Eritrean 1938 Ansaldo steamer on the Massawa to Asmara railroad

"The Massawa – Asamra train is a truly vintage experience. The Eritrean Railway was constructed between 1887-1932 by Italy for the Italian Eritrea colony and connects the port of Massawa with Bisha, near the Sudanese border. Following decades of war, the railway became damaged and, having rejected international proposals, Eritrea launched a project to rehabilitate the railway system itself in May 1994.

"The line was eventually completed in February 2003 under the supervision of retired railwaymen who had been called back to lead the reconstruction work. The stretch between Nefasit and Asmara is one of the most remarkable on the continent with over 30 tunnels and 65 bridges.

"It is a unique experience for travellers who are treated to incredible mountainous scenery but also because they could be on board either an authentic 1930s vintage Mallet steam locomotive or Littorina railcar (a co-production of Mussolini and Fiat president Agnelli)."

Read the rest

1969 Lotus Elan Plus 2

 Lots more pics

German East Africa Line poster, 1904

The company was founded in 1890 and lasted until 1934, the ship on the right could be the Kronzprinz from 1900.  More info

cars on Paradeplatz, Stettin, Germany, late 1930s

 Since 1945 this has been Szczecin in Poland and the street has been aleja Niepodleglosci.

The UFA Palast is still there, now slightly disguised in appearance -- Google 3D reference

The Königstor is also still there, now named Brama Portowa.

Java-China-Japan Line poster, interwar years

The name of the ship is not legible.

The Koninklijke Java-China-Paketvaart Lijnen NV (KJCPL) was a Dutch shipping company based in Amsterdam that existed between 1902 and 1970. Until 1947 the name was Java-China-Japan Line (JCJL), outside the Netherlands the company was known as Royal Interocean Lines (RIL). In 1970 the KJCPL merged with some other Dutch shipping companies to form the Nederlandsche Scheepvaart Unie (NSU), known from 1977 as Nedlloyd.

1954-57 Büssing 6500 bus

 A German firm of truck and bus manufacturers in Braunschweig (Brunswick) which lasted from 1903 to 1971. See earlier post.

'I like to relax with a real book not a little screen'

1968 Dodge Coronet 500 2-door Hardtop

1978 Ford Falcon Cobra GS Hardtop

When final assembly of the XC Falcon Hardtops ended in March 1978, 400 body shells were left unsold. Instead of scrapping them Ford Australian turned to Edsel Ford Junior, Managing Director of the Ford Motor Company who was in Australia at the time.

Edsel and an Australian design team attempted to capitalize on the success of the Allan Moffat, Jacky Ickx and Colin Bond, Alan Hamilton famous 1-2 finish at Bathurst in 1977 by creating a car that could be homologated for racing, while at the same time Ford enthusiasts could own a replica of Alan Moffat's race car.

The XC Ford Falcon Cobra GS Hardtop was launched in August 1978. Each of the XC Cobras were given their own serial number and a build number plaque from 1 to 400 which was placed on the dashboard. From number 2 to 31 were known as 'Option 97' {also known as Bathurst Cobras}, which were fitted with optional parts for homologation to compete in the Australian Touring Car Championship.

Including the 5.8 Litre 351ci V8, a larger radiator with twin thermo fans, transmission oil cooler, front suspension tower braces, reworked wheel housings and racing seats. They were Identified by a large rear-opening bonnet scoop.

The remaining 370 standard Cobras, 170 were equipped with the 351 (5.8-litre 162kW/429Nm) and the next 200 with the 302 (4.9-litre 151kW/364Nm). 

All featured “nostril” bonnet scoops and spoilers, Globe Bathurst 15x7 alloy wheels, four-wheel disc brakes and a limited slip diff.
Price when new for a 1978 XC Cobra GS 5.8 Litre 351ci V8 four speed manual Hardtop: $10.100.
Total produced: 400.
Performance: 0-100km: 9.4 seconds 0-400 metres:17.1 seconds {302 automatic} 0-100km: 8.3 seconds 0-400 metres: 16.3 seconds ]351 four speed manual.]

(Remembering Our Australian Car Industry FB)

Canadian Pacific shipping poster, circa 1935

 The name of the ship not shown. See earlier posts and our books for more.

DSB 4-6-2 model

An HO scale model by Trix of the E class, number 991, from the 1940s, produced to mark 175 years of Danish railways in 2022. 

Info on the prototype.

1927 Leyland 8

The Leyland Eight was a luxury car produced by Leyland Motors from 1920 to 1923 and only 18 were made. The one above was assembled from spare parts in 1927 and is the only surviving example, now in the British Motor Museum. More

British Rail Class 142 railbus

Part of the Pacer family of railbuses from the mid-1980s, 96 of these two-car sets were built. All are now withdrawn and 35 are preserved.

Says wikipedia:

  

"By the beginning of the 1980s, British Rail (BR) operated a large fleet of first-generation DMUs, which had been constructed in prior decades to various designs. While formulating its long-term strategy for this sector of its operations, British Rail planners recognised that considerable costs would be incurred by undertaking refurbishment programmes necessary for the continued use of these ageing multiple units, particularly due to the necessity of handling and removing hazardous materials such as asbestos. In the light of the high costs involved in retention, planners examined the prospects for the development and introduction of a new generation of DMUs to succeed the first generation."

