12041 Howrah New Jalpaiguri Shatabdi Express shows 130 km/h aggression through Kamarkundu (KQU) on HB Chord lead by #20071 Siliguri (SGUJ) WDP 4 in LHF at the helm ! It was towing away another NFR based non AC sleeper coach fresh from POH from LLH workshop with the consist !

 

Location : Kamarkundu (KQU), Eastern Railway, West Bengal.

Date : 28 th June, 2017.

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, is the third fastest growing city in Africa with a current population of around four million.

Fastest AF, most accurate AF, best tracking AF camera Ive EVER used or owned......FUJI XT3, 50-140mm 2.8

37 and 38 are oddballs in the fleet since they depict a type of vehicle that doesn’t exist in real life, although quite easily could have done. They are ADL Lances; the full size single decker engineered to share its underpinnings with the Trident, cheaply allowing Alexander Dennis to offer a more heavyweight alternative to the Mk1 Enviro 300 and Pointer Dart. And – obviously – act as an updated version of the 1990s Dennis Lance SLF.

 

As with the Trident, power comes from the mighty Cummins 8.3 litre ISC engine (hence the blind), longitudinally mounted to simplify the driveline and attached to a ZF transmission. Typically the engines would be de-rated for use in single deckers, but at some point in its past 38 gained a replacement engine straight out of a normal Trident, so it absolutely goes like stink. 37 isn’t exactly a slouch either, and they’ll about match the performance of the Scanias on the X11 if needed.

 

ADL Lance production would have ended when the new integral Enviro 300 came in with the 6.7l engine, which would also be powering the Enviro 400 by then, and heavyweight versions being restricted to just E300 bodies on Volvo, MAN or Scania chassis. In real life it would have been interesting to see all-ADL ALX300s on Lance chassis instead of the MAN 18.220 that Stagecoach bought. I really do wonder why Transbus/ADL didn’t go for selling them complete vehicles with their own chassis instead of letting their best customer turn to MAN for their larger single deckers?

 

For now 37 and 38 are remaining in their existing liveries, despite the fact they look a bit rough in places. This one has had the lower offside panels towards the rear replaced so the grey skirt is missing on those panels. All of 25, 26, 27, 37 and 38 are to stay as they are at least until the Park & Ride gets its new double deckers, after which the decision will come as to whether they are leaving, staying or being painted.

 

Airport phones: then & now

 

Update: Featured photo in this Business Insider slideshow of the top 7 business travel apps for your smartphone www.businessinsider.com/7-best-business-travel-apps-2013-4

 

Used in another BI slideshow for the careers likely to grow in the coming decade, to illustrate managing/consulting careers www.businessinsider.com/americas-fastest-growing-industri...

 

Featured photo in this post about European travel and mobile phone roaming charges www.vilagvandor.hu/juliustol-kevesebbe-kerul-majd-hazatel... and this post about roaming charges www.liligo.es/blog-viajes/noticias-viajes/2013/07/08/nuev...

 

As seen in this blog post about improving mobile website conversion rates for marketers www.chatonomics.co.uk/retail-conversion-rates-on-mobile-r...

 

Used in this blog post about the best job opportunities for recent graduates www.businessinsider.com/jobs-for-recent-college-graduates...

 

Featured in this blog post about Airline IT departments flightviewfromthesky.com/2013/04/08/airline-it-trends-poi...

 

And in this blog post about Android apps for business productivity www.makeuseof.com/tag/4-android-apps-you-need-to-manage-y...

 

And seen in this post about building buzz for your event through social media www.smashhitdisplays.com/Blog/How-To-Attract-Potential-Cu...

 

Featured photo in this Reynolds Center of Journalism post on business travel businessjournalism.org/2013/10/29/quicktips-more-on-hallo...

 

As seen in this blog's enterprise mobile roundup post www.globalnerdy.com/2014/02/14/enterprise-mobile-roundup/

 

Featured photo in this blog post about parents ignoring their kids while using smartphones www.scienceworldreport.com/articles/13381/20140310/parent...

 

Used in this LinkedIn blog post about attracting customers at a trade show www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20140415133440-176600...

 

As seen in this post about global mobile rates www.liligo.es/magazine-viajes/nuevas-tarifas-de-roaming-p...

 

Featured photo in this blog post about business travellers skift.com/2014/07/17/rogue-business-travelers-are-misguid...

 

Used in this Dutch article about business travel secretaresse.blog.nl/technologie/2014/07/31/kostenbeheerd...

 

Featured photo in this blog post about new airline security rules for electronic devices and smartphones www.ticbeat.com/sim/arrancan-controles-dispositivos-mvile...

 

Used in this blog post about receiving text reminders on your phone www.scienceworldreport.com/articles/19727/20141206/forget...

 

Seen in this listicle about why you should travel www.creditdonkey.com/why-travel.html

 

Featured photo in this Business Insider/AP post about power outlets added at Las Vegas Airport to accomodate business travelers at CES www.businessinsider.com/las-vegas-airport-adding-power-ou...

 

Used in this blog post about must-have gadgets for women traveling on business advisortravelguide.com/5-handy-travel-accessories-for-fem...

 

Featured photo on this parenting blog about how parents can keep connected to their kids while they travel redtri.com/los-angeles/stay-connected-parents-travel/#

 

Seen in this blog post about the best carry-ons for women traveling on business ohare-midway.com/4-best-carry-ons-for-the-female-business...

 

Used in this blog post about keeping data safe while traveling cstrends.com/?q=node/36

 

As seen in this blog post with baggage packing tips for travelers www.simandan.com/?p=14837

 

Photo as seen in this blog post en espanol about using technology to make business decisions www.aunclicdelastic.com/cuatro-conclusiones-sobre-las-int...

 

Featured photo in this Washington Post blog about how women are treated differently in the workplace www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/06/10/why-w...

 

Used in this USA Today travel blog post about a new mobile service plan by T-mobile perfect for North American business travelers roadwarriorvoices.com/2015/07/12/t-mobile-unveils-the-wor...

 

As seen in this post about increases in business travel spending www.autorentalnews.com/news/story/2015/07/u-s-business-tr...

 

Used in this blog post about the challenges of bringing a phone while traveling www.greenbot.com/article/2944998/smartphones/the-ups-and-...

 

Featured photo in this Yahoo Travel post about digital wallets used by business travelers www.yahoo.com/travel/digital-wallets-in-business-travel-s... which was originally published here skift.com/2015/07/22/digital-wallets-in-business-travel-s...

 

Used in this listicle of the top airlines in the world for frequent flyers www.businessinsider.com/the-best-coach-class-airlines-in-...

 

As seen in this blog post about using mobile apps for business travel and expenses www.concur.co.uk/blog/4-reasons-to-use-apps-on-business-t...

 

Featured photo in this blog post of safety tip for women traveling on business trips drive.etsintl.net/blog/bid/205993/Business-Travel-Risk-Ma...

 

Used in this blog post about fun, easy ways to journal/blog your vacation stories for "lazy travelers" www.cheapflights.com/news/beyond-scrapbooking-5-creative-...

 

Featured photo in this Lonely Planet blog post about smartphone apps that make it easier to navigate airports www.lonelyplanet.com/news/2015/09/24/lost-in-an-unfamilia...

 

As seen on this site explaining how to use mobile devices to monitor your business' website while traveling on holiday www.alsco.com.au/2015/09/holiday-heres-manage-monitor-bus...

 

Included in this listicle of travel hacks, as an example of setting up flight notifications on your mobile device www.travelstart.co.za/blog/flying-hacks/

 

Used in this listicle about things people used to do before the internet took over our lives www.onlyinyourstate.com/arizona/az-preinternet-pastimes/

 

As seen in this blog post about why women are awesome solo travelers www.lifehack.org/332622/heres-why-solo-female-travelers-a...

 

Featured photo in this blog post about helpful travel apps you can use www.distincte.com/article/app-app-and-awayyy/

 

Used in this blog post about the best airport apps www.moneytalksnews.com/these-are-the-best-and-worst-trave...

 

As seen in this list of top travel apps for Android (even though that's definitely a Blackberry in their hand) www.zerodollartips.com/best-travel-apps-android-free-down...

 

Used in this blog post about how Uber's app can now predict where passengers are going before you even get in the car buzzorange.com/techorange/2014/09/16/uber-can-now-predict...

 

Featured photo in this blog post about how business travelers don't always use mobile apps for work purposes skift.com/2016/07/06/business-travelers-are-using-mobile-...

