Saturday, October 30, 2021

Finnish VR diesel locomotive class Dr13

A total 54 of these Co-Co type for the Finnish 5 ft gauge were built between 1962 and 1965.

"VR Class Dr13 (before 1 January 1976 called Hr13) was a heavy diesel locomotive used by VR Group. The Dr13 was designed by the French company Alstom. The first two were built by Alstom’s factory in Belfort, France and were shipped to Finland in 1962, while the rest were built in Tampere at the factories of Lokomo (odd numbers) and Valmet (even numbers). The first Dr13 series locomotive came to Finland on 24 October 1962. The Dr13 series was introduced between 1962–1963, and the last units were withdrawn by June 2000."

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Friday, October 29, 2021

Kapiti tramway heritage group wins Australasian restoration award


A former Wellington tram has been restored by the Wellington Tramway Museum and has won a prestigious award open to all Tramway Museums across Australia and New Zealand.

When electric tram services in Wellington commenced in 1904, one of the original vehicles was Tram 17. It served the city of Wellington for around 40 years before becoming a holiday bach (crib) in Raumati South on the Kāpiti Coast.

In 1986 the owners donated the tram body to the Wellington Tramway Museum and in 2014, after securing funding, it was sent to the Wheelwright Shop at Gladstone in the Wairarapa, where Greg and Ali Lang and their team restored it to its former glory.

Trucks for the tram to run on were constructed by A. & G. Price Ltd. in Thames and members of the Tramway Museum have spent many hours installing the electrical and other equipment required to make the tram operational.

'I like a real book, not a little screen'


Los Angeles Railway PCC car

 

1956 Plymouth Fury

 


Friday, October 15, 2021

Soviet cruise ship 'Shota Rustaveli' in 1969


The ship was completed the previous year, scrapped in 2003 -- info

Here it was seen at the Captain Cook Wharf in Auckland, looking north along Commerce Street, with the Union Steam Ship Company building at right and a turning Auckland Regional Authority trolleybus.   Nearest the camera is a late 1960s Vauxhall Viva. (Taken by John Burgess Rowntree, Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections)

Tuesday, October 12, 2021

circa 1910 Maxwell

Info

Stadler and KiwiRail sign a contract for 57 mainline locomotives

 Edited media release from Stadler

This may not be the actual design.

Stadler and KiwiRail have signed a long-term framework agreement with a first call off for the supply of 57 diesel mainline locomotives. The order value is around 228 million Euros. This is the first contract for Stadler in New Zealand. 

KiwiRail is a New Zealand government state-owned enterprise, which is responsible for New Zealand’s national rail network, and operates New Zealand rail freight and between-island ferry services. Under this contract, Stadler will supply a latest state of the art Co-Co monocoque locomotive, cape gauge, customized to KiwiRail requirements. The new locomotives will be used for freight and passenger rail operation predominately in the South Island, with its challenging track topography. 

Following Stadler’s focus on providing sustainable solutions for railway transportation, the locomotives will be compliant with the latest European emission standard (Stage V). This results not only in a substantial reduction of nitrogen oxides and particulate emission and in the consequential cost to environment and public health, but also in optimized combustion, lowering fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. 

The two-cab, narrow body locomotives will be equipped with a diesel engine providing an installed diesel power of 3000 kW, that will in many cases allow KiwiRail to operate its trains with less locomotives than in the current services. Each of the two cabs will be designed in close cooperation with KiwiRail and according to the latest European standards aiming to achieve an ergonomic, comfortable and safe working environment for KiwiRail’s engineers. 

KiwiRail Group Chief Executive Greg Miller said: “The 57 locomotives will replace our South Island fleet, which has an average age of 47 years. Stadler’s high quality, fuel efficient, more powerful locomotives will allow us to improve service reliability to get more freight off New Zealand’s roads and onto rail. The low emission locomotives are also an important step in KiwiRail’s plan to be emission neutral by 2050.” 

Greg Miller added: “It’s a pleasure to work with Stadler. Their professional interactions, quality of engagement and state of the art designs ensure we are partnering with a company that will deliver an outstanding outcome for KiwiRail and New Zealand, and enable our South Island fleet to take advantage of technology advancements well into the future . I’m already looking forward to seeing the first new locomotives heading down our Kaikoura coast in 2024.” 

Thursday, October 7, 2021

Virginian Railway electric EL-2B class locomotive


Virginian Railway locomotive 128 hauls a coal train at Ellett in 1956. This was one of 4 built by General Electric in 1948, a (Bo′Bo′)(Bo′Bo′)+(Bo′Bo′)(Bo′Bo′) type with a power output of 6,800 hp and used on the 133-mile (214 km) electrified portion of the railroad, from Roanoke, Virginia to Mullens, West Virginia.

They were the largest two-unit electric locomotives used in North America and were powered by 11 kV, 25 Hz AC from overhead. They were retired and sold for scrap shortly after the 1959 merger of the Virginian with the Norfolk and Western Railway. None of the 4 examples were preserved.

an SP oil tanker train in Soledad Canyon, California, 1991

A 4-unit lash-up, the lead is an SD40T-2 in the short-lived Kodachrome livery. From the look of it, a fair bit of time had been spent inside tunnels.

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