More

1977 Austin Morris Sherpa van

 The Leyland Sherpa was released onto the British market in 1974 -- more

Benito Mussolini's 1939 Alfa Romeo 6c Sport Berlinetta

1974 AMC Matador

'learning from good real books is much better than from little screens'

1963 Oldsmobile Starfire 2-door hardtop promo art

 

Isle of Man TT races -- the bottom of Bray Hill

from the Isle of Man TT 2023 FB group

1975 AMC Matador

Cassini and X variants.

East German double-deck bus, 1960s

The script says "post newspaper distribution." 

As a coproduction between the East Berlin BVB Omnibus-Hauptwerkstatt and the Waggonbau Bautzen enterprise in 1956, 85 of these double deck buses were built some of which were in use until 1974. The Do54 class operated in scheduled service in East Berlin until 1970.

London to Bath in a MK II Jaguar in 1963 with George Eyles

 
Sixty years ago motoring looked like this in England. 

Shaw Savill ship 'Mamari'

The Shaw Savill & Albion passenger/cargo vessel Mamari is seen berthed at Queens Wharf in Wellington circa 1905. This Mamari was built in 1904 in Belfast and was 8114 tons gross. Length was 455 feet (139 metres) and breadth 56 ft (17 metres). Propulsion was quadruple expansion, constructed in Belfast, via twin screws. Speed was 13 knots approximately.  In 1927 she was renamed Gerolstein for Arnold Bernstein for the transport of cargo only.  1938 saw her being transferred to Red Star Line ownership and in May 1939 the Holland America Line acquired the company name, selling Gerolstein to H.C. Horn where she was renamed Consul Horn. In June 1942 a mine off Borkum sank her.

The watchtower visible was used as a signal tower. When a ship was sighted arriving at the Heads, a system of signal flags was used to let the harbour pilots know what sort of vessel had arrived. The signal was relayed from Beacon Hill to a signal house on the top of Mount Victoria and then on to the tower at Queens Wharf. We kids at Hataitai School used to call it the haunted house until the local fire brigade burned it down in a spectacular blaze about 1954.

(Thanks to David Newton for the info.)

1954 GMC PD-4501 Greyhound Scenicruiser bus

A restoration story

1933 Duesenberg La Gre Phaeton

Was the Duesenberg the most beautiful marque of the 1930s?

1962 Chrysler Valiant (Australia)

1962 Chrysler 300 Bucket Seats 2-Door Hardtop

'it's a good real book, do you want to discover more?'

1962 Buick Skylark 2-door hardtop

 

1962 Bedford SB5 bus

 The destination isn't visible, but there is a sign saying Ilkeston above the sidewalk.

1961 Morris Major

1967 Plymouth Fury

1960 Ford Thunderbird

2006 Smart Forfour

(Glen Lovegrove pic)

1970 Ford Ranchero GT

GWR 'Castle Class' ten-wheeler steam art, England

Great Western Railway Castle class loco Gladiator exits the Middle Hill tunnel on its way to the English Riviera -- art by David Noble available commercially as print.

From wikipedia: "The 171 of the 4073 or Castle Class were 4-6-0 steam locomotives of the Great Western Railway, built between 1923 and 1950. They were designed by the railway's Chief Mechanical Engineer, Charles Collett, for working the company's express passenger trains. They could reach speeds of up to 100 mph (160 km/h)."

More

'a good real book is so much better for learning than a little screen'

1926 Bickle fire truck

According to fire.fandom.com: "Bickle was formed in 1915 and built their first fire truck the same year. In 1936, the company entered into a partnership with W.E. Seagrave Fire Apparatus Company, becoming Seagrave's sole distributor in Canada. Bickle changed its name to Bickle-Seagrave and built trucks on custom and commercial chassis until it went out of business in 1956. That same year, the founder's nephew, Vernon King, resurrected the company as King-Seagrave, which continued to build fire apparatus until 1985."

1936 Rolls Royce

1972 Datsun 1200

a scene on pianist Jools Holland's impressive model railway layout

Obviously an English prototype is modelled, sometime in the late 1940s.  

More pics

Argentinian diesel loco

Ferrocarril Nacíonal General Roca (FNGR) unit #5013 of which 280 were built by Fábrica Argentina de Locomotoras (FAdeL, Argentine Locomotive Factory) from 1962-1971, with 20 going to FNGR. It was powered by a Sociedad de Material Ferroviario Fíat (FMSA, Fiat Railway Material Society) V8 A230/8 prime mover producing 1,036 horsepower. (FNGR pic)

1970 Holden Monaro

1966 Chevrolet Corvair convertible

This was listed for sale 3 weeks ago in Falconer, NY (for $19,500)

Wellington electric multiple unit of English Electric stock

A 2-car set from Johnsonville. For lots more, see the book Wellington Transport Memories.

German 93 class 4-6-2 branchline tank loco from 1927

Seen here on the Wutach viaduct of the Wutachtalbahn fairly close to Switzerland -- info.

The loco originally began life in Austrian Railway ownership before becoming an enlarged Deutsche Reichsbahn Gesellschaft item after the Anschluss. It was returned to Austria after 1945, but it today carries the German class number.  More