Latest updates
The most recent updates from my various webpages.
Railways of Afghanistan
If you thought Afghanistan was bereft of railroads, read on for a story of international intrigue, invasion plans, the Great Game, and powers imperial and hydro-electric.
- EU grant for the Afghanistan Railway Authority 16 January 2015
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved the administration of a European Union (EU) grant for the Transport Network Development Investment Program. The EU grant will help upgrade the Afghanistan … - Khyber Railway photos at the British Museum 11 January 2015
A couple of photos of the Khyber Railway at the British museum website. As is all too common in Britain, the terms and conditions of the website are written in complicated legalese and don’t really gi … - Five countries sign China to Iran railway agreement 14 December 2014
A preliminary agreement for developing the proposed China – Kyrgyzstan – Tajikistan – Afghanistan – Iran railway was signed in the Tajik capital Dushanbe on 8-9 December 2014.1 The meeting was chaired … - Transport in Afghanistan 1 December 2014
The craziest thing I’ve ever seen on a motorcycle here is a live sheep, bungeed to the back of a motorcycle, eating hay that had been thoughtfully provided by the motorcyclist, hanging from a bag on h … - India, Iran and the port of Chabahar 23 November 2014
Indian authorities initially planned to build a railway line from Chabahar to Zaranj, an Afghan town about 880 km away, so as to link up with the Zaranj-Delaram highway built by the Indians in Afghani …
Sound mirrors
- Warden Point sound mirror in the news 22 January 2015
Lewis Dyson reports on the Warden Point sound mirror for Kent Online on 20 January 2015: A sound mirror used to detect enemy aircraft is in danger of being washed away in Warden Bay, Sheppey. - Aqulio music video with the Abbot’s Cliff sound mirror 11 January 2015
Lancashire duo Aquilo‘s EP “Human” released on 8 December 2014 features the Abbot’s Cliff sound mirror (and other locations around Folkestone) in two videos. The song is “based around the idea of a de … - Recording of an aeroplane over the Fulwell sound mirror 5 January 2015
A recording of an aircraft passing over the sound mirror at Fulwell in Sunderland. It was made by Sound Designer Tim Shaw on 28 July 2014 using a Sound Devices 552 and Sennheiser MKH 418 p48 (stereo s … - Excavated Fan Hole sound mirror photo 8 December 2014
A last location shot of those 'sound mirrors' at Fan Hole on the White Cliff @andrew_grantham pic.twitter.com/KEv0jmSFoK — Fergus Murray (@FergusMMurray) December 8, 2014 - Mentioned in The Independent 15 November 2014
Janet Street-Porter mentions the sound mirrors – and this website – in The Independent newspaper on 15 November 2014. “We’re in danger of losing these wartime relics” … “You can see more images on the …
Railways of Iraq
- New coaches for Iraqi Republic Railways 16 January 2015
Tüvasaş has built 14 coaches for Iraqi Republic Railways, including 2 sleeping, 4 couchette and 2 restaurant cars pic.twitter.com/CM4IdLrKvC — Railway Gazette (@railwaygazette) January 14, 2015 - Derailment response vehicle for IRR 29 September 2014
One of 7 Zagro derailment response vehicles ordered by Iraqi Republic Railways, on show at #InnoTrans pic.twitter.com/J0HmL5iUER — Railway Gazette (@railwaygazette) September 26, 2014 - New Chinese train for Iraq unveiled 25 February 2014
The first of the new inter-city trains for the Baghdad – Basra corridor has been rolled out by Chinese manufacturer CSR Sifang. - Egyptian Railways website 5 December 2013
Mark Goldfinch, author of the excellent book Steel in the Sand, has an unofficial website on Egyptian Railways. The Egyptian Railways Diwan is described as “a website and blog area intended to fill th … - Hudswell Clarke steam loco model 23 June 2013
The Middleton Railway in Leeds has this model of a 2-8-4T steam locomotive supplied to the Iraq Petroleum Co by Hudswell Clarke. This model was displayed in the entrance to Hudswell Clarke’s offices. …
Other – travel and similar
If God had intended us to fly, He would never have given us the railways.
- Tours tram wireless operation 18 January 2015
Videos of Alstom Citadis 402 trams in the French city of Tours switching from 750 V DC overhead to APS ground-level power supply, outside the main station. APS catenary-free operation is used on a 1·8 … - Steam loco at InnoTrans 2014 2 October 2014
HF Wiebe GmbH’s Hanomag 9445/1925 0-4-0T ‘Emma’, offering cab rides at the InnoTrans 2014 trade fair held in Berlin, Germany, during September 2014. - West Croydon ticket machine offers unexpected option 24 February 2014
I was rather surprised to find a ticket machine at London Overground’s West Croydon station offering me the option of a ticket valid for travel “By West Anglia Great Northern only” when I was buying t … - Railway photography in Nazi Germany 4 April 2013
Given the outbreaks of anti-photography paranoia which have occurred in Britain in recent years, I was amused to stumble across this 1938 Railway Gazette article “Amateur railway photography in German … - The Museum of Army Transport rail-ripper 15 March 2013
Museum of Army Transport, Beverley: German railroad-plough