Service members download a High Mobility Multi-Wheeled Vehicle (Humvee) carrying a power generator at Cap Draa, Morocco, May 6, 2011, to provide power for the camp. The Soldiers are training during African Lion 2011, a joint exercise involving U.S. Sailors, Marines and Airmen, and the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces.

 

U.S. Army photo by Spc. Cody Campana

 

Different branches of the U.S. military often seem to be in competition with each other; however, at Cap Draa, Morocco, service members from the Army, Navy and Marine Corps are finding ways work together in order to provide training meant to improve skills needed in today’s modern warfare.

 

Exercise African Lion 11 is a U.S. Africa Command-scheduled, U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Africa-conducted, joint and bi-lateral exercise between the Kingdom of Morocco and the United States that involves more than 2,000 U.S. service members and approximately 900 members of the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces, between April 25 and June 18.

 

Service members have been working together in various capacities, ranging from transporting equipment overseas, to joint training, to handing out meals, and everything in between.

 

For example, with participation from soldiers and sailors, the first piece of Army equipment that was transported from Newport News, Va., across the Atlantic Ocean, to the Port of Tan Tan, Morocco, was download and transported to Cap Draa, May 6, according to Army Staff Sgt. Nathan Beckham, a Houston native and movement non-commissioned officer-in-charge for the Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment 24th Battalion, out of Fort Eustis, Va.

 

A large power generator was downloaded from a boat at the Port of Tan Tan, and then commercially transported an hour away to Cap Draa, where it was downloaded again in order to be used for power for the camp.

 

“We had approximately 10 to 12 [sailors] out there helping us with the download,” Beckham said. “Having all three in the fight is important; we couldn’t do it without each other.”

 

The mission was a success and the generator is now being used to provide power throughout Cap Draa. Another example of different military branches working together was the communications system at the camp. Several systems have been set up since the beginning of African Lion, according to Navy Chief Electronics Technician James Willenbrink.

 

“We brought mobile communication devices [to Cap Draa],” he said.

 

They set up systems such as an Aridium phone, which is used for communicating over long distances, and an International Maritime Satellite, which is a commercial system, generally used at sea, which uses satellite signals to send phone and fax.

 

“Whenever you bring in another element it adds another tier to the coordination level, so in some ways it makes it more difficult to coordinate and consolidate the information, especially throughout the information community,” Willenbrink said.

 

He was happy to work with other service members in order to make the mission successful. He said it gives him optimism for when joint forces have to work in theatre; that they can work together through difficulty.

 

“That’s why we do these exercises and practice,” said Willenbrink. “When we have to do it for real, we will accomplish the mission.”

  

To learn more about U.S. Army Africa visit our official website at www.usaraf.army.mil

 

Official Twitter Feed: www.twitter.com/usarmyafrica

 

Official Vimeo video channel: www.vimeo.com/usarmyafrica

 

Join the U.S. Army Africa conversation on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ArmyAfrica

 

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, also known as the "Toy Train", is a 610 mm narrow gauge railway that runs between New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling in the Indian state of West Bengal, India. Built between 1879 and 1881, the railway is about 78 kilometres long. Its elevation level varies from about 100 metres at New Jalpaiguri to about 2,200 metres at Darjeeling. Four modern diesel locomotives handle most of the scheduled services; however the daily Kurseong-Darjeeling return service and the daily tourist trains from Darjeeling to Ghum (India's highest railway station) are handled by the vintage British-built B Class steam locomotives. The railway, along with the Nilgiri Mountain Railway and the Kalka-Shimla Railway, is listed as the Mountain Railways of India World Heritage Site. The headquarters of the railway is in the town of Kurseong. Operations between Siliguri and Kurseong have been temporarily suspended since 2010 following a Landslide at Tindharia.

 

HISTORY

A broad gauge railway connected Calcutta (now Kolkata) and Siliguri in 1878. Siliguri, at the base of the Himalayas, was connected to Darjeeling by a cart road (the present day Hill Cart Road) on which "Tonga services" (carriage services) were available. Franklin Prestage, an agent of Eastern Bengal Railway Company approached the government with a proposal of laying a steam tramway from Siliguri to Darjeeling. The proposal was accepted in 1879 following the positive report of a committee formed by Sir Ashley Eden, the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal. Construction started the same year.

 

Gillanders Arbuthnot & Co. constructed the railway. The stretch from Siliguri to Kurseong was opened on 23 August 1880, while the official opening of the line up to Darjeeling was on 4 July 1881. Several engineering adjustments were made later in order to ease the gradient of the rails. Despite natural calamities, such as an earthquake in 1897 and a major cyclone in 1899, the DHR continued to improve with new extension lines being built in response to growing passenger and freight traffic. However, the DHR started to face competition from bus services that started operating over the Hill Cart Road, offering a shorter journey time. During World War II, the DHR played a vital role transporting military personnel and supplies to the numerous camps around Ghum and Darjeeling.

 

After the independence of India, the DHR was absorbed into Indian Railways and became a part of the Northeast Frontier Railway zone in 1958. In 1962, the line was realigned at Siliguri and extended by nearly 6 km to New Jalpaiguri (NJP) to meet the new broad gauge line there. DHR remained closed for 18 months during the hostile period of Gorkhaland Movement in 1988-89.

 

The line closed in 2011 due to a 6.8 Magnitude earthquake. The line is currently loss-making and in 2015, Rajah Banerjee, a local tea estate owner, has called for privatisation to encourage investment, which was fiercely resisted by unions.

 

WORLD HERITAGE SITE

DHR was declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1999, only the second railway to have this honour bestowed upon it, the first one being Semmering Railway of Austria in 1998. To be nominated as World Heritage site on the World Heritage List, the particular site or property needs to fulfill a certain set of criteria, which are expressed in the UNESCO World Heritage Convention and its corresponding Operational Guidelines. The site must be of outstanding universal value and meet at least one out of ten selection criteria. The protection, management, authenticity and integrity of properties are also important considerations.

 

CRITERIA FOR SELECTION

The DHR is justified by the following criteria:

 

Criterion II - The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway is an outstanding example of the influence of an innovative transportation system on the social and economic development of a multi-cultural region, which was to serve as a model for similar developments in many parts of the world.

 

Criterion IV - The development of railways in the 19th century had a profound influence on social and economic developments in many parts of the world. This process is illustrated in an exceptional and seminal fashion by the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.

 

AUTHENTICITY AND INTEGRITY

Since 1881, the original route has been retained in a remarkable condition. Only minimal interventions of an evolutionary nature, such as the reduction of loops, have been carried out. Most of the original steam locomotives are still in use. Like Tea and the Ghurka culture, the DHR has become not only an essential feature of the landscape but also an enduring part of the identity of Darjeeling.

 

MANAGEMENT AND LEGAL STATUS

The DHR and all its movable and immovable assets, including the authentic railway stations, the line, and the track vehicles, belong to the Government of India entrusted to the Ministry of Railways. The Northeast Frontier Railway documented all the elements of the DHR in a comprehensive register. Apart from that, it handles the day-to-day maintenance and management. But moreover, several programs, divisions and departments of the Indian Railways are responsible for operating, maintaining and repairing the DHR. This includes technical as well as non-technical work. In principle, the only two legal protection mechanisms that apply to the conservation of the DHR are the provisions of the 1989 Railway Act and that it is a public property which is state-owned and therefore protected.

 

THE ROUTE

The railway line basically follows the Hill Cart Road which is partially the same as National Highway 55. Usually, the track is simply on the road side. In case of landslides both track and road might be affected. As long parts of the road are flanked with buildings, the railway line often rather resembles urban tramway tracks than an overland line.

 

To warn residents and car drivers about the approaching train, engines are equipped with very loud horns that even drown horns of Indian trucks and buses. Trains honk almost without pause.

 

Loops and Z-Reverses (or "zig-zag"s)

One of the main difficulties faced by the DHR was the steepness of the climb. Features called loops and Z-Reverses were designed as an integral part of the system at different points along the route to achieve a comfortable gradient for the stretches in between them. When the train moves forwards, reverses and then moves forward again, climbing a slope each time while doing so, it gains height along the side of the hill.

 

STATIONS

 

NEW JALPAIGURI JUNCTION (NJP)

New Jalpaiguri is the railway station which was extended to the south in 1964 to meet the new broad gauge to Assam. Where the two met, New Jalpaiguri was created.

 

SILIGURI TOWN STATION

Siliguri Town was original southern terminus of the line.

 

SIIGURI JUNCTION

Siliguri Junction became a major station only when a new metre-gauge line was built to Assam in the early 1950s

 

SUKNA STATION

This station marks the change in the landscape from the flat plains to the wooded lower slopes of the mountains. The gradient of the railway changes dramatically.

 

LOOP 1 (now removed)

Loop No.1 was in the woods above Sukna. It was removed after flood damage in 1991. The site is now lost in the forest.

 

RANGTONG STATION

A short distance above Rangtong there is a water tank. This was a better position for the tank than in the station, both in terms of water supply and distance between other water tanks.

 

LOOP 2 (now removed)

When Loop 2 was removed in 1942, again following flood damage, a new reverse, No.1, was added, creating the longest reverse run.

 

REVERSE 1

 

LOOP 3

Loop No.3 is at Chunbatti. This is now the lowest loop.

 

REVERSE 2 & 3

Reverses No.2 & 3 are between Chunbatti and Tindharia.

 

TINDHARIA STATION

This is a major station on the line as below the station is the workshops. There is also an office for the engineers and a large locomotive shed, all on a separate site.

 

Immediately above the station are three sidings; these were used to inspect the carriage while the locomotive was changed, before the train continued towards Darjeeling.

 

LOOP 4

Agony Point is the name given to loop No.4. It comes from the shape of the loop which comes to an apex which is the tightest curve on the line.

 

GAYABARI

 

REVERSE 6

Reverse No.6 is the last reverse on the climb.

 

MAHANADI STAION

 

KURSEONG STATION

There is a shed here and a few sidings adjacent to the main line, but the station proper is a dead end. Up trains must reverse out of the station (across a busy road junction) before they can continue on their climb. It is said that the station was built this way so that the train could enter a secure yard and stay there while the passengers left the train for refreshments.

 

Above Kurseong station, the railway runs through the bazaar. Trains skirt the front of shops and market stalls on this busy stretch of road.

 

SONADA STATION

Sonada is a small station which serves town of sonada on Darjeeling Himalayan railway. It is on Siliguri - Darjeeling national highway (NH 55).

 

JOREBUNGALOW STATION

This is a small location near Darjeeling and a railway station on Darjeeling Himalayan railway. Jorebungalow was store point for tea to Calcutta. This is a strategical place to connect Darjeeling to rest of the country.

 

GHUM STATION

Ghum, summit of the line and highest station in India. Now includes a museum on the first floor of the station building with larger exhibits in the old goods yard. Once this was the railway station at highest altitude overall and is the highest altitude station for narrow gauge railway.

 

BATASIA LOOP

The loop is 5 kilometres from Darjeeling, below Ghum. There is also a memorial to the Gorkha soldiers of the Indian Army who sacrificed their lives after the Indian Independence in 1947. From the Batasia Loop one can get a panoramic view of Darjeeling town with the Kanchenjunga and other snowy mountains in the back-drop.

 

DARJEELING STATION

The farthest reach of the line was to Darjeeling Bazaar, a goods-only line and now lost under the road surface and small buildings.

 

LOCOMOTIVES

 

CURRENT

STEAM

All the steam locomotives currently in use on the railway are of the "B" Class, a design built by Sharp, Stewart and Company and later the North British Locomotive Company, between 1889 and 1925. A total of 34 were built, but by 2005 only 12 remained on the railway and in use (or under repair).

 

In 2002, No. 787 was rebuilt with oil firing. This was originally installed to work on the same principle as that used on Nilgiri Mountain Railway No.37395. A diesel-powered generator was fitted to operate the oil burner and an electrically-driven feed pump, and a diesel-powered compressor was fitted to power the braking system. Additionally, the locomotive was fitted with a feedwater heater. The overall result was a dramatic change in the appearance of the locomotive. However, the trials of the locomotive were disappointing and it never entered regular service. In early 2011, it was in Tindharia Works awaiting reconversion to coal-firing.

 

In March 2001, No.794 was transferred to the Matheran Hill Railway to allow a "Joy Train" (steam-hauled tourist train) to be operated on that railway. It did not, however, enter service there until May 2002.

 

DIESEL

Four diesel locomotives are in use: Nos. 601-2, 604 and 605 of the NDM6 class transferred from the Matheran Hill Railway.

 

PAST

In 1910 the railway purchased the third Garratt locomotive built, a D Class 0-4-0+0-4-0.

 

Only one DHR steam locomotive has been taken out of India, No.778 (originally No.19). After many years out of use at the Hesston Steam Railway, it was sold to an enthusiast in the UK and restored to working order. It is now based on a private railway (The Beeches Light Railway) in Oxfordshire but has run on the Ffestiniog Railway, the Launceston Steam Railway and the Leighton Buzzard Light Railway.

 

IN POPULAR CULTURE

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway has long been viewed with affection and enthusiasm by travellers to the region and the Earl of Ronaldshay gave the following description of a journey in the early 1920s:

 

"Siliguri is palpably a place of meeting . . The discovery that here the metre gauge system ends and the two foot gauge of the Darjeeling-Himalayan railway begins, confirms what all these things hint at... One steps into a railway carriage which might easily be mistaken for a toy, and the whimsical idea seizes hold of one that one has accidentally stumbled into Lilliput. With a noisy fuss out of all proportion to its size the engine gives a jerk - and starts... No special mechanical device such as a rack is employed - unless, indeed, one can so describe the squat and stolid hill-man who sits perched over the forward buffers of the engine and scatters sand on the rails when the wheels of the engine lose their grip of the metals and race, with the noise of a giant spring running down when the control has been removed.

 

Sometimes we cross our own track after completing the circuit of a cone, at others we zigzag backwards and forwards; but always we climb at a steady gradient - so steady that if one embarks in a trolley at Ghum, the highest point on the line, the initial push supplies all the energy necessary to carry one to the bottom."

 

The trip up to Darjeeling on railway has changed little since that time, and continues to delight travellers and rail enthusiasts, so much so that it has its own preservation and support group, the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Society.

 

Several films have portrayed the railway. Especially popular was the song Mere sapno ki rani from the film Aradhana where the protagonist Rajesh Khanna tries to woo heroine Sharmila Tagore who was riding in the train. Other notable films include Barfi!, Parineeta and Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman. The Darjeeling Limited, a film directed by Wes Anderson, features a trip by three brothers on a fictional long-distance train based very loosely on the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.

 

TELEVISION

The BBC made a series of three documentaries dealing with Indian Hill Railways, shown in February 2010. The first film covers the Darjeeling-Himalayan Railway, the second the Nilgiri Mountain Railway and the third the Kalka-Shimla Railway. The films were directed by Tarun Bhartiya, Hugo Smith and Nick Mattingly and produced by Gerry Troyna. The series won the UK Royal Television Society Award in June 2010. Wes Anderson's film The Darjeeling Limited also showcases three brothers riding the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.

 

WIKIPEDIA

Real FCC press release:

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

June 7, 2009

 

Washington, D.C. –With hurricane season upon us, it is more important than ever to make the switch to digital television and ensure your household is prepared with proper access to television weather and other emergency information.

 

The FCC wants to be sure consumers who have battery-powered analog televisions know they must also be sure to connect a battery-powered digital-to-analog converter box to receive emergency warnings when the power goes out. There are several options available for consumers to supply back-up power to a digital-to-analog converter box. These external power sources include rechargeable battery packs, uninterruptible power supplies, car battery adapters, and small power generators.

 

...

 

Countdown To All Your NTSC-M Channels Actually Becoming Like Channel One For Real This Time (Except For LPTV) Week continues.

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, also known as the "Toy Train", is a 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge railway that runs between New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling in the Indian state of West Bengal, India. Built between 1879 and 1881, the railway is about 78 kilometres) long. Its elevation level varies from about 100 metres at New Jalpaiguri to about 2,200 metres at Darjeeling. Four modern diesel locomotives handle most of the scheduled services; however the daily Kurseong-Darjeeling return service and the daily tourist trains from Darjeeling to Ghum (India's highest railway station) are handled by the vintage British-built B Class steam locomotives. The railway, along with the Nilgiri Mountain Railway and the Kalka-Shimla Railway, is listed as the Mountain Railways of India World Heritage Site. The headquarters of the railway is in the town of Kurseong. Operations between Siliguri and Kurseong have been temporarily suspended since 2010 following a Landslide at Tindharia.

 

HISTORY

A broad gauge railway connected Calcutta (now Kolkata) and Siliguri in 1878. Siliguri, at the base of the Himalayas, was connected to Darjeeling by a cart road (the present day Hill Cart Road) on which "Tonga services" (carriage services) were available. Franklin Prestage, an agent of Eastern Bengal Railway Company approached the government with a proposal of laying a steam tramway from Siliguri to Darjeeling. The proposal was accepted in 1879 following the positive report of a committee formed by Sir Ashley Eden, the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal. Construction started the same year.

 

Gillanders Arbuthnot & Co. constructed the railway. The stretch from Siliguri to Kurseong was opened on 23 August 1880, while the official opening of the line up to Darjeeling was on 4 July 1881. Several engineering adjustments were made later in order to ease the gradient of the rails. Despite natural calamities, such as an earthquake in 1897 and a major cyclone in 1899, the DHR continued to improve with new extension lines being built in response to growing passenger and freight traffic. However, the DHR started to face competition from bus services that started operating over the Hill Cart Road, offering a shorter journey time. During World War II, the DHR played a vital role transporting military personnel and supplies to the numerous camps around Ghum and Darjeeling.

 

After the independence of India, the DHR was absorbed into Indian Railways and became a part of the Northeast Frontier Railway zone in 1958. In 1962, the line was realigned at Siliguri and extended by nearly 6 km to New Jalpaiguri (NJP) to meet the new broad gauge line there. DHR remained closed for 18 months during the hostile period of Gorkhaland Movement in 1988-89.

 

The line closed in 2011 due to a 6.8 Magnitude earthquake. The line is currently loss-making and in 2015, Rajah Banerjee, a local tea estate owner, has called for privatisation to encourage investment, which was fiercely resisted by unions.

 

WORLD HERITAGE SITE

DHR was declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1999, only the second railway to have this honour bestowed upon it, the first one being Semmering Railway of Austria in 1998. To be nominated as World Heritage site on the World Heritage List, the particular site or property needs to fulfill a certain set of criteria, which are expressed in the UNESCO World Heritage Convention and its corresponding Operational Guidelines. The site must be of outstanding universal value and meet at least one out of ten selection criteria. The protection, management, authenticity and integrity of properties are also important considerations.

 

CRITERIA FOR SELECTION

The DHR is justified by the following criteria:

 

Criterion ii The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway is an outstanding example of the influence of an innovative transportation system on the social and economic development of a multi-cultural region, which was to serve as a model for similar developments in many parts of the world.

 

Criterion iv The development of railways in the 19th century had a profound influence on social and economic developments in many parts of the world. This process is illustrated in an exceptional and seminal fashion by the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.

  

AUTHENTICITY AND INTEGITY

Since 1881, the original route has been retained in a remarkable condition. Only minimal interventions of an evolutionary nature, such as the reduction of loops, have been carried out. Most of the original steam locomotives are still in use. Like Tea and the Ghurka culture, the DHR has become not only an essential feature of the landscape but also an enduring part of the identity of Darjeeling.

 

MANAGEMENT AND LEGAL STATUS

The DHR and all its movable and immovable assets, including the authentic railway stations, the line, and the track vehicles, belong to the Government of India entrusted to the Ministry of Railways. The Northeast Frontier Railway documented all the elements of the DHR in a comprehensive register. Apart from that, it handles the day-to-day maintenance and management. But moreover, several programs, divisions and departments of the Indian Railways are responsible for operating, maintaining and repairing the DHR. This includes technical as well as non-technical work. In principle, the only two legal protection mechanisms that apply to the conservation of the DHR are the provisions of the 1989 Railway Act and that it is a public property which is state-owned and therefore protected

 

THE ROUTE

The railway line basically follows the Hill Cart Road which is partially the same as National Highway 55. Usually, the track is simply on the road side. In case of landslides both track and road might be affected. As long parts of the road are flanked with buildings, the railway line often rather resembles urban tramway tracks than an overland line.

 

To warn residents and car drivers about the approaching train, engines are equipped with very loud horns that even drown horns of Indian trucks and buses. Trains honk almost without pause.

 

LOOPS AND Z-REVERSE

One of the main difficulties faced by the DHR was the steepness of the climb. Features called loops and Z-Reverses were designed as an integral part of the system at different points along the route to achieve a comfortable gradient for the stretches in between them. When the train moves forwards, reverses and then moves forward again, climbing a slope each time while doing so, it gains height along the side of the hill.

 

LOCOMOTIVES

CURRENT

STEAM

All the steam locomotives currently in use on the railway are of the "B" Class, a design built by Sharp, Stewart and Company and later the North British Locomotive Company, between 1889 and 1925. A total of 34 were built, but by 2005 only 12 remained on the railway and in use (or under repair).

 

In 2002, No. 787 was rebuilt with oil firing. This was originally installed to work on the same principle as that used on Nilgiri Mountain Railway No.37395. A diesel-powered generator was fitted to operate the oil burner and an electrically-driven feed pump, and a diesel-powered compressor was fitted to power the braking system. Additionally, the locomotive was fitted with a feedwater heater. The overall result was a dramatic change in the appearance of the locomotive. However, the trials of the locomotive were disappointing and it never entered regular service. In early 2011, it was in Tindharia Works awaiting reconversion to coal-firing.

 

In March 2001, No.794 was transferred to the Matheran Hill Railway to allow a "Joy Train" (steam-hauled tourist train) to be operated on that railway. It did not, however, enter service there until May 2002.

 

DIESEL

Four diesel locomotives are in use: Nos. 601-2, 604 and 605 of the NDM6 class transferred from the Matheran Hill Railway.

Past

 

In 1910 the railway purchased the third Garratt locomotive built, a D Class 0-4-0+0-4-0.

 

Only one DHR steam locomotive has been taken out of India, No.778 (originally No.19). After many years out of use at the Hesston Steam Railway, it was sold to an enthusiast in the UK and restored to working order. It is now based on a private railway (The Beeches Light Railway) in Oxfordshire but has run on the Ffestiniog Railway, the Launceston Steam Railway and the Leighton Buzzard Light Railway.

 

IN POPULAR CULTURE

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway has long been viewed with affection and enthusiasm by travellers to the region and the Earl of Ronaldshay gave the following description of a journey in the early 1920s:

 

"Siliguri is palpably a place of meeting... The discovery that here the metre gauge system ends and the two foot gauge of the Darjeeling-Himalayan railway begins, confirms what all these things hint at... One steps into a railway carriage which might easily be mistaken for a toy, and the whimsical idea seizes hold of one that one has accidentally stumbled into Lilliput. With a noisy fuss out of all proportion to its size the engine gives a jerk - and starts... No special mechanical device such as a rack is employed - unless, indeed, one can so describe the squat and stolid hill-man who sits perched over the forward buffers of the engine and scatters sand on the rails when the wheels of the engine lose their grip of the metals and race, with the noise of a giant spring running down when the control has been removed. Sometimes we cross our own track after completing the circuit of a cone, at others we zigzag backwards and forwards; but always we climb at a steady gradient - so steady that if one embarks in a trolley at Ghum, the highest point on the line, the initial push supplies all the energy necessary to carry one to the bottom."