 

As seen in this listicle blog post about how to avoid getting scammed at the airport www.tripzilla.com/avoid-laglag-bala-airport-scam-philippi...

 

Used in this blog post about how smartphone are giving Millenials short attention spans www.nicolechardenet.com/2016/05/09/hamlet-for-goldfish/

 

Included in this blog post about working parents who travel frequently redtri.com/los-angeles/stay-connected-parents-travel/#

 

Used in this listicle about common airport mistakes, as an example of sending private information over public airport WiFi www.businessinsider.com/10-big-mistakes-youre-making-at-t...

 

Included in this Japanese blog post about how to get your ticket upgraded for your flight tabippo.net/upgrade/

 

As seen in this blog post about time management tips for leaders www.progressivewomensleadership.com/how-does-she-do-it-ti...

 

Used in this blog post about Uber's popularity among business travelers www.travelpulse.com/news/business-travel/report-uber-cont...

 

As seen in this Japanese blog post of how to get an upgrade to business class from economy fares tabippo.net/upgrade/

 

Featured in this blog post about how excessive business travel might be negative on quality of life www.travelpulse.com/news/business-travel/is-excessive-bus...

 

Used in this blog post about a new app which intelligently chooses when to send notifications blouinnews.com/93363/story/researchers-training-app-when-...

 

As seen in this listicle about dream interpretations jiins.jp/wasuremononoyumeuranai/

 

Included in this blog post about career tips www.newyorkminutemag.com/tips-and-tricks-to-using-linkedin/

 

Used in this Japanese blog post about travel beauty tips www.kenkou-job.com/plus/beauty-advisor/436.html

 

Featured in this travel gadget blog post www.travelpulse.com/news/travel-technology/9-travel-gadge...

 

Used in this blog post about entreprenuership and the isolation that comes with business travel rende.vu/blog/business-and-pleasure/

 

Featured in this Spanish blog post about US airports using facial recognition www.ticbeat.com/seguridad/los-aeropuertos-de-eeuu-implant...

 

Featured photo in this travel blog about why employees don't like to use company tools for booking business trips skift.com/2019/06/17/why-corporate-travelers-are-so-reluc...

 

Used in this blog post about preparing for business travel practicallyfine.com/business-travel-how-to-plan-and-prepare/

 

Featured in this Skift article about how business travel could be curtailed to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions in India skift.com/2023/03/15/skift-india-daily-india-must-cut-bac...

 

As seen in this blog post about the history of packing and luggage, specifically in a section about the invention of the rolling suitcase in the 1970s www.sandrawagnerwright.com/random-thoughts-on-packing-lug...

They conducted an event for surf life savers at Mooloolaba beach last week that involved contestants of all ages in sprints and "flag races".I missed the sprints because they reversed the schedule for some unknown reason, but was in time for the open flag finals.To add further to my angst the head honcho said that I couldn't be on the beach at all so I slunk off to a safe distance and took a few shots of the semis and the final whilst crouching down behind a sand dune.That's life in Australia for you these days .Mind you, there was no "accredited" photographer in attendance for this event so I'll just post a couple of my shots.

Worlds Fastest Camaro / 2500HP Texas Mile Beast / Heavy Hitters Magazine

 

This Camaro has had over $250,000 pumped into it and holds the title of "Worlds Fastest Camaro". It hit a speed of 263.2MPH at the Texas Mile event in October before blowing the transmission to bits. There's a full story on this car and the owner/team in the current issue (issue 31) of Heavy Hitters Magazine. Go check it out and support print!

  

For prints or information please contact me: jeremy.cliff@yahoo.com

 

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ThePhotoMotive.com | JeremyCliff.com | Instagram: @jeremycliff

ex kwikasair overnighter

It was a endless wait in the midst of heavy rains and finally showed up India's fastest capable Train the TEJAS Express.

KALYAN's WDP3A 15516 chugs over the double arched massive Zuari River Bridge towing the 22119 Mumbai - Karmali ~Tejas Express.

This is actually a shunting of the rake towards Verna, Tejas Express does not touch this bridge other wise. Thanks to the Konkan Railway Monsoon time table for running the train on alternate days therefore stabling the rake overnight at Verna Yard. — in Cortalim, Goa, India.

An American, German & Italian meet in a park...

Fastest caron water, fastest boat on land

Worcester is a Cathedral City and the county town of Worcestershire in the West Midlands of England.

 

The city is located some 17 miles (27 km) south-west of the southern suburbs of Birmingham, and 23 miles (37 km) north of Gloucester. The population is approximately 100,000. The River Severn flanks the western side of the city centre, which is overlooked by the 12th-century Worcester Cathedral.

 

The site of the final battle of the Civil War, Worcester was where Oliver Cromwell's New Model Army defeated King Charles I's Cavaliers, cementing the eleven-year Interregnum. Worcester was the home of Royal Worcester Porcelain, and for much of his life, the composer Sir Edward Elgar. It houses the Lea & Perrins factory where traditional Worcestershire Sauce is made. The University of Worcester is one of the UK's fastest-growing universities.

 

History

 

The trade route past Worcester which later formed part of the Roman Ryknild Street dates to Neolithic times. The position commanded a ford over the River Severn (the river was tidal past Worcester prior to public works projects in the 1840s) and was fortified by the Britons around 400 bc. It would have been on the northern border of the Dobunni and probably subject to the larger communities of the Malvern hillforts. The Roman settlement at the site passes unmentioned by Ptolemy's Geography, the Antonine Itinerary and the Register of Dignitaries but would have grown up on the road opened between Glevum (Gloucester) and Viroconium (Wroxeter) in the ad 40s and 50s. It may have been the "Vertis" mentioned in the 7th-century Ravenna Cosmography. Using charcoal from the Forest of Dean, the Romans operated pottery kilns and ironworks at the site and may have built a small fort.

 

In the 3rd century, Roman Worcester occupied a larger area than the subsequent medieval city, but silting of the Diglis Basin caused the abandonment of Sidbury. Industrial production ceased and the settlement contracted to a defended position along the lines of the old British fort at the river terrace's southern end. This settlement is generally identified with the Cair Guiragon listed among the 28 cities of Britain by the History of the Britons attributed to Nennius. This is not a British name but an adaption of its Old English name Weorgoran ceaster, "fort of the Weorgoran". The Weorgoran (the "people of the winding river") were precursors of Hwicce and probably West Saxons who entered the area some time after the 577 Battle of Dyrham. In 680, their fort at Worcester was chosen—in preference to both the much larger Gloucester and the royal court at Winchcombe—to be the seat of a new bishopric, suggesting there was already a well-established and powerful Christian community when the site fell into English hands. The oldest known church was St Helen's, which was certainly British; the Saxon cathedral was dedicated to St Peter.

 

The town was almost destroyed in 1041 after a rebellion against the punitive taxation of Harthacanute. During this time, the townsfolk relocated to (and at times were besieged at) the nearby Bevere Island, 2 miles upriver. The following century, the town (then better defended) was attacked several times (in 1139, 1150 and 1151) during "The Anarchy", i.e. civil war between King Stephen and Empress Matilda, daughter of Henry I. This is the background to the well-researched historical novel The Virgin in the Ice, part of Ellis Peters' "Cadfael" series, which begins with the words:

 

"It was early in November of 1139 that the tide of civil war, lately so sluggish and inactive, rose suddenly to wash over the city of Worcester, wash away half of its lifestock, property and women and send all those of its inhabitants who could get away in time scurrying for their lives northwards away from the marauders". (These are mentioned as having arrived from Gloucester, leaving a long lasting legacy of bitterness between the two cities.)

 

By late medieval times the population had grown to around 10,000 as the manufacture of cloth started to become a large local industry. The town was designated a county corporate, giving it autonomy from local government.

 

Worcester was the site of the Battle of Worcester (3 September 1651), when Charles II attempted to forcefully regain the crown, in the fields a little to the west and south of the city, near the village of Powick. However, Charles II was defeated and returned to his headquarters in what is now known as King Charles house in the Cornmarket, before fleeing in disguise to Boscobel House in Shropshire from where he eventually escaped to France. Worcester had supported the Parliamentary cause before the outbreak of war in 1642 but spent most of the war under Royalist occupation. After the war it cleverly used its location as the site of the final battles of the First Civil War (1646) and Third Civil War (1651) to try to mount an appeal for compensation from the new King Charles II. As part of this and not based upon any historical fact, it invented the epithet "Fidelis Civitas" (The Faithful City) and this motto has since been incorporated into the city's coat of arms.

