For the steam types, here's some New South Wales streamliner Pacific action for yers. I love the British high speed stuff, but I wonder how they'd go on some of our grades (Blue Mountains gets to 1 in 33 in places), and I'd be curious to see Australian steam wound right out on British metals. I wish they'd let Scotsman out alone more when she was here in the late 80s..

3801 in wartime austerity "Grey Nurse" livery attacking the Blue Mountains at Hazelbrook.

Same machine at Wentworth Falls. Now she's working. This is fucken ear drugs.

Repainted in her more familiar "slut of the rails" livery, racing unstreamlined (but same class) 3830

From the wonderful Extreme Steam website come these oddities:


Chinese "stealth" steam locomotive with dustbin gun turret (as ya do)



Swiss electric kettle (inspired by WWII coal shortages)



Big Wheels in France: L'Aigle


The Holman Horror (was a 19th century investment scam)
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And from my own site (the one that isn't G'Dope), come these, shot by my members (I won't link directly to the photos as I haven't asked the lads' permission - but worth a click):

India in the 1970s

Darjeeling

United Kingdom in the 70s/80s

United States, early 80s

The lads get fancy with some local stuff on slow shutter speeds

I'm lucky enough to have some talented blokes posting there. It makes up for the fact that I don't know a shutter from a sphincter (which can lead to embarrassing moments).

Actually, some of my train vids are on YouTube (crappy on the Internet, better in Quicktime from off my digi camera). Some others I did at Pleasant Point in the South Island last year I haven't put up because I didn't want those speaking to have their privacy compromised -- I may revisit them and see what can be done, because they were shots of a Ford Model T railcar they have there, including one shot in the cab as it went along the track.

I have some stills as well ... that's what happens when someone who likes transport tech has a camera to hand.

The platforms for the West End Xrail will be directly underneath Soho Square according to a mate of mine in the know, that'll be the one they're destroying the Astoria for (cunts), and also apparently be two of the biggest platforms in Europe. There's a big bunch of building crap outside the square now, although i dunno if thats for that or a refurb of the square itself.

Hey Icy, that Glenbrook looks like my kinda place. I love the NZR tendency to paint the locos a respectable shade of black and the carriages a regal red. None of this messing around with poxy colours like we have over here. I likes me steamers black, damn it!

Glad you liked the photos, I just put up another set from me holidays. Lots of diesely freight stuff out in the bush. That might be it for a while, until I can take some more.

It's a little place in Monk Bar - website with horrible wav file sound here

I suggest reading Daughter of Time if you have any interest in ol' Dicky as well. History really has done a hatchett job on the poor bloke.

Aye - its a brilliant little novel.

I actually thieved my personal copy off of my mum (because it was out of print for years). I should probably buy my own now and give it back to her.

Incidentally, there's an Inspector Morse episode that completely rips it off.

Thanks for the extra photos put up, Wired. Yeah, reckon you'd like Glenbrook. Out in the countryside south of Auckland. I donate each year to the GVR for their rail extension to Waiuku, replacing the provincial line that NZR ripped up years ago. It'll be cool one day to be on a train from the old station at Glenbrook and head on into the centre of Waiuku. Nice old two storey hotel they have there an' all.

Hopefully, I'll be heading back over there in early May. Just waiting for the ticket to come.