 

The trip up to Darjeeling on railway has changed little since that time, and continues to delight travellers and rail enthusiasts, so much so that it has its own preservation and support group, the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Society.

 

Several films have portrayed the railway. Especially popular was the song Mere sapno ki rani from the film Aradhana where the protagonist Rajesh Khanna tries to woo heroine Sharmila Tagore who was riding in the train. Other notable films include Barfi!, Parineeta and Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman. The Darjeeling Limited, a film directed by Wes Anderson, features a trip by three brothers on a fictional long-distance train based loosely on the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.

 

TELEVISION

The BBC made a series of three documentaries dealing with Indian Hill Railways, shown in February 2010. The first film covers the Darjeeling-Himalayan Railway, the second the Nilgiri Mountain Railway and the third the Kalka-Shimla Railway. The films were directed by Tarun Bhartiya, Hugo Smith and Nick Mattingly and produced by Gerry Troyna. The series won the UK Royal Television Society Award in June 2010. Wes Anderson's film The Darjeeling Limited also showcases three brothers riding the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.

 

WIKIPEDIA

double exposure inverted horizon

In March 2020 Greece requested support via the EU Civil Protection Mechanism following the sudden increase of refugees and migrants at its external borders.

 

In response to the request, 14 European countries offered nearly 70,000 items of assistance.

 

It included sleeping bags, blankets, power generators, tents, and other shelter, sanitation and health items. The EU’s emergency response coordination centre in Brussels coordinated the aid deliveries and co-financed the transport of the assistance to Greece.

 

Source: © Greek General Secretariat for Civil Protection, 2020

The "Sky Diver" ride in motion at night.

 

It was fun experimenting with different exposures for different effects, with and without other objects. This version has a trailer (with power generator) in the bottom right corner and is a fairly long exposure. More a-comin' !

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, also known as the "Toy Train", is a 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge railway that runs between New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling in the Indian state of West Bengal, India. Built between 1879 and 1881, the railway is about 78 kilometres) long. Its elevation level varies from about 100 metres at New Jalpaiguri to about 2,200 metres at Darjeeling. Four modern diesel locomotives handle most of the scheduled services; however the daily Kurseong-Darjeeling return service and the daily tourist trains from Darjeeling to Ghum (India's highest railway station) are handled by the vintage British-built B Class steam locomotives. The railway, along with the Nilgiri Mountain Railway and the Kalka-Shimla Railway, is listed as the Mountain Railways of India World Heritage Site. The headquarters of the railway is in the town of Kurseong. Operations between Siliguri and Kurseong have been temporarily suspended since 2010 following a Landslide at Tindharia.

 

HISTORY

A broad gauge railway connected Calcutta (now Kolkata) and Siliguri in 1878. Siliguri, at the base of the Himalayas, was connected to Darjeeling by a cart road (the present day Hill Cart Road) on which "Tonga services" (carriage services) were available. Franklin Prestage, an agent of Eastern Bengal Railway Company approached the government with a proposal of laying a steam tramway from Siliguri to Darjeeling. The proposal was accepted in 1879 following the positive report of a committee formed by Sir Ashley Eden, the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal. Construction started the same year.

 

Gillanders Arbuthnot & Co. constructed the railway. The stretch from Siliguri to Kurseong was opened on 23 August 1880, while the official opening of the line up to Darjeeling was on 4 July 1881. Several engineering adjustments were made later in order to ease the gradient of the rails. Despite natural calamities, such as an earthquake in 1897 and a major cyclone in 1899, the DHR continued to improve with new extension lines being built in response to growing passenger and freight traffic. However, the DHR started to face competition from bus services that started operating over the Hill Cart Road, offering a shorter journey time. During World War II, the DHR played a vital role transporting military personnel and supplies to the numerous camps around Ghum and Darjeeling.

 

After the independence of India, the DHR was absorbed into Indian Railways and became a part of the Northeast Frontier Railway zone in 1958. In 1962, the line was realigned at Siliguri and extended by nearly 6 km to New Jalpaiguri (NJP) to meet the new broad gauge line there. DHR remained closed for 18 months during the hostile period of Gorkhaland Movement in 1988-89.

 

The line closed in 2011 due to a 6.8 Magnitude earthquake. The line is currently loss-making and in 2015, Rajah Banerjee, a local tea estate owner, has called for privatisation to encourage investment, which was fiercely resisted by unions.

 

WORLD HERITAGE SITE

DHR was declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1999, only the second railway to have this honour bestowed upon it, the first one being Semmering Railway of Austria in 1998. To be nominated as World Heritage site on the World Heritage List, the particular site or property needs to fulfill a certain set of criteria, which are expressed in the UNESCO World Heritage Convention and its corresponding Operational Guidelines. The site must be of outstanding universal value and meet at least one out of ten selection criteria. The protection, management, authenticity and integrity of properties are also important considerations.

 

CRITERIA FOR SELECTION

The DHR is justified by the following criteria:

 

Criterion ii The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway is an outstanding example of the influence of an innovative transportation system on the social and economic development of a multi-cultural region, which was to serve as a model for similar developments in many parts of the world.

 

Criterion iv The development of railways in the 19th century had a profound influence on social and economic developments in many parts of the world. This process is illustrated in an exceptional and seminal fashion by the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.

  

AUTHENTICITY AND INTEGITY

Since 1881, the original route has been retained in a remarkable condition. Only minimal interventions of an evolutionary nature, such as the reduction of loops, have been carried out. Most of the original steam locomotives are still in use. Like Tea and the Ghurka culture, the DHR has become not only an essential feature of the landscape but also an enduring part of the identity of Darjeeling.

 

MANAGEMENT AND LEGAL STATUS

The DHR and all its movable and immovable assets, including the authentic railway stations, the line, and the track vehicles, belong to the Government of India entrusted to the Ministry of Railways. The Northeast Frontier Railway documented all the elements of the DHR in a comprehensive register. Apart from that, it handles the day-to-day maintenance and management. But moreover, several programs, divisions and departments of the Indian Railways are responsible for operating, maintaining and repairing the DHR. This includes technical as well as non-technical work. In principle, the only two legal protection mechanisms that apply to the conservation of the DHR are the provisions of the 1989 Railway Act and that it is a public property which is state-owned and therefore protected

 

THE ROUTE

The railway line basically follows the Hill Cart Road which is partially the same as National Highway 55. Usually, the track is simply on the road side. In case of landslides both track and road might be affected. As long parts of the road are flanked with buildings, the railway line often rather resembles urban tramway tracks than an overland line.

 

To warn residents and car drivers about the approaching train, engines are equipped with very loud horns that even drown horns of Indian trucks and buses. Trains honk almost without pause.

 

LOOPS AND Z-REVERSE

One of the main difficulties faced by the DHR was the steepness of the climb. Features called loops and Z-Reverses were designed as an integral part of the system at different points along the route to achieve a comfortable gradient for the stretches in between them. When the train moves forwards, reverses and then moves forward again, climbing a slope each time while doing so, it gains height along the side of the hill.

 

LOCOMOTIVES

CURRENT

STEAM

All the steam locomotives currently in use on the railway are of the "B" Class, a design built by Sharp, Stewart and Company and later the North British Locomotive Company, between 1889 and 1925. A total of 34 were built, but by 2005 only 12 remained on the railway and in use (or under repair).

 

In 2002, No. 787 was rebuilt with oil firing. This was originally installed to work on the same principle as that used on Nilgiri Mountain Railway No.37395. A diesel-powered generator was fitted to operate the oil burner and an electrically-driven feed pump, and a diesel-powered compressor was fitted to power the braking system. Additionally, the locomotive was fitted with a feedwater heater. The overall result was a dramatic change in the appearance of the locomotive. However, the trials of the locomotive were disappointing and it never entered regular service. In early 2011, it was in Tindharia Works awaiting reconversion to coal-firing.

 

In March 2001, No.794 was transferred to the Matheran Hill Railway to allow a "Joy Train" (steam-hauled tourist train) to be operated on that railway. It did not, however, enter service there until May 2002.

 

DIESEL

Four diesel locomotives are in use: Nos. 601-2, 604 and 605 of the NDM6 class transferred from the Matheran Hill Railway.

Past

 

In 1910 the railway purchased the third Garratt locomotive built, a D Class 0-4-0+0-4-0.

 

Only one DHR steam locomotive has been taken out of India, No.778 (originally No.19). After many years out of use at the Hesston Steam Railway, it was sold to an enthusiast in the UK and restored to working order. It is now based on a private railway (The Beeches Light Railway) in Oxfordshire but has run on the Ffestiniog Railway, the Launceston Steam Railway and the Leighton Buzzard Light Railway.

 

IN POPULAR CULTURE

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway has long been viewed with affection and enthusiasm by travellers to the region and the Earl of Ronaldshay gave the following description of a journey in the early 1920s:

 

"Siliguri is palpably a place of meeting... The discovery that here the metre gauge system ends and the two foot gauge of the Darjeeling-Himalayan railway begins, confirms what all these things hint at... One steps into a railway carriage which might easily be mistaken for a toy, and the whimsical idea seizes hold of one that one has accidentally stumbled into Lilliput. With a noisy fuss out of all proportion to its size the engine gives a jerk - and starts... No special mechanical device such as a rack is employed - unless, indeed, one can so describe the squat and stolid hill-man who sits perched over the forward buffers of the engine and scatters sand on the rails when the wheels of the engine lose their grip of the metals and race, with the noise of a giant spring running down when the control has been removed. Sometimes we cross our own track after completing the circuit of a cone, at others we zigzag backwards and forwards; but always we climb at a steady gradient - so steady that if one embarks in a trolley at Ghum, the highest point on the line, the initial push supplies all the energy necessary to carry one to the bottom."

 

The trip up to Darjeeling on railway has changed little since that time, and continues to delight travellers and rail enthusiasts, so much so that it has its own preservation and support group, the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Society.

 

Several films have portrayed the railway. Especially popular was the song Mere sapno ki rani from the film Aradhana where the protagonist Rajesh Khanna tries to woo heroine Sharmila Tagore who was riding in the train. Other notable films include Barfi!, Parineeta and Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman. The Darjeeling Limited, a film directed by Wes Anderson, features a trip by three brothers on a fictional long-distance train based loosely on the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.

 

TELEVISION

The BBC made a series of three documentaries dealing with Indian Hill Railways, shown in February 2010. The first film covers the Darjeeling-Himalayan Railway, the second the Nilgiri Mountain Railway and the third the Kalka-Shimla Railway. The films were directed by Tarun Bhartiya, Hugo Smith and Nick Mattingly and produced by Gerry Troyna. The series won the UK Royal Television Society Award in June 2010. Wes Anderson's film The Darjeeling Limited also showcases three brothers riding the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.

 

WIKIPEDIA

Army Sgt. William Lukens, a tactical power generator mechanic with the Tennessee Army National Guard’s 208th Area Support Medical Company, 301st Troop Command Battalion, 30th Troop Command Brigade, lifts his weight up a rope as part of an obstacle course during the 2021 Army National Guard Best Warrior Competition at Camp Navajo, Arizona, July 22, 2021. The competition spans three physically and mentally demanding days where competitors are tested on a variety of tactical and technical skills as they vie to be named the Army Guard’s Soldier and Noncommissioned Officer of the Year. The winners then represent the Army Guard in the Department of the Army Best Warrior Competition later this year. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Erich B. Smith)

In addition to dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, Greece continues to face additional challenges and needs at its external borders, exceeding its capacity to address them.

 

90,000 items of assistance from 17 European countries were channeled to Greece after it activated the Mechanism on 02 March 2020 for material to assist its coronavirus prevention measures for migrants and refugees in the country.

 

The assistance provided consisted, amongst others, of sleeping bags, blankets, power generators, tents, and sanitation and health items.

 

Following the fire that affected the Moria refugee camp on the island of Lesbos in September 2020, Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden sent tents, blankets, sleeping bags and mobile sanitary facilities to Greece. The assistance was co-financed by the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.

 

© European Union, 2020

Top left photo – early Tai Wan beach off Whampoa Dockyard and at south-west of Hok Un; the beach was said to be rather steep and was ideal for both sun bathing and swimming. It was almost a private beach and residents in the shipyard quarters can direct access to the beach area via a flight of staircase. The northern side of Tai Wan beach ended at the tip of Dyer Avenue abutting the boundary of CLP Hok Un power station

 

Bottom left – 1955 close-up on the northern end shows the beach was without any facilities on the sandy belt except a few amenity sheds built close to the power station

 

Top middle – the same scene taken after a year, not much changed except the ground between the CLP long workshop and the huge turbine building is now under construction (at watermark ‘K’)

 

Bottom middle - aerial view of the long and straight Tai Wan beach which once stretched to about 150 meters from the south of Dyer Avenue to the north of the shipyard boat slip area. There was nothing like pontoon or rope for demarcation of a safe swimming zone

 

Top right – in a year, a fuel oil tank appeared on the previous construction area. An ever increase of power consumption in the city required rapid development of the CLP Hok Un plant to switch to a bigger oil-fueled power generation

 

Bottom right – shooting roughly the same location after 12 years, the Tai Wan area has been filled and the sandy beach had become a strip of open ground which soon developed to a small industrial area for light engineering, the beach turned to a public sports ground and a swimming pool as at present

 

A, B, and C - Whampoa Dockyard senior staff quarters the Tantallon, Weaverly and Albion

 

Ανεμογεννήτρια / Wind Power Generator

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, also known as the "Toy Train", is a 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge railway that runs between New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling in the Indian state of West Bengal, India. Built between 1879 and 1881, the railway is about 78 kilometres) long. Its elevation level varies from about 100 metres at New Jalpaiguri to about 2,200 metres at Darjeeling. Four modern diesel locomotives handle most of the scheduled services; however the daily Kurseong-Darjeeling return service and the daily tourist trains from Darjeeling to Ghum (India's highest railway station) are handled by the vintage British-built B Class steam locomotives. The railway, along with the Nilgiri Mountain Railway and the Kalka-Shimla Railway, is listed as the Mountain Railways of India World Heritage Site. The headquarters of the railway is in the town of Kurseong. Operations between Siliguri and Kurseong have been temporarily suspended since 2010 following a Landslide at Tindharia.

 

HISTORY

A broad gauge railway connected Calcutta (now Kolkata) and Siliguri in 1878. Siliguri, at the base of the Himalayas, was connected to Darjeeling by a cart road (the present day Hill Cart Road) on which "Tonga services" (carriage services) were available. Franklin Prestage, an agent of Eastern Bengal Railway Company approached the government with a proposal of laying a steam tramway from Siliguri to Darjeeling. The proposal was accepted in 1879 following the positive report of a committee formed by Sir Ashley Eden, the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal. Construction started the same year.

 

Gillanders Arbuthnot & Co. constructed the railway. The stretch from Siliguri to Kurseong was opened on 23 August 1880, while the official opening of the line up to Darjeeling was on 4 July 1881. Several engineering adjustments were made later in order to ease the gradient of the rails. Despite natural calamities, such as an earthquake in 1897 and a major cyclone in 1899, the DHR continued to improve with new extension lines being built in response to growing passenger and freight traffic. However, the DHR started to face competition from bus services that started operating over the Hill Cart Road, offering a shorter journey time. During World War II, the DHR played a vital role transporting military personnel and supplies to the numerous camps around Ghum and Darjeeling.

 

After the independence of India, the DHR was absorbed into Indian Railways and became a part of the Northeast Frontier Railway zone in 1958. In 1962, the line was realigned at Siliguri and extended by nearly 6 km to New Jalpaiguri (NJP) to meet the new broad gauge line there. DHR remained closed for 18 months during the hostile period of Gorkhaland Movement in 1988-89.

 

The line closed in 2011 due to a 6.8 Magnitude earthquake. The line is currently loss-making and in 2015, Rajah Banerjee, a local tea estate owner, has called for privatisation to encourage investment, which was fiercely resisted by unions.

 

WORLD HERITAGE SITE

DHR was declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1999, only the second railway to have this honour bestowed upon it, the first one being Semmering Railway of Austria in 1998. To be nominated as World Heritage site on the World Heritage List, the particular site or property needs to fulfill a certain set of criteria, which are expressed in the UNESCO World Heritage Convention and its corresponding Operational Guidelines. The site must be of outstanding universal value and meet at least one out of ten selection criteria. The protection, management, authenticity and integrity of properties are also important considerations.

 

CRITERIA FOR SELECTION

The DHR is justified by the following criteria:

 

Criterion ii The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway is an outstanding example of the influence of an innovative transportation system on the social and economic development of a multi-cultural region, which was to serve as a model for similar developments in many parts of the world.

 

Criterion iv The development of railways in the 19th century had a profound influence on social and economic developments in many parts of the world. This process is illustrated in an exceptional and seminal fashion by the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.

  

AUTHENTICITY AND INTEGITY

Since 1881, the original route has been retained in a remarkable condition. Only minimal interventions of an evolutionary nature, such as the reduction of loops, have been carried out. Most of the original steam locomotives are still in use. Like Tea and the Ghurka culture, the DHR has become not only an essential feature of the landscape but also an enduring part of the identity of Darjeeling.

 

MANAGEMENT AND LEGAL STATUS

The DHR and all its movable and immovable assets, including the authentic railway stations, the line, and the track vehicles, belong to the Government of India entrusted to the Ministry of Railways. The Northeast Frontier Railway documented all the elements of the DHR in a comprehensive register. Apart from that, it handles the day-to-day maintenance and management. But moreover, several programs, divisions and departments of the Indian Railways are responsible for operating, maintaining and repairing the DHR. This includes technical as well as non-technical work. In principle, the only two legal protection mechanisms that apply to the conservation of the DHR are the provisions of the 1989 Railway Act and that it is a public property which is state-owned and therefore protected

 

THE ROUTE

The railway line basically follows the Hill Cart Road which is partially the same as National Highway 55. Usually, the track is simply on the road side. In case of landslides both track and road might be affected. As long parts of the road are flanked with buildings, the railway line often rather resembles urban tramway tracks than an overland line.

 

To warn residents and car drivers about the approaching train, engines are equipped with very loud horns that even drown horns of Indian trucks and buses. Trains honk almost without pause.

 

LOOPS AND Z-REVERSE

One of the main difficulties faced by the DHR was the steepness of the climb. Features called loops and Z-Reverses were designed as an integral part of the system at different points along the route to achieve a comfortable gradient for the stretches in between them. When the train moves forwards, reverses and then moves forward again, climbing a slope each time while doing so, it gains height along the side of the hill.

 

LOCOMOTIVES

CURRENT

STEAM

All the steam locomotives currently in use on the railway are of the "B" Class, a design built by Sharp, Stewart and Company and later the North British Locomotive Company, between 1889 and 1925. A total of 34 were built, but by 2005 only 12 remained on the railway and in use (or under repair).

 

In 2002, No. 787 was rebuilt with oil firing. This was originally installed to work on the same principle as that used on Nilgiri Mountain Railway No.37395. A diesel-powered generator was fitted to operate the oil burner and an electrically-driven feed pump, and a diesel-powered compressor was fitted to power the braking system. Additionally, the locomotive was fitted with a feedwater heater. The overall result was a dramatic change in the appearance of the locomotive. However, the trials of the locomotive were disappointing and it never entered regular service. In early 2011, it was in Tindharia Works awaiting reconversion to coal-firing.

 

In March 2001, No.794 was transferred to the Matheran Hill Railway to allow a "Joy Train" (steam-hauled tourist train) to be operated on that railway. It did not, however, enter service there until May 2002.

 

DIESEL

Four diesel locomotives are in use: Nos. 601-2, 604 and 605 of the NDM6 class transferred from the Matheran Hill Railway.

Past

 

In 1910 the railway purchased the third Garratt locomotive built, a D Class 0-4-0+0-4-0.

 

Only one DHR steam locomotive has been taken out of India, No.778 (originally No.19). After many years out of use at the Hesston Steam Railway, it was sold to an enthusiast in the UK and restored to working order. It is now based on a private railway (The Beeches Light Railway) in Oxfordshire but has run on the Ffestiniog Railway, the Launceston Steam Railway and the Leighton Buzzard Light Railway.

 

IN POPULAR CULTURE

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway has long been viewed with affection and enthusiasm by travellers to the region and the Earl of Ronaldshay gave the following description of a journey in the early 1920s:

 

"Siliguri is palpably a place of meeting... The discovery that here the metre gauge system ends and the two foot gauge of the Darjeeling-Himalayan railway begins, confirms what all these things hint at... One steps into a railway carriage which might easily be mistaken for a toy, and the whimsical idea seizes hold of one that one has accidentally stumbled into Lilliput. With a noisy fuss out of all proportion to its size the engine gives a jerk - and starts... No special mechanical device such as a rack is employed - unless, indeed, one can so describe the squat and stolid hill-man who sits perched over the forward buffers of the engine and scatters sand on the rails when the wheels of the engine lose their grip of the metals and race, with the noise of a giant spring running down when the control has been removed. Sometimes we cross our own track after completing the circuit of a cone, at others we zigzag backwards and forwards; but always we climb at a steady gradient - so steady that if one embarks in a trolley at Ghum, the highest point on the line, the initial push supplies all the energy necessary to carry one to the bottom."

 

The trip up to Darjeeling on railway has changed little since that time, and continues to delight travellers and rail enthusiasts, so much so that it has its own preservation and support group, the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Society.

 

Several films have portrayed the railway. Especially popular was the song Mere sapno ki rani from the film Aradhana where the protagonist Rajesh Khanna tries to woo heroine Sharmila Tagore who was riding in the train. Other notable films include Barfi!, Parineeta and Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman. The Darjeeling Limited, a film directed by Wes Anderson, features a trip by three brothers on a fictional long-distance train based loosely on the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.

 

TELEVISION

The BBC made a series of three documentaries dealing with Indian Hill Railways, shown in February 2010. The first film covers the Darjeeling-Himalayan Railway, the second the Nilgiri Mountain Railway and the third the Kalka-Shimla Railway. The films were directed by Tarun Bhartiya, Hugo Smith and Nick Mattingly and produced by Gerry Troyna. The series won the UK Royal Television Society Award in June 2010. Wes Anderson's film The Darjeeling Limited also showcases three brothers riding the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.

 

WIKIPEDIA

Former CB&Q E8A No. 9936 shoves a train from the BN Coach Yard at Roosevelt Road on May 20, 1973. The suburban train includes a combine equipped with a head-end power generator.