 

In 1670, the River Severn broke its banks and the subsequent flood was the worst ever seen by Worcester. A brass plate can be found on a wall on the path to the cathedral by the path along the river showing how high this flood went and other flood heights of more recent times are also shown in stone bricks. The closest flood height to what is known as The Flood of 1670 was when the Severn flooded in the torrential rains of July 2007.

 

The Royal Worcester Porcelain Company factory was founded by Dr John Wall in 1751, although it no longer produces goods. A handful of decorators are still employed at the factory and the Museum is still open.

 

During the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Worcester was a major centre for glove making, employing nearly half the glovers in England at its peak (over 30,000 people). In 1815 the Worcester and Birmingham Canal opened, allowing Worcester goods to be transported to a larger conurbation.

 

The British Medical Association (BMA) was founded in the Board Room of the old Worcester Royal Infirmary building in Castle Street in 1832. While part of the Royal Infirmary has now been demolished to make way for the University of Worcester's new city campus, the original Georgian building has been preserved. One of the old wards opened as a medical museum, The Infirmary, in 2012.

 

In 1882 Worcester hosted the Worcestershire Exhibition, inspired by the Great Exhibition in London.There were sections for exhibits of fine arts (over 600 paintings), historical manuscripts and industrial items.The profit was £1,867.9s.6d. The number of visitors is recorded as 222,807. Some of the profit from the exhibition was used to build the Victoria Institute in Foregate Street, Worcester. This was opened on 1 October 1896 and now houses the city art gallery and museum. Further information about the exhibition can be found at the museum.

 

During World War II, the city was chosen to be the seat of an evacuated government in case of mass German invasion. The War Cabinet, along with Winston Churchill and some 16.000 state workers, would have moved to Hindlip Hall (now part of the complex forming the Headquarters of West Mercia Police), 3 miles (4.8 km) north of Worcester and Parliament would have temporarily seated in Stratford-upon-Avon. The former RAF station RAF Worcester was located east of Northwick.

 

In the 1950s and 1960s large areas of the medieval centre of Worcester were demolished and rebuilt as a result of decisions by town planners. This was condemned by many such as Nikolaus Pevsner who described it as a "totally incomprehensible... act of self-mutilation". There is still a significant area of medieval Worcester remaining, but it is a small fraction of what was present before the redevelopments.

 

The current city boundaries date from 1974, when the Local Government Act 1972 transferred the parishes of Warndon and St. Peter the Great County into the city.

 

Governance

The Conservatives had a majority on the council from 2003 to 2007, when they lost a by-election to Labour meaning the council had no overall control. The Conservatives remained with the most seats overall with 17 out of 35 seats after the 2008 election.

 

Worcester has one member of Parliament, Robin Walker of the Conservative Party, who represents the Worcester constituency as of the May 2010 general election.

 

The County of Worcestershire's local government arrangement is formed of a non-metropolitan county council (Worcestershire County Council) and six non-metropolitan district councils, with Worcester City Council being the district council for most of Worcester, with a small area of the St. Peters suburb actually falling within the neighbouring Wychavon District council. The Worcester City Council area includes two parish councils, these being Warndon Parish Council and St Peter the Great Parish Council.

  

Worcester Guildhall, the seat of local government, dates from 1721; it replaced an earlier hall on the same site. The Grade I listed Queen Anne style building is described by Pevsner as 'a splendid town hall, as splendid as any of C18 England'.

 

Economy

The city of Worcester, located on the River Severn and with transport links to Birmingham and other parts of the Midlands through the vast canal network, became an important centre for many light industries. The late-Victorian period saw the growth of ironfounders, like Heenan & Froude, Hardy & Padmore and McKenzie & Holland.

 

Glove industry

 

Gloves, Worcester City Art Gallery & Museum

One of the flourishing industries of Worcester was glove making. Worcester's Gloving industry peaked between 1790 and 1820 when about 30,000 were employed by 150 companies. At this time nearly half of the Glove manufacturers of Britain were located in Worcestershire.

 

In the 19th century the industry declined because import taxes on foreign competitors, mainly from France, were greatly reduced. By the middle of the 20th century, only a few Worcester gloving companies survived since gloves became less fashionable and free trade allowed in cheaper imports from the Far East.

Nevertheless, at least 3 large glove manufacturing companies still survived until the late 20th century: Dent Allcroft, Fownes and Milore. Queen Elizabeth II's coronation gloves were designed by Emil Rich and manufactured in the Worcester-based Milore factory.

 

Manufacturing

 

Lea & Perrins advertisement (1900)

The inter-war years saw the rapid growth of engineering, producing machine tools James Archdale, H.W. Ward, castings for the motor industry Worcester Windshields and Casements, mining machinery Mining Engineering Company (MECO) which later became part of Joy Mining Machinery and open-top cans Williamsons, though G H Williamson and Sons had become part of the Metal Box Co in 1930. Later the company became Carnaud Metal Box PLC.

 

Worcester Porcelain operated in Worcester until 2008, when the factory closed down due to the recession. However, the site of Worcester Porcelain still houses the Museum of Royal Worcester which is open daily to visitors.

 

One of Worcester's most famous products, Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce is made and bottled at the Midland Road factory in Worcester, which has been the home of Lea & Perrins since 16 October 1897. Mr Lea and Mr Perrins originally met in a chemist's shop on the site of the now Debenhams store in the Crowngate Shopping Centre.

 

The surprising foundry heritage of the city is represented by Morganite Crucible at Norton which produces graphitic shaped products and cements for use in the modern industry.

 

Worcester is the home of what is claimed to be the oldest newspaper in the world, Berrow's Worcester Journal, which traces its descent from a news-sheet that started publication in 1690. The city is also a major retail centre with several covered shopping centres that has most major chains represented as well as a host of independent shops and restaurants, particularly in Friar Street and New Street.

 

The city is home to the European manufacturing plant of Yamazaki Mazak Corporation, a global Japanese machine tool builder, which was established in 1980.

 

Retail trade

The Kays mail order business was founded in Worcester in the 1880s and operated from numerous premises in the city until 2007. It was then bought out by Reality, owner of the Grattan catalogue. Kays' former warehouse building was demolished in 2008.

 

Worcester’s main shopping centre is the High Street, home to the stores of a number of major retail chains. Part of the High Street was modernised in 2005 amid much controversy.[citation needed] Many of the issues focussed on the felling of old trees, the duration of the works (caused by the weather and an archaeological find) and the removal of flagstones outside the city’s 18th-century Guildhall. The other main thoroughfares are The Shambles and Broad Street, while The Cross (and its immediate surrounding area) is the city’s financial centre and location of the majority of Worcester’s main bank branches.

 

There are three main covered shopping centres in the city centre, these being CrownGate Shopping Centre, Cathedral Plaza and Reindeer Court. There is also an unenclosed shopping area located immediately east of the city centre called St. Martin's Quarter. There are three retail parks, the Elgar and Blackpole Retail Parks, which are located in the inner suburb of Blackpole and the Shrub Hill Retail Park neighbouring St. Martin's Quarter.

 

Landmarks

 

The most famous landmark in Worcester is its imposing Anglican Cathedral. The current building; known as Worcester Priory before the English Reformation, is officially named The Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary. Construction begun in 1084 while its crypt dates from the 10th century. The chapter house is the only circular one in the country while the cathedral also has the distinction of having the tomb of King John.

 

The Hive, situated on the northern side of the River Severn at the former cattle market site, is Worcester's joint public and university library and archive centre, heralded as "the first of its kind in Europe". It is a prominent landmark feature on the Worcester skyline. With seven towers and a golden rooftop, The Hive has gained recognition winning two international awards for building design and sustainability.

 

There are three main parks in Worcester, Cripplegate Park, Gheluvelt Park and Fort Royal Park, the latter being on one of the battles sites of the English Civil War. In addition, there is a large open area known as Pitchcroft to the North of the city centre on the east bank of the River Severn, which, apart from those days when it is being used for horse racing, is a public space.

 

Gheluvelt Park was opened as a memorial to commemorate the Worcestershire Regiment's 2nd Battalion after their part in the Battle of Gheluvelt, during the First World War.

 

The statue of Sir Edward Elgar, commissioned from Kenneth Potts and unveiled in 1981, stands at the end of Worcester High Street facing the Cathedral, only yards from the original location of his father's music shop, which was demolished in the 1960s. Elgar's birthplace is a short way from Worcester, in the village of Broadheath.

