1986 Nissan 200 SX

SCCA = Sports Car Club of America

'Beautiful Queensland from a Railway Carriage Window' promo, 1926

 To escape the winter further south or in NZ, Queensland is a good place to go.

cars at Lake Rotoiti, NZ, circa 1959

A 1951 Vauxhall Wyvern is in front.

the last Boeing 747 gets constructed and delivered

The sun sets on an era of aviation manufacturing as the very last Boeing 747 lands at Paine Field after a January 10 test flight. The jet will be delivered on Tuesday to Atlas Air, which will operate the plane for freight forwarder Apex Logistics. One side of the aircraft is painted in the colors of Atlas, the other side in the livery of Apex.

From the Seattle Times--

On Tuesday, Boeing will wave a final goodbye to the 747 jumbo jet.

In the years after its launch, the 747 elevated the Puget Sound region to the world’s premier airplane manufacturing site and boosted Boeing to preeminence in aviation. It made international air travel routine.

A diverse cross-section of the Boeing workers who helped bring this transformative piece of engineering to life tell their stories below. They reflect upon their affection for the jumbo jet that changed their lives, and aviation.

Almost exactly 54 years after the first flight, thousands of current and former employees and guests will attend a bittersweet ceremony in Everett on Tuesday before cargo carrier Atlas Air flies away a 747 freighter model, the 1,574th and last “Queen of the Skies” ever built.

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the terminus of the NZR's Southbridge branch, 1920s

The railway lasted from 1875 to 1962.  Here it looks like a tank engine is in steam by the goods shed and a rake of passenger cars is at the station platform.  This view is to the south-west.

Aerial close up of the area from 1957.

For lots more, see our books.

1950s Austin Devon art

"An Austin Devon four-door saloon, introduced by Austin in late 1947. It was a complete contrast to the Austin's which had gone before in terms of styling and engine design. Its flowing lines, lack of running boards and built-in headlamps stressed the break with the past, while the interior was room, though the boot was rather small. It was powered by a 1200cc ohv pushrod engine, and could attain a top speed of 65mph and give 30mpg. The engine was rated. at 40bhp and drove through a four-speed gearbox, with synchromesh between the upper three ratios. Excellent access to the engine compartment was provided by a rear-hinged bonnet. The model was so successful, especially in the USA, that by 1950 it had established itself as Britain's biggest dollar-earning car of all time. It was a comfortable and solid car, pleasant to ride in, but with a tendency to roll on sharper comers! It actually weighed just under a ton, but was only 13-feet long. Having also inspired a little sister, the Austin A30 and the larger A70 Hereford, the Devon was superseded in September 1954 by the Austin A40/50 Cambridge."

A Malcolm Root artwork, available commercially as a print.

steam traction engine truck in Greenwich, London

No date, but probably pre-WW1.

'reading a good real book is much better than a little screen'

cars on Pier Ave, Hermosa Beach, Greater LA, late 1950s

Hermosa Avenue left to right.

Brad - Criscior narrow gauge steam railway, Romania

 
The 760 mm gauge industrial line from Brad to Crişcior served brown coal transport from Brad to the power station of Crişcior until the beginning of the 21st centiry. Today it provides occasional museum transport. In the video is the loco EMBA 5 Reşiţa 1336 of 1957.

More info

readers' camouflage cartoon

(Tom Gauld cartoon on The Guardian)

cars on Girard Avenue, La Jolla, California, circa 1957

1985 Peugeot 505 Turbo

"Built between 1979 and 1992, the 505 first showed in North America in 1980 and then got its Turbo credential for the 1985 model year. The 505 left the US in 1990 and by the time the end of regular production occurred in 1992, the world had seen over 1.3 million 505s – it was a significant model for Peugeot."

Cüstrin trams, Germany

Berliner Tor

Zorndorfer Tor

Zorndorfer Strasse

Railway Station.

Stadtwald (town wood), one of the three lines' terminus.

This town, spelt Küstrin after 1928, had a metre gauge electric system from 1927 to January 1945 when the Red Army showed up; intensive fighting saw the end of much of the town including the tramway.

After May 1945 the town was one of those split across the Oder and Neisse rivers and the eastern side was renamed Kostrzyn nad Odrą.

A scene from the horse tram era, circa 1910.

Bridge over the Warthe River.

Teardrop Trailer with Bathroom and Kitchen (walkthrough tour)

 

In the UK and NZ such are called caravans.

1981 Cadillac Eldorado

steam train in winter snow at Kaitoke on the Rimutaka Incline route, NZ, August 1912

 A train running towards Wellington. See earlier posts, and of course our books for more.