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, also known as the "Toy Train", is a 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge railway that runs between New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling in the Indian state of West Bengal, India. Built between 1879 and 1881, the railway is about 78 kilometres) long. Its elevation level varies from about 100 metres at New Jalpaiguri to about 2,200 metres at Darjeeling. Four modern diesel locomotives handle most of the scheduled services; however the daily Kurseong-Darjeeling return service and the daily tourist trains from Darjeeling to Ghum (India's highest railway station) are handled by the vintage British-built B Class steam locomotives. The railway, along with the Nilgiri Mountain Railway and the Kalka-Shimla Railway, is listed as the Mountain Railways of India World Heritage Site. The headquarters of the railway is in the town of Kurseong. Operations between Siliguri and Kurseong have been temporarily suspended since 2010 following a Landslide at Tindharia.

 

HISTORY

A broad gauge railway connected Calcutta (now Kolkata) and Siliguri in 1878. Siliguri, at the base of the Himalayas, was connected to Darjeeling by a cart road (the present day Hill Cart Road) on which "Tonga services" (carriage services) were available. Franklin Prestage, an agent of Eastern Bengal Railway Company approached the government with a proposal of laying a steam tramway from Siliguri to Darjeeling. The proposal was accepted in 1879 following the positive report of a committee formed by Sir Ashley Eden, the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal. Construction started the same year.

 

Gillanders Arbuthnot & Co. constructed the railway. The stretch from Siliguri to Kurseong was opened on 23 August 1880, while the official opening of the line up to Darjeeling was on 4 July 1881. Several engineering adjustments were made later in order to ease the gradient of the rails. Despite natural calamities, such as an earthquake in 1897 and a major cyclone in 1899, the DHR continued to improve with new extension lines being built in response to growing passenger and freight traffic. However, the DHR started to face competition from bus services that started operating over the Hill Cart Road, offering a shorter journey time. During World War II, the DHR played a vital role transporting military personnel and supplies to the numerous camps around Ghum and Darjeeling.

 

After the independence of India, the DHR was absorbed into Indian Railways and became a part of the Northeast Frontier Railway zone in 1958. In 1962, the line was realigned at Siliguri and extended by nearly 6 km to New Jalpaiguri (NJP) to meet the new broad gauge line there. DHR remained closed for 18 months during the hostile period of Gorkhaland Movement in 1988-89.

 

The line closed in 2011 due to a 6.8 Magnitude earthquake. The line is currently loss-making and in 2015, Rajah Banerjee, a local tea estate owner, has called for privatisation to encourage investment, which was fiercely resisted by unions.

 

WORLD HERITAGE SITE

DHR was declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1999, only the second railway to have this honour bestowed upon it, the first one being Semmering Railway of Austria in 1998. To be nominated as World Heritage site on the World Heritage List, the particular site or property needs to fulfill a certain set of criteria, which are expressed in the UNESCO World Heritage Convention and its corresponding Operational Guidelines. The site must be of outstanding universal value and meet at least one out of ten selection criteria. The protection, management, authenticity and integrity of properties are also important considerations.

 

CRITERIA FOR SELECTION

The DHR is justified by the following criteria:

 

Criterion ii The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway is an outstanding example of the influence of an innovative transportation system on the social and economic development of a multi-cultural region, which was to serve as a model for similar developments in many parts of the world.

 

Criterion iv The development of railways in the 19th century had a profound influence on social and economic developments in many parts of the world. This process is illustrated in an exceptional and seminal fashion by the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.

  

AUTHENTICITY AND INTEGITY

Since 1881, the original route has been retained in a remarkable condition. Only minimal interventions of an evolutionary nature, such as the reduction of loops, have been carried out. Most of the original steam locomotives are still in use. Like Tea and the Ghurka culture, the DHR has become not only an essential feature of the landscape but also an enduring part of the identity of Darjeeling.

 

MANAGEMENT AND LEGAL STATUS

The DHR and all its movable and immovable assets, including the authentic railway stations, the line, and the track vehicles, belong to the Government of India entrusted to the Ministry of Railways. The Northeast Frontier Railway documented all the elements of the DHR in a comprehensive register. Apart from that, it handles the day-to-day maintenance and management. But moreover, several programs, divisions and departments of the Indian Railways are responsible for operating, maintaining and repairing the DHR. This includes technical as well as non-technical work. In principle, the only two legal protection mechanisms that apply to the conservation of the DHR are the provisions of the 1989 Railway Act and that it is a public property which is state-owned and therefore protected

 

THE ROUTE

The railway line basically follows the Hill Cart Road which is partially the same as National Highway 55. Usually, the track is simply on the road side. In case of landslides both track and road might be affected. As long parts of the road are flanked with buildings, the railway line often rather resembles urban tramway tracks than an overland line.

 

To warn residents and car drivers about the approaching train, engines are equipped with very loud horns that even drown horns of Indian trucks and buses. Trains honk almost without pause.

 

LOOPS AND Z-REVERSE

One of the main difficulties faced by the DHR was the steepness of the climb. Features called loops and Z-Reverses were designed as an integral part of the system at different points along the route to achieve a comfortable gradient for the stretches in between them. When the train moves forwards, reverses and then moves forward again, climbing a slope each time while doing so, it gains height along the side of the hill.

 

LOCOMOTIVES

CURRENT

STEAM

All the steam locomotives currently in use on the railway are of the "B" Class, a design built by Sharp, Stewart and Company and later the North British Locomotive Company, between 1889 and 1925. A total of 34 were built, but by 2005 only 12 remained on the railway and in use (or under repair).

 

In 2002, No. 787 was rebuilt with oil firing. This was originally installed to work on the same principle as that used on Nilgiri Mountain Railway No.37395. A diesel-powered generator was fitted to operate the oil burner and an electrically-driven feed pump, and a diesel-powered compressor was fitted to power the braking system. Additionally, the locomotive was fitted with a feedwater heater. The overall result was a dramatic change in the appearance of the locomotive. However, the trials of the locomotive were disappointing and it never entered regular service. In early 2011, it was in Tindharia Works awaiting reconversion to coal-firing.

 

In March 2001, No.794 was transferred to the Matheran Hill Railway to allow a "Joy Train" (steam-hauled tourist train) to be operated on that railway. It did not, however, enter service there until May 2002.

 

DIESEL

Four diesel locomotives are in use: Nos. 601-2, 604 and 605 of the NDM6 class transferred from the Matheran Hill Railway.

Past

 

In 1910 the railway purchased the third Garratt locomotive built, a D Class 0-4-0+0-4-0.

 

Only one DHR steam locomotive has been taken out of India, No.778 (originally No.19). After many years out of use at the Hesston Steam Railway, it was sold to an enthusiast in the UK and restored to working order. It is now based on a private railway (The Beeches Light Railway) in Oxfordshire but has run on the Ffestiniog Railway, the Launceston Steam Railway and the Leighton Buzzard Light Railway.

 

IN POPULAR CULTURE

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway has long been viewed with affection and enthusiasm by travellers to the region and the Earl of Ronaldshay gave the following description of a journey in the early 1920s:

 

"Siliguri is palpably a place of meeting... The discovery that here the metre gauge system ends and the two foot gauge of the Darjeeling-Himalayan railway begins, confirms what all these things hint at... One steps into a railway carriage which might easily be mistaken for a toy, and the whimsical idea seizes hold of one that one has accidentally stumbled into Lilliput. With a noisy fuss out of all proportion to its size the engine gives a jerk - and starts... No special mechanical device such as a rack is employed - unless, indeed, one can so describe the squat and stolid hill-man who sits perched over the forward buffers of the engine and scatters sand on the rails when the wheels of the engine lose their grip of the metals and race, with the noise of a giant spring running down when the control has been removed. Sometimes we cross our own track after completing the circuit of a cone, at others we zigzag backwards and forwards; but always we climb at a steady gradient - so steady that if one embarks in a trolley at Ghum, the highest point on the line, the initial push supplies all the energy necessary to carry one to the bottom."

 

The trip up to Darjeeling on railway has changed little since that time, and continues to delight travellers and rail enthusiasts, so much so that it has its own preservation and support group, the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Society.

 

Several films have portrayed the railway. Especially popular was the song Mere sapno ki rani from the film Aradhana where the protagonist Rajesh Khanna tries to woo heroine Sharmila Tagore who was riding in the train. Other notable films include Barfi!, Parineeta and Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman. The Darjeeling Limited, a film directed by Wes Anderson, features a trip by three brothers on a fictional long-distance train based loosely on the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.

 

TELEVISION

The BBC made a series of three documentaries dealing with Indian Hill Railways, shown in February 2010. The first film covers the Darjeeling-Himalayan Railway, the second the Nilgiri Mountain Railway and the third the Kalka-Shimla Railway. The films were directed by Tarun Bhartiya, Hugo Smith and Nick Mattingly and produced by Gerry Troyna. The series won the UK Royal Television Society Award in June 2010. Wes Anderson's film The Darjeeling Limited also showcases three brothers riding the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.

 

WIKIPEDIA

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, also known as the "Toy Train", is a 610 mm narrow gauge railway that runs between New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling in the Indian state of West Bengal, India. Built between 1879 and 1881, the railway is about 78 kilometres long. Its elevation level varies from about 100 metres at New Jalpaiguri to about 2,200 metres at Darjeeling. Four modern diesel locomotives handle most of the scheduled services; however the daily Kurseong-Darjeeling return service and the daily tourist trains from Darjeeling to Ghum (India's highest railway station) are handled by the vintage British-built B Class steam locomotives. The railway, along with the Nilgiri Mountain Railway and the Kalka-Shimla Railway, is listed as the Mountain Railways of India World Heritage Site. The headquarters of the railway is in the town of Kurseong. Operations between Siliguri and Kurseong have been temporarily suspended since 2010 following a Landslide at Tindharia.

 

HISTORY

A broad gauge railway connected Calcutta (now Kolkata) and Siliguri in 1878. Siliguri, at the base of the Himalayas, was connected to Darjeeling by a cart road (the present day Hill Cart Road) on which "Tonga services" (carriage services) were available. Franklin Prestage, an agent of Eastern Bengal Railway Company approached the government with a proposal of laying a steam tramway from Siliguri to Darjeeling. The proposal was accepted in 1879 following the positive report of a committee formed by Sir Ashley Eden, the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal. Construction started the same year.

 

Gillanders Arbuthnot & Co. constructed the railway. The stretch from Siliguri to Kurseong was opened on 23 August 1880, while the official opening of the line up to Darjeeling was on 4 July 1881. Several engineering adjustments were made later in order to ease the gradient of the rails. Despite natural calamities, such as an earthquake in 1897 and a major cyclone in 1899, the DHR continued to improve with new extension lines being built in response to growing passenger and freight traffic. However, the DHR started to face competition from bus services that started operating over the Hill Cart Road, offering a shorter journey time. During World War II, the DHR played a vital role transporting military personnel and supplies to the numerous camps around Ghum and Darjeeling.

 

After the independence of India, the DHR was absorbed into Indian Railways and became a part of the Northeast Frontier Railway zone in 1958. In 1962, the line was realigned at Siliguri and extended by nearly 6 km to New Jalpaiguri (NJP) to meet the new broad gauge line there. DHR remained closed for 18 months during the hostile period of Gorkhaland Movement in 1988-89.

 

The line closed in 2011 due to a 6.8 Magnitude earthquake. The line is currently loss-making and in 2015, Rajah Banerjee, a local tea estate owner, has called for privatisation to encourage investment, which was fiercely resisted by unions.

 

WORLD HERITAGE SITE

DHR was declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1999, only the second railway to have this honour bestowed upon it, the first one being Semmering Railway of Austria in 1998. To be nominated as World Heritage site on the World Heritage List, the particular site or property needs to fulfill a certain set of criteria, which are expressed in the UNESCO World Heritage Convention and its corresponding Operational Guidelines. The site must be of outstanding universal value and meet at least one out of ten selection criteria. The protection, management, authenticity and integrity of properties are also important considerations.

 

CRITERIA FOR SELECTION

The DHR is justified by the following criteria:

 

Criterion II - The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway is an outstanding example of the influence of an innovative transportation system on the social and economic development of a multi-cultural region, which was to serve as a model for similar developments in many parts of the world.

 

Criterion IV - The development of railways in the 19th century had a profound influence on social and economic developments in many parts of the world. This process is illustrated in an exceptional and seminal fashion by the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.

 

AUTHENTICITY AND INTEGRITY

Since 1881, the original route has been retained in a remarkable condition. Only minimal interventions of an evolutionary nature, such as the reduction of loops, have been carried out. Most of the original steam locomotives are still in use. Like Tea and the Ghurka culture, the DHR has become not only an essential feature of the landscape but also an enduring part of the identity of Darjeeling.

 

MANAGEMENT AND LEGAL STATUS

The DHR and all its movable and immovable assets, including the authentic railway stations, the line, and the track vehicles, belong to the Government of India entrusted to the Ministry of Railways. The Northeast Frontier Railway documented all the elements of the DHR in a comprehensive register. Apart from that, it handles the day-to-day maintenance and management. But moreover, several programs, divisions and departments of the Indian Railways are responsible for operating, maintaining and repairing the DHR. This includes technical as well as non-technical work. In principle, the only two legal protection mechanisms that apply to the conservation of the DHR are the provisions of the 1989 Railway Act and that it is a public property which is state-owned and therefore protected.

 

THE ROUTE

The railway line basically follows the Hill Cart Road which is partially the same as National Highway 55. Usually, the track is simply on the road side. In case of landslides both track and road might be affected. As long parts of the road are flanked with buildings, the railway line often rather resembles urban tramway tracks than an overland line.

 

To warn residents and car drivers about the approaching train, engines are equipped with very loud horns that even drown horns of Indian trucks and buses. Trains honk almost without pause.

 

Loops and Z-Reverses (or "zig-zag"s)

One of the main difficulties faced by the DHR was the steepness of the climb. Features called loops and Z-Reverses were designed as an integral part of the system at different points along the route to achieve a comfortable gradient for the stretches in between them. When the train moves forwards, reverses and then moves forward again, climbing a slope each time while doing so, it gains height along the side of the hill.

 

STATIONS

 

NEW JALPAIGURI JUNCTION (NJP)

New Jalpaiguri is the railway station which was extended to the south in 1964 to meet the new broad gauge to Assam. Where the two met, New Jalpaiguri was created.

 

SILIGURI TOWN STATION

Siliguri Town was original southern terminus of the line.

 

SIIGURI JUNCTION

Siliguri Junction became a major station only when a new metre-gauge line was built to Assam in the early 1950s

 

SUKNA STATION

This station marks the change in the landscape from the flat plains to the wooded lower slopes of the mountains. The gradient of the railway changes dramatically.

 

LOOP 1 (now removed)

Loop No.1 was in the woods above Sukna. It was removed after flood damage in 1991. The site is now lost in the forest.

 

RANGTONG STATION

A short distance above Rangtong there is a water tank. This was a better position for the tank than in the station, both in terms of water supply and distance between other water tanks.

 

LOOP 2 (now removed)

When Loop 2 was removed in 1942, again following flood damage, a new reverse, No.1, was added, creating the longest reverse run.

 

REVERSE 1

 

LOOP 3

Loop No.3 is at Chunbatti. This is now the lowest loop.

 

REVERSE 2 & 3

Reverses No.2 & 3 are between Chunbatti and Tindharia.

 

TINDHARIA STATION

This is a major station on the line as below the station is the workshops. There is also an office for the engineers and a large locomotive shed, all on a separate site.

 

Immediately above the station are three sidings; these were used to inspect the carriage while the locomotive was changed, before the train continued towards Darjeeling.

 

LOOP 4

Agony Point is the name given to loop No.4. It comes from the shape of the loop which comes to an apex which is the tightest curve on the line.

 

GAYABARI

 

REVERSE 6

Reverse No.6 is the last reverse on the climb.

 

MAHANADI STAION

 

KURSEONG STATION

There is a shed here and a few sidings adjacent to the main line, but the station proper is a dead end. Up trains must reverse out of the station (across a busy road junction) before they can continue on their climb. It is said that the station was built this way so that the train could enter a secure yard and stay there while the passengers left the train for refreshments.

 

Above Kurseong station, the railway runs through the bazaar. Trains skirt the front of shops and market stalls on this busy stretch of road.

 

SONADA STATION

Sonada is a small station which serves town of sonada on Darjeeling Himalayan railway. It is on Siliguri - Darjeeling national highway (NH 55).

 

JOREBUNGALOW STATION

This is a small location near Darjeeling and a railway station on Darjeeling Himalayan railway. Jorebungalow was store point for tea to Calcutta. This is a strategical place to connect Darjeeling to rest of the country.

 

GHUM STATION

Ghum, summit of the line and highest station in India. Now includes a museum on the first floor of the station building with larger exhibits in the old goods yard. Once this was the railway station at highest altitude overall and is the highest altitude station for narrow gauge railway.

 

BATASIA LOOP

The loop is 5 kilometres from Darjeeling, below Ghum. There is also a memorial to the Gorkha soldiers of the Indian Army who sacrificed their lives after the Indian Independence in 1947. From the Batasia Loop one can get a panoramic view of Darjeeling town with the Kanchenjunga and other snowy mountains in the back-drop.

 

DARJEELING STATION

The farthest reach of the line was to Darjeeling Bazaar, a goods-only line and now lost under the road surface and small buildings.

 

LOCOMOTIVES

 

CURRENT

STEAM

All the steam locomotives currently in use on the railway are of the "B" Class, a design built by Sharp, Stewart and Company and later the North British Locomotive Company, between 1889 and 1925. A total of 34 were built, but by 2005 only 12 remained on the railway and in use (or under repair).

 

In 2002, No. 787 was rebuilt with oil firing. This was originally installed to work on the same principle as that used on Nilgiri Mountain Railway No.37395. A diesel-powered generator was fitted to operate the oil burner and an electrically-driven feed pump, and a diesel-powered compressor was fitted to power the braking system. Additionally, the locomotive was fitted with a feedwater heater. The overall result was a dramatic change in the appearance of the locomotive. However, the trials of the locomotive were disappointing and it never entered regular service. In early 2011, it was in Tindharia Works awaiting reconversion to coal-firing.

 

In March 2001, No.794 was transferred to the Matheran Hill Railway to allow a "Joy Train" (steam-hauled tourist train) to be operated on that railway. It did not, however, enter service there until May 2002.

 

DIESEL

Four diesel locomotives are in use: Nos. 601-2, 604 and 605 of the NDM6 class transferred from the Matheran Hill Railway.

 

PAST

In 1910 the railway purchased the third Garratt locomotive built, a D Class 0-4-0+0-4-0.

 

Only one DHR steam locomotive has been taken out of India, No.778 (originally No.19). After many years out of use at the Hesston Steam Railway, it was sold to an enthusiast in the UK and restored to working order. It is now based on a private railway (The Beeches Light Railway) in Oxfordshire but has run on the Ffestiniog Railway, the Launceston Steam Railway and the Leighton Buzzard Light Railway.

 

IN POPULAR CULTURE

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway has long been viewed with affection and enthusiasm by travellers to the region and the Earl of Ronaldshay gave the following description of a journey in the early 1920s:

 

"Siliguri is palpably a place of meeting . . The discovery that here the metre gauge system ends and the two foot gauge of the Darjeeling-Himalayan railway begins, confirms what all these things hint at... One steps into a railway carriage which might easily be mistaken for a toy, and the whimsical idea seizes hold of one that one has accidentally stumbled into Lilliput. With a noisy fuss out of all proportion to its size the engine gives a jerk - and starts... No special mechanical device such as a rack is employed - unless, indeed, one can so describe the squat and stolid hill-man who sits perched over the forward buffers of the engine and scatters sand on the rails when the wheels of the engine lose their grip of the metals and race, with the noise of a giant spring running down when the control has been removed.

 

Sometimes we cross our own track after completing the circuit of a cone, at others we zigzag backwards and forwards; but always we climb at a steady gradient - so steady that if one embarks in a trolley at Ghum, the highest point on the line, the initial push supplies all the energy necessary to carry one to the bottom."

 

The trip up to Darjeeling on railway has changed little since that time, and continues to delight travellers and rail enthusiasts, so much so that it has its own preservation and support group, the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Society.

 

Several films have portrayed the railway. Especially popular was the song Mere sapno ki rani from the film Aradhana where the protagonist Rajesh Khanna tries to woo heroine Sharmila Tagore who was riding in the train. Other notable films include Barfi!, Parineeta and Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman. The Darjeeling Limited, a film directed by Wes Anderson, features a trip by three brothers on a fictional long-distance train based very loosely on the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.

 

TELEVISION

The BBC made a series of three documentaries dealing with Indian Hill Railways, shown in February 2010. The first film covers the Darjeeling-Himalayan Railway, the second the Nilgiri Mountain Railway and the third the Kalka-Shimla Railway. The films were directed by Tarun Bhartiya, Hugo Smith and Nick Mattingly and produced by Gerry Troyna. The series won the UK Royal Television Society Award in June 2010. Wes Anderson's film The Darjeeling Limited also showcases three brothers riding the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.

 

WIKIPEDIA

Real Medicine Foundation-HF Health Project, Talhatta, Balakot, NWFP

RMF-HF Health Care Project

The RMF-HF Health Care Project resulted from a partnership between Real Medicine Foundation USA and Hashoo Foundation in mid-January 2006. A formalized RMF-HF Health Care Unit was established in Shohal Moizullah in February 2006. This health unit employs a full time MBBS doctor, a medical technician, two LHVs and a dispenser.

 

The health unit is equipped with a complete range of medical equipments, including a nebuliser, glucometer, deep freezer/refrigerator (for medicines and vaccines), an oxygen gas cylinder, a complete ENT diagnostic set, and a well-equipped room for examining gynecological cases. The health unit is also furnished with two room coolers, heaters, and an electric power generator to face drastic weather conditions. An ECG machine and a laptop assist in diagnosing ischemic hearth disease patients and reduce referral load to other hospitals.

 

In December 2006, considering the catchments area size, the health unit was shifted from Jabri, Shohal Moizullah to UC Talhata where a larger population could be served.

 

The most common health problems in the area include Acute Respiratory Infections (ARIs), diarrhea diseases, infectious diseases, gastric diseases, gynecological diseases, skin infections and cardio vascular diseases. The health unit is regularly supplied with IV drips, IV antibiotics, IV sets, oral re-hydration salts, anti-hypertensive, oral antibiotics, antipyretics, analgesics, examination gloves and masks, and vitamins.

 

As the terrain is extremely difficult, a jeep has been modified as an ambulance. This vehicle can easily access remote places, transporting referred patients to secondary and tertiary care units in neighboring larger cities and towns.

 

Background

The October 8, 2005 earthquake destroyed large portions of the NWFP and Kashmir (AJK) regions. Widespread death and devastation affected an area of approximately 30,000 square kilometers, home to more than 3 million people living in hamlets spread in Himalayan slopes and valleys. This disaster was described as the world’s third deadliest natural disaster in the last 25 years: it killed more than between 73,000 and 80,000 people, injured more than a 100,000 and made 3 million homeless in the highest mountain ranges in the world (Brennan RJ and Waldman RJ, New England Journal of Medicine, April 2006).

