Toshiba-built Buenos Aires suburban train at Arata, Argentina

These EMUs are powered from a 600V DC third-rail system. Seen on the Urquiza Line in Parque Chas (near La Paternal and Agronomía).

Great Eastern Railway Class T26 (LNER Class E4) 2-4-0, England

British Railways/LNER/GER 2-4-0 steam locomotive #62785 at Mildenhall railway station in Suffolk. 100 of these were built between 1891 and 1902. The scene is not as old as it looks, a pic from a Cambridge University Railway Club special railtour on 28 November 1959. 

Info

Meeting d'Aviation in Nice, France poster, 1910

What today we would call an airshow.

2-8-0 'Consolidation' type steam locomotive at the highest point on Peru's railway, circa 1910

Built by the Rogers Locomotive Works. The railway pass today is operated by the private concessionaire Ferrocarril Central Andino (FCCA). While the open-air tracks right at Ticlio station are mostly bypassed by modern traffic via the nearby Galera Summit Tunnel (which pierces the mountain ridge at an altitude of 15,692 feet / 4,783 meters), the trans-Andean mainline itself remains fully operational.

fishing boats on the Danish island of Bornholm, 1959

Short S.8 Calcutta flying boat art 1928

Imperial Airways ("The Modern Way") was a British early commercial long-distance airline operating from 1924 to 1939. See earlier posts.

'I like to read a good real book with my morning coffee'

Southern Peru Copper Corporation (SPCC) Alco RS-11 locomotive

SPCC purchased 5 units new from ALCO: Delivered directly from the builder between 1956 and 1959, assigned road numbers 3, 4, 5, 6, and 8. plus 3 units acquired second-hand from the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) in the mid-1970s, assigned road numbers 11, 12, and 13. While the SPCC roster has historically included nearly 50 different locomotives, their current active line-up has been consolidated down to roughly 24 to 26 active mainline engines. Much of their daily mine operations shifted heavily to truck hauling, which allowed them to retire older models like the original ALCO RS-11 fleets.

SPCC operates an industrial private railway network that spans approximately 133 to 149 miles (214 to 240 km) of standard-gauge track. The primary artery of the system is the Toquepala-Cuajone-Ilo line, which connects their high-altitude Andean open-pit copper mines to the coastal processing infrastructure.

1930s French Aéropostale poster with South American destinations

Perhaps a Latécoère 28 is meant to be depicted. The map shows a north to south route running from Toulouse through Casablanca and Dakar, crossing the South Atlantic to Natal, Rio de Janeiro, and Buenos Aires.

NZH Blauwe Tram (Blue Tram) interurban tram set, Netherlands, circa 1960

In Tramstraat in Katwijk. NZH stood for Noord-Zuid-Hollandsche Tramweg-Maatschappij. See earlier post.

cars in Ratibor, Germany, late 1930s

In the street (Bahnhofstrasse) is a 1935 Ford Model C Ten; the one near the streetmap could be a 1926 Buick Standard Six sedan. Ratibor has been Raciborz in Poland since 1945. (colorized)

1970s Polski Fiat 126p

Seen in Chorzow. This car was manufactured under license in Poland by FSM and became something of a cultural icon being affectionately known as the "Maluch" (meaning "The Little One" or "Toddler")

1960 Moskvitch 407 in Almaty, Kazakhstan

Full of apples as a civic symbol -- Almaty is widely known as the "City of Apples" (Alma translates to apple in Kazakh.)

Baltimore & Ohio E6s with a passenger train in 1949

Passing through Brunswick, Maryland, with the town's YMCA in the background, now gone.

Greymouth NZ railyard in Grassgrub days

Taken in 1979 with a Grassgrub at the station platform but the locomotive is somewhere else.  The railyard apart from the main line is now occupied by supermarkets.  For more see earlier posts and our books.

1940 Panhard et Levassor Dynamic with a towed gazogène

The Panhard et Levassor Dynamic had Art Deco streamline design and was produced from 1936 to 1940.

 
The Gazogène was a gas generator for World War II fuel shortages. Starting around 1939–1940 many French vehicles were retrofitted or paired with gazogènes to burn wood, charcoal, or coal to produce a combustible gas mixture for the engine.

'a paper book is easier on the eyes than a little screen'

1939 TF-type Leyland bus, England

It was the first bus design equipped with air-operated gears and brakes. Shortly after entering service in 1939, it was temporarily converted into a wartime ambulance during World War II. It is now preserved in the London Transport Museum collection

1939 Steyr Type 55

1939 Peterbilt Model 260 truck tractor

1939 Delahaye 135 MS Grand Sport Roadster

By Figoni et Falaschi.

