Saturday, December 30, 2023

Hamburg--Amerika Linie poster for cruises to the Norwegian fiords, 1958

 With a mention of the S.S. Ariadne.

1927 Hispano Phantom

Ship in Haifa, Palestine (now Israel), 1933

The ship, clearly for passengers, isn't named. The drums on those flat cars will be for cables.

It gives an indication of the size of ships and quantity of trade and transport that was envisioned by the British harbour development at Haifa. (Pic from Motacilla)

Thursday, December 28, 2023

driver's seat view of a run on the Normanton to Croydon railway, Australia

In the north of Queensland...



A unique train ride in the middle of nowhere... an isolated track, 94 miles [151 km] long, that connects two small towns, Normanton and Croydon. The line does not connect to any other line on the Queensland rail network, yet it is still operated and maintained by Queensland Railways. It is referred to as the train from "nowhere to nowhere". It is heritage listed.


1980 Ferrari 308 GT4

1927 Packard Roadster


Wednesday, December 27, 2023

1906 Berliet car ad in America

'With my coffee I like to read a chapter in a good real book before I go to work'

an NZR Fiat railcar on the West Coast side of the Otira tunnel, late 1950s

For lots more see our books and earlier posts,  The Otira tunnel had its 100th anniversary this year.

an NSW Class Z20 steamer on the Carlingford branch line


No date. The Z20 was a class of 33 (19 new, 14 rebuilt from Z19 class) 2-6-4T from the 1890s.

The Carlingford railway line was a 7 km branch in Sydney. It was opened from Clyde to Subiaco (later renamed Camellia) in January 1885, then by means of the construction of a bridge across the Parramatta River, to Carlingford in April 1896. It closed on 5 January 2020 with much of the line to be converted to light rail as part of the Parramatta Light Rail network, while a short section of the line was retained for use by Sydney Trains. (Wikipedia)

an NSB El 9 on the Flåmsbana, Norway

Three of these Bo-Bo type were built in 1944.  See earlier posts and here

on the Flåmsbana, Norway, in NSB days with an El 11 class

 from Wikipedia

The NSB El 11 was an electric locomotive which was operated for both passenger and freight trains by NSB. It was the third type of Norwegian electric locomotive with bogies [trucks], after the NSB El 7 and NSB El 9. They were manufactured by Norsk Elektrisk & Brown Boveri (NEBB) and Thune mekaniske verksted. 

The first 35 engines were built between 1951 and 1956 and numbered 11 2078 to 11 2112, a second series of 6 engines, the El 11b, was built between 1963 and 1964 and numbered 11 2145 to 11 2150. The b-series had minor modifications such as a windshield consisting of two large windows instead of four small ones. A further upgrade of the El 11 became the NSB El 13 locomotive.El 11.2098 at Myrdal Station in 1986

Between 1982 and 1983 three El 11s were upgraded for use on the steep Flåmsbana branch line. They have since been replaced by multiple units such as the NSB BM69 and, later, by locomotives such as the NSB El 17. The El 11s was withdrawn from service during the 1990s, with the last use in 1998. There are four preserved engines, two by the Norwegian Railway Club for use on special trains, and two by the Norwegian Railway Museum in Hamar.

a winter porcupine car, Russia


1956 Pontiac Hy-Rail at the Nevada Northern Railway

Info

Monday, December 25, 2023

Happy Christmas to our readers

Mariazellerbahn steam, Austria.

Another year has almost passed and for transport history development, pushers of electric cars and trucks have become ever more agressive and successful despite the problems with the technology and that there are shortages of electric grid power looming in the near future because of them.  

We're nostalgic for the old days when propulsion was simpler and more sensible.  We're also fans of traditional paper and cardboard books without batteries, as will be apparent from the constant messages to that effect.

Keep on truckin' --transpress blog editors.

Sunday, December 24, 2023

Steam to Mombassa


"A dramatic steam safari through the East African bush by film maker NICK LERA, hauled by the most powerful meter gauge steam locomotive in the world, the massive Beyer-Garratt articulated ‘Mount Gelai’. The unique 330 mile (550 km) adventure both trackside and on tbe loco footplate with legendary driver Kirpal Singh Sandhu ends with the famous spiral descent into Mombasa on the coast. Plus an historical introduction and rare archive footage."

SS 'Fürst Bismarck' of HAPAG (1890)

 
Six days from Hamburg to New York may actually have been fast in 1891 when the poster was printed.

The double-screw ship was 502.6 feet (153 meters) long, and 57.6 feet in breadth, and 8,430 gross register tons.

Monday, December 18, 2023

'Cargo Ships on the Thames' art

 

by Charles John de Lacy (British, 1856 – 13 December 1929). Undated -- maybe around 1900?

London's Baker Street Underground station hasn't changed much


Except that trains are now electrically and not steam-powered. Baker Street in London is the world's oldest underground station. The brilliant engineering mind of Sir John Fowler shaped its design.

Sunday, December 17, 2023

coastal ship 'Regina' from 1911


The Regina was built in 1911 and was 1304 GRT. The 3 cylinder triple expansion engine delivered 1400 hp for 12 knots speed. As can be seen the ship was used by the shipping company R.C. Gribel of Stettin, Germany. In August 1914 the ship became Russian booty in Riga and then served as a live-in ship Caika. On 3 April 1918 the ship was recaptured in Helsinki and returned to the shipowner in November 1919.

In WW2 from November 1943 it was designated as a security ship; August 1944 it was a transport for wounded and from 1 October 1944 it was armed with anti-aircraft guns.

The ship survived the war and seems to have been used until 1965. The company of R.C. Gribel had to relocate to West Germany in 1945 after Stettin was made a Polish city.

1962 Commer Avenger bus brochure cover

 

EMD's F2 units: a transitory model of which none were preserved

 from American Rails


The F2 enjoyed the shortest domestic production run in Electro-Motive's F series catalog, built only from July to November, 1947. However, it was never meant to be a long-running model, only a temporary measure until the builder had worked out the problems with its latest generator.

The F2's brief catalog saw sales reach only slightly more than 100 units (A's and B's), among a handful of railroads.


'I love discovering what's in good real books'

old 2-axle tank cars, Spain

Along to the left is what seems to be a crew car then a caboose -- none look to have been used for many years.