 

Following this earthquake HF’s health program opened a health camp in Jabri Balakot. In January 2006, HF in partnership with RMF USA set a semi-permanent structure aiming at offering free primary healthcare to the earthquake affected communities. It contains two beds for only emergency cases. The centre is funded by Real Medicine Foundation (RMF) USA.

This was also running to help recharge the EVs

Check out our small wind turbines and wind power systems at:

 

tswind.com

 

TechnoSpin Inc. provides the most cost-efficient, reliable and easily customized wind power solutions to serve residential, commercial and industrial applications worldwide.

 

TechnoSpin's small wind turbines guarantee uninterrupted operation even at low winds, and ensure incomparable silent and vibration-free power generation. Its robust wind power solutions may be deployed as a grid or off-grid application for maximum efficiency.

 

TechnoSpin - everywhere the wind blows

San Jose Fire Department responded a full first alarm to reports of a bedroom fire on Duke Dr in San Jose, March 2013. Arriving units reported flames shooting out the front of the house.

 

With some quick work by fire crews knock down was achieved quickly with minimal damage to the structure.

 

San Jose Squad 30 is a 2002 MedicMaster/ALF built ambulance on a Freightliner FL60 chassis, it is a reserve rig. It features a PTO powered Generator and Command Light tower.

When I go out with my bike club buddies on an extra ride that is not an official club ride, we call ourselves The Irregulars (since it isn't a regular club ride).

 

I was lining up this photo with western Toronto (Etobicoke) and a wind powered generator in the background when someone behind me called out. It was a security guard from Ontario Place offering to take the photo so I could be included. She even suggested I retrieve my bike from a nearby fence where I had leaned it. "Without your bike you would look like you are a party crasher."

 

Little acts of kindness like this really make you feel good about the world despite the steady stream of ugly news we are subjected to on a daily basis.

Note:

The 'bomb racks' fitted to the wing hard points.

The polished aluminium fuselage has now been painted silver/grey.

Nose door heater intake bird-strainers. Later replaced by landing lights after the heaters were removed.

 

Bristol Freighter NZ5910 c/n 13134

 

Manufacture date 13 Aug 1953 with dual controls.

Allocated G-AMPJ to Bristol Aeroplane Company, but not used.

Arrived Whenuapai on delivery from United Kingdom 24 Apr 1954.

Brought on Charge at Whenuapai as NZ5910 with No. 41 Sqn 24 Apr 1954.

Radio call sign ZMZBM.

Carried out a supply drop Raoul Island (1 Sqn) Dec 1973.

Final RNZAF flight 14 Dec 1977.

Withdrawn From Use at Whenuapai 14 Dec 1977.

Registered to Dwen Airmotive NZ Ltd. as ZK-EPF 17 Aug 1978.

Ferried Whenuapai to Ardmore 31 Aug or 1 Sep 1978.

Change of owner to Hercules Airlines 27 Aug 1984.

Registration ZK-EPF cancelled 12 Jan 1988.

Registered to Trans Provincial Airlines Ltd Prince Rupert, BC, as C-GYQY Canada 28 Feb 1988.

Departed Auckland for Canada 9 Dec 1987.

Ground looped and the undercarriage collapsed on landing at Bronson Creek, BC, 21 Jun 1988.

Cancelled from Canadian Civil Aircraft Register Nov 1988 and scrapped.

www.adf-serials.com.au/nz-serials/nzbristolfreighter.htm

www.kiwiaircraftimages.com/b170list.html

 

On the 17-18-19 July 1960, NZ5910 flown by F/L A.E. McLeod flew from Whenuapai to Wigram with mail and replacement parts for the Meteorological Base power generator, which had been damaged by tsunami waves following an earthquake in Chile. On the 18th the Freighter flew to Invercargill and then to Campbell Island, but was unable to air-drop due to poor visibility and returned to Invercargill. The following day (19th) a successful drop was made.

www.airmailsnz.com/page9a.htm

 

NZ5910, NZ5911 and NZ5912 flew their final operational flights with the RNZAF 14 Dec 1977 which were from Singapore to NZ. The route was Singapore-Bali-Broome-Alice Springs-Adelaide-Hobart-Invercargill-Wigram-Woodbourne-Ohakea-Auckland.

rnzaf.proboards.com/thread/9964

 

On the 21st Jun 1988 a ground loop and undercarriage collapse at Bronson Creek, BC, meant the end of NZ5910 as C-GYQY. The right wing dropped on landing; the undercarriage collapsed, the aircraft ground looped and ran off the runway into a ditch with a cargo of 1,600 US gal of jet fuel. Maintenance suspects that the bolts attaching the right horizontal gear support to the main wheel had failed.

aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19880621-1

 

Map of accident location:

aviation-safety.net/database/airport/airport.php?id=YBM

 

Flight sim shot of Wrangell, the departure airport:

www.flickr.com/photos/157601388@N02/48403971851/in/photos...

 

(See also NZ5913 as C-FTPA in a similar incident 24 Apr 1997.)

aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19970424-0

 

Photo courtesy of Nigel Kendall

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, also known as the "Toy Train", is a 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge railway that runs between New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling in the Indian state of West Bengal, India. Built between 1879 and 1881, the railway is about 78 kilometres) long. Its elevation level varies from about 100 metres at New Jalpaiguri to about 2,200 metres at Darjeeling. Four modern diesel locomotives handle most of the scheduled services; however the daily Kurseong-Darjeeling return service and the daily tourist trains from Darjeeling to Ghum (India's highest railway station) are handled by the vintage British-built B Class steam locomotives. The railway, along with the Nilgiri Mountain Railway and the Kalka-Shimla Railway, is listed as the Mountain Railways of India World Heritage Site. The headquarters of the railway is in the town of Kurseong. Operations between Siliguri and Kurseong have been temporarily suspended since 2010 following a Landslide at Tindharia.

 

HISTORY

A broad gauge railway connected Calcutta (now Kolkata) and Siliguri in 1878. Siliguri, at the base of the Himalayas, was connected to Darjeeling by a cart road (the present day Hill Cart Road) on which "Tonga services" (carriage services) were available. Franklin Prestage, an agent of Eastern Bengal Railway Company approached the government with a proposal of laying a steam tramway from Siliguri to Darjeeling. The proposal was accepted in 1879 following the positive report of a committee formed by Sir Ashley Eden, the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal. Construction started the same year.

 

Gillanders Arbuthnot & Co. constructed the railway. The stretch from Siliguri to Kurseong was opened on 23 August 1880, while the official opening of the line up to Darjeeling was on 4 July 1881. Several engineering adjustments were made later in order to ease the gradient of the rails. Despite natural calamities, such as an earthquake in 1897 and a major cyclone in 1899, the DHR continued to improve with new extension lines being built in response to growing passenger and freight traffic. However, the DHR started to face competition from bus services that started operating over the Hill Cart Road, offering a shorter journey time. During World War II, the DHR played a vital role transporting military personnel and supplies to the numerous camps around Ghum and Darjeeling.

 

After the independence of India, the DHR was absorbed into Indian Railways and became a part of the Northeast Frontier Railway zone in 1958. In 1962, the line was realigned at Siliguri and extended by nearly 6 km to New Jalpaiguri (NJP) to meet the new broad gauge line there. DHR remained closed for 18 months during the hostile period of Gorkhaland Movement in 1988-89.

 

The line closed in 2011 due to a 6.8 Magnitude earthquake. The line is currently loss-making and in 2015, Rajah Banerjee, a local tea estate owner, has called for privatisation to encourage investment, which was fiercely resisted by unions.

 

WORLD HERITAGE SITE

DHR was declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1999, only the second railway to have this honour bestowed upon it, the first one being Semmering Railway of Austria in 1998. To be nominated as World Heritage site on the World Heritage List, the particular site or property needs to fulfill a certain set of criteria, which are expressed in the UNESCO World Heritage Convention and its corresponding Operational Guidelines. The site must be of outstanding universal value and meet at least one out of ten selection criteria. The protection, management, authenticity and integrity of properties are also important considerations.

 

CRITERIA FOR SELECTION

The DHR is justified by the following criteria:

 

Criterion ii The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway is an outstanding example of the influence of an innovative transportation system on the social and economic development of a multi-cultural region, which was to serve as a model for similar developments in many parts of the world.

 

Criterion iv The development of railways in the 19th century had a profound influence on social and economic developments in many parts of the world. This process is illustrated in an exceptional and seminal fashion by the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.

  

AUTHENTICITY AND INTEGITY

Since 1881, the original route has been retained in a remarkable condition. Only minimal interventions of an evolutionary nature, such as the reduction of loops, have been carried out. Most of the original steam locomotives are still in use. Like Tea and the Ghurka culture, the DHR has become not only an essential feature of the landscape but also an enduring part of the identity of Darjeeling.

 

MANAGEMENT AND LEGAL STATUS

The DHR and all its movable and immovable assets, including the authentic railway stations, the line, and the track vehicles, belong to the Government of India entrusted to the Ministry of Railways. The Northeast Frontier Railway documented all the elements of the DHR in a comprehensive register. Apart from that, it handles the day-to-day maintenance and management. But moreover, several programs, divisions and departments of the Indian Railways are responsible for operating, maintaining and repairing the DHR. This includes technical as well as non-technical work. In principle, the only two legal protection mechanisms that apply to the conservation of the DHR are the provisions of the 1989 Railway Act and that it is a public property which is state-owned and therefore protected

 

THE ROUTE

The railway line basically follows the Hill Cart Road which is partially the same as National Highway 55. Usually, the track is simply on the road side. In case of landslides both track and road might be affected. As long parts of the road are flanked with buildings, the railway line often rather resembles urban tramway tracks than an overland line.

 

To warn residents and car drivers about the approaching train, engines are equipped with very loud horns that even drown horns of Indian trucks and buses. Trains honk almost without pause.

 

LOOPS AND Z-REVERSE

One of the main difficulties faced by the DHR was the steepness of the climb. Features called loops and Z-Reverses were designed as an integral part of the system at different points along the route to achieve a comfortable gradient for the stretches in between them. When the train moves forwards, reverses and then moves forward again, climbing a slope each time while doing so, it gains height along the side of the hill.

 

LOCOMOTIVES

CURRENT

STEAM

All the steam locomotives currently in use on the railway are of the "B" Class, a design built by Sharp, Stewart and Company and later the North British Locomotive Company, between 1889 and 1925. A total of 34 were built, but by 2005 only 12 remained on the railway and in use (or under repair).

 

In 2002, No. 787 was rebuilt with oil firing. This was originally installed to work on the same principle as that used on Nilgiri Mountain Railway No.37395. A diesel-powered generator was fitted to operate the oil burner and an electrically-driven feed pump, and a diesel-powered compressor was fitted to power the braking system. Additionally, the locomotive was fitted with a feedwater heater. The overall result was a dramatic change in the appearance of the locomotive. However, the trials of the locomotive were disappointing and it never entered regular service. In early 2011, it was in Tindharia Works awaiting reconversion to coal-firing.

 

In March 2001, No.794 was transferred to the Matheran Hill Railway to allow a "Joy Train" (steam-hauled tourist train) to be operated on that railway. It did not, however, enter service there until May 2002.

 

DIESEL

Four diesel locomotives are in use: Nos. 601-2, 604 and 605 of the NDM6 class transferred from the Matheran Hill Railway.

Past

 

In 1910 the railway purchased the third Garratt locomotive built, a D Class 0-4-0+0-4-0.

 

Only one DHR steam locomotive has been taken out of India, No.778 (originally No.19). After many years out of use at the Hesston Steam Railway, it was sold to an enthusiast in the UK and restored to working order. It is now based on a private railway (The Beeches Light Railway) in Oxfordshire but has run on the Ffestiniog Railway, the Launceston Steam Railway and the Leighton Buzzard Light Railway.

 

IN POPULAR CULTURE

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway has long been viewed with affection and enthusiasm by travellers to the region and the Earl of Ronaldshay gave the following description of a journey in the early 1920s:

 

"Siliguri is palpably a place of meeting... The discovery that here the metre gauge system ends and the two foot gauge of the Darjeeling-Himalayan railway begins, confirms what all these things hint at... One steps into a railway carriage which might easily be mistaken for a toy, and the whimsical idea seizes hold of one that one has accidentally stumbled into Lilliput. With a noisy fuss out of all proportion to its size the engine gives a jerk - and starts... No special mechanical device such as a rack is employed - unless, indeed, one can so describe the squat and stolid hill-man who sits perched over the forward buffers of the engine and scatters sand on the rails when the wheels of the engine lose their grip of the metals and race, with the noise of a giant spring running down when the control has been removed. Sometimes we cross our own track after completing the circuit of a cone, at others we zigzag backwards and forwards; but always we climb at a steady gradient - so steady that if one embarks in a trolley at Ghum, the highest point on the line, the initial push supplies all the energy necessary to carry one to the bottom."

 

The trip up to Darjeeling on railway has changed little since that time, and continues to delight travellers and rail enthusiasts, so much so that it has its own preservation and support group, the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Society.

 

Several films have portrayed the railway. Especially popular was the song Mere sapno ki rani from the film Aradhana where the protagonist Rajesh Khanna tries to woo heroine Sharmila Tagore who was riding in the train. Other notable films include Barfi!, Parineeta and Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman. The Darjeeling Limited, a film directed by Wes Anderson, features a trip by three brothers on a fictional long-distance train based loosely on the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.

 

TELEVISION

The BBC made a series of three documentaries dealing with Indian Hill Railways, shown in February 2010. The first film covers the Darjeeling-Himalayan Railway, the second the Nilgiri Mountain Railway and the third the Kalka-Shimla Railway. The films were directed by Tarun Bhartiya, Hugo Smith and Nick Mattingly and produced by Gerry Troyna. The series won the UK Royal Television Society Award in June 2010. Wes Anderson's film The Darjeeling Limited also showcases three brothers riding the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.

 

WIKIPEDIA

In response to severe power losses incurred in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, over a dozen communities from New Hampshire to Virginia will benefit from new backup power systems destined for 14 national wildlife refuges. These installations will serve as valuable emergency resources for nearby areas during future electrical outages. This Hurricane Sandy funded recovery project will install generators, providing backup power to Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge in Maryland.

 

More project details: www.fws.gov/hurricane/sandy/projects/ChesapeakeMarshlands...

 

Photo credit: Teresa Walter/USFWS

 

Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/usfwsnortheast

 

Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/usfwsnortheast

Seen departing Dún Laoghaire for Holyhead for the very last time. This last crossing is possibly the last ever ferry crossing to leave Dún Laoghaire port. Sadly the vessel departed without fanfare which is disappointing considering the ports 180+ years of ferry history. Sadly this reflects the harbour authority's attitude of recent years towards the service.

  

History

Name:

One World Karadeniz (2015-onwards)

Stena Explorer (1996-2015)

Owner:

Karadeniz Holding (2015-onwards)

Stena Line (1996-2015)

Port of registry:

(2015-onwards) MonroviaLiberia Liberia

(1996-2015) London,United Kingdom United Kingdom

Builder:Finnyards, Finland

Cost:£65,000,000

Yard number:404

Laid down:June 1994

Launched:May 1995

Completed:February 1996

In service:April 1996 - September 2014

Identification:IMO number: 9080194

Fate:Sold to firm in Turkey for static use as offices, power generator and research projects.[1]

Status:Moored up in Yalova, Turkey

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, also known as the "Toy Train", is a 610 mm narrow gauge railway that runs between New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling in the Indian state of West Bengal, India. Built between 1879 and 1881, the railway is about 78 kilometres long. Its elevation level varies from about 100 metres at New Jalpaiguri to about 2,200 metres at Darjeeling. Four modern diesel locomotives handle most of the scheduled services; however the daily Kurseong-Darjeeling return service and the daily tourist trains from Darjeeling to Ghum (India's highest railway station) are handled by the vintage British-built B Class steam locomotives. The railway, along with the Nilgiri Mountain Railway and the Kalka-Shimla Railway, is listed as the Mountain Railways of India World Heritage Site. The headquarters of the railway is in the town of Kurseong. Operations between Siliguri and Kurseong have been temporarily suspended since 2010 following a Landslide at Tindharia.

 

HISTORY

A broad gauge railway connected Calcutta (now Kolkata) and Siliguri in 1878. Siliguri, at the base of the Himalayas, was connected to Darjeeling by a cart road (the present day Hill Cart Road) on which "Tonga services" (carriage services) were available. Franklin Prestage, an agent of Eastern Bengal Railway Company approached the government with a proposal of laying a steam tramway from Siliguri to Darjeeling. The proposal was accepted in 1879 following the positive report of a committee formed by Sir Ashley Eden, the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal. Construction started the same year.

 

Gillanders Arbuthnot & Co. constructed the railway. The stretch from Siliguri to Kurseong was opened on 23 August 1880, while the official opening of the line up to Darjeeling was on 4 July 1881. Several engineering adjustments were made later in order to ease the gradient of the rails. Despite natural calamities, such as an earthquake in 1897 and a major cyclone in 1899, the DHR continued to improve with new extension lines being built in response to growing passenger and freight traffic. However, the DHR started to face competition from bus services that started operating over the Hill Cart Road, offering a shorter journey time. During World War II, the DHR played a vital role transporting military personnel and supplies to the numerous camps around Ghum and Darjeeling.

 

After the independence of India, the DHR was absorbed into Indian Railways and became a part of the Northeast Frontier Railway zone in 1958. In 1962, the line was realigned at Siliguri and extended by nearly 6 km to New Jalpaiguri (NJP) to meet the new broad gauge line there. DHR remained closed for 18 months during the hostile period of Gorkhaland Movement in 1988-89.

 

The line closed in 2011 due to a 6.8 Magnitude earthquake. The line is currently loss-making and in 2015, Rajah Banerjee, a local tea estate owner, has called for privatisation to encourage investment, which was fiercely resisted by unions.

 

WORLD HERITAGE SITE

DHR was declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1999, only the second railway to have this honour bestowed upon it, the first one being Semmering Railway of Austria in 1998. To be nominated as World Heritage site on the World Heritage List, the particular site or property needs to fulfill a certain set of criteria, which are expressed in the UNESCO World Heritage Convention and its corresponding Operational Guidelines. The site must be of outstanding universal value and meet at least one out of ten selection criteria. The protection, management, authenticity and integrity of properties are also important considerations.

 

CRITERIA FOR SELECTION

The DHR is justified by the following criteria:

 

Criterion II - The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway is an outstanding example of the influence of an innovative transportation system on the social and economic development of a multi-cultural region, which was to serve as a model for similar developments in many parts of the world.

 

Criterion IV - The development of railways in the 19th century had a profound influence on social and economic developments in many parts of the world. This process is illustrated in an exceptional and seminal fashion by the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.

 

AUTHENTICITY AND INTEGRITY

Since 1881, the original route has been retained in a remarkable condition. Only minimal interventions of an evolutionary nature, such as the reduction of loops, have been carried out. Most of the original steam locomotives are still in use. Like Tea and the Ghurka culture, the DHR has become not only an essential feature of the landscape but also an enduring part of the identity of Darjeeling.

 

MANAGEMENT AND LEGAL STATUS

The DHR and all its movable and immovable assets, including the authentic railway stations, the line, and the track vehicles, belong to the Government of India entrusted to the Ministry of Railways. The Northeast Frontier Railway documented all the elements of the DHR in a comprehensive register. Apart from that, it handles the day-to-day maintenance and management. But moreover, several programs, divisions and departments of the Indian Railways are responsible for operating, maintaining and repairing the DHR. This includes technical as well as non-technical work. In principle, the only two legal protection mechanisms that apply to the conservation of the DHR are the provisions of the 1989 Railway Act and that it is a public property which is state-owned and therefore protected.

 

THE ROUTE

The railway line basically follows the Hill Cart Road which is partially the same as National Highway 55. Usually, the track is simply on the road side. In case of landslides both track and road might be affected. As long parts of the road are flanked with buildings, the railway line often rather resembles urban tramway tracks than an overland line.

 

To warn residents and car drivers about the approaching train, engines are equipped with very loud horns that even drown horns of Indian trucks and buses. Trains honk almost without pause.

 

Loops and Z-Reverses (or "zig-zag"s)

One of the main difficulties faced by the DHR was the steepness of the climb. Features called loops and Z-Reverses were designed as an integral part of the system at different points along the route to achieve a comfortable gradient for the stretches in between them. When the train moves forwards, reverses and then moves forward again, climbing a slope each time while doing so, it gains height along the side of the hill.

 

STATIONS

 

NEW JALPAIGURI JUNCTION (NJP)

New Jalpaiguri is the railway station which was extended to the south in 1964 to meet the new broad gauge to Assam. Where the two met, New Jalpaiguri was created.

 

SILIGURI TOWN STATION

Siliguri Town was original southern terminus of the line.

 

SIIGURI JUNCTION

Siliguri Junction became a major station only when a new metre-gauge line was built to Assam in the early 1950s

 

SUKNA STATION

This station marks the change in the landscape from the flat plains to the wooded lower slopes of the mountains. The gradient of the railway changes dramatically.

 

LOOP 1 (now removed)

Loop No.1 was in the woods above Sukna. It was removed after flood damage in 1991. The site is now lost in the forest.

 

RANGTONG STATION

A short distance above Rangtong there is a water tank. This was a better position for the tank than in the station, both in terms of water supply and distance between other water tanks.

 

LOOP 2 (now removed)

When Loop 2 was removed in 1942, again following flood damage, a new reverse, No.1, was added, creating the longest reverse run.

 

REVERSE 1

 

LOOP 3

Loop No.3 is at Chunbatti. This is now the lowest loop.

 

REVERSE 2 & 3

Reverses No.2 & 3 are between Chunbatti and Tindharia.

 

TINDHARIA STATION

This is a major station on the line as below the station is the workshops. There is also an office for the engineers and a large locomotive shed, all on a separate site.

 

Immediately above the station are three sidings; these were used to inspect the carriage while the locomotive was changed, before the train continued towards Darjeeling.

 

LOOP 4

Agony Point is the name given to loop No.4. It comes from the shape of the loop which comes to an apex which is the tightest curve on the line.

 

GAYABARI

 

REVERSE 6

Reverse No.6 is the last reverse on the climb.

 

MAHANADI STAION

 

KURSEONG STATION

There is a shed here and a few sidings adjacent to the main line, but the station proper is a dead end. Up trains must reverse out of the station (across a busy road junction) before they can continue on their climb. It is said that the station was built this way so that the train could enter a secure yard and stay there while the passengers left the train for refreshments.

 

Above Kurseong station, the railway runs through the bazaar. Trains skirt the front of shops and market stalls on this busy stretch of road.

 

SONADA STATION

Sonada is a small station which serves town of sonada on Darjeeling Himalayan railway. It is on Siliguri - Darjeeling national highway (NH 55).

 

JOREBUNGALOW STATION

This is a small location near Darjeeling and a railway station on Darjeeling Himalayan railway. Jorebungalow was store point for tea to Calcutta. This is a strategical place to connect Darjeeling to rest of the country.

