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.
- Tajikistan plans route of TAT railway 16 April 2018
AzerNews reports that Tajikistan’s Ministry of Transport has provided the government with a draft route for the Tajik section of the Tajikistan-Afghanistan-Turkmenistan railway.1 “The route of the Taj … - Lapis Lazuli Route on Twitter 7 April 2018
A new “official twitter account communicates about the multimodal #LapisLazuliRoute” The route to the Central Asian & Caucasus, the path to regional prosperity #LapisLazuliRoute @RECCAfghanistan @ … - Uzbekistan to part-fund Mazar-i-Sharif – Herat railway 6 April 2018
Following the international Tashkent Conference on Afghanistan which was held on 26-27 March 2018, Afghanistan’s Ministry of Finance said Uzbekistan had pledged to provide USD500m to part-fund the con … - MITRATV video of Hairatan 3 April 2018
A 26-minute video showing the Friendship Bridge, trains, boats and other facilities at Hairatan, published by MITRATV on 25 November 2015. It’s not in English, so I don’t know what it says. - Hairatan in 1985 25 March 2018
A TASS photo which the Flickr caption says was taken sometime in 1985 and shows “sand being unloaded into trucks from a train in Hairatan, a port near the Amu Darya River on the Afghan-Soviet border.” …
Sound mirrors
Follow @ConcreteEar on Twitter for sound mirror news and updates.
- 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 … - Sketchbook drawing of an acoustic mirror 20 January 2018
Acoustic Mirror – sketchbook drawing of an acoustic mirror for a current project, also known as a sound mirror, there’s lots of lovely stuff on them here: https://t.co/8Ro14bdA7z #wip #workinprogress …
Railways of Iraq
- 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 - 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.
Other – travel and similar
If God had intended us to fly, He would never have given us the railways.
- 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 … - Croydon crucifixion 30 March 2018
The “Walk of Witness” event in Croydon on Good Friday, 30 March 2018. There was an outdoor service including a mock crucifixion, then a parade up the main shopping street with “dead” Jesus being wheel … - Thames Path – Richmond to Hampton Court 27 March 2018
A walk along the Richmond to Hampton Court section of the Thames Path, on 24 March 2018. I started off by calling in at the Museum of Richmond, a small free local museum which has good model of the lo … - Thames Path – Putney to Richmond 11 March 2018
A walk along the section of the Thames Path National Trail, heading upstream from Putney to Richmond, on 11 March 2018. It turned out that the annual Head of The River Race rowing competition was unde … - Thames Path – London Bridge to Putney 4 March 2018
A walk along the second – at least when heading upstream – section of the Thames Path National Trail, from London Bridge to Putney. The section through central London is one that I’ve walked along man …