Archive for 'History' Category
A switchback railway
From Wikipedia: The original Switchback Railway at Coney Island was the first roller coaster designed as an amusement ride in America. It was designed by LaMarcus Adna Thompson in 1881 and constructed in 1884.[1] It appears Thompson based his design, at least in part, on the Mauch Chunk Switchback Railway which was a coal-mining train [...]
International Holocaust Remembrance Day
Last January 27th, was the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, a day important to R2.0. And to me, personally, because I’ve been commemorating it for years, since I was a young guy studying at the high school. I’ve always been impressed by the role played by railways during the holocaust, a sad role that I recall [...]
Thrilling Trains of the Future [Popular Science]
Nothing makes you wish for a high-speed rail, a flying car, or a teleportation device like having to travel over Thanksgiving. Apparently, the future of chaos-free commuting is in Europe, Japan and China, where passengers enjoy the luxury of trains that glide along at 200 miles per hour. Meanwhile, those of us living in America [...]
Railroad memories at auction
From News-Antique: [...] I want to alert collectors and early-bird holiday gift-givers alike to the latest Railroad Memories (www.railroadmemories.com) auction, which is now online and closes Fri., Oct. 8, at 5 p.m. Mountain Time (that’s 7 p.m. EST and 4 p.m. PST). There are some 500 lots with a wide selection of great items in [...]
La locomotora de vapor: a locomotive hanbook
Some months ago a colleague passed me this .pdf document, that I found out by chance it was a RENFE handbook for engineers driving the steam locos of RENFE’s early years (1941). La locomotora de vapor (the steam locomotive): 31 fine drawings, explaining better of several words technology and best practices to drive a locomotive. [...]
Talgo II photo album on LIFE
Just by chance, I found this photo album poking around LIFE Google-based search engine for photos. I suppose it refers to first Talgo II train set produced in the U.S. in 1949 by the American Car and Foundry Company (ACF) under the direction of Spanish engineers. Photos were taken by Al Fenn. For those who [...]
Barcelona en tranvía – Barcelona by tram
Having a look to the Europa Film Treasures website I found this short and very interesting video whose story is presented herafter (source: EFT website). It’s nice to feel emotions in b&w of people crossing the track, staring at the marvellously brought by the tramway and first video recorder apparatus. A scene not so different [...]