 

GHUM STATION

Ghum, summit of the line and highest station in India. Now includes a museum on the first floor of the station building with larger exhibits in the old goods yard. Once this was the railway station at highest altitude overall and is the highest altitude station for narrow gauge railway.

 

BATASIA LOOP

The loop is 5 kilometres from Darjeeling, below Ghum. There is also a memorial to the Gorkha soldiers of the Indian Army who sacrificed their lives after the Indian Independence in 1947. From the Batasia Loop one can get a panoramic view of Darjeeling town with the Kanchenjunga and other snowy mountains in the back-drop.

 

DARJEELING STATION

The farthest reach of the line was to Darjeeling Bazaar, a goods-only line and now lost under the road surface and small buildings.

 

LOCOMOTIVES

 

CURRENT

STEAM

All the steam locomotives currently in use on the railway are of the "B" Class, a design built by Sharp, Stewart and Company and later the North British Locomotive Company, between 1889 and 1925. A total of 34 were built, but by 2005 only 12 remained on the railway and in use (or under repair).

 

In 2002, No. 787 was rebuilt with oil firing. This was originally installed to work on the same principle as that used on Nilgiri Mountain Railway No.37395. A diesel-powered generator was fitted to operate the oil burner and an electrically-driven feed pump, and a diesel-powered compressor was fitted to power the braking system. Additionally, the locomotive was fitted with a feedwater heater. The overall result was a dramatic change in the appearance of the locomotive. However, the trials of the locomotive were disappointing and it never entered regular service. In early 2011, it was in Tindharia Works awaiting reconversion to coal-firing.

 

In March 2001, No.794 was transferred to the Matheran Hill Railway to allow a "Joy Train" (steam-hauled tourist train) to be operated on that railway. It did not, however, enter service there until May 2002.

 

DIESEL

Four diesel locomotives are in use: Nos. 601-2, 604 and 605 of the NDM6 class transferred from the Matheran Hill Railway.

 

PAST

In 1910 the railway purchased the third Garratt locomotive built, a D Class 0-4-0+0-4-0.

 

Only one DHR steam locomotive has been taken out of India, No.778 (originally No.19). After many years out of use at the Hesston Steam Railway, it was sold to an enthusiast in the UK and restored to working order. It is now based on a private railway (The Beeches Light Railway) in Oxfordshire but has run on the Ffestiniog Railway, the Launceston Steam Railway and the Leighton Buzzard Light Railway.

 

IN POPULAR CULTURE

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway has long been viewed with affection and enthusiasm by travellers to the region and the Earl of Ronaldshay gave the following description of a journey in the early 1920s:

 

"Siliguri is palpably a place of meeting . . The discovery that here the metre gauge system ends and the two foot gauge of the Darjeeling-Himalayan railway begins, confirms what all these things hint at... One steps into a railway carriage which might easily be mistaken for a toy, and the whimsical idea seizes hold of one that one has accidentally stumbled into Lilliput. With a noisy fuss out of all proportion to its size the engine gives a jerk - and starts... No special mechanical device such as a rack is employed - unless, indeed, one can so describe the squat and stolid hill-man who sits perched over the forward buffers of the engine and scatters sand on the rails when the wheels of the engine lose their grip of the metals and race, with the noise of a giant spring running down when the control has been removed.

 

Sometimes we cross our own track after completing the circuit of a cone, at others we zigzag backwards and forwards; but always we climb at a steady gradient - so steady that if one embarks in a trolley at Ghum, the highest point on the line, the initial push supplies all the energy necessary to carry one to the bottom."

 

The trip up to Darjeeling on railway has changed little since that time, and continues to delight travellers and rail enthusiasts, so much so that it has its own preservation and support group, the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Society.

 

Several films have portrayed the railway. Especially popular was the song Mere sapno ki rani from the film Aradhana where the protagonist Rajesh Khanna tries to woo heroine Sharmila Tagore who was riding in the train. Other notable films include Barfi!, Parineeta and Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman. The Darjeeling Limited, a film directed by Wes Anderson, features a trip by three brothers on a fictional long-distance train based very loosely on the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.

 

TELEVISION

The BBC made a series of three documentaries dealing with Indian Hill Railways, shown in February 2010. The first film covers the Darjeeling-Himalayan Railway, the second the Nilgiri Mountain Railway and the third the Kalka-Shimla Railway. The films were directed by Tarun Bhartiya, Hugo Smith and Nick Mattingly and produced by Gerry Troyna. The series won the UK Royal Television Society Award in June 2010. Wes Anderson's film The Darjeeling Limited also showcases three brothers riding the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.

 

WIKIPEDIA

The Vista Canyon was built in 1947 by the Pullman Company for the Santa Fe Railroad. Originally the car had one double bedroom; four drawing rooms and a round end observation lounge. The car was one of four built for the “Super Chief”, the extra fare streamline train serving Chicago, Los Angeles and points between. In 1956 the round end was modified to allow use of the car in mid train service. Private owners added a small buffet kitchen and shower in 1994. The car was donated to the Arizona Railway Museum on March 31, 2001.

The car was rebuilt in 1994-95 with full Amtrak Head End Power, generator, air conditioning and heating systems, all new electric wiring, new FRA glazing, and a 40-year truck rebuild. The car sleeps a maximum of 14; two in the bedroom and three in each drawing room. Normal occupancy is patterned after the Santa Fe practice that sold the drawing rooms as compartments, using only the lower berths with the smaller double bedroom being used as crew quarters. The lounge seats 8 in comfortable chairs, some original to the Santa Fe, and has removable tables for serving meals; four per table. A complete kitchen is located in the vestibule end of the car with refrigerator, oven and stovetop, microwave and cabinets. A shower is also located in the vestibule end. Each of the drawing rooms has a private toilet.

Iconic, robust, practical. This is my 3rd version of the iconic ship that has graced the screens, tv shows and in print. I took a step back from my first version and reworked the entire model.

 

Red 5, Luke's main ship. Stickers from the UCS model and custom ones were used. I may add more later, but that may be for the Gray model version.

 

Many other x-wing designs have come since my 2016 model as well as new LEGO parts that helped shape this ship.

 

Like my original design this model features a durable internal structure and frame that allows you to hold the ship in front of the cockpit.

 

I also included internal components like my previous model to help define the various parts shown in the X-Wing cross sections. Life support, compressors, coils, power converters, power generator, flight computer, repulsorlift, hydraulic lines, communications antenna, sensor computer, primary sensor array, and a functional cargo bay.

 

The Landing gear was another story. Since my model is a display one I wanted to not have a working rear landing gear until LEGO develops more curved slopes that would help shape the engines. Instead, I used a similar design from my previous model to swap out for landing mode or flight mode. The front landing gear fits snug into the ship.

 

I am particularly proud that my cockpit design from version 1 found its way back into my latest model with slight modifications to allow the side panels to properly stay together.

 

Custom parts are used here. I Cut a few curved windows to make the Laser magnetic flashback suppressors. I also cut a ribbed flexible hose to fit inside the cockpit. I took a flat 2x2 tile and drilled a hole inside it to slide the technoic axle through. LEGO currently has a 2x2 round tile with a hole, but I needed a square one.

 

Brickarms has great monoclips and u-clips that work great for smaller ideas, such as my joystick or holding parts inside the cylinders.

 

The stand design is great, but I think it would work better if I swap out some parts and have several technique axles run through it and into the x-wing.

 

Photo of power generators at Hungry Horse Dam, which is 564-feet-high and has a variable-thickness concrete arch structure with a crest length of 2,115 ft. For more informaiton visit: on.doi.gov/HrIOIa

RECENTLY INSTALLED (1938) STEAM TURBINE IN AT&SF RR. POWERHOUSE IN GRAND CANYON VILLAGE. STEAM TURBINES SUCH AS THIS ONE ARE REPLACING THE DIESELS FORMERLY USED TO TURN THE POWER GENERATORS. PLEASE NOTE THE SAFETY PRECAUTION SIGN IN THE BACKGROUND. 24 MAY 1938 NPS PHOTO

 

The Grand Canyon Power House was erected in 1926 by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad (ATSF) to supply power and steam heat to Grand Canyon Village.

 

The building was designed by ATSF engineers in Los Angeles in the Rustic Swiss Chalet style and constructed by James Morris of Flagstaff. Originally the Power House had a 160' high smokestack visible with the naked eye from the North Rim. In 1935 the Power House was upgraded with two new Fairbanks-Morse diesel engines, which remain within the building. In 1956 Arizona Public Service brought power lines to Grand Canyon, removing the need for an independent power generating facility at the South Rim. The stack was demolished and the boilers were removed prior to the Fred Harvey Company taking over the building for use as a warehouse.

 

In 1958 the Fred Harvey Company built out the interior, installing offices and refrigeration equipment. In subsequent years the loading docks were altered and additional openings punched in the walls to accommodate new entrances and ancillary functions, A large mezzanine level was installed in the interior of the Power House to provide additional office and storage space in 1964. In 1998 an additional fire exit was constructed on the south wall of the building.

Quoting from the Artisan's Asylum First Winter Open Studios! Facebook event page:

 

Yes, Artisan’s Asylum is holding its first Winter Open Studios on Saturday December 1st, from noon to 5PM. It’s FREE, open to the public, and families are welcome; so come join the fun, and tell your friends that this is a chance to see what everyone's talking about.

 

More than twenty makers, crafters, jewelers, engineers and artists will participate. Tour group workshops and individual studios, observe demonstrations, purchase unique artworks and talk to who made them. Enjoy dragons, robots, collages, and interactive computer-generated music installations. Watch welders and glassworkers first-hand, and see jewelry being made on a 3D printer.

 

Artisan’s Asylum is now one of the largest collaborative maker/art/hacker spaces in the USA, with robust shop facilities for making almost anything you can dream up. Classes range over media including woodworking, metalworking, electronics, robotics, silk-screening and more. You can even sign up for one when you visit this event.

 

For more information, visit Artisan's Asylum's website, as well as on Facebook and Twitter. And there is also, of course, a Flickr account and Flickr group.

 

⁂

 

I also have other photos of Artisan's Asylum, many related to SYBS: Somerville Youth Build and Sail, a project where we are building Optimist sailboats with our kids, and they will in turn learn to sail in them on the Mystic River.

Kamera: Nikon FM

Linse: Nikkor-N Auto 24mm f2.8 (1970)

Film: Rollei P&R 640 @ box speed

Kjemi: Rodinal (1:25 / 13:30 min. @ 20°C)

 

- Have you ever had that feeling that something just is not right?

 

- Not only does it not feel right; it feels terribly, terribly WRONG!

 

At approximately the exact same time that I had UN-affiliated assignments in the occupied West Bank (2007-2011), there was also a truly remarkable investigative journalist named Max Blumenthal (b. 1977) doing ground work for his book ‘Goliath: Life and Loathing in Greater Israel’ (publ. 2013).

 

In his book, Blumenthal exposes the Israeli zionist apartheid society as it was a little over a decade ago - his book was a warning to the World, and it depicts a critical point in time when Israel was starting to truly blend and merge their expansionist old-school, Vladimir Jabotinsky (1880-1940) European-influenced fascist political apparatus together with the American mad 'rabbi' Meir Kahane (1932-1990)-imported extremist religious and messianic influence from the USA that I myself could see first-hand with the illegal jewish fundamentalist settlers - sick, violent settlers who to a large degree are AMERICAN JEWS - in the Occupied Territories.

 

[--> Please do see this must-see video of the psycho demented and totally insane extremist settler jew Miriam Levinger (1937-2020) from Brooklyn, New York - she was the wife of Moshe Levinger (1935-2015); influential genocidal leader of the Gush Emunim settler movement.

Today, the Gush Emunim movement is represented by Daniella Weiss (b. 1945), leader of the Gush Emunim successor movement called Nahala, or Nachala - please do see her revealing presentation of the Nachala organisation here. <--]

 

Like Blumenthal, I also saw Israeli society - but I was not fully able to put into words what I actually saw back then. This book does:

 

New America Foundation: Max Blumenthal presents Goliath (2013)

 

And today, 10 years later - Israel has gone full-on genocidal.

 

The Zionists have to be stopped - NOW.

  

TRANSCRIPT - MAX BLUMENTAHL PRESENTS 'GOLIATH' (2013)

 

Peter Bergen: Welcome to the New America Foundation - it's our pleasure to welcome Max Blumenthal to discuss his new book ‘Goliath - Life and Loathing in Greater Israel’. Max is a journalist who's written for a variety of Publications; the New York Times, the LA Times, Daily Beast, The Guardian and so on; also the author of the 2009 book ‘Republican Gomorrah’ inside the movement the shadow the party which was a New York Times bestseller, and Max is going to talk about the big themes and stories in his book and then I'll engage him in a bit of Q&A and then throw it open to your questions; thank you Max.

 

Max Blumenthal: Thanks a lot Peter and thanks to the New America Foundation and to Anne-Marie Slaughter (b. 1958). I know she can't be here now, but I appreciate the opportunity to talk about this book and have this discussion here. I think I forgot to bring my coffee, which I need. I need this desperately. I was actually kind of hoping if the event wasn't going to be cancelled, that it could at least be pushed forward cuz I'm kind of a night owl and I wanted a few extra hours of sleep but… that was a joke.

 

I want to start the talk actually by discussing the issue of speech suppression around this issue, just really briefly. I understand there has been some kind of effort or complaints about my presence here, and throughout my book tour there have been attempts to shut down various events that I appeared at; all of which were rejected and rebuked.

 

Someone named Naftali Bennett (b. 1972) just spoke at the Brookings Institution and there was no effort to prevent him from speaking at the premier think tank in Washington - and I don't really know if there necessarily should be; even though Naftali Bennett recently endorsed a decision by the National Civil Service administration of Israel to bar religious Jewish women from volunteering in hospitals after 9:00 p.m. for fear that they would date Arab doctors.

 

This was a decision made under pressure from the anti-micegenation group Lehava, and Bennett; who is the Economics Minister of Israel and the head of the pro-settler Jewish Home party, which advocates annexing 60% of the West Bank and depriving Palestinians, occupied Palestinians, of citizenship, consigning them to Jordanian residency and permanent fifth class status, was welcomed at the premier think tank with very little outcry in Washington DC - so there's definititely a double standard and a disturbing wind of repression.

 

We also saw it recently, when Harvard's Hillel House banned the former speaker of the Knesset and the former head of the Jewish Agency, Avraham Burg (b. 1955); barred him from speaking for their audience. Apparently, Avraham Burg was too controversial to hear from. A student at SUNY Binghamton, who was a member of the Hillel House at his university, was ousted from Hillel for attempting to host Iyad Burnat (b. 1973); the Oscar nominated Palestinian filmmaker, for attempting to host a Palestinian at this discussion.

 

A children's art exhibition of children's art from the Gaza Strip was shut down in San Francisco after a campaign of suppression from the local Jewish federations, and these enforcers actually celebrated shutting down an exhibition of children's art, as if they had achieved something; some kind of pro-israel Victory.

 

Ansche Chesed, which is a synagogue in New York, recently shut down a panel on Israeli democracy, that was to have included J.J. Goldberg (b. 1949) of the Jewish daily, The Forward - who has attempted; and completely failed, to savage my book - who is a former Israeli member of the Israel Border Police - not exactly someone you would describe as a delegitimizer. But even this discussion was too much to host at a premier conservative synagogue in New York.

 

TribeFest, the annual gathering of the Jewish Federations, ousted a group of young Jews who attempted to discuss human rights violations in the Occupied Territories, called ‘Young, Jewish and Proud’ - barred them from appearing at its annual conference.

 

And then there is the situation inside Israel where journalists like Uri Blau (b. 1977) of Haaretz have been prosecuted for revealing illegal assassinations carried out by the Israeli Army. There was this week a request by the Israeli police, for all Israeli media to provide all photographs of the protests; which I'm going to discuss later on, against the Prawer Plan - the plan to remove 40,000 indigenous Bedouins from their homes.

 

There have been attacks on NGOs in Israel - Human rights NGOs, including mainstream human rights NGOs like Peace Now; there have been attacks on the New Israel Foundation, attempts to paint them as anti-semitic - these attacks have been carried out from the heart of the Knesset.

 

And for Palestinian journalists the fate has been much worse. Palestinian journalists in the Gaza Strip were assassinated in a car marked with the letters ‘TV’ on top of the car during the November 2012 escalation because they were affiliated with a Hamas run TV channel - they had no operational involvement in terrorism. And when the Newseum in Washington attempted to recognize them, along with all of the journalists around the world killed in the line of duty; including journalists who worked for Syrian State TV, advancing propaganda for Bashar al-Assad (b. 1965), pro-israel groups - discourse suppressors - moved in to scrub their name from the ceremony. Richard Engel (b. 1973), the NBC bureau chief; when he spoke at the ceremony, would not condemn that - he would not condemn that in any explicit terms.

 

Al-Wattan, the Palestinian TV channel in Ramallah, has had its offices raided and is unable to get its equipment back from the Israeli Army - and therefore is unable to broadcast outside Ramallah. So I understand this kind of repression on a very intimate level through my reporting, and I'm not surprised by it based on what I saw in Israel / Palestine - but I am impressed whenever anyone stands up to this suppression, as the New America Foundation has done, and as many other groups that have hosted me on my tour; and have given people the opportunity to hear my reporting and hear my ideas, and to engage with me, and to criticize me.

 

I want to talk about that reporting: I want to talk about this book which I wrote, which I started writing in 2009 after Israel elected the most right-wing government in its history, and this book is a portrayal of Israel / Palestine during the culmination of a transitional phase which began at the end of the Second Intifada (2000-2005) with the rise of a regime of hafrada, or separation - unilateral separation - imposed on the West Bank and Gaza - which drove bellicose and even anti-democratic attitudes in Israeli society, as Palestinians essentially disappeared from Israeli life; and there was a parallel trend of radicalization in Palestinian society as a result of this unilateral separation.

 

The book begins with Operation Cast Lead - the three-week assault on the Gaza Strip in late 2008 and 2009 - and right as we speak, the Gaza Strip is plunged into darkness - the situation has not really changed. They've had blackouts for a month; their main power generator, which was destroyed during this assault, along with 80% of all arable land in the Gaza Strip - along with the American University, along with the Islamic University, along with the Souhari chicken farms - was destroyed.

 

During this destruction, Israel was carrying out national elections, and the war drove the elections and helped drive the right-wing trend - as 95% of Israelis supported the war during its first week; including the Meretz party, the most left-wing party on the Zionist spectrum.

 

Daniel Bar-Tal (b. 1946), who is a political psychologist who I interview in my book - he's a world-renowned figure because of his work on trauma studies, and specifically on how prolonged conflict has impacted the Israeli psyche, and who did the most extensive survey on Israeli attitudes after and during Operation Cast Lead - and Akiva Eldar (b. 1945), the Israeli journalist, summarized his findings:

 

«Israeli Jews’ consciousness is characterized by a sense of victimization, a siege mentality, blind patriotism, belligerence, self-righteousness, dehumanization of the Palestinians and insensitivity to their suffering» - the fighting in Gaza dashed the little hope Bar-Tal had left that this public would exchange the Drums of War for the Cooing of Doves.

 

The peace process had long been extinguished by this point, along with the Oslo era, and politicians had arisen like Avigdor Lieberman (b. 1958), who was campaigning under the banner of the Yisrael Beiteinu party; a mostly Russian party with a simple promise: ‘No loyalty, No citizenship’ - in other words, if Palestinian citizens of Israel failed to declare their loyalty to the Jewish State, they would be rapidly stripped of their citizenship and removed through various sundry means.

 

There was also Tzipi Livni (b. 1958) - who was the current peace negotiator, and at the time was the Foreign minister and was running for the prime minister's office - who declared: «Our troops behaved like Hooligans in the Gaza Strip - which I demanded of them» - this was an appeal to votes; while Ehud Barak (b. 1942) - then the Defense minister and the head of the Labor Party - boasted before a Russian audience that he would «Whack a terrorist on the toilet» - which was a direct quote from Vladimir Putin (b. 1952); what Putin said about his campaign in Chechnya; and this was Barak's attempt to outflank Lieberman, who many feared would actually be elected Prime minister; especially after Lieberman swept High School mock elections. Lieberman was the voice of the Israeli youth according to the Center for the Struggle Against Racism, which is an Israeli NGO. 68% of Israeli Jews by 2006 said they would refuse to live in the same building as an Arab; nearly half said they wouldn't allow an Arab into their home, and 63% agreed with the statement «Arabs are a security and demographic threat to the State». The subsequent polls by Camille Fuchs of the Israel Democracy Institute show that those trends have held every subsequent year afterwards.

 

So Lieberman comes into power as the most bellicose of those campaigning; as foreign minister - the third most popular party was Yisrael Beiteinu - Netanyahu emerges as the winner - and I enter; I kind of enter the scene. I decided to take my first extended reporting trip in May 2009 after completing ‘Republican Gomorrah’, my first book, and I used the same methodology as I did in ‘Republican Gomorrah’ to report on this book. Of course, I had to clear a few more hurdles - I sought to immerse myself in the key institutions of Israeli society and at the flash points of conflict and crisis on the ground; and one of the hurdles I had to clear was to get through Ben Gurion International Airport - this is a lot easier for me than it might be for many of you; certainly more easier for me than it was for Anna Lekas Miller, who is a journalistic colleague of mine, who has written for the Daily Beast’s Open Zion, and was recently deported and sent away for at least 10 years without explanation - ostensibly because she's half Lebanese; she's of the wrong ethnicity. Nour Joudah - who is a Palestinian American teacher who was working at the Quaker School in Ramallah - was also deported for 10 years without explanation; presumably because she was of the wrong ethnicity. Ali Gharib; who's here now, and George Hale, who is an American journalist working for Maan News, recently reported that over 100 Arab Americans a year are deported by the State of Israel. Someone who was hassled and humiliated at Ben Gurion International Airport was Donna Shalala (b. 1941); the former Secretary of Health and Human Services under Bill Clinton, ostensibly because she was of the wrong ethnicity - she is Lebanese. Ironically, she was on her way to a conference of college presidents in Israel on how to fight Palestinians and Palestine solidarity organizing on campus. So her detention for two to five hours at Ben Gurion was sort of poetic justice.

 

I have a much easier time entering - I’m asked; am I Jewish, are my parents Jewish or my grandparents Jewish; what Hebrew school did I go to, what two holidays do I celebrate? I say, you know, do I celebrate any holidays? I say yes; they say: Which ones? And I say I'm in the Secret Service, not the army of God - so Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashana; and then sometimes I'll contrive an Israeli girlfriend, which really makes the security officers happy because we may help offset the demographic threat together; so I'll declare that we're going to get married, and have lots of Jewish babies - actually when I did this once, I was waved through an additional security check and didn't have to have my bags hand checked. I understand this Jewish privilege that I gain as soon as I enter the the Israeli controlled frontiers of the Holy Land to be an essential ingredient in this book, that I don't think a Palestinian American journalist - who may have been more talented than me - could have done this book, because they could not have gained access to as many places as me. Many places are simply off limits to you, and when I hang out with my Palestinian American friends in Ramallah, whose friendship I gained here in the US - they often ask me if I can get them through Qalandia; basically sneak them through this checkpoint so they can go to the beach - They're basically stuck in this occupied Bantustan, while I am free to go wherever I want - and I have far less connection to the Holy Land than they and their families do. That is something that I don't take lightly. It's part of the burden of my reporting.