Soviet industrial steam railway scene art, 1958

Probably from the studios of the Soviet Railways for promo purposes.

tram on Devon Street, New Plymouth, NZ, circa 1920

See earlier posts.

simple signals

'It's so fascinating what you can find in real books'

farewell to the RNZAF Orions

 

from the NZ Herald:-

Three RNZAF P-3K2 Orion aircraft took off from the Whenuapai airbase in West Auckland this morning for a farewell tour of New Zealand.

The fleet is being retired after more than 57 years of service with the air force and will be replaced by new Boeing P-8A Poseidon planes in July this year.

Since the mid-1960s, six P-3K2 Orions have been used for airborne surveillance and reconnaissance of Aotearoa New Zealand’s areas of economic interest, exclusive economic zone, the South Pacific and the Southern Ocean, including Antarctica.

“They’ve operated from Antarctica through to northeast Asia, through to Europe - all around the world - but predominantly... supporting our Pacific neighbours with things like the search and rescue just conducted, and of course supporting New Zealand and surveying New Zealand’s EEZs and protecting New Zealand’s interests. Looking after New Zealanders with local search and rescues as well.”

The first of the P-8s arrived in December with more arriving by April. The first plane will be operational in July and it will take until the end of 2024 to have crews fully trained and all the replacements in the air.

The final flight of two Orions to Base Woodbourne, where the retired fleet is being stored, will take place on January 31 with a close-formation flypast over the South Island.

More info

NZR K 4-8-4

K915, no other details but it looks like the central North Island section of the NIMT. Possibly a DA diesel is behind the K.

British battery-electric milk float (truck) 1960s

No other info.

1967 Chevrolet Corvette - with documents!

'California Zephyr' train passes through snowy Rocky Mountains art

Probably depicting the 1950s, in DRGW territory in Colorado.  Painting by Howard Fogg.  See earlier posts.

preserved Wellington trams

The two of us in Wellington spent today at the Tramway Museum north of Paekakariki which features tramcars from the Wellington system that closed in 1964.  The one on the right dates from 1904 and has been restored to operationality after spending many years as a shack in nearby Raumati. Apparantly it was originally a 2-axle car but was later lengthened with bogies (trucks) and the open-to-the-elements seats installed.  The original trolley pole was a swivel on a post type, but that was too tall to fit into the museum's tram barn.

For more, see our books.

traffic in NZ, 1949

 

cars and a truck in Lancaster Street, Karori, Wellington, 1952

Karori Road left to right in the foreground. The car facing the camera looks like a 1940 Ford.

Wellington's electric tram barn in Newtown, early and late in the trams' history

Mansfield Street on the left, Russell Terrace on the right.

A photo by Woody Woodcock from 1963; the trams ended in 1964.  The house with the observation room at the top on the left is still there.

For lots more, see earlier posts and the two books on Wellington -- Wellington: a Capital century and Wellington Transport Memories.

New York City traffic, Third Ave El, 1950s

 

vehicles in Johannisplatz, Chemnitz, Germany, late 1930s

 

Queensland Railways B18¼ class 4-6-2

A total 83 of these were built between 1926 and 1947 -- more

'I like experiencing real books, not little screens'

historic O-bus (trolleybus), Solingen, Germany

"Solingen has one of only three remaining German Oberleitungsbus (O-bus = trolleybus) systems today. Once there were more than 70 in the mid-1950s – only Eberswalde, Esslingen and Solingen remain. Solingen is the largest of the three, with 54 articulated trolleybuses in service today.
Different generations of vehicles

"The first trolleybus in the Solingen started service on 19 June 1952, gradually replacing the metre-gauge tramway system in stages by 1959. The tramway had suffered severe damage during the war and reconstruction seemed too expensive and (therefore) impractical.

"Stadtwerke Solingen (SWS) purchased a total of 62 trolleybuses of the well-known Uerdingen/Henschel ÜH III s model by 1959, and added another five second-hand buses of this type (no. 63 ex Bochum 5, nos. 01 to 04 ex Minden-Ravensberg 101, 105, 103 and 104). 6 Henschel HS 160 OSL and another HS 160 OSL-G (articulated) were purchased in 1962."

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1983 Volvo B10 bus

Now in private tour use. It was a Wellington trolley-bus before being fitted with a diesel engine.

1930 Cadillac Fleetwood 452A

1973 Datsun 610 2-Door Hardtop

 

1966 Datsun Fairlady Roadster

Info and more pics

1977 Pontiac Grand Le Mans Sedan