1939 AEC model eight 4-axle truck

a one-horse power brickworks narrow gauge tram in Poland

20th century; the gauge width is not stated -- 500 / 600 mm maybe. This could have been a full load for the horse.

details of the 30 September Flydubai Jihadist hijacking plot

It was intended to be a 9/11 style event.

1980s Soviet UAZ police wagon

 Either a UAZ-469 (or its updated derivative model like the UAZ Hunter / UAZ-3151).

'I like good real books, not little devices'

1955 Renault Fregate

NZR N class 2-6-2 from 1901

The N class comprised two NZR batches; six in 1885, four in 1901; and two from the Wellington & Manawatu Railway in 1891.

These and other 1900-era Baldwin locomotives used different valve-and-cylinder units from the six bought in 1885 and the two 1891 variants bought by the Wellington & Manawatu Railway Co. The cylinder and valve unit is 1901 Baldwin-pattern

From the New Zealand Railways Steam Locomotives website N 2-6-2 class register:-
NZR numbers 351-354
Built by Baldwin Locomotive Works, Philadelphia
Builder's numbers 19270-19273
Built 1901
Entered service November 1901
Withdrawn; 352 in August 1929; others in March 1927

why BNSF Railway is opposed to the Union Pacific--Norfolk Southern merger

From Trains magazine

In Episode 4 of the TrainsPRO Podcast, Trains Magazine Editor Bill Stephens speaks with Zach Andersen, chief of staff and vice president of communications at BNSF Railway, about BNSF’s fierce opposition to the proposed Union Pacific–Norfolk Southern merger.

Andersen joined BNSF in 2006 as director of federal government affairs and previously served as assistant vice president of public affairs. The conversation centers on what has become the dominant topic in the rail industry since July 2025—Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern’s announcement of plans to merge into the first coast-to-coast railroad in the United States.

Unprecedented Market Concentration and Customer Impact

Andersen frames BNSF’s opposition around a straightforward premise: “It really doesn’t matter what BNSF thinks; it matters what our customers think, and that’s what our customers are telling us.” He argues this consolidation would transform four transcontinental networks into two, causing shippers to lose options and creating captive locations.

According to Andersen, a combined UP/NS would control approximately 50% of all originated rail units in the United States. While UP/NS disputes this figure, claiming 40% of gross ton-miles, Andersen counters that “customers don’t buy GTMs—freight is sold by units.”

Andersen argues this concentration would never survive traditional antitrust scrutiny. “If this were subject to Department of Justice antitrust review instead of the STB, it would be thrown out for exceeding market concentration thresholds,” he says. The STB’s 2001 merger rules, he adds, were explicitly designed to prevent this final round of consolidation.

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This recap article is sponsored by Wi-Tronix. Wi-Tronix provides locomotive video systems paired with operational intelligence to help railroads identify risk, validate events, and strengthen safety protocols across their networks. Learn more at .

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Gateway Competition and Economic Closure Risks

A critical concern involves major gateways from Chicago through St. Louis, Memphis, and New Orleans. While UP/NS have promised to keep these gateways open through Committed Gateway Pricing, Andersen points to CPKC’s 2023 acquisition of Kansas City Southern as a cautionary tale.

CPKC promised to keep gateways open on “commercially reasonable terms,” yet BNSF’s interline business at Laredo, Texas dropped from 10,000 loads per month to zero. “Is it economically open? No. That’s why we shifted the traffic over,” Andersen explains.

Andersen notes UP vigorously opposed CPKC’s gateway assurances, only to offer essentially the same mitigation. “What UP said would happen with CPKC is exactly what happened, and now they’re saying, ‘Let us do it too, but we’ll add Committed Gateway Pricing to mitigate it,'” he observes. “That doesn’t seem to be offered in good faith.”

The Committed Gateway Pricing program applies to less than 1% of all rail traffic, excludes intermodal and auto traffic, and is temporary. Customers have proposed reciprocal switching solutions at gateways—measures Andersen calls “likely table stakes” if the merger proceeds.

Trackage Rights Constraints and Open Access Debates

BNSF has filed responsive conditions requesting trackage rights over NS from Chicago to Eastern Pennsylvania for intermodal traffic, along with a neutral switching carrier for Gulf Coast facilities. However, Andersen emphasizes these are fallback positions rather than a path to approval.