 

So one of the institutions that I sought to insinuate myself into was the Knesset, which was the base of Lieberman's plan, and the right’s plan to strip Palestinian citizens - the 20% minority - of their citizenship rights, or to further consolidate institutional discrimination. I witnessed a hearing of the Constitution committee; in which leaders of mainstream Human Rights NGOs were basically brought before the Knesset, to declare their patriotism and to beg the government not to investigate their funding, and to accuse them of being funded by Europe and to accuse them of anti-Semitism and to incite against them through billboard campaigns; accusing them of taking money from secret European funders. Part of this campaign was carried out by the right-wing student group Im Tirtzu; which was ironically being funded by pastor John Hagee (b. 1940), the leading Christian Zionist pastor in the United States - a foreign funder who has said on camera before his congregation that when the Antichrist returns, he will be «homosexual and half Jewish as Hitler was, with fierce features». You know, a very wonderful individual. They had no problem taking money from him.

 

The Constitution committee was headed by David Rotem (1949-2015); who is advancing laws to strip Human Rights NGOs of their funding - again; more speech suppression. And to Rotem's left sat Michael Ben-Ari (b. 1963) - who is a member of the Kach party, which has been outlawed and is identified by the FBI as a terrorist group - he was elected under the National Union party - he was a former deputy of Meir Kahane (1932-1990), who was banned from the Knesset in 1988 for racist incitement - but mainly because he threatened to deprive Yitzhak Shamir (1915-2012) and the Likud party of votes, or split the Likud party's base.

 

And I interviewed first Ben-Ari in his office with my colleague David Sheen - and Ben-Ari made some interesting points to us - because this was someone who had been covered so intensely by the Israeli media - he was always on camera; his histrionics in the West Bank, attempting to prevent outposts from being evacuated, his rampaging with his followers through Jaffa; the Palestinian ghetto of Tel Aviv, chanting «Jaffa for Jews - Arabs out!». He was always on the news, but he had not been able to successfully pass one law; and I said «Why?» He said; «Because Likud is doing it for me - Kahane has won! The governing parties are doing what Kahane wanted to do and are advancing his vision»; and he almost admitted that he had become superfluous - and so, through becoming superfluous he had to continue to try to outflank Yisrael Beiteinu and Likud; moving further to the right, to the point where he told me that «I will never say that Palestine is Jordan, that Jordan is Palestine» - which is kind of what you often hear settlers saying - «Jordan is Israel, it's OURS and it belongs to the Jewish people» - that's how far he was willing to go.

 

So you have Rotem then, at the head of the Constitution committee - which is an important committee, because Israel has no Constitution - Israel has no National identity - the Supreme Court has ruled that identity can only be afforded according to ethnic identity - Jewish or Arab - not Israeli - so the Constitution committee and the Supreme Court are kind of making it up as they go along. And I interviewed Rotem at his home in Efrat; which is a mega settlement in the West Bank - and Rotem told me that what he was doing, was to advance the will of the Israeli public - what the majority really wanted. And I said, «Well, this is the tyranny of the majority - I mean you've introduced a bill, for example, that will authorize the acceptance to communities law, which will authorize communities of under 500, to be able to discriminate on the basis of race or religion; and this bill, by the way, has passed» - and he said; he looked me in the eye and he said: «The tyranny of the majority is the heart of democracy, and it's not tyranny if the majority wants to strip the minority of its rights». I'm slightly paraphrasing, but not much.

 

This is the straightforward style that I got from right-wingers. It was also figures like Ehud Barak, who was then the leader of the Labor Party, who supported a bill to force all new citizens of Israel to take loyalty oaths to the Jewish and Democratic State - this was of course first introduced by Meir Kahane - and Haaretz, when Barak supported this bill, Haaretz declared that Kahane was the real leader of the Knesset; that his legacy had triumphed.

 

There is a new law being debated in the Knesset; it was being debated this morning - it's one of the many laws which is being advanced to basically overrule a Supreme Court ruling and there are also many other laws that are being advanced to strip the Supreme Court of its power, or to stack the Supreme Court with right-wingers - one of those bills will require all Supreme Court Justices to perform military service; which would prevent an Arab from serving on the Supreme Court. And this new law being debated relates to the 60,000 non-jewish African refugees who are living inside Israel right now. These are people who have fled Janjaweed in Darfur; they’ve fled repression in Eritrea, they've fled poverty and genocide across Africa, and they've come to Israel, partly because it's the only industrialized country with a land bridge - connected by land to Africa - through harrowing treks through the Sinai desert, but also partly because they've heard that this place might be a sanctuary; because it claims to embody the lessons of the Holocaust: «Never Again». And what happened to them when they entered Israel, is that they were stripped of their right to work, were prevented from working, and basically concentrated in South Tel Aviv and places like Ashkelon, among the poorest and neediest of Jewish Israeli Society; creating a kind of a new crisis.

 

On May 23rd 2012 there was a fullscale race riot in Tel Aviv - barely covered in US media - with hundreds of thugs rampaging through African areas in Tel Aviv; smashing the storefronts of African businesses, attacking any African they could find - it was preceded and followed by days of fire bomb attacks on African schools and African homes across Israel. Before the race riot, a group of top Israeli legislators and cabinet ministers appeared before a crowd of a thousand in South Tel Aviv - Miri Regev (b. 1965) - who was the chairman of the Interior committee in the Knesset - declared that the Africans are a Cancer in the body of Israel - this was a sentiment that most Jewish Israelis agreed with, according to the Times of Israel, according to a poll by this newspaper. And that incitement; that kind of racist incitement - which is doubled in 2012, according to the Israeli Committee Against Racism - has led to these attacks on Africans and spurred this crisis.

 

To respond to the crisis, the Knesset first passed an amendment to the anti-infiltration act, which would allow the police to arrest any African on the street and detain them without charges, for as long as three years. It also established funding for the Saharonim internment facility in the Negev desert; where currently thousands of non-jewish Africans are sleeping in shipping containers - entire families. The government calls it an internment center - former speaker of the Knesset Reuven Rivlin (b. 1939) called it a concentration camp. I don't know what to call it, but I would volunteer my opinion that it reminds me of Manzanar; which was the camp that held Japanese Americans during World War II, after they were deemed to possess enemy race blood - and Benjamin Netanyahu has explained explicitly, under pressure from figures like Ben-Ari and Rotem, why these Africans have to be held in this camp and ultimately deported - 100% have to be deported, because they threaten the Jewish character of the State - in other words; they threaten the Jewish demographic majority - there is no path to citizenship for these non-jewish Africans; and even when they attempted to convert en mass to Judaism, they were denied that opportunity - there is no path to asylum for them. Over 99.7% have been denied asylum - because they are of the wrong ethnic group and threaten to upend the ethnocratic structure of the Jewish State, and Netanyahu makes no secret of this.

 

The new law I mentioned, will propose an alternative solution - I think it's been passed in the Knesset, it’s been authorized. Under the alternative solution, because the Supreme Court struck down the amendment to the anti-infiltration act, Africans will be able to leave a new detention or internment facility during the day - they'll have to check in three times a day - they will not be allowed to work - and at at night they have to report back and sleep in this facility, because they cannot sleep among the Israeli public, they can't be allowed that opportunity. It reminds me of what James Loewen (1942-2021) called sundown towns during the Jim Crow era in the US, when African-Americans were barred through various ordinances from being in US cities and towns, including Chevy Chase, Maryland after dark - so through this new alternative solution; Israel could become the world's largest Sundown town.

 

This is part of a process which began in 1948 - non-jewish Africans are experiencing it, but Palestinians were the original victims - and the original anti-infiltration act was passed in 1954 to uproot tens of thousands of Palestinians who had attempted to reunite with their families, with their farmland, after 1948 - so it's important to see this as a continuous process - not as Ari Shavit (b. 1957), the Israeli author portrays it; as something terrible that happened, but needed to happen for him to be born - the argument he advanced in the New Yorker. But something that, you know, we just have to get over, and let bygones be bygones. It has to be seen as something that's happening every day to Palestinians, on both sides of the Green Line. And Lieberman, and the rightwing, the religious nationalist camp - Lieberman is a secularist - they understand it that way; they do understand it as a continuous process - but they understand it as a continuous process that needs to be finished, because there is this ethnic minority inside Israel which they consider a Trojan Horse or a Fifth Column.

 

Their number one enemy is Haneen Zoabi (b. 1969) and the Balad party - Zoabi is a Palestinian Israeli legislator who I spent a decent amount of time with; I interviewed her in my book - I profiled her and her mentor Azmi Bishara (b. 1956), who's been exiled after being accused of spying for Hezbollah; and Zoabi, after sailing on the Free Gaza Flotilla (2010) and being almost physically attacked in the Knesset upon her return, for denouncing the bloody raid on the top deck of the ship, has become the most hated woman in Israel.

 

The real reason that she's hated, and the Balad party is hated, and Bishara is hated, is because of the Haifa Declaration; because the kind of transformations that they have called for: They have demanded that Israel become a state of all its citizens, whether without religious or ethnic preferences, and for that reason; and that reason alone, they have been declared traitorous and a threat - actually, in a letter issued by the Shin Bet in 2007; by then Shin Bet director Yuval Diskin (b. 1956) - he singled them out, and declared that if they threatened in any way the Jewish or Democratic State, they would be prosecuted. Many have since been prosecuted, and he insisted on the right to surveil any of their activists - a Balad leader from Jaffa; Sami Shehadeh (b. 1975), told me that he doesn't tell their party membership this; but the entire party leadership is currently under surveillance - and that also goes from my left-wing Jewish dissident friends in Israel, who participate in anti-occupation protests - many of them have been called in for Shin Bet interrogations. But the issue is, that they have challenged the ethnocratic character of the State, and Lieberman and the right see them as traitors and want to remove them - and this is partly why Lieberman and the right have the hearts and minds of Jewish Israeli youth, the majority of Jewish Israeli youth; who declare year after year that they'll refuse to sit in a classroom with a fellow Arab - whose psyche has been impacted by the policy of hafrada, or separation - who has grown up in the post Oslo era and see the peace process as one big joke; who admire Naftali Bennett (b. 1972), who just spoke at Brookings.

 

And so the Cry of this generation is to finish ’48 - ’48 is not finished. We hear this cry in the letter of state-funded rabbis - hundreds of religious authorities, who are State appointed - declaring that it is against Jewish law to rent apartments to non-jews, and we hear it in the letter issued by their wives, declaring that it is against Jewish law for Jewish women to date Arab men, for Jews and Arabs to have relationships. And we see it in the burgeoning anti-miscegenation movement that they inspired; through groups like Lehava, which have issued kosher certificates to businesses that refuse to employ Arabs and other non-jews, which have pressured landlords to stop renting to non-jews; including Palestinian college students in Safad.

 

We see it in the youth who they have inspired, the youth who attacked Jamal Julani; the 19-year-old Palestinian in Zion Square; in the center of Jerusalem - right near where I lived for several months - chanting «Death to Arabs», and «A Jew is a soul, an Arab is is a son of a Bitch» - which happens to be a favorite chant of the fans of the Beitar Jerusalem Football Club. And they beat him into a coma because a 15-year-old girl friend of theirs had complained that he had made a pass at her - she admitted to lying later on - but this carries echoes of the submerged past of the United States and of the lynching of Emmett Till (1941-1955). At the courthouse, one of the perpetrators boasted that his only regret was that he didn't kill Julani; while Bentzi Gopstein (b. 1969) - the head of the anti-miscegenation group Lehava; whose sister group Hemla has received State funding - declared that these youth lifted Israel's national pride off the floor.

 

We see the calls to finish 1948 in the recent initiative of the World Zionist Organization; an executive arm of the Israeli government, to move 100,000 Jewish settlers into the Galilee - which is inside the Green Line - in order to balance the Arab demographic threat. This idea of demographic balancing is anachronistic and peculiar in this era, but it is also essential to maintaining the Jewish character of the State of Israel. And we see the calls to finish ’48 in the Prawer Plan - which was introduced by Benjamin Netanyahu's policy and planning chief Ehud Prawer - to remove most of the indigenous Bedouin population, living in unrecognized villages in the Negev desert.

 

I did a lot of reporting in the Negev desert, which you'll find on the pages of Goliath. I reported on the destruction of Al-Araqeeb, which is one of the first unrecognized villages to be targeted under this plan, which had not been announced at the time. And I wrote about arriving to the village at night, being hosted by the villagers and waking up to the sound of bulldozers and watching homes be tossed away like empty crates, watching their residents, including a young girl, sit out on her bed in the middle of the desert and basically watch her future destroyed. I wrote about how that village has been destroyed 51 times - 51 times since I witnessed its destruction; and I wrote about how the Jewish National Fund - a 501(c) nonprofit in the United States; which is funding the destruction of Al-Araqeeb and supporting the Prawer Plan, plans to build a forest in collaboration with GOD TV - an Evangelical Christian Zionist TV network in the UK - which has declared its intention to beautify the land of Israel for the return of the Messiah - and they will build a Pine Forest in the heart of the Negev desert on top of the ruins of Al-Araqeeb.

 

This was one of many of the villages that have been targeted under the Prawer Plan - there are 80,000 Bedouins living in unrecognized villages - unrecognized village means that you're unable to hook up to the public water supply; you can't connect to the public electricity grid, even though if you see these villages as you're driving through the Negev - most lay under electricity wires - they're unable to have public health clinics, public schools, and all of their construction is declared illegal - illegal simply because they are of the wrong ethnic group.

 

There are Jewish settlements - that are small Jewish towns; placed right near these unrecognized villages - which are free to hook up to public services and get massive State subsidies - so there's clearly a sense of inequality - and under the Prawer Plan, 40 to 70,000 indigenous Bedouins will be forced from their homes. Their villages will be generally bulldozed, and they'll be moved to undisclosed locations - there's no map right now, so we don't know where they'll be moved; or to places like Rahat and Houra, which are two of the only towns that the State of Israel has built for its Arab population; and which are in effect Indian reservations that exist at the bottom of the socioeconomic scale. According to the OR movement, which is a para-governmental group; an arm of the Jewish National Fund - Rahat and Houra were built to «concentrate the Bedouin population». This really eerie rhetoric of concentration is present, again.

 

I visited this September along with my colleague from Mondoweiss, Allison Deger, and a few other colleagues, a village called Umm al-Hiran; which was the next village on the chopping block - and we met with its residents and they told us of an unending - unending stream of dispossession and removals, until they finally wound up in this village - which has now been authorized for destruction by the Israeli government. They have already had to repeatedly bail out their sheep - which are impounded by the Israeli Green Patrol to deprive them of sustenance, and they actually have to pay bail on their sheep - and they told us about a group of settlers - this is inside the Green Line, but they called them settlers - and they called them the ‘Jews in the Woods’; and I said: «What are the ‘Jews in the Woods’ - is this like a Mel Brooks movie, like Robin Hood: Men in Tights or something? Like, this sounds unusual». And we drove through the Yatir Forest at night - it was kind of like a scene from a horror movie, where the teenagers hear a sound in the basement and they go into the dark basement. And we're going through this dark forest built by the Jewish National Fund right next to Umm al-Hiran, and we finally arrive at the base of the forest, and we come to this compound - surrounded by barbed wire and fences - and our colleague Phil Weiss gets out and starts shaking the fence and says «Shalom! Shalom!» and suddenly the gate opens, and we're inside talking to one of the village leaders - who is one of the heads of the town council of Hiran - and he tells us that the Bedouin are the real occupiers - that the Bedouins are building illegally and trying to take over Israel, and it's his job to help remove them and replace them with legal construction. The night before, he and the fellow residents of Hiran had gone into Umm al-Hiran to stake out lots; which they would take over after the residents of Umm al-Hiran were forced into the Indian Reservation of Houra. All of Hiran was built by the Jewish National Fund and all of the new village will be supported by the Jewish National Fund, which was just Fed’ed and celebrated by Prime Minister Stephen Harper (b. 1959) in Canada, in Toronto.

 

So the residents of Umm al-Hiran have started connecting with the other residents of unrecognized villages and getting ready for the November 30th Day of Rage against the Prawer Plan; and this took place recently - it required the New York Times to finally report on the Prawer Plan; and they called it a resettlement plan - they didn't call it what it was; which is an expulsion plan. It was another whitewash by the New York Times; and something that I think validates the reporting in my book.

 

And Avigdor Lieberman responded to these protests - which were very very vehement - people were fighting for their very lives; they're fighting for their ancestral land there and they were fighting for their very future - and Lieberman declared «Nothing has changed since the tower and stockade days - we are fighting for the lands of the Jewish people and there are those who intentionally try to rob and seize them» - he said that about the Bedouins; this is inside the Green Line - again, I haven't left the Green Line in this entire discussion. I will do so during Q&A; and I've done extensive reporting on the West Bank and on what's happening inside the Gaza Strip.

 

This is happening inside the area of Israel that will be legitimized under a two-state solution, what some call «Democratic Israel». And it is happening before our very eyes; unlike what happened in 1948 - it's happening and it's being filmed on cell phone cameras; it's being filmed by news crews, it's being reported in our media - and we're all well aware of it. And our government has said nothing about it. The State Department has said nothing to condemn it. The Obama Administration has said nothing to condemn it - there's no initiative in Washington to stop it - and there may not be.

 

And there's very little effort to stop - from my vantage point - the trends that I described, that are corroding Jewish Israeli Society - that are bringing to power figures like Lieberman; who is engaged in a pact with Netanyahu, that will allow Netanyahu, that will merge his party with the ruling Likud party; allowing Netanyahu to stay in power till 2017 and making Lieberman his natural successor. There is nothing being done - very little external pressure - to stop figures like Shimon Gapso from emerging as Mayors and local leaders of places like Nazareth Illit - Gapso has said that he will fight tooth and nail to prevent any non-jewish symbols from being displayed in his town; including Christmas trees on Christmas, and that he's merely carrying out the legacy of Herzl and Ben Gurion. There's nothing being done to prevent figures like Aryeh King (b. 1973); who fundraises in the US, from being elected to the Jerusalem Municipal Council - this is someone who recruits what he calls «strong men» to physically remove Palestinians from their homes in East Jerusalem and replace them with Jewish settlers - and has done so repeatedly.

 

All of the trends in my book will intensify under the current status quo; encouraged right here in Washington. I come to a lot of conclusions in my book, and I'll come to further conclusions in my talk with Peter - I'm not going to pull any punches - and I'm sure there will be people in this audience who will disagree with my conclusions. But what I think can't be denied is that facts on the ground are troubling and unsustainable, and that they will not change the trends that I describe in my book - they will only intensify as long as the current status quo is maintained. Thank you.

 

Peter Bergen: Well, Max, thank you for much to think about. The critiques of your book seem to be not so much about the facts - many which; you know, you've obviously done an amazing reporting job - it's more about the tone in the book, and specifically words like ’pogrom’, and the chapter headings ’Concentration Camp’ and ‘Night of Broken Glass´ - which of course is a an echo of Kristallnacht - so, tell me about your decisions to name these chapters - and what was your intent?

 

Max Blumenthal: Thanks for that question; which I haven't had much of a chance to answer - but definitely the content of those chapters inspires the titles - and I quoted Reuven Rivlin (b. 1939); who is the Grand Old Man of the Likud party - who is an eighth generation Israeli sabra; whose father translated the Quran into hebrew - who tried to give Haneen Zoabi (b. 1969) the chance to talk after the Mavi Marmara; expressing his disgust with the Saharonim desert facility and the whole plan to basically put non-jewish Africans in an internment Center - and he simply said «It’s un-jewish to have a concentration camp in our country» - I’m somewhat paraphrasing - he explicitly used the term concentration camp in an interview with Haaretz - so did the Israeli architectural NGO Bimkom - so do many Israelis who are campaigning against the Saharonim facility - and I think what they're doing is; they're taking the lessons of the Holocaust and looking at it from a universalist perspective - and simply saying Never Again to anyone - and that the Holocaust, as horrible as it was; and though it can't be compared to anything in terms of scale - should inspire us today; to combat against human rights abuses, and to combat against racist incitement and anti-democratic laws - you know, it all began with anti-democratic laws and with racist incitement. And as Martin Luther King (1929-1968) said - «The ultimate conclusion of racism is genocide». So, the critics of these chapters apparently hate the universalist perspective on the Holocaust and the idea of Never Again to anyone; and they simply want to enforce a segregationist perspective on the Holocaust, where you can't see the events of Kristallnacht and think about that - even though you've been raised to see the Holocaust and Nazi Germany as the ultimate Evil - you can't think of that when you see right-wing thugs singling out people in South Tel Aviv for their ethnicity and smashing their storefronts and firebombing their homes; because they are of the wrong ethnicity and have been declared a threat to the State. It simply stems from that; and I did want to invoke these lessons with those chapter titles, and the universalist perspective of this history; as so many Jewish Israelis in this book from across the political spectrum do.

 

Peter Bergen: And judging by what you've just said; for you the peace process is sort of a mirage - I mean, John Kerry’s efforts will yield nothing; and if that's the case - what are your - and you know, you don't have to answer if this is sort of outside of your lane - but I mean; what are realistic ideas about the future accommodations that are necessary?

 

Max Blumenthal: I've always seen it as my role as a journalist to offer a critique but not necessarily to offer a solution. In my first book I offered a pretty slashing critique of the Republican party - I think the book has been vindicated by the path the Republican party has taken under the control of the Christian right and the Tea Party - and I didn't really offer the Republican party a solution for resolving its crisis - and in this case, in my book - whatever perspective you come from, you're not going to find me preaching to you about a solution - although my analysis and my framing has offended some people - I do think that the two-state solution first of all has never been earnestly seriously proposed - the Palestinians have always been offered a kind of Bantu state, and have always been offered sort of a recipe for political fragmentation between Gaza and the West Bank - they've never been afforded the opportunity to elect their own leadership; they've never been offered control of their own borders - the borders have never really been set - they've never been offered control of their own airspace, of their own water - which mostly sits beneath the mega settlement of Ariel - and details were just leaked of what the Israelis want; which the US will probably support over Palestinian demands, given the composition of the US negotiating team - former AIPAC staffer Martin Indyk (b. 1951) and WINEP analyst David Makovsky - figures like that - the Israelis want the Jordan Valley, and they want early warning stations across the West Bank - they want to still have a security presence in the West Bank; which means that the West Bank will remain occupied. Meanwhile there's no discussion about the Gaza Strip; which the United Nations has warned will become uninhabitable by 2020 - because of food insecurity; because of lack of ability to get clean water; the anemia rate for children is close to 50%; child deformities are at, I think one out of four; birth complications; the fact that fishermen from Gaza have been driven into poverty because they can't move beyond the 3 kilometer perimeter - they're now trying to import fish through the tunnels; the illegal tunnels through Rafah - which is insane for a territory that's on the Mediterranean coast, and 80% of those tunnels have now been filled with sewage by the ‘coupvolutionary’ regime of Egypt - the military coup regime of General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi (b. 1954) - who is the former liaison to Ehud Barak on collaborating in the Sinai - so the Gaza Strip is in this very unusual situation where you have 1.7 million people who are not really allowed to export goods. I report at the beginning of my book, that Israeli administrators who administer The Siege are actually counting the calories that each resident of the Gaza Strip is entitled to - because they're able to control the lives of Gazans to that degree - to the degree of how many calories they eat. In the words of Dov Weissglas - the former aide to Ehud Olmert and longtime peace negotiator - «The residents of Gaza should be put on a diet but not allowed to starve» - so that's the situation they're in. It's not addressed by the peace process.