 

There are also two large woodlands in the city, Perry Wood, at twelve hectares and Nunnery Wood, covering twenty-one hectares. Perry Wood is often said to be the place where Oliver Cromwell met and made a pact with the devil. Nunnery Wood is an integral part of the adjacent and popular Worcester Woods Country Park, itself next door to County Hall on the east side of the city.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worcester

Also known as "ORLANDO WEST," Lake County, Florida's 2020 population was estimated to be more than 400,142. Lake County has ranked among the top 6 fastest-growing counties in Florida. Lake County is expected to experience significant population growth over the coming decades as the Orlando urban core approaches build-out. Forecasts predict Lake County’s population to grow more than 431,500 by 2030 and more than 780,500 by 2050."

 

Tavares – from “Anytown USA” to “America’s Seaplane City”

By John Drury, Tavares City Administrator

 

I am frequently asked, “How did they do it?” How did Tavares transition from “Anytown USA” to “America’s Seaplane City”? The short answer is, that everyone started rowing in the same direction at the same time at the right time. The long answer follows below.

 

Approximately 19,500 cities in the United States, 400 in Florida, and 14 in Lake County. Most cities have no brand. They are perfectly content being who they are – Anytown USA. There is nothing wrong with that. They are proud and welcoming cities perfectly satisfied as is, with no distinctive brand. Some cities have a brand. Key West, for example, has a brand, as does Boulder, Colorado, and Daytona Beach, Florida. What is a brand? In short, a person’s brand is what people say about you when you are not in the room. Similarly, a City’s brand is what people say about the city when they have left it and reflect on it.

 

About 15 years ago, under the leadership and guidance of then-Mayor Nancy Clutts and East Central Florida Regional Planning Council’s Executive Director Phil Laurien, the citizens of Tavares assembled for about a year and ½ studying their current state of affairs (a struggling downtown) and developing a road map for the future. The result was the creation of a citizen-led, City Council-approved “Vision Statement” and supporting Downtown Redevelopment Plan. The leadership understood a vision without implementation is a hallucination, so the 169-page redevelopment plan included Chapter 11’s “Implementation Plan” describing what would be built, when, by whom, and how it would be funded.

 

The citizens, business community, faith community, City Council, and their city staff put their oars in the water simultaneously. They began rowing in the same direction in unison to get the job done and complete the “Implementation Plan” together. By 2010, America’s Seaplane City was formed, a seaplane base and marina constructed, a 3,000-foot FAA-approved virtual runway on Lake Dora was permitted, and three boutique hotel buildings were under construction, along with a wedding events pavilion. What followed was ten years of a renaissance period with both the business community and city government investing in itself. As the saying goes, “When you invest in yourself, others will invest in you,” which is exactly what happened here in Tavares.

 

First, a seaplane scenic tour operator, then a flight training center, followed by an FAA-approved passenger air charter operation, a seaplane manufacturing facility, many restaurants, and too many new businesses to list here. From practically a ghost town with very few businesses whose tax base was 90% funded by the residents and only 10% by the business community, to a tax base funded 35% by the business community and only 65% by the residential community. This shift in tax contribution for city services like police, fire, libraries, parks, and recreation is important because for every dollar a resident contributes on average in taxes to a city, they consume about $1.20 in services on average, and for every $1 a business contributes, they only consume about 80 cents, as they do not use parks, recreational services or libraries, nor call for police and fire services nearly as much as the residents do. So the business community ends up not only creating good jobs but also subsidizing city services for its residents.

 

Tavares continues to shift the tax burden from its residents to its productive business community, has lowered its tax rate three years in a row, and is growing its brand as “America’s Seaplane City”!

 

Tavares Seaplane Base (FA1) is a city-owned, public-use seaplane base on Lake Dora in Tavares. The base is popular and gives rise to the city's nickname, "America's Seaplane City."

 

History

The City of Tavares was founded in 1880 by Alexander St. Clair-Abrams, a newspaper and railroad man from a Creole family in New Orleans. He gave it the surname of a Portuguese ancestor. In 1883 a post office was established; by the next year, a hotel, three stores, a sawmill, and eight cottages were built. St. Clair-Abrams's dream of Tavares as the state capital was not realized, but in 1887 it was designated the county seat of Lake County. St. Clair-Abrams later chartered a railroad from Tavares to Orlando. In 1919, Tavares was incorporated.

 

The City of Tavares has served as the County's Seat for Lake County, Florida, since 1888. Downtown Tavares lies on the shores of Lake Dora. The picturesque Wooton Park sits only one block from Main Street and offers families everything from picnic pavilions to boat ramps. Tavares is also home to the Dora Canal, one of the most beautiful waterways in the world. Tavares is located in the center of the State of Florida, 45 minutes northwest of Orlando.

 

In the 19th century, Major St. Clair Abrams began implementing a vision for Tavares. He not only oversaw the development of the hub of rail lines converging in Tavares, but he also saw the state's future capital waiting to be realized. Had it not been for an inadvertent fire 125 years ago, the major’s vision of Tavares being the state capital may have become a reality. The spark from a train ignited the adjacent lumberyard downtown, destroying three dozen buildings in a matter of minutes. That same year, the Florida legislature removed Tavares from consideration as a potential new center of state government. Although times have changed, one factor remains a constant for Tavares. It is the center of government for Lake County, and it is, therefore, Lake County’s Capital City. A partnership has evolved through the years between Lake County’s Board of County Commissioners and the Tavares City Council. The two elected bodies work together to make downtown Tavares a supportive home for the civic activities of Lake County.

 

Modern Day Tavares

The Tavares Seaplane Base (FA1) is a public-use seaplane landing area owned by the City of Tavares, Florida. The State of Florida licensed the facility as a public airport in 2010. City officials launched the idea for a seaplane base as part of a plan to reinvigorate business and tourist activity in the downtown area. The Seaplane Base has been a major success, and the City of Tavares is now known as “America’s Seaplane City.”

 

Tavares, Florida, has experienced a renaissance. Inspired by the strategic approach of its citizens, elected officials, employees, and former City Attorney Robert Q. Williams (who served the city for 37 years, 1984-2021), Tavares has rebranded itself, appropriately, as America’s Seaplane City. It is an appropriate moniker for a city helping boost the downtown as a Central Florida entertainment spot and serving as the natural stopping point for seaplane pilots en route to the Bahamas and other island nations. However, the rebranding of Tavares to better align with its unique offerings is not the only revolution happening in City Hall. Tavares’ leaders are responding to citizens’ new expectations for personal digital experiences with their local government through their rapid and innovative adoption of smart technology.

 

Credit for the data above is given to the following websites:

www.tavares.org/1208/ABOUT-TAVARES

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tavares,_Florida

 

© All Rights Reserved - you may not use this image in any form without my prior permission.

 

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!

  

Some background:

The Soviet Laboratory of High-Speed Automobiles (LSA ChADI, today the Chardiv National Automobile and Highway University) was founded in 1953. One of the laboratory’s founders was Vladimir Nikitin, a famous racer not only inside the Soviet Union but also around the world. The main purpose of Vladimir Nikitin’s of was to build the fastest car in the world. This idea of creating race cars became the purpose of the laboratory and has been continued by students of Nikitin throughout the years, with research and prototypes in various fields of car propulsion.

 

The first car created in LSA by students was ChADI 2 in 1961. The body of the car was made of fiberglass, the first time that this material was used for a car body in the Soviet Union. This technology was improved and later used in mass-produced cars. Another famous LSA car was ChADI 7. To create it, Nikitin and his students used airplane wing elements as car body material and used the engine from a helicopter to power it. The highest speed of ChADI 7 – 400 kilometers per hour – was recorded on an airport runway near Chardiv in 1968, and it was at that time the fastest car in the Soviet Union, setting the national land speed record.

