The most recent updates from my various webpages. To keep up-to-date on the topics covered, follow @andrew_grantham on Twitter for railways (and other things which interest me), and @ConcreteEar for sound mirrors and suchlike.
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.
- Kazakh flour sent to Afghanistan by rail 20 July 2018
Kazakhstan’s Flour Was Sent On The New Railway Route To Afghanistan On July 18 this year a train loaded with flour was sent from Kostanay station on the route through Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to Af … - Khyber Pass railway photo 17 July 2018
“A pair of PWR Class HGC 2-8-0 locomotives (Nrs. 2200 and 2238) handle a typical mixed load through the majestic scenery in 1970” - Afghanistan to China rail freight discussions 25 June 2018
President Ashraf Ghani’s advisor on Central Asian Affairs said after a meeting with Uzbekistan officials that Afghan traders will soon be able to export goods to China via rail once existing problems … - Torghundi railway photos 14 May 2018
Some photos Tweeted in December 2017. 13 km #railways work completed at #torghondi dry #port btwn #Afghanistan & #Turkmenistan #transport#transit #trade pic.twitter.com/um61N5XbOb — Sawabdin Makhk … - Steam locos at Kabul museum in 1995 9 May 2018
A 2 April 1995 photo of two locos outside the Darulaman museum by Swen Connrad/YumeVision. The Looting of a Culture: Afghanistan’s Endangered Heritage A young Mudjahedin next to a train engine and a c …
Sound mirrors
Follow @ConcreteEar on Twitter for sound mirror news and updates.
- Sound mirrors in The Telegraph 30 April 2018
Today they’re usually called ‘sound mirrors’ or ‘listening ears’ – and to a certain sort of person they are one of the holy grails of aircraft surveillance. The ‘big ears’ of Kent built to keep Blight … - 2018 Denge sound mirror open days 12 March 2018
There will be two open days at the Denge sound mirrors this year. The open days are scheduled for 10:00 to 15:00 on Saturday 7 July 2018 and Saturday 1 September 2018. There will be a cash-only charge … - Kew sound mirrors 11 March 2018
A pair of Richter Spielgeräte concrete sound mirrors in a small park on the banks of the River Thames at Kew in west London. Photographs taken on 11 March 2018. - Sunderland sound mirror goes viral 30 January 2018
This tweet about the Sunderland sound mirror was a little bit popular! Delighted to discover Sunderland's sound mirror hidden behind the VW garage in Fulwell. It was built around 1917 to detect Z … - Denge sound mirrors from a drone 22 January 2018
Kent, UK. Between the World Wars, before the invention of radar, parabolic sound mirrors were used experimentally as early-warning devices by military air defence forces to detect incoming enemy aircr …
Railways of Iraq
- PC class streamlined loco photo 25 June 2018
- Pictures of Baghdad Central station 29 November 2016
BBC report In pictures: The crown jewel of Iraq’s railway. See if you can spot the steam loco in the second and the last photos. - Mobile friendly 13 April 2015
I have changed this website’s WordPress theme, so hopefully it should now be more mobile device friendly. Let me know if anything doesn’t work. Meanwhile, I would recommend following “Historical Railw … - 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
Other – travel and similar
If God had intended us to fly, He would never have given us the railways.
- Wickham automatic target trolley 20 July 2018
A Wickham automatic target trolley with a rebuilt superstructure being demonstrated at the Amberley Museum railway gala on 15 July 2018. For obvious reasons, this would have operated unmanned when peo … - Thames Path – Windsor to Maidenhead 18 June 2018
A walk along the River Thames from Windsor to Maidenhand, on 12 May 2018. Windsor was getting ready for the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Ms Meghan Markle at St George’s Chapel a week later. The w … - Thames Path – Weybridge to Windsor 17 June 2018
A walk along the Thames Path from Weybridge to Windsor, on 7 April 2018. This section of the path gets off to an exciting start, with the Shepperton ferry. My previous walk had ended short of the targ … - Ljubljana station 13 May 2018
A train to Zagreb calls at Ljubljana station. - Thames Path – Hampton Court to Weybridge 2 April 2018
A walk along the Thames Path from Hampton Court to Weybridge, on 31 March 2018. The Thames Path leaves Greater London at Hampton Court bridge, and river crossings are now further apart than before. Th …