 

You asked about looking beyond it - yes, we have to look beyond this failed idea of two states and look at some of the ideas that might have been proposed by Ian Lustick (b. 1949); the University of Pennsylvania political scientist who talked about the possibility of a bi-national state - in other words, looking beyond the idea of Palestinian sovereignty or a Palestinian State; towards the idea of equality for all people - equal rights for all people between the river and the Sea.

 

Ali Abunimah (b. 1971) has just written a really interesting proposal for a single state - which the Israeli human rights NGO Zochrot has actually put forward - a blueprint for the resettlement of Palestinian refugees inside Israel-Palestine - an actual, physical blueprint where their communities can go, without uprooting Israeli Jews - so there are all these interesting proposals out there. There's the Haifa Declaration that I mentioned, from the Balad party; which is very similar to the kind of situation that allowed for a treaty between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland, and offers that kind of scenario - but as long as we continue on the path that we're on - as I said, the trends will continue - and the possibility for reconciliation between Israeli Jews and Palestinians will just get further and further away - I've seen it on both sides of the wall; just radicalizing attitudes.

 

Peter Bergen: Which years were you living there and reporting, when you were doing [the book]?

 

Max Blumenthal: In 2009 till this September [2013], and I didn't get to report on my trip in August and September in this book. I spent about a total of one year on the ground, and maybe four and a half years doing writing and research.

 

Peter Bergen: What do you think the overall impact of the Arab Spring - for want of a better term; or Arab Awakening is perhaps a better term - has been on the Israeli sort of political consciousness?

 

Max Blumenthal: The immediate impact has been very positive for Benjamin Netanyahu; who's pointed to Syria and pointed to the chaos in Egypt and said; «This is what will come to OUR shores and what will occur in the West Bank if we give up ONE inch». He's also used it to kind of highlight Israel as Ehud Barak portrayed it; as a ‘Villa in the Jungle’ - kind of invoking the famous phrase that Theodore Herzl used - ´The rampart of civilization against barbarism’ - «Look at the barbaric Arabs killing each other, and how dare you ask us to change?», he said. «We are an island of stability in a sea of tumult» - so it sort of benefited Netanyahu and his political imperatives and his effort to carry out a policy of peace without peace - which is essentially occupation maintenance. It's helped him push back against any US pressure, but I don't think that in the end it's going to be very positive for the kind of imperatives that Netanyahu seeks, and for the State of Israel as this kind of fortified ‘Villa in the Jungle’ - which actually to me resembles more of a Masada type fortress.

 

[...]

There is a huge facility underground the earth. There is a prison and a small room with the power generator.

  

a Solo Operation build for Eurobrick's "Great Brick War" www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?/forums/topic/172387-g...

Check out our small wind turbines and wind power systems at:

 

tswind.com

 

TechnoSpin Inc. provides the most cost-efficient, reliable and easily customized wind power solutions to serve residential, commercial and industrial applications worldwide.

 

TechnoSpin's small wind turbines guarantee uninterrupted operation even at low winds, and ensure incomparable silent and vibration-free power generation. Its robust wind power solutions may be deployed as a grid or off-grid application for maximum efficiency.

 

TechnoSpin - everywhere the wind blows

 

I took this picture in March when I went home to the Philippines to see my parents. This was taken in my brother's beach house in the island baranggay of Tambaliza in Concepcion, Iloilo when they checked on the progress of the repairs on the damage caused by Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan). These are neighborhood kids watching in awe a live broadcast from the Space Station on the National Geographic Channel. The island has no electricity so we were using a power generator that day, and of course a satellite dish.

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, also known as the "Toy Train", is a 610 mm narrow gauge railway that runs between New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling in the Indian state of West Bengal, India. Built between 1879 and 1881, the railway is about 78 kilometres long. Its elevation level varies from about 100 metres at New Jalpaiguri to about 2,200 metres at Darjeeling. Four modern diesel locomotives handle most of the scheduled services; however the daily Kurseong-Darjeeling return service and the daily tourist trains from Darjeeling to Ghum (India's highest railway station) are handled by the vintage British-built B Class steam locomotives. The railway, along with the Nilgiri Mountain Railway and the Kalka-Shimla Railway, is listed as the Mountain Railways of India World Heritage Site. The headquarters of the railway is in the town of Kurseong. Operations between Siliguri and Kurseong have been temporarily suspended since 2010 following a Landslide at Tindharia.

 

HISTORY

A broad gauge railway connected Calcutta (now Kolkata) and Siliguri in 1878. Siliguri, at the base of the Himalayas, was connected to Darjeeling by a cart road (the present day Hill Cart Road) on which "Tonga services" (carriage services) were available. Franklin Prestage, an agent of Eastern Bengal Railway Company approached the government with a proposal of laying a steam tramway from Siliguri to Darjeeling. The proposal was accepted in 1879 following the positive report of a committee formed by Sir Ashley Eden, the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal. Construction started the same year.

 

Gillanders Arbuthnot & Co. constructed the railway. The stretch from Siliguri to Kurseong was opened on 23 August 1880, while the official opening of the line up to Darjeeling was on 4 July 1881. Several engineering adjustments were made later in order to ease the gradient of the rails. Despite natural calamities, such as an earthquake in 1897 and a major cyclone in 1899, the DHR continued to improve with new extension lines being built in response to growing passenger and freight traffic. However, the DHR started to face competition from bus services that started operating over the Hill Cart Road, offering a shorter journey time. During World War II, the DHR played a vital role transporting military personnel and supplies to the numerous camps around Ghum and Darjeeling.

 

After the independence of India, the DHR was absorbed into Indian Railways and became a part of the Northeast Frontier Railway zone in 1958. In 1962, the line was realigned at Siliguri and extended by nearly 6 km to New Jalpaiguri (NJP) to meet the new broad gauge line there. DHR remained closed for 18 months during the hostile period of Gorkhaland Movement in 1988-89.

 

The line closed in 2011 due to a 6.8 Magnitude earthquake. The line is currently loss-making and in 2015, Rajah Banerjee, a local tea estate owner, has called for privatisation to encourage investment, which was fiercely resisted by unions.

 

WORLD HERITAGE SITE

DHR was declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1999, only the second railway to have this honour bestowed upon it, the first one being Semmering Railway of Austria in 1998. To be nominated as World Heritage site on the World Heritage List, the particular site or property needs to fulfill a certain set of criteria, which are expressed in the UNESCO World Heritage Convention and its corresponding Operational Guidelines. The site must be of outstanding universal value and meet at least one out of ten selection criteria. The protection, management, authenticity and integrity of properties are also important considerations.

 

CRITERIA FOR SELECTION

The DHR is justified by the following criteria:

 

Criterion II - The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway is an outstanding example of the influence of an innovative transportation system on the social and economic development of a multi-cultural region, which was to serve as a model for similar developments in many parts of the world.

 

Criterion IV - The development of railways in the 19th century had a profound influence on social and economic developments in many parts of the world. This process is illustrated in an exceptional and seminal fashion by the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.

 

AUTHENTICITY AND INTEGRITY

Since 1881, the original route has been retained in a remarkable condition. Only minimal interventions of an evolutionary nature, such as the reduction of loops, have been carried out. Most of the original steam locomotives are still in use. Like Tea and the Ghurka culture, the DHR has become not only an essential feature of the landscape but also an enduring part of the identity of Darjeeling.

 

MANAGEMENT AND LEGAL STATUS

The DHR and all its movable and immovable assets, including the authentic railway stations, the line, and the track vehicles, belong to the Government of India entrusted to the Ministry of Railways. The Northeast Frontier Railway documented all the elements of the DHR in a comprehensive register. Apart from that, it handles the day-to-day maintenance and management. But moreover, several programs, divisions and departments of the Indian Railways are responsible for operating, maintaining and repairing the DHR. This includes technical as well as non-technical work. In principle, the only two legal protection mechanisms that apply to the conservation of the DHR are the provisions of the 1989 Railway Act and that it is a public property which is state-owned and therefore protected.

 

THE ROUTE

The railway line basically follows the Hill Cart Road which is partially the same as National Highway 55. Usually, the track is simply on the road side. In case of landslides both track and road might be affected. As long parts of the road are flanked with buildings, the railway line often rather resembles urban tramway tracks than an overland line.

 

To warn residents and car drivers about the approaching train, engines are equipped with very loud horns that even drown horns of Indian trucks and buses. Trains honk almost without pause.

 

Loops and Z-Reverses (or "zig-zag"s)

One of the main difficulties faced by the DHR was the steepness of the climb. Features called loops and Z-Reverses were designed as an integral part of the system at different points along the route to achieve a comfortable gradient for the stretches in between them. When the train moves forwards, reverses and then moves forward again, climbing a slope each time while doing so, it gains height along the side of the hill.

 

STATIONS

 

NEW JALPAIGURI JUNCTION (NJP)

New Jalpaiguri is the railway station which was extended to the south in 1964 to meet the new broad gauge to Assam. Where the two met, New Jalpaiguri was created.

 

SILIGURI TOWN STATION

Siliguri Town was original southern terminus of the line.

 

SIIGURI JUNCTION

Siliguri Junction became a major station only when a new metre-gauge line was built to Assam in the early 1950s

 

SUKNA STATION

This station marks the change in the landscape from the flat plains to the wooded lower slopes of the mountains. The gradient of the railway changes dramatically.

 

LOOP 1 (now removed)

Loop No.1 was in the woods above Sukna. It was removed after flood damage in 1991. The site is now lost in the forest.

 

RANGTONG STATION

A short distance above Rangtong there is a water tank. This was a better position for the tank than in the station, both in terms of water supply and distance between other water tanks.

 

LOOP 2 (now removed)

When Loop 2 was removed in 1942, again following flood damage, a new reverse, No.1, was added, creating the longest reverse run.

 

REVERSE 1

 

LOOP 3

Loop No.3 is at Chunbatti. This is now the lowest loop.

 

REVERSE 2 & 3

Reverses No.2 & 3 are between Chunbatti and Tindharia.

 

TINDHARIA STATION

This is a major station on the line as below the station is the workshops. There is also an office for the engineers and a large locomotive shed, all on a separate site.

 

Immediately above the station are three sidings; these were used to inspect the carriage while the locomotive was changed, before the train continued towards Darjeeling.

 

LOOP 4

Agony Point is the name given to loop No.4. It comes from the shape of the loop which comes to an apex which is the tightest curve on the line.

 

GAYABARI

 

REVERSE 6

Reverse No.6 is the last reverse on the climb.

 

MAHANADI STATION

 

KURSEONG STATION

There is a shed here and a few sidings adjacent to the main line, but the station proper is a dead end. Up trains must reverse out of the station (across a busy road junction) before they can continue on their climb. It is said that the station was built this way so that the train could enter a secure yard and stay there while the passengers left the train for refreshments.

 

Above Kurseong station, the railway runs through the bazaar. Trains skirt the front of shops and market stalls on this busy stretch of road.

 

SONADA STATION

Sonada is a small station which serves town of sonada on Darjeeling Himalayan railway. It is on Siliguri - Darjeeling national highway (NH 55).

 

JOREBUNGALOW STATION

This is a small location near Darjeeling and a railway station on Darjeeling Himalayan railway. Jorebungalow was store point for tea to Calcutta. This is a strategical place to connect Darjeeling to rest of the country.

 

GHUM STATION

Ghum, summit of the line and highest station in India. Now includes a museum on the first floor of the station building with larger exhibits in the old goods yard. Once this was the railway station at highest altitude overall and is the highest altitude station for narrow gauge railway.

 

BATASIA LOOP

The loop is 5 kilometres from Darjeeling, below Ghum. There is also a memorial to the Gorkha soldiers of the Indian Army who sacrificed their lives after the Indian Independence in 1947. From the Batasia Loop one can get a panoramic view of Darjeeling town with the Kanchenjunga and other snowy mountains in the back-drop.

 

DARJEELING STATION

The farthest reach of the line was to Darjeeling Bazaar, a goods-only line and now lost under the road surface and small buildings.

 

LOCOMOTIVES

 

CURRENT

STEAM

All the steam locomotives currently in use on the railway are of the "B" Class, a design built by Sharp, Stewart and Company and later the North British Locomotive Company, between 1889 and 1925. A total of 34 were built, but by 2005 only 12 remained on the railway and in use (or under repair).

 

In 2002, No. 787 was rebuilt with oil firing. This was originally installed to work on the same principle as that used on Nilgiri Mountain Railway No.37395. A diesel-powered generator was fitted to operate the oil burner and an electrically-driven feed pump, and a diesel-powered compressor was fitted to power the braking system. Additionally, the locomotive was fitted with a feedwater heater. The overall result was a dramatic change in the appearance of the locomotive. However, the trials of the locomotive were disappointing and it never entered regular service. In early 2011, it was in Tindharia Works awaiting reconversion to coal-firing.

 

In March 2001, No.794 was transferred to the Matheran Hill Railway to allow a "Joy Train" (steam-hauled tourist train) to be operated on that railway. It did not, however, enter service there until May 2002.

 

DIESEL

Four diesel locomotives are in use: Nos. 601-2, 604 and 605 of the NDM6 class transferred from the Matheran Hill Railway.

 

PAST

In 1910 the railway purchased the third Garratt locomotive built, a D Class 0-4-0+0-4-0.

 

Only one DHR steam locomotive has been taken out of India, No.778 (originally No.19). After many years out of use at the Hesston Steam Railway, it was sold to an enthusiast in the UK and restored to working order. It is now based on a private railway (The Beeches Light Railway) in Oxfordshire but has run on the Ffestiniog Railway, the Launceston Steam Railway and the Leighton Buzzard Light Railway.

 

IN POPULAR CULTURE

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway has long been viewed with affection and enthusiasm by travellers to the region and the Earl of Ronaldshay gave the following description of a journey in the early 1920s:

 

"Siliguri is palpably a place of meeting . . The discovery that here the metre gauge system ends and the two foot gauge of the Darjeeling-Himalayan railway begins, confirms what all these things hint at... One steps into a railway carriage which might easily be mistaken for a toy, and the whimsical idea seizes hold of one that one has accidentally stumbled into Lilliput. With a noisy fuss out of all proportion to its size the engine gives a jerk - and starts... No special mechanical device such as a rack is employed - unless, indeed, one can so describe the squat and stolid hill-man who sits perched over the forward buffers of the engine and scatters sand on the rails when the wheels of the engine lose their grip of the metals and race, with the noise of a giant spring running down when the control has been removed.

 

Sometimes we cross our own track after completing the circuit of a cone, at others we zigzag backwards and forwards; but always we climb at a steady gradient - so steady that if one embarks in a trolley at Ghum, the highest point on the line, the initial push supplies all the energy necessary to carry one to the bottom."

 

The trip up to Darjeeling on railway has changed little since that time, and continues to delight travellers and rail enthusiasts, so much so that it has its own preservation and support group, the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Society.

 

Several films have portrayed the railway. Especially popular was the song Mere sapno ki rani from the film Aradhana where the protagonist Rajesh Khanna tries to woo heroine Sharmila Tagore who was riding in the train. Other notable films include Barfi!, Parineeta and Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman. The Darjeeling Limited, a film directed by Wes Anderson, features a trip by three brothers on a fictional long-distance train based very loosely on the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.

 

TELEVISION

The BBC made a series of three documentaries dealing with Indian Hill Railways, shown in February 2010. The first film covers the Darjeeling-Himalayan Railway, the second the Nilgiri Mountain Railway and the third the Kalka-Shimla Railway. The films were directed by Tarun Bhartiya, Hugo Smith and Nick Mattingly and produced by Gerry Troyna. The series won the UK Royal Television Society Award in June 2010. Wes Anderson's film The Darjeeling Limited also showcases three brothers riding the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.

 

WIKIPEDIA

Albania experienced extreme and intense rainfall in December 2017, causing many rivers to burst their banks and triggering floods in the southern regions of the country. Overflowing rivers have damaged road infrastructure and properties.

 

Several European countries provided assistance via the EU Civil Protection Mechanism; countries provided water pumps and hoses, life vests, power generators, raincoats and water boots, blankets and clean-up kits. The delivery of these items was coordinated via the EU's Civil Protection Mechanism and in close cooperation with the Albanian authorities.

 

©Ministry of Defence/Albania

New upgraded emergency Power generator at the Sandhills Medical Foundation facility, where a U.S. Department of Agriculture USDA Rural Development RD Community Facilities Direct Loans and Guaranteed Loans Program provided $2,964,500.00 for the 12,150-square-foot expansion in Lugoff, SC, on August 10, 2022.

The expansion more than mirrors the previous facility. It increases medical and emergency power generation. USDA media by Lance Cheung.

 

For more information about the Community Facilities Loans and Grants Program, please go to rd.usda.gov/programs-services/community-facilities/community-facilities-direct-loan-grant-program

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, also known as the "Toy Train", is a 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge railway that runs between New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling in the Indian state of West Bengal, India. Built between 1879 and 1881, the railway is about 78 kilometres) long. Its elevation level varies from about 100 metres at New Jalpaiguri to about 2,200 metres at Darjeeling. Four modern diesel locomotives handle most of the scheduled services; however the daily Kurseong-Darjeeling return service and the daily tourist trains from Darjeeling to Ghum (India's highest railway station) are handled by the vintage British-built B Class steam locomotives. The railway, along with the Nilgiri Mountain Railway and the Kalka-Shimla Railway, is listed as the Mountain Railways of India World Heritage Site. The headquarters of the railway is in the town of Kurseong. Operations between Siliguri and Kurseong have been temporarily suspended since 2010 following a Landslide at Tindharia.

 

HISTORY

A broad gauge railway connected Calcutta (now Kolkata) and Siliguri in 1878. Siliguri, at the base of the Himalayas, was connected to Darjeeling by a cart road (the present day Hill Cart Road) on which "Tonga services" (carriage services) were available. Franklin Prestage, an agent of Eastern Bengal Railway Company approached the government with a proposal of laying a steam tramway from Siliguri to Darjeeling. The proposal was accepted in 1879 following the positive report of a committee formed by Sir Ashley Eden, the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal. Construction started the same year.

 

Gillanders Arbuthnot & Co. constructed the railway. The stretch from Siliguri to Kurseong was opened on 23 August 1880, while the official opening of the line up to Darjeeling was on 4 July 1881. Several engineering adjustments were made later in order to ease the gradient of the rails. Despite natural calamities, such as an earthquake in 1897 and a major cyclone in 1899, the DHR continued to improve with new extension lines being built in response to growing passenger and freight traffic. However, the DHR started to face competition from bus services that started operating over the Hill Cart Road, offering a shorter journey time. During World War II, the DHR played a vital role transporting military personnel and supplies to the numerous camps around Ghum and Darjeeling.

 

After the independence of India, the DHR was absorbed into Indian Railways and became a part of the Northeast Frontier Railway zone in 1958. In 1962, the line was realigned at Siliguri and extended by nearly 6 km to New Jalpaiguri (NJP) to meet the new broad gauge line there. DHR remained closed for 18 months during the hostile period of Gorkhaland Movement in 1988-89.

 

The line closed in 2011 due to a 6.8 Magnitude earthquake. The line is currently loss-making and in 2015, Rajah Banerjee, a local tea estate owner, has called for privatisation to encourage investment, which was fiercely resisted by unions.

 

WORLD HERITAGE SITE

DHR was declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1999, only the second railway to have this honour bestowed upon it, the first one being Semmering Railway of Austria in 1998. To be nominated as World Heritage site on the World Heritage List, the particular site or property needs to fulfill a certain set of criteria, which are expressed in the UNESCO World Heritage Convention and its corresponding Operational Guidelines. The site must be of outstanding universal value and meet at least one out of ten selection criteria. The protection, management, authenticity and integrity of properties are also important considerations.

 

CRITERIA FOR SELECTION

The DHR is justified by the following criteria:

 

Criterion ii The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway is an outstanding example of the influence of an innovative transportation system on the social and economic development of a multi-cultural region, which was to serve as a model for similar developments in many parts of the world.

 

Criterion iv The development of railways in the 19th century had a profound influence on social and economic developments in many parts of the world. This process is illustrated in an exceptional and seminal fashion by the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.

  

AUTHENTICITY AND INTEGITY

Since 1881, the original route has been retained in a remarkable condition. Only minimal interventions of an evolutionary nature, such as the reduction of loops, have been carried out. Most of the original steam locomotives are still in use. Like Tea and the Ghurka culture, the DHR has become not only an essential feature of the landscape but also an enduring part of the identity of Darjeeling.

 

MANAGEMENT AND LEGAL STATUS

The DHR and all its movable and immovable assets, including the authentic railway stations, the line, and the track vehicles, belong to the Government of India entrusted to the Ministry of Railways. The Northeast Frontier Railway documented all the elements of the DHR in a comprehensive register. Apart from that, it handles the day-to-day maintenance and management. But moreover, several programs, divisions and departments of the Indian Railways are responsible for operating, maintaining and repairing the DHR. This includes technical as well as non-technical work. In principle, the only two legal protection mechanisms that apply to the conservation of the DHR are the provisions of the 1989 Railway Act and that it is a public property which is state-owned and therefore protected

 

THE ROUTE

The railway line basically follows the Hill Cart Road which is partially the same as National Highway 55. Usually, the track is simply on the road side. In case of landslides both track and road might be affected. As long parts of the road are flanked with buildings, the railway line often rather resembles urban tramway tracks than an overland line.

 

To warn residents and car drivers about the approaching train, engines are equipped with very loud horns that even drown horns of Indian trucks and buses. Trains honk almost without pause.

 

LOOPS AND Z-REVERSE

One of the main difficulties faced by the DHR was the steepness of the climb. Features called loops and Z-Reverses were designed as an integral part of the system at different points along the route to achieve a comfortable gradient for the stretches in between them. When the train moves forwards, reverses and then moves forward again, climbing a slope each time while doing so, it gains height along the side of the hill.

 

LOCOMOTIVES

CURRENT

STEAM

All the steam locomotives currently in use on the railway are of the "B" Class, a design built by Sharp, Stewart and Company and later the North British Locomotive Company, between 1889 and 1925. A total of 34 were built, but by 2005 only 12 remained on the railway and in use (or under repair).