 

After this successful vehicle, Vladimir Nikitin started a new, even more ambitious project: a speed record car with the jet engine from a high performance airplane! The name of this project was ChADI 9, and it was ambitious. This time Nikitin and his team used a Tumansky RD-9 turbojet engine with a dry thrust of 25.5 kN (5,730 lbf), the same engine that powered the supersonic Mikoyan-Gurewich MiG-19 fighter plane. He expected that this needle-shaped car would be able to break the absolute land speed record, which meant supersonic speed at level zero of almost 1.200 kilometers an hour. The car was finished in 1981, but unfortunately ChADI 9 never participated in any race and no official top speed result was ever recorded. This had initially a very practical reason: in the 1980’s there were simply no tires in the USSR that could be safely used at the expected speeds in excess of 400 km/h, and there was furthermore no track long enough for a serious test drive in the Soviet Union! In consequence, ChADI 9 had to be tested on the runway of a military airport in the proximity of Chardiv, outfitted with wheels and tires from a MiG-19, but these were not ideal for prolonged high speeds. Film footage from these tests later appeared in a 1983 movie called “IgLa”.

The Automotive Federation of the United States even invited ChADI 9 to participate in an official record race in the USA, but this did not happen either, this time for political reasons. Nevertheless, the main contribution of this car was gathering experience with powerful jet engines and their operations in a ground vehicle, as well as experience with car systems that could withstand and operate at the expected high levels of speed, and the vehicle was frequently tested until it was destroyed in high speed tests in 1988 (see below).

 

ChADI 9 was not the end of Nikitin’s strife for speed (and the prestige associated with it). The know-how that the design team had gathered in the first years of testing ChADI 9 were subsequentially integrated into the LSA’s ultimate proposal not only to break the national, but also the absolute land speed record: with a new vehicle dubbed ChADI 9-II. This car was a completely new design, and its name was deliberately chosen in order to secure project budgets – it was easier to gain support for existing (and so far successful) projects rather than found new ones and convince superior powers of their value and success potential.

 

ChADI 9-II’s conceptual phase was launched in 1982 and it was basically a scaled-up evolution of ChADI 9, but it featured some significant differences. Instead of the RD-9 turbojet, the new vehicle was powered by a much more potent Tumansky R-25-300 afterburning turbojet with a dry thrust of 40.21 kN (9,040 lbf) and 69.62 kN (15,650 lbf) with full afterburner. This new engine (used and proven in the MiG-21 Mach 2 fighter) had already been thoroughly bench-tested by the Soviet Laboratory of High-Speed Automobiles in 1978, on an unmanned, tracked sled.

However, the development of ChADI 9-II and its details took more than two years of dedicated work by LSA ChADI’s students, and in 1984 the design was finally settled. The new vehicle was much bigger than its predecessor, 44 ft 10 in long, 15 ft 6¾ in wide, and 9 ft 10¾ in high (13.67 m by 4,75 m by 3,02 m), and it weighed around 9,000 lb (4 t). Its construction was based on a steel tube frame with an integrated security cell for the driver and an aluminum skin body, with some fibre glass elements. While ChADI 9’s slender cigar-shaped body with a circular diameter and the tricycle layout were basically retained, the front end of ChADI 9-II and its internal structure were totally different: instead of ChADI 9’s pointed nose, with the cockpit in the front and ahead of the vehicle’s front wheel and a pair of conformal (but not very efficient) side air intakes, ChADI 9-II featured a large, single orifice with a central shock cone. A small raked lower lip was to prevent FOD to the engine and act at the same time as a stabilizing front spoiler. The driver sat under a tight, streamlined canopy, the bifurcated air intake ducts internally flanking the narrow cockpit. Two steerable front wheels with a very narrow track were installed in front of the driver’s compartment. They were mounted side by side on a central steering pylon, which made them look like a single wheel. Behind the cockpit, still flanked by the air ducts, came two fuel tanks and finally, after a chamber where the air ducts met again, the engine compartment. Small horizontal stabilizers under the cockpit, which could be adjusted with the help of an electric actuator, helped keeping the vehicle’s nose section on the ground. Two small air brakes were mounted on the rear fuselage; these not only helped to reduce the vehicle’s speed, they could also be deployed in order to trim the aerodynamic downforce on the rear wheels. The latter ware carried on outriggers for a wide and stable track width and were covered in tight aerodynamic fairings, again made from fibre glass. The outriggers were furthermore swept back far enough so that the engine’s nozzle was placed in front of the rear wheel axis. This, together with a marked “nose-down” stance as well as a single swept fin on the rear above the afterburner nozzle with a brake parachute compartment, was to ensure stability and proper handling at expected speeds far in excess of 600 km/h (372 mph) without the use of the engine’s afterburner, and far more at full power.

 

Construction of ChADI 9-II lasted for more than another year, and in May 1986 the vehicle was rolled out and ready for initial trials at Chardiv, this time on the Chardiv State Aircraft Manufacturing Company’s runway. These non-public tests were successful and confirmed the soundness of the vehicle’s concept and layout. In the course of thorough tests until July 1987, ChADI 9-II was carefully pushed beyond the 400 km/h barrier and showed certain potential for more. This was the point when the vehicle was presented to the public (it could not be hidden due to the noisy trials within Chardiv’s city limits), and for this occasion (and marketing purposes) ChADI 9-II received a flashy livery in silver with red trim around the air intake and long the flanks and was officially christened with the more catchy title “„скорость“” (Skorost = Velocity).

 

Meanwhile, a potential area for serious high-speed trials had been identified with Lake Baskunchak, a salt sea near the Caspian Sea with flat banks that resembled the Bonneville Salt Flats in the USA. Lake Baskunchak became the site of further tests in 1988. Initially scheduled for May-July, the tests had to be postponed by six weeks due to heavy rain in the region, so that the sea would not build suitable dry salt banks for any safe driving tests. In late June the situation improved, and „скорость“ could finally take up its high speed tests.

 

During the following weeks the vehicle was gradually taken to ever higher speeds. During a test run on 8th of September, while travelling at roundabout 640 km/h (400 mph), one of the tail wheel fairings appeared to explode and the ensuing drag differences caused heavy oscillations that ended in a crash at 180 km/h (110 mph) with the vehicle rolling over and ripping the left rear wheel suspension apart.

The driver, LSA student and hobby rally driver Victor Barchenkov, miraculously left the vehicle almost unscathed, and the damage turned out to be only superficial. What had happened was an air pressure congestion inside of the wheel fairing, and the increasing revolutions of the wheels beyond 600 km/h caused small shock waves along the wheels, which eventually blew up the fairing, together with the tire. This accident stopped the 1988 trials, but not the work on the vehicle. Another disaster struck the LSA ChADI team when ChADI 9, which was still operated, crashed in 1988, too, and had to be written off completely.

 

In mid-1989 and with only a single high speed vehicle left, LSA team appeared again with „скорость“ at the shores of Lake Baskunchak – and this time the weather was more gracious and the track could be used from late June onwards. Analyzing last year’s accident and the gathered data, the vehicle had undergone repairs and some major modifications, including a new, anti-corrosive paintjob in light grey with red and white trim.

The most obvious change, though, was a completely re-shaped nose section: the original raked lower air intake lip had been considerably extended by almost 5 feet (the vehicle now had a total length of 49 ft 1 in/14,98 m) in order to enhance the downforce on the front wheels, and strakes along the lower nose ducted the airflow around the front wheels and towards the stabilizing fins. The central shock cone had been elongated and re-contoured, too, improving the airflow at high speeds.

New tireless all-aluminum wheels had been developed and mounted, because pressurized rubber tires, as formerly used, had turned out to be too unstable and unsafe. The central front wheels had received an additional aerodynamic fairing that prevented air ingestion into the lower fuselage, so that steering at high speeds became safer. The aerodynamic rear wheel fairings had by now been completely deleted and spoilers had been added to the rear suspension in order to keep the rear wheel on the ground at high speeds.

 

This time the goal was to push „скорость“ and the national land speed record in excess of 800 km/h (500 mph), and step by step the vehicle’s top speed was gradually increased. On August 15, an officially timed record attempt was made, again with Victor Barchenkov at the steering wheel. The first of the two obligatory runs within an hour was recorded at a very promising 846.961 km/h (526.277 mph), but, at the end of the second run, „скорость“ veered off and no time was measured. Even worse, the vehicle lost its parachute brakes and went out of control, skidding away from the dry race track into Lake Baskunchak’s wet salt sludge, where it hit a ground wave at around 200 mph (320 km/h) and was catapulted through the air into a brine pond where it landed on its right side and eventually sank. Again, pilot Victor Barchenkov remained mostly unharmed and was able to leave the car before it sank – but this fatal crash meant the end of the „скорость“ vehicle and the complete KhAGI 9-II project. Furthermore, the break-up of the Soviet Union at the same time prevented and further developments of high speed vehicles. The whereabouts of the „скорость“ wreck remain unclear, too, since no official attempt had been made to save the vehicle’s remains from Lake Baskunchak’s salt swamps.