“Our position remains that this merger should be rejected by the STB. No basket of concessions is sufficient to mitigate the permanent competitive harm this causes,” Andersen states.

Andersen expresses deep skepticism about trackage rights functioning effectively, pointing to UP CEO Jim Vena’s recent statement: “Why would that work? We’ll just raise the trackage rate.” Andersen says this “exposes the game right there.” Without a self-executing structure preventing economic manipulation, “there isn’t a lot of faith in trackage rights alone.”

On broader open access, Andersen notes that when Hunter Harrison proposed CP’s acquisition of NS years ago, he “put open access on the table as table stakes for a merger of this size, saying competition wasn’t something to be afraid of.”

Highway Conversion Realities vs. Partnership Models

UP/NS have projected shifting 2.1 million truckloads annually to rail—a claim Andersen finds unrealistic. UP’s overall volume has shrunk since its last merger, “moving less volume at higher revenue-per-unit rates than the industry average.”

An Oliver Wyman report found the primary reason over-the-road freight doesn’t shift to rail is that railroads were unresponsive—not interchange time. “If interchange time isn’t driving shipper decisions, why would a merged UP/NS suddenly trigger massive conversions?” Andersen asks.

Intermodal growth is already happening without consolidation. BNSF and CSX expanded interline intermodal offerings last year, achieving truck conversions and share growth in the East. Interchanging an intermodal train typically takes less than an hour—”it’s a step-on, step-off operation.”

Andersen points to BNSF’s Quantum service with J.B. Hunt as proof railroads can win share through responsiveness rather than mergers—the service “has grown every year since launching two years ago and maintains nearly a 100% customer retention rate.”

On carload traffic, Andersen notes an overlooked factor: density. A merged UP/NS won’t run a six-car train from North Platte, Neb., to Buffalo, N.Y.—they’ll wait for a full train load. “Without density, single-line service doesn’t automatically create conversion opportunities.”

Supply Chain Risks and Growing Opposition

Andersen warns that integration-related service problems are historically inevitable, pointing to the UP/SP “total meltdown that reverberated through Texas and the national supply chain.” At UP/NS scale, disruptions “would spread throughout the entire national supply chain.”

Opposition is mounting rapidly. Over 180 members of Congress—both Democrats and Republicans—have expressed concern or called for rejection, compared to just seven in favor, five representing Nebraska. Many individual shippers fear reprisal—”a nail gets hammered”—and are voicing opposition through trade associations representing over 50% of total U.S. rail freight.

Looking ahead, BNSF continues investing in organic growth. The Barstow International Gateway is on track to open in early 2029, while a new Phoenix intermodal terminal will add capacity within months. Andersen describes these facilities as the real path to converting highway freight—”by changing the game, providing a consistent product, creating supply chain resilience, and clearing ports faster.”

Source

NZR Ab 608 and MV 'Pateke' in Dunedin harbor, 1964

Ab 608 (now preserved) was taking a local passenger train from Dunedin to Port Chalmers.  For lots more, get the book New Zealand Maritime Images: the golden years.

The 800 grt Pateke was built in the Netherlands in 1954 for the Union Steam Ship Company’s Napier subsidiary, Richardson and Company. For 18 years she ran between New Zealand’s two main islands, carrying up to 1,100 tonnes of general cargo. In the days before the Cook Strait rail ferries, coasters often also carried vehicles on deck. The ship was withdrawn and sold from NZ service in 1972.

More info here

Top pic by Jack Creber.

narrow gauge 0-6-0 colliery loco in Serbia

Built in 1899, this 760-mm (2'6") gauge engine was based on design styles like the MÁV Class 325 (Hungarian State Railways). It is preserved by the mining company at the Resavica coal mine yard as an emergency standby machine. If the local industrial diesel switchers suffer a breakdown or maintenance failure, the steam engine can be fired up to manage yard shunting duties. Tour agencies and rail enthusiast groups (like FarRail Tours) periodically book it for special heritage excursions, keeping it maintained and certified.

Jeremy Clarkson's 1982 Lancia Montecarlo Spider

Top Gear UK was a juggernaut, vastly exceeding the broadcaster’s viewing projections. Each episode drew a worldwide audience of 300 million, making it the most successful automotive show in television history. When the BBC decided not to renew Jeremy Clarkson’s contract in April 2015, his fellow hosts, James May and Richard Hammond, resigned, and the trio signed a contract with Amazon Prime to deliver a new program called The Grand Tour. 

