark VI

the terminus of the Little River Branch, NZ, early 20th century

The end of the 36 km branch (from Lincoln) and the end of easy terrain which was why it got no further.  Stage coaches then buses took passengers and merchandise over the hills to Akaroa. 

The end of the branch came in 1962 but the station is still in use as a craft shop and there are a few historic railway items on display.  For more, see our books.

'Graf Zeppelin' 400 metres over Basel, Switzerland, 1930s

Swedish tram drawings on stamps, 1995

buses at the French-Italian border, 1936

BNSF grain train on Maria's Pass, Montana

1955 Mercedes Benz municipal trucks promo

Cincinnati Union Terminal promo art

See the earlier post.

SNCF parcel stamp 1941, France

Featuring an electric locomotive, from the look of of it, a class 2D2 5400 of which 23 were built by the Etat railway from 1935 to 1938, by which time the nationalised SNCF was in place.

They were constructed for 1.5 kV DC overhead power and were rated at a continuous output of of 3,060 kW.  More info

Below is an HO scale Jouef model -- info

Chicago, Aurora & Elgin Railroad trains

A painting by an unknown artist on display at the Villa Park Historical Society museum.

mid 1950s Nash Metropolitan promo art

http://www.austinmemories.com/styled-31/index.html

1970 Ford Falcon Futura (Australia)

traffic at the intersection of Spring and Main, L.A., late 1940s

'I like to read a real book in my lunch break, not a little screen'

NZR Road Services Cadillac 'service car', late 1930s

Pic credited to J.E.C. Graham, who presumably was the driver and outside whose house it is parked, as it won't have been on the bus's route, see below.



A 1929 Cadillac Service Car seen during a photo stop in the 1980s.

cars on North Fairfax, L.A., 1965

(Canters Deli pic)

a northbound 'Overlander' approaches Shannon, NZ, 2000s

This was the daytime passenger train between Wellington and Auckland that was replaced by the Northern Explorer in 2012. Between Palmerston North and Hamilton it was often hauled by electric locos but in the Wellington to Palmerston and Hamilton to Auckland sections it was diesel hauled as here. (Mark Cole photo intended for a now abandoned guidebook on the North Island Main Trunk).

a mixed train at Kingston Wharf, NZ, early 20th century

The northern end of the Kingston Branch on Lake Wakatipu, on the northern shore of which lies Queenstown.  The lake steamers were essentially the only form of transport between the two places until the road on the shore in the distance was built in the mid-1930s.  For lots more, see our books

when a Beetle becomes a spider

For lots more see the book 50 Years of Volkswagens in NZ by Philip Coyle.

excursion train on the Westmere bank just out of Wanganui, NZ

The Westmere Bank has a steep 2.8% grade.

From the Feilding and District Steam Rail Society website advertising an excursion from Feilding to New Plymouth and back on 15 September 2020.

ferries of the Interislander fleet in Queen Charlotte Sound, NZ

For details, see the book Strait Crossing: the ferries of Cook Strait through time by Vic Young

SNCF BB 9200 class electric at Lapugnoy, 1960

Its appearance here marked the completion of electrification of the Lens to Lapugnoy section.

Info on the locomotive here

'I prefer to spend money on books than on furniture'

traffic outside the Knox Presbyterian church in Christchurch, circa 1910

Including a couple of electric trams.

"The original church was built in 1880 to a design by Samuel Farr. When the attendance increased beyond the capacity of the building, a new church was built in 1902 alongside the first one to a design by Robert England.

"Located on the corner of Bealey Avenue and Victoria Street, it was one of Christchurch's historic buildings that was badly damaged during the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, but which has been repaired to a design by Wilkie and Bruce Architects using the remaining wooden frame. Other buildings in the Knox complex remained functional." (wikipedia)

a lash-up of 3 Eo class electric locomotives at Arthur's Pass, NZ, August 1953

For details see the book Railway Electrification in Australia and New Zealand. (NZR photo)

1972 Mercury Marquis Brougham 4-door hardtop

1972 Rover 3500 P6B 3.5 V8

Ben Addison automotive art

"Ben Addison was born and raised in London. His work is inspired by films and TV series from his youth involving photographs taken directly from the TV screen. Painting skills are one thing, but the choice of image is the key, whether it excites, inspires or seduces."

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1970 Lotus Elan sports convertible