  

The kit and its assembly:

This is another contribution to the late 2018 “Racing & Competition Group Build” at whatifmodelers.com. Since I primarily build aircraft in 1:72 scale, building a land speed record (LSR) vehicle from such a basis appeared like a natural choice. A slick streamliner? A rocket-powered prototype with Mach 1 potential? Hmmm… However, I wanted something else than the typical US or British Bonneville Salt Flats contender.

Inspiration struck when I remembered the real world high speed vehicle projects of LSA ChAGI in the former USSR, and especially the ill-fated, jet-powered ChADI 9, which looked a lot like Western, rocket-powered absolute LSR designs like The Blue Flame or Wingfoot Express 2. Another inspiration was a contemporary LSR vehicle called North American Eagle – basically a wingless F-104 Starfighter, put on wheels and sporting a garish, patriotic livery.

 

With this conceptual basis, the MiG-21 was quickly identified as the potential starting basis – but I wanted more than just a Fishbed sans wings and with some bigger wheels attached to it. I nevertheless wanted to retain the basic shape of the aircraft, but change the rest as good as possible with details that I have learned from reading about historic LSR vehicles (a very good source are the books by German author and LSR enthusiast Ferdinand C. W. Käsmann, which have, AFAIK, even been translated into English).

 

At the model’s core is a contemporary KP MiG-21MF, but it’s a hideous incarnation of the venerable Kovozávody Prostějov mold. While the wheels and the dashboard of this kit were surprisingly crisp, the fuselage halves did hardly match each other and some other parts like the landing gear covers could only be described as “blurred blobs”. Therefore it was no shame to slice the kit up, and the resulting kitbash with many donor parts and scratching almost became a necessity.

 

The MiG-21 fuselage and cockpit were more or less retained, the landing gear wells covered and PSR-ed. Fin, spine and the ventral stabilizer were cut away, and the attachment points for the wings and the horizontal stabilizers blended into the rest of the fuselage. Actually, only a few parts from the KP MiG-21 were eventually used.

 

The original shock cone in the air intake was used, but it was set further back into the nose opening – as an attachment point for a new, more organic shock cone which is actually the rear end of a drop tank from an Airfix 1:72 P-61 Black Widow. This detail was inspired by a real world benchmark: Art Arfons’ home-built “Green Monster” LSR car. This vehicle also inspired the highly modified air intake shape, which was scratched from the tail cone from a Matchbox 1:72 Blackburn Buccaneer – the diameter matched well with the MiG-21’s nose! With the new nose, I was able to retain the original MiG-21 layout, yet the shape and the extension forward changed the overall look enough to make it clear that this was not simply a MiG-21 on wheels.

 

With the spine gone, I also had to integrate a different, much smaller canopy, which came from an 1:144 Tornado. The cockpit opening had to be narrowed accordingly, and behind the canopy a new spine fairing was integrated – simply a piece from a streamlined 1:72 1.000 lb bomb plus lots of PSR.

Inside of the cockpit, a simpler seat was used, but the original cockpit tub and the dashboard were retained.

The large MiG-21 fin was replaced with a smaller piece, left over from an Amodel Kh-20 missile, with a scratched brake parachute fairing (cut from sprue material) placed under its rear. The exhaust nozzle was replaced, too, because the fit of the KP MiG-21’s rear end was abysmal. So I cut away a short piece and added an afterburner nozzle from a vintage 1:72 F-100, which fits well. Inside, the part’s rear wall was drilled open and extended inwards with a styrene tube.

 

The wheels of the vehicle come from an 1:72 Hasegawa “Panther with Schmalturm” tank kit – it comes not only with two turrets, but also with a second set of simplified track wheels. These had IMHO the perfect size and shape as massive aluminum wheels for the high speed vehicle.

For the front wheels, I used the thinner outer Panther wheels, and they were put, closely together, onto a central suspension pylon. This received a new “well” in the forward fuselage, with an internal attachment point. In order to streamline the front wheel installation (and also to change the overall look of the vehicle away from the MiG-21 basis), I added a scratched an aerodynamic fairing around it. This was made from tailored styrene strips, which were later filled and blended into the hull with putty.

 

The rear suspension was also fully scratched: the outriggers were made from styrene profiles while the wheel attachments were once part of an 1:35 tank kit suspension – I needed something to hold the three struts per side together. These parts look a bit large, but the vehicle is, after all, a Soviet design, so a little sturdiness may not be wrong, and I simply did not want to stick the wheels directly onto the outriggers. The rear wheels (in this case, the wider inner Panther track wheels with a central hub cover were used) also received a stabilizing notch around the contact surface, in an attempt to make them look slimmer than they actually are.

 

Final touches included the chines under the nose as well as spoilers on the rear suspension (both made from styrene profiles), and I added a pitot made from wire to the original MiG-21 angle of attack sensor fairing.

 

As an addition outside the model itself I also created a display base for the beauty pics, since I did not have anything at hand that would resemble the vastness of a flat and dry salt sea. The base is an 18x12” MDF board, on top of which I added a thin coat of white tile grout (which I normally use as a snow placebo, instead of plaster, which tends to absorb humidity over time and to become yellow). While the stuff was still wet I sprinkled some real salt onto the surface and wetted the whole affair with water sprays – hoping to create a flat yet structured surface with some glitter reflexes. And it actually worked!

  

Painting and markings:

I am not certain how ChADI 9 was painted (I assume overall silver), but I wanted for „скорость“ a little more color. Being a child of the Soviet era, red was a settled design element, but I thought that an all-red vehicle might have looked too cheesy. Other colors I considered were orange or white with blue trim, but did not find them to be appropriate for what I was looking. Eventually, I added some Russian Utilitarianism in the form of light grey for the upper hull (Humbrol 166, RAF Light Aircraft Grey), and the red (Humbrol 19) as a dark contrast around the complete air intake as well as the shock cone (somewhat inspired by the Green Monster #15 LSR vehicle), and then extended backwards into a narrowing cheatline along the flanks, which emphasizes the vehicle’s slender hull. For some more contrast between the two basic tones I later added thin white borders between them created with 2mm white decal stripes from TL Modellbau. Around the hull some bright red (Humbrol 238 Red Arrows Red) highlights as warning signs were added.

 

The vehicle’s afterburner section was painted with Modelmaster Steel Metallizer, the Panther wheels became Aluminum (Revell 99) with a black ink wash. Some black ink was also applied to the jet nozzle, so that the details became more pronounced, and some grinded graphite was used to enhance the burnt metal effect.

 

Since this would rather be an experimental car built and operated by a high school institute, and also operated in the Soviet Union, flashy sponsor markings would not be appropriate. Therefore I created some fictional marking at home with the help of PC software and printed them by myself. These designs included a fictional logo of the ChADI institute itself (created from a car silhouette drawing) and a logo for the vehicle’s title, “„скорость““. The latter was created from the cyrillic lettering, with some additions like the vehicle’s silhouette.

Unfortunately the production process for the home-made decals did not work properly – when coating the prints with gloss acrylic varnish the printer ink started to dissolve, bleeding magenta, so that the decals would look as if there was a red halo or glow around the otherwise black motifs. Thanks to the use of red in the vehicle’s overall design this flaw is not too apparent, so I stuck with the outcome and applied the decals to the car.

Beyond these basic markings, many stencils were added, including dull red inscriptions from an Italeri MiG-37 “Ferret” kit – finally, I found an expedient use for them! The Soviet flags on the fin came from an 1:144 Tu-144 airliner Braz Decal aftermarket sheet.

Finally, some panel lines were drawn onto the hull with a soft pencil and then the model was sealed with Italeri semi-gloss acrylic varnish. Just the black anti-glare panel in front of the windscreen became matt and the metallic rear section was left in “natural” finish.

  

I am very pleased with the outcome – the „скорость“ looks purposeful and does IMHO blend well into the line of spectacular USA and UK jet/rocket car designs that broke the 800 km/h barrier. I also find that, even though the MiG-21 ancestry is certainly there, the vehicle looks different enough so that the illusion that it was designed along the jet fighter’s lines (and not converted from one, like the real world “North American Eagle” which was built from an F-104 Starfighter) works well. I also think that the vehicle’s livery works well – it looks quite retro for a vehicle from the late Eighties, but that just adds to the “Soviet style”. An interesting project, outside of my normal comfort zone. :D

At the north end of Bristol Temple Meads, two of First Great Western's Class 43 HST sets await departure for London Paddington.