The chemistry from the Top Gear days was clearly visible in The Grand Tour, but after working together for over twenty-two years, the team decided to retire on a high. The final episode, titled “The Grand Tour: One for The Road,” which aired in September 2024, featured a road trip across Zimbabwe, with each presenter choosing a classic car they had always wanted to own. Clarkson chose a 1982 Lancia Montecarlo Spider, and when filming ended, he bought it from Amazon to add to his private collection. However, Clarkson has decided to downsize his collection and is offering the Montecarlo here at Iconic Auctioneers in Birmingham, UK. It is set to go under the hammer on November 14th in a No Reserve auction.

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DSB class K 563 4-4-0 steam switcher

An undated pic of Odense Harbor (Odense Havn) with the DSB Litra K 563 steamer which now belongs to the Danish Railway Museum (Danmarks Jernbanemuseum) located nearby. In the background, you can see the distinctive concrete harbor grain silos and a large industrial port crane.

Specifications of the engine:

Year Built: 1899 
Length: 14.82 meters (including tender)
Weight: 69.3 tons (in working order)
Max Speed: 100 km/h (originally 90 km/h)
Fuel & Water: 3.5 tons of coal and 10,800 liters of water

Service Life: Operated in active service for the Danish State Railways (DSB) until 1956. Retained as a veteran operational museum train and housed as one of three surviving Litra K locomotives (alongside K 564 and K 582).

1948 Simca 8 Sport

More pics and info

1930 KJ Henderson streamline motorcycle

Info

'give me a good real book over a little device any day'

a night scene at Christchurch NZ station, 1960s

 A b/w pic from a coffee-table book entitled New Zealand Railways at Night issued by the NZR&LS in 2024 that we've colorized.  The boxcars are on the end of a passenger train from Christchurch to Dunedin.

the new Auckland station of Te Waihorotiu at night

Thousands of aluminum fins wrap three sides of the station's Wellesley St entrance building. (pic prior to opening by the City Rail Link consortium)

Nickel Plate Road 2-8-4, #765

Nickel Plate Road's No. 765 is a restored fully operational 2-8-4 "Berkshire" built in 1944 by the Lima Locomotive Works. Famed for its high-speed freight performance on the New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad (the Nickel Plate Road) during its service from 1944 to 1958, it is today owned, maintained, and operated by the non-profit Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society (FWRHS) out of Indiana.

Class: S-2.
Driving Wheel Diameter: 69 inches (1.75 neters).
Tractive Effort: 64,135 lbs. (285 kN)
Total Weight: 404 tons (locomotive and tender combined).

cars in Hollywood Boulevard between Orange Drive and Highland Avenue, L.A. 1960

Nearest the camera on the left is a 1960 Oldsmobile Holiday Coupe with a roof rack.

Present day view

great old days of SNCF steam passenger trains

On La Crueize pont, St Sauveur de Peyre de Peyre en Aubrac -- top a 141R, see this page for a model of one in action

Too distant to be sure what loco this one is.

Nickel Plate Road 0-6-0 steam switcher

The Nickel Plate Road was officially the New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad.  In 1964, the Nickel Plate Road and several other midwestern carriers were merged into the Norfolk and Western Railway (N&W).

This is a NKP class B-11a built by Alco-Brooks in October 1916. The 9 members of the class featured 57-inch (1.45-meter) driving wheels and were specifically designed to navigate tight industrial curves ranging from 18 to 30 degrees. They had 21x28-inch cylinders and a boiler operating at 180 psi.  All were retired by March 1953 and eventually scrapped.

(colorized)

A Nice to Digne, France, meter-gauge Renault autorail on a masonry viaduct, 1962

 See earlier posts.

South African Railways (SAR) Class 5E1, Bo-Bo type electric locomotive, early 1960s

Despite the name of the train being blue, the loco at this time was painted in green with yellow stripes. Developed by Metropolitan-Vickers (Metrovick), a total of 690 units of the 3 kV DC class were built across five distinct series between 1959 and 1969.

The Blue Train (Bloutrein) between Johannesburg and Cape Town adopted the name in 1946. It has been South Africa's luxury passenger train service with blue-and-silver cars since then. 

See earlier posts.

Santa Fe 2-6-2 built by Baldwin in 1903

This is now on display in Boot Hill Park, Dodge City, Kansas with "Boot Hill Special" on the tender. Initially a Vauclain compound, in 1918 it was simplified during a rebuild in the ATSF Topeka Shops. It received a new boiler around 1940. Upon retirement in 1954 it was donated to Dodge City, which at one time was a notorious outlaw town.

'I'm going to enjoy this good real book tonight'