 

The Western Region was the first of the British Rail regions to introduce the Class 43 HST, and had also been the testing ground of the original Class 41 prototype back in the early 1970's. The first HST operations on the Western Region was carried out on the 4th October, 1976, but 125mph speeds could only be carried out on certain sections of the line, although by 1980 as many sections of 125mph running had been introduced as possible. Initially, services only ran between London Paddington, Oxford, Swindon, Bristol Temple Meads, Cardiff and Swansea, although in 1979 a full service was provided to the South West of England including Exeter, Paignton, Plymouth, Newquay and Penzance.

 

The introduction of the HST services absolutely revolutionised the route, with the fastest morning services from Plymouth to London taking just under 3 hours instead of the previous 5 to 6. Additionally, the HST's saw off many of the loco-hauled operations on this route, including the much-loved Class 52 'Western' diesel hydraulic locomotives. Class 50's from the West Coast Mainline began to take over on many loco-hauled services, but these were slowly pensioned off to other routes, and very soon services out of London Paddington were exclusively operated by HST's, although Class 47's soldiered on until about 2004.

 

The Western Region was also known for its large amounts of developments to the HST fleet. Originally, the Class 43's and their HST sets were powered by Paxman Valenta V12 engines that were also used in the Upholder/Victoria class submarines. These engines had 2,250hp at their disposal and could whisk the Class 43 powercars to their record breaking top speed of 148mph, although in routine operation these trains never went above 125mph. However, by the late 1980's it was apparent that the Valenta engines were starting to look their age, and a variety of alternatives were analysed.

 

For a period of 9 years, 43167 to 43170 were trialled with Mirrlees Blackstone MB190 engines, but proved an unsuccessful replacement for the Valenta's. In 1987, Paxman began development of an updated version of the Valenta dubbed the VP185. Trials began in 1991, and an agreement to commence installing these engines to members of the fleet was signed in 1993. A qualifying requirement for the trial was that the engine should undergo a British Rail Type Test which was carried out between December 1993 and February 1994. The test involved completion of 3,000 cycles, each of 10 minutes duration, with four minutes at the maximum power of 3,500hp and six minutes at idle, simulating the typical 'on-off' nature of IC125 duty. The successful results of the test cleared the way for installation of a VP185 in Power Car 43170 at Plymouth Laira Depot for in-service trials in the summer of 1994. Power car 43170 entered service on 22 September 1994, being named 'Edward Paxman' to commemorate the event.

 

During the late 1990's 25 HST power cars were re-engined with Paxman 12VP185L engines in order to improve fuel consumption and reduce emissions, but these engines have proved less reliable in service than hoped. However, the 12VP185L was introduced fleet-wide within the Australian XPT series, a small fleet of HST sets built for the CountryLink services of Australia.

 

The very last VP185 engine to be manufactured at Paxman's Colchester Works was despatched from the factory on 15th September, 2003, for duty with Midland Mainline. At the time Midland Mainline operated 18 of these powercars, whilst First Great Western operated 4.

 

On the 4th February, 1996, the Western Region became the first private franchise to operate following the privatisation of British Rail in 1994, this being under management of Great Western Trains, a subsidiary of the bus company Badgerline. HST powercars were outshopped in a very pleasing and striking Green and Ivory livery, which took us folks here in the South West by total surprise and admiration.

 

However, dark clouds arose with privatisation, the first being on the 19th September, 1997, at Southall, when a Bristol to London service hauled by 43173 smashed into a freight train after its defective Advanced Warning System (AWS) failed to register two amber and a red signal, with the result of 7 deaths and 139 injuries.

 

In March 1998, Badgerline was taken completely under the ownership of First Group, who promptly rebranded the franchise as of December the same year as First Great Western, revising the livery with a golden band that made the HST's look something like a Golden Virginia cigarette packet, being affectionately dubbed 'Fag Packet' livery. FGW's new ownership however was mired in yet another devastating crash, this time on October 5th, 1999, when a Thames Trains Class 165 overshot a red signal on its way out of London Paddington and smashed into the front of an approaching HST hauled by 43011 at Ladbroke Grove, resulting in the leading trailer of the 165 exploding and setting fire to the First Class carriages, with the result of 31 deaths and 523 injuries.

 

The most recent fatal crash of a First Great Western HST was on the 4th November, 2004, at Ufton Nervet, where 43018 operating an evening train to Paignton struck a car that had been deliberately parked on a Level Crossing caused by Brian Drysdale, a chef at the nearby Wokefield Park Hotel, committing suicide. Upon striking the car at 125mph, the HST essentially took-off and smashed down a few hundred yards down the line, killing 7 and injuring 71.

 

In 2005, First Great Western, in cooperation with leasing company Angel Trains and MTU of Germany, set about replacing the original Paxman Valenta engines of the 1970's with brand new MTU 16V 4000 engines, intending to extend the life of the HST's by another 20 years. Engine changes began with 43009 and 43004, together with a new livery that is currently worn today. Over the next two years, the Class 43's engines were replaced, the last three powercars, 43002, 43003 and 43034, making their final journeys under their original engines in December 2007.

 

Today the HST reliability and efficiency has been increased massively thanks to the new MTU engines, and First Great Western continues to carry out widespread operation of these plucky and powerful trains. The company has increased capacity with different Buffet cars, being reduced to Bar/Bistro's, and the conversion of many First Class trailers to Standard Class. However, time may be running short for HST's on the Great Western, as the new Class 800 Bi-Mode InterCity Express Programme intends to see these 39 year old trains retired by 2025. In the mean time, these services continue to be an integral part of the InterCity network to the South and West of London.

The fastest train in India is the Bhopal Shatabdi Express(Train number 12002) which touches 150kmph on theTughlakabad- Mathura section (as per info by Chaitanya Mangesh Gokhale and Trayambak Ojha )

and is considered fastest both in terms of average speed for end to end journey and also for attaining the highest speed for any train in India at any point during the journey. The usual link (i.e. the the usual loco /engine) given for this train is a WAP-5 class loco of Ghaziabad Electric Loco Shed,the WAP-5 class of locos are the fastest locos on Indian Railways at present . On 9-June-2012 ,the allotted WAP-5 loco failed near Karonda/Agasod on Jhansi-Bhopal section and the train was delayed by around 4 hours.And in place of WAP-5,WAG-5A multiple unit (multiple unit means when 2 or more locos attached together to get more power, in this case TKD WAG-5A 23314 and 23251 ) took charge and brought the train upto Bhopal .Later , a WAP-4 (Vadodara WAP-4 22679 ) class of loco took charge of the train for its return journey to New Delhi.

Peregrine Falcon

The Pentax 50mm f/1.2 was the fastest normal manual focus lens Pentax ever produced.

Fastest ship in the 'verse.

Were you thinking Superman? Not even close! It's the fearless protector of Central City to the rescue!

MOCpages - www.mocpages.com/moc.php/393364

Dynamics in numbers. The new Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse boasts a remarkable maximum torque of 1,500 Nm (at 3,000–5,000 rpm) from the 7.9-liter capacity of its W16 engine. The maximum output (1,200 hp) is reached at 6,400 rpm. These figures allow the car to reach 100 km/h (62 mph) from standing in unbelievable 2.6 seconds. The top speed of 410 km/h (255 mph) makes the four-wheel drive Vitesse the fastest production roadster ever. The maximum speed is reached on closed tracks with special safety precautions. In “normal” handling mode, the Vitesse is electronically limited to 375 km/h (233 mph)

Jason Britton's No Limit Motorsports Grand Opening

Jason Britton star of speedtv's superbike tv show.

Don’t try this at home! Professional stunt rider Jason Britton travels the country in search of the ultimate local stunt rider scene. Experience all the death defying tricks by top stunt pros and amateurs. Meet the stunt junkies and enthusiasts who take their bikes beyond the limits of manufacturer warranties and insurance policies! It’s twice the thrills on half the tread.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzuki_Hayabusa

 

The Suzuki Hayabusa (also known as the GSX1300R in some countries) is a hyper sport motorcycle originally introduced by Suzuki in 1999. It has a 1340 cc (81.7 cu in) inline-4 engine and was consistently tested as the fastest production motorcycle in the world before the 2001 detuning agreement referred below.

  

The name Hayabusa translates directly from the Japanese as Peregrine Falcon, the bird capable of achieving speeds over 200 mph (322 km/h) -- and predator of (perhaps not coincidently) the common blackbird. The name is a subtle reference to Honda's competing Hawk models. When introduced in 1999, it overtook the Honda CBR1100XX Super Blackbird as the fastest production motorcycle. The first generation of the Hayabusa was called the GSX1300R and was powered by a 1299 cc (79.2 cu in) inline-4 liquid-cooled engine. It remained relatively unchanged up through the 2007 model year.

 

The motorcycle in stock form was capable of the following performance:

 

1/4 mile (402 m): 10.02 seconds @ 143.7 mph (231 km/h)[2]

60–80 mph: 3.13 seconds[2]

80–100 mph: 3.31 seconds[2]

Top speed: 189.6 mph (305 km/h)[2]

Power: 156.1 hp (116.4 kW) @ 9,500 rpm (rear wheel)[2]

 

[edit] 2008

 

2008 HayabusaCompetition in the hyper sport bike segment increased with the release of motorcycles like the BMW K1200S, Kawasaki Ninja ZX-12R, and Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14. This increased competition led to Suzuki heavily revising the GSX1300R for the 2008 model year.[3] Suzuki has dropped the GSX1300R designation in some countries and simply called the motorcycle the Hayabusa. The engine size was increased to 1340 cc (81.7 cu in) with the compression ratio increasing to 12.5:1. The revised engine has a claimed 12% increase in power to 194 hp (145 kW).[4][5]

 

Fuel is now fed through a pair of new 44 mm (1.7 in) Suzuki Dual Throttle Valve (SDTV) throttle bodies. The Suzuki Drive Mode Selector (S-DMS), a technology introduced on the GSX-R line of motorcycles, provides three options of power delivery for a range of touring to wide open high performance. Some of the more notable features include a new 4-2-1-2 exhaust system meets Euro 3 and Tier 2 emission regulations, a slipper clutch, and redesigned bodywork.

  

The motorcycle in stock form was capable of the following performance:

 

1/4 mile (402 m): 9.85 seconds @ 149.7 mph (241 km/h)[citation needed]

0–60 mph: 2.77 seconds[citation needed]

0–180 mph: 18.9 seconds[citation

Fastest AF, most accurate AF, best tracking AF camera Ive EVER used or owned......FUJI XT3, 50-140mm 2.8

Fastest caron water, fastest boat on land

Fastest car in three counties.

A real sensation is presented in this video. This is the fastest wall clock in the world, which can be ordered only in the year after next. The user will save a lot of time, because everything will be over faster than you can imagine. For example, a boring movie will be over in a few seconds. Or superfluous business meetings. Or visiting people you like less. So you can save a lot of time which can be spend on more purposeful activities. For example, you can watch this interesting video.

Fastest Thing On No Wheels

Note: You have to read this story to appreciate the image…

 

Fastest and Funniest Animal in Africa

Considered by many to be one of the 'funniest looking' animals on the plains of Africa the Tsessebe is nonetheless the fastest antelope. There is a traditional story, which explains the less than glamorous look of the Tsessebea and its speed.

 

At the time of creation the Creator was handing out the ornamentation for each animal and the Tsessebe arrived late, at the time the Creator was packing up. Begging for a set of horns the Tsessebe began to irritate the Creator who in turn picked up two sticks and stuck them on the Tsessebe's head and told him off.

 

When the other animals saw the Tsessebe they began to laugh and tease to such an extent that the creator felt sorry for what he had done and offered Tsessebe a wish. Tsessebe asked to be the fastest antelope on the plains, and today the other animals do not tease him anymore. (Source: multiple sites)

  

THIS IS BY NO MEANS A GREAT SHOT BUT HE WAS VERY FAR AWAY AND GOING LIKE A BULLET... I KNEW THEY WERE FAST BUT WHEN YOU SEE IT FOR YOURSELF ITS MIND BLOWING... PEREGRINE FALCON DUBLIN

Fastest AF, most accurate AF, best tracking AF camera Ive EVER used or owned......FUJI XT3, 50-140mm 2.8

Fastest man in the world

 

Insidious golden poison frog

 

When people hear about deadly animals, they start thinking of huge animals with scary craws. Well, the first animal on this list also happens to be among the most attractive and the smallest animals. Most people who have seen this frog think that it is cute....

 

top6.com/top-6-fastest-killing-animals/

The fastest to chase and chased the most to be captured maybe! While these beautiful and fierce migratory birds use these areas as a passage for migration and call them temporary home, a lot of birding enthusiasts and photographers chase this bird to get a glimpse and capture good shots. In doing this, we need to keep in mind that they require their own space and just like us, they also do not like to be chased everywhere. With increase in eco-tourism and wildlife safaris, it is important to stick to the ethics and respect these amazing nature's creatures' privacy. Wishing everyone a happy and ethical birding!

The Fastest Shed is powered by this RS4 4.2 lump, quite a proper motor indeed. Stage 2 tuned and circa 450ps if I remember correctly.

The four fastest on the Thursday practice at the Bathurst 1000. HOW GOOD to have it roll around.

 

(1/4) #230 Milwaukee Racing, W.Davison & A.Davison Ford Falcon FG/X

 

(2/4) # 55 Supercheap Auto Racing, C.Mostert & J.MoffatFord Falcon FG/X

 

(3/4) #7 Castrol/Plus Fitness Racing, A.Heimgartner & A.Russell Nissan Altima

 

(4/4) #23 Industrial Athlete Racing, M.Caruso & D.FioreNissan Altima

 

Mount Panorama, Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia.

Rail Trail Walk on January 15, 2021

Text and Picture from Gizmag

  

The Triumph Infor Rocket Streamliner has become the fastest ever Triumph motorcycle, reaching a speed 274.2 mph (441.1 km/h) on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, US. Piloted by Guy Martin, the streamliner topped the previous Triumph record of 245.667 mph (395.4 km/h) in preparation for a tilt at the motorcycle land speed record.

 

The official Triumph record of 245.667 mph was set by Bob Leppan in the Gyronaut X-1 in 1966, but the recent Streamliner run is said to have topped the firm's unofficial record of 264 mph, also set by Leppan in the Gyronaut X-1.

 

The 274.2 mph (441.1 km/h) speed was achieved on Monday (August 8), the final day of the team's land speed practice week. The run was the first of the day at 8.30 am and conditions are said to have been near perfect.

 

Triumph says a steady start allowed Martin to push on to the new record speed, before coming to a controlled stop just after the two-mile mark near the team's base.

 

The 25.5 x 2 x 3-ft (7.8 x 0.6 x 0.8-m) vehicle has two methanol-powered turbocharged Triumph Rocket III engines, which produce a combined 1,000 bhp (746 kW) at 9,000 rpm. Martin is now looking to surpass the 376.363-mph (605.698-km/h) record set by Rocky Robinson riding the Top Oil-Ack Attack Streamliner in 2010.

                            

The animal kingdom's fastest living member almost escapes as I click my shutter! The peregrine falcon is the world's fastest animal. During a hunting stoop, in which a peregrine may dive from over a kilometer in height, the birds can reach a speed of over 200 miles per hour. Try getting away from that even in your fastest car. Peregrines are some of the largest falcons in the North American continent, and have a large worldwide distribution, but like the bald eagle they were virtually eradicated from the eastern United States by the use of the pesticide DDT. The use of DDT was banned in the early 1960's, and through extensive conservation and reintroduction efforts these, and other birds, have recovered in numbers. Peregrine falcons feed almost exclusively on medium sized birds. These include, pigeons, ducks, and several shorebirds. They will occasionally feed on small mammals. Don't worry, despite their speed, they haven't been documented to chase down and eat any human prey, yet. #ILoveNature #ILoveWildlife #ILoveBirds #WildlifePhotography #Wildlife #Nature #Birding #PeregrineFalcon #PeregrineinFlight #Canon #Bringit #DrDADBooks #Photography #Picoftheday #Photooftheday

Worlds Fastest Camaro: The 2500HP Kelly Bise / KP Racing Chevy Camaro getting ready to take off at the Texas Mile event back in October 2012. The Heavy Hitters issue featuring this story and set of images just hit stands, go pick it up and read about why Kelly decided to pump over $250,000 into a Camaro and what his future plans for it are!

 

This image was used as the opening spread of the article in the magazine, pretty excited about it!

 

More soon!

  

For prints or information please contact me: jeremy.cliff@yahoo.com

 

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