 

In 2002, No. 787 was rebuilt with oil firing. This was originally installed to work on the same principle as that used on Nilgiri Mountain Railway No.37395. A diesel-powered generator was fitted to operate the oil burner and an electrically-driven feed pump, and a diesel-powered compressor was fitted to power the braking system. Additionally, the locomotive was fitted with a feedwater heater. The overall result was a dramatic change in the appearance of the locomotive. However, the trials of the locomotive were disappointing and it never entered regular service. In early 2011, it was in Tindharia Works awaiting reconversion to coal-firing.

 

In March 2001, No.794 was transferred to the Matheran Hill Railway to allow a "Joy Train" (steam-hauled tourist train) to be operated on that railway. It did not, however, enter service there until May 2002.

 

DIESEL

Four diesel locomotives are in use: Nos. 601-2, 604 and 605 of the NDM6 class transferred from the Matheran Hill Railway.

Past

 

In 1910 the railway purchased the third Garratt locomotive built, a D Class 0-4-0+0-4-0.

 

Only one DHR steam locomotive has been taken out of India, No.778 (originally No.19). After many years out of use at the Hesston Steam Railway, it was sold to an enthusiast in the UK and restored to working order. It is now based on a private railway (The Beeches Light Railway) in Oxfordshire but has run on the Ffestiniog Railway, the Launceston Steam Railway and the Leighton Buzzard Light Railway.

 

IN POPULAR CULTURE

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway has long been viewed with affection and enthusiasm by travellers to the region and the Earl of Ronaldshay gave the following description of a journey in the early 1920s:

 

"Siliguri is palpably a place of meeting... The discovery that here the metre gauge system ends and the two foot gauge of the Darjeeling-Himalayan railway begins, confirms what all these things hint at... One steps into a railway carriage which might easily be mistaken for a toy, and the whimsical idea seizes hold of one that one has accidentally stumbled into Lilliput. With a noisy fuss out of all proportion to its size the engine gives a jerk - and starts... No special mechanical device such as a rack is employed - unless, indeed, one can so describe the squat and stolid hill-man who sits perched over the forward buffers of the engine and scatters sand on the rails when the wheels of the engine lose their grip of the metals and race, with the noise of a giant spring running down when the control has been removed. Sometimes we cross our own track after completing the circuit of a cone, at others we zigzag backwards and forwards; but always we climb at a steady gradient - so steady that if one embarks in a trolley at Ghum, the highest point on the line, the initial push supplies all the energy necessary to carry one to the bottom."

 

The trip up to Darjeeling on railway has changed little since that time, and continues to delight travellers and rail enthusiasts, so much so that it has its own preservation and support group, the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Society.

 

Several films have portrayed the railway. Especially popular was the song Mere sapno ki rani from the film Aradhana where the protagonist Rajesh Khanna tries to woo heroine Sharmila Tagore who was riding in the train. Other notable films include Barfi!, Parineeta and Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman. The Darjeeling Limited, a film directed by Wes Anderson, features a trip by three brothers on a fictional long-distance train based loosely on the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.

 

TELEVISION

The BBC made a series of three documentaries dealing with Indian Hill Railways, shown in February 2010. The first film covers the Darjeeling-Himalayan Railway, the second the Nilgiri Mountain Railway and the third the Kalka-Shimla Railway. The films were directed by Tarun Bhartiya, Hugo Smith and Nick Mattingly and produced by Gerry Troyna. The series won the UK Royal Television Society Award in June 2010. Wes Anderson's film The Darjeeling Limited also showcases three brothers riding the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.

 

WIKIPEDIA

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, also known as the "Toy Train", is a 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge railway that runs between New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling in the Indian state of West Bengal, India. Built between 1879 and 1881, the railway is about 78 kilometres) long. Its elevation level varies from about 100 metres at New Jalpaiguri to about 2,200 metres at Darjeeling. Four modern diesel locomotives handle most of the scheduled services; however the daily Kurseong-Darjeeling return service and the daily tourist trains from Darjeeling to Ghum (India's highest railway station) are handled by the vintage British-built B Class steam locomotives. The railway, along with the Nilgiri Mountain Railway and the Kalka-Shimla Railway, is listed as the Mountain Railways of India World Heritage Site. The headquarters of the railway is in the town of Kurseong. Operations between Siliguri and Kurseong have been temporarily suspended since 2010 following a Landslide at Tindharia.

 

HISTORY

A broad gauge railway connected Calcutta (now Kolkata) and Siliguri in 1878. Siliguri, at the base of the Himalayas, was connected to Darjeeling by a cart road (the present day Hill Cart Road) on which "Tonga services" (carriage services) were available. Franklin Prestage, an agent of Eastern Bengal Railway Company approached the government with a proposal of laying a steam tramway from Siliguri to Darjeeling. The proposal was accepted in 1879 following the positive report of a committee formed by Sir Ashley Eden, the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal. Construction started the same year.

 

Gillanders Arbuthnot & Co. constructed the railway. The stretch from Siliguri to Kurseong was opened on 23 August 1880, while the official opening of the line up to Darjeeling was on 4 July 1881. Several engineering adjustments were made later in order to ease the gradient of the rails. Despite natural calamities, such as an earthquake in 1897 and a major cyclone in 1899, the DHR continued to improve with new extension lines being built in response to growing passenger and freight traffic. However, the DHR started to face competition from bus services that started operating over the Hill Cart Road, offering a shorter journey time. During World War II, the DHR played a vital role transporting military personnel and supplies to the numerous camps around Ghum and Darjeeling.

 

After the independence of India, the DHR was absorbed into Indian Railways and became a part of the Northeast Frontier Railway zone in 1958. In 1962, the line was realigned at Siliguri and extended by nearly 6 km to New Jalpaiguri (NJP) to meet the new broad gauge line there. DHR remained closed for 18 months during the hostile period of Gorkhaland Movement in 1988-89.

 

The line closed in 2011 due to a 6.8 Magnitude earthquake. The line is currently loss-making and in 2015, Rajah Banerjee, a local tea estate owner, has called for privatisation to encourage investment, which was fiercely resisted by unions.

 

WORLD HERITAGE SITE

DHR was declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1999, only the second railway to have this honour bestowed upon it, the first one being Semmering Railway of Austria in 1998. To be nominated as World Heritage site on the World Heritage List, the particular site or property needs to fulfill a certain set of criteria, which are expressed in the UNESCO World Heritage Convention and its corresponding Operational Guidelines. The site must be of outstanding universal value and meet at least one out of ten selection criteria. The protection, management, authenticity and integrity of properties are also important considerations.

 

CRITERIA FOR SELECTION

The DHR is justified by the following criteria:

 

Criterion ii The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway is an outstanding example of the influence of an innovative transportation system on the social and economic development of a multi-cultural region, which was to serve as a model for similar developments in many parts of the world.

 

Criterion iv The development of railways in the 19th century had a profound influence on social and economic developments in many parts of the world. This process is illustrated in an exceptional and seminal fashion by the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.

  

AUTHENTICITY AND INTEGITY

Since 1881, the original route has been retained in a remarkable condition. Only minimal interventions of an evolutionary nature, such as the reduction of loops, have been carried out. Most of the original steam locomotives are still in use. Like Tea and the Ghurka culture, the DHR has become not only an essential feature of the landscape but also an enduring part of the identity of Darjeeling.

 

MANAGEMENT AND LEGAL STATUS

The DHR and all its movable and immovable assets, including the authentic railway stations, the line, and the track vehicles, belong to the Government of India entrusted to the Ministry of Railways. The Northeast Frontier Railway documented all the elements of the DHR in a comprehensive register. Apart from that, it handles the day-to-day maintenance and management. But moreover, several programs, divisions and departments of the Indian Railways are responsible for operating, maintaining and repairing the DHR. This includes technical as well as non-technical work. In principle, the only two legal protection mechanisms that apply to the conservation of the DHR are the provisions of the 1989 Railway Act and that it is a public property which is state-owned and therefore protected

 

THE ROUTE

The railway line basically follows the Hill Cart Road which is partially the same as National Highway 55. Usually, the track is simply on the road side. In case of landslides both track and road might be affected. As long parts of the road are flanked with buildings, the railway line often rather resembles urban tramway tracks than an overland line.

 

To warn residents and car drivers about the approaching train, engines are equipped with very loud horns that even drown horns of Indian trucks and buses. Trains honk almost without pause.

 

LOOPS AND Z-REVERSE

One of the main difficulties faced by the DHR was the steepness of the climb. Features called loops and Z-Reverses were designed as an integral part of the system at different points along the route to achieve a comfortable gradient for the stretches in between them. When the train moves forwards, reverses and then moves forward again, climbing a slope each time while doing so, it gains height along the side of the hill.

 

LOCOMOTIVES

CURRENT

STEAM

All the steam locomotives currently in use on the railway are of the "B" Class, a design built by Sharp, Stewart and Company and later the North British Locomotive Company, between 1889 and 1925. A total of 34 were built, but by 2005 only 12 remained on the railway and in use (or under repair).

 

In 2002, No. 787 was rebuilt with oil firing. This was originally installed to work on the same principle as that used on Nilgiri Mountain Railway No.37395. A diesel-powered generator was fitted to operate the oil burner and an electrically-driven feed pump, and a diesel-powered compressor was fitted to power the braking system. Additionally, the locomotive was fitted with a feedwater heater. The overall result was a dramatic change in the appearance of the locomotive. However, the trials of the locomotive were disappointing and it never entered regular service. In early 2011, it was in Tindharia Works awaiting reconversion to coal-firing.

 

In March 2001, No.794 was transferred to the Matheran Hill Railway to allow a "Joy Train" (steam-hauled tourist train) to be operated on that railway. It did not, however, enter service there until May 2002.

 

DIESEL

Four diesel locomotives are in use: Nos. 601-2, 604 and 605 of the NDM6 class transferred from the Matheran Hill Railway.

Past

 

In 1910 the railway purchased the third Garratt locomotive built, a D Class 0-4-0+0-4-0.

 

Only one DHR steam locomotive has been taken out of India, No.778 (originally No.19). After many years out of use at the Hesston Steam Railway, it was sold to an enthusiast in the UK and restored to working order. It is now based on a private railway (The Beeches Light Railway) in Oxfordshire but has run on the Ffestiniog Railway, the Launceston Steam Railway and the Leighton Buzzard Light Railway.

 

IN POPULAR CULTURE

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway has long been viewed with affection and enthusiasm by travellers to the region and the Earl of Ronaldshay gave the following description of a journey in the early 1920s:

 

"Siliguri is palpably a place of meeting... The discovery that here the metre gauge system ends and the two foot gauge of the Darjeeling-Himalayan railway begins, confirms what all these things hint at... One steps into a railway carriage which might easily be mistaken for a toy, and the whimsical idea seizes hold of one that one has accidentally stumbled into Lilliput. With a noisy fuss out of all proportion to its size the engine gives a jerk - and starts... No special mechanical device such as a rack is employed - unless, indeed, one can so describe the squat and stolid hill-man who sits perched over the forward buffers of the engine and scatters sand on the rails when the wheels of the engine lose their grip of the metals and race, with the noise of a giant spring running down when the control has been removed. Sometimes we cross our own track after completing the circuit of a cone, at others we zigzag backwards and forwards; but always we climb at a steady gradient - so steady that if one embarks in a trolley at Ghum, the highest point on the line, the initial push supplies all the energy necessary to carry one to the bottom."

 

The trip up to Darjeeling on railway has changed little since that time, and continues to delight travellers and rail enthusiasts, so much so that it has its own preservation and support group, the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Society.

 

Several films have portrayed the railway. Especially popular was the song Mere sapno ki rani from the film Aradhana where the protagonist Rajesh Khanna tries to woo heroine Sharmila Tagore who was riding in the train. Other notable films include Barfi!, Parineeta and Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman. The Darjeeling Limited, a film directed by Wes Anderson, features a trip by three brothers on a fictional long-distance train based loosely on the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.

 

TELEVISION

The BBC made a series of three documentaries dealing with Indian Hill Railways, shown in February 2010. The first film covers the Darjeeling-Himalayan Railway, the second the Nilgiri Mountain Railway and the third the Kalka-Shimla Railway. The films were directed by Tarun Bhartiya, Hugo Smith and Nick Mattingly and produced by Gerry Troyna. The series won the UK Royal Television Society Award in June 2010. Wes Anderson's film The Darjeeling Limited also showcases three brothers riding the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.

 

WIKIPEDIA

MKSG The X-Men: Survival - Issue #3

Basement of X-Mansion

 

“You ready, Kitty?” asks Peter, reassuringly. Last time they trained in the Danger Room… well it didn't go as planned. They're a lot stronger and better prepared this time though, or at least that's what the pair of them had told Mr. Summers to convince him to let them do this.

 

“Yep, let's do it” she replies with some false confidence, as Bobby swaggers over to the couple.

 

“Alright, Kurt and I are in there with you, Ororo, Scott and Illyana will be watching and assessing your performance. Let's get out there and show them what we've got, as a team, yeah?” says Bobby.

 

“Sure thing, ‘Iceman’” Kitty replies with a smirk. She wished she had an official codename, but only field operatives receive them, which is what her and Peter were training to become. Having lost Warren and Hank, the X-Men were a little short handed these days, and ‘Shadowcat’ and ‘Colossus’ were feeling ready to join the ranks.

 

They geared up; ‘Iceman’, ‘Shadowcat’ and ‘Colossus’ were to think on their feet to remove an unknown threat and also save Kurt, who was playing the hostage. Up in the observation deck, Scott is excited to unleash his design upon the team, that he's been working on for several months now. Beside him resides Headmistress Ororo Munroe, who remembers far back when she first used the Danger Room, along with Scott, Hank, Jean, Bobby, Warren and, of course, Professor Xavier. It was to help train his team of extraordinary students to defend against threats to Mutant-kind and humans alike, if it came to that.

 

5… Kitty pants nervously 4… 3… 2…1… BEEP!

 

The X-Men burst into the room and take offence positions, but see nothing threatening initially. Kitty spots Kurt hanging from the ceiling in a cramped metal cage, electricity running through the bars. It must be stopping him using his powers, she figures. Her objective is to rescue Kurt while Bobby and Peter neutralise the hostile. She spots a generator connected to the cage, but as she’s about to point this out, something humongous and robotic crashes down on top of them all!

 

Kitty and Bobby fall over dramatically, then scramble to their feet. Peter also gets knocked back but remains steady. He’s the first to retaliate against the foe. He armours himself up as he slams into one of the creatures 8 mechanical legs and yanks it with all his considerable might. Metal meets metal, and an extremely loud screeching sound happens as the leg is torn from its hinges.

 

“Damn, Pete” exclaims Scott, while Ororo smirks. She has more confidence in the team's ability than most.

 

“Yes!” Illyanna says under her breath, cheering for her brother, not that he’d be able to hear her.

 

The team regain attack formation as the Spider-like beast circles around for a second attack, scuttling around the walls and defending it’s hostage. Oil and mechanical pieces are leaking from it's severed limb. They get a better look at the giant critter of Scott's creation. It's not purely a spider. It has the body of a man attached to the torso of an 8, well… 7, legged being.

 

“Drider…” Bobby exclaims, mildly surprised. “Really Scotty?” he shouts towards the observation deck. “D&D creatures again?”

  

Scott chuckles at this, but straightens his face to tell him: “Focus on your objective, Bobby” through the speaker. “Do I need to remind you what that is?”

 

“No need to be a…!”

 

*THUMP*

 

The drider whacks Bobby across the room with it’s extended tail before he can finish his retort.

Kitty watches as Peter attacks before the Drider can reach Bobby, who is lying on the floor half-dazed. She’s very glad to not be on the offensive for this exercise. Her mission is hostage extraction, not to deal this horrible spiders. She sprints over to the generator she previously spotted and figures it's easy enough.

 

‘I’ve just gotta phase into the generator, disable it, open the cage and save the elf’

 

However, as she attempts to reach into the generator, her fingertips are met with warm, humming metal. She can’t phase through.

 

‘Scott is probably so smug right now’ she thinks bitterly, glaring upwards at the observation deck. Sure enough, Scott notices her, as does Ororo, who glances over at him.

 

“What did you do Scott?” Ororo inquires.

 

“Little bit of reverse engineering of her powers. It’s not very nice, I know, but they won’t get liberties in the field”Scott replies, just a little bit proud of his mechanical accomplishments.

 

Beside them, Illyanna is engrossed by the fight. Bobby and Peter have taken to the tactic of freezing the Drider’s limbs, then smashing them off with ease. Their only problem: Getting the damn thing to stay still. Kitty, searching her mind for ideas of how to rescue Kurt, see what her teammates are attempting to do.

 

‘Freezing the metal then crushing it will destroy it, huh?’, she thinks to herself, sparking an idea in her head.

 

“Hey”, she yells at her team. “Let it come get me!”

 

Peter has the thing in headlock when he hears her call. “We’ve got this!” he calls back.

 

“Guys!” Kitty yells over the mechanical screeching of the creature trying to break free. “YOU need to save Kurt, and destroy that!” she shouts as she gestures heavily towards the power generator.

 

A little unsure, Peter and Bobby look at each other to confide, but as then do, Peter accidentally loosens his grip and Bobby isn’t fully focused. The drider breaks free of them both and with a swift *SWISH* of its tail, swipes them across the room towards Kurt and the generator. As this happens, Kitty runs right into the middle of the room.

 

“Come at me!” she yells, antagonistically. “I really hope this works”, she mutters, as the drider turns to face her.

 

Getting to their feet, Bobby and Peter are reluctant to leave the drider to Kitty alone, but they realise her plan. Bobby begins smothering the generator with a layer of hard ice and reassures Kurt, shouting “We’re coming for ya buddy!” in his typical, overly-positive tone.

 

Meanwhile, Peter can only watch in horror as the Drider makes its aggressive charge for Kitty. As it’s approaching her, she prepares herself, counting down in her head the distance.

 

‘Okay 20m, 10m, now 5m, oh god 2m!’

 

“No!” shouts Peter desperately, positive that the Drider just crushed her. The Drider continues at full speed, directly into the opposing wall, making a colossal crash and magnificently exploding into a thousand nuts and bolts.

 

For a moment, even Ororo is thinking the worst. However, as some of the debris and smoke clears, Kitty is standing just where she was stood, completely unscathed.

 

‘She phased through, of course!’ Peter realises, just as Bobby yells “Now!” and Peter runs and jumps onto the generator.

 

*CRACKK*

 

With a colossal punch, Peter cracks all the ice and the machine that it encompassed. The electricity fizzling through the metal bars of the cage halts.

 

“Yay! Woohoo!” Ilyanna shouts, jumping up and down and clapping for their victory. Ororo and Scott also feel very proud of their teams accomplishment, not that Scott necessarily show it.

 

Peter runs over to Kitty at speed and picks her up with a giant hug.

 

“I almost thought I’d lost you” he caringly says.

  

“I’m not going anywhere” she responds.

 

They both hear a familiar BAMF and then feel Kurt’s arms and tail encompassing them both.

  

“Nice job, you guys” the fuzzy blue man says with his thick German accent.

 

“Thanks, Elf” Kitty replies softly.

Emacs!

 

Media Advisory

Community Power Awards nominees announced

The Ontario Sustainable Energy Association (OSEA)

is pleased to announce the Community Power Award

nominees for 2010. The Community Power Award is

presented to individuals and/or organizations,

whose work has contributed significantly to the

Community Power movement. Gord Miller, the

Environmental Commissioner of Ontario will open

the evening with a keynote presentation at the

Community Power Awards Banquet at the Community

Power Conference at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, November 15, 2010.

 

The Community Power Conference is Ontario's

largest annual gathering of Community Power

proponents, producers and supporters. Together

with the Power Networking Centre trade show, the

conference attracts industry regulators,

commercial and community power generators,

farmers and First Nation and Métis delegations.

The conference offers two full days of meeting

and learning from Community Power experts, while

the trade show displays the latest innovations in

power generation technologies and services.

 

For agenda, see bit.ly/d9WQTt

 

Please see below for a list of Community Power Awards nominees for 2010.

 

Community Power Leader

Deborah Doncaster, CP Fund

Marion Fraser, Fraser and Company

Brent Kopperson, Windfall Centre

Derek Satnik, Mindscape Innovations

 

International Community Power

Tetsunari Iida, Institute for Sustainable Energy Policies (ISEP)

Preben Maegaard, Nordic Folkecenter for Renewable Energy

Joseph Pesch, FESA

Fabio Rosa, Instituto Para O Desenvolvimento De

Energias Alternativas E Da Auto Sustentabilidade (IDEAAS)

 

Aboriginal Community Power

William Big Bull, Walpole Island First Nation and Piikani First Nation

Byron LeClaire, Pic River First Nation

Roger Peltier, Wikwemikong Unceded Nation

Grant Taibossgai, M'Chigeeng First Nation

 

Rural Community Power

Joe Botscheller, Farmers for Economic Opportunity, Simcoe

Paul Klaesi, Fepro Farm, Cobden

Glen Estil, Sky Generation, Lion's Head

Don McCabe, Ontario Federation of Agriculture, Guelph

 

Urban Community Power

Mike Brigham, SolarShare

Paul Charbonneau, EnergyAdvocate.ca, Toronto

Karen Farbridge, City of Guelph

Robert Gallagher, Town of Blind River/North Shore Power Group

Mike Layton, Green Energy Act Alliance, Toronto

William Mates, Town of Ingersoll

Joyce McLean, Toronto Hydro, Toronto

Rob McMonogle, City of Toronto

Tom Rand, MaRS, Toronto

Ijaz Rauf, Amadiyyah Muslim Community, Vaughan

Rick Salay, Neighborhood Unitarian Universalist Congregation, Toronto

Erin Shapero, Councillor of Ward 2, Town of Markham

Stephen Sottile, Utilities Kingston

 

2009 winners were:

- Community Power Leader Award - George

Smitherman, former MPP Toronto Centre and

Minister of Energy and Infrastructure (Toronto)

- Aboriginal Community Power Award - Michael Fox,

President, Fox High Impact Consulting (Thunder Bay)

- Urban Community Power Award - Ken Traynor,

Toronto Renewable Energy Co-Op (Toronto)

- Rural Community Power Award - Paul Norris,

President, Ontario Water Power Association (Peterborough)

 

Further details can be found at: www.cpconference.ca

For conference registration, please visit: registration.cpconference.ca

 

For more information, please contact:

Maria Leung, Environmental Communication Options,

mleung@ecostrategy.ca OR 416-972-7401

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, also known as the "Toy Train", is a 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge railway that runs between New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling in the Indian state of West Bengal, India. Built between 1879 and 1881, the railway is about 78 kilometres) long. Its elevation level varies from about 100 metres at New Jalpaiguri to about 2,200 metres at Darjeeling. Four modern diesel locomotives handle most of the scheduled services; however the daily Kurseong-Darjeeling return service and the daily tourist trains from Darjeeling to Ghum (India's highest railway station) are handled by the vintage British-built B Class steam locomotives. The railway, along with the Nilgiri Mountain Railway and the Kalka-Shimla Railway, is listed as the Mountain Railways of India World Heritage Site. The headquarters of the railway is in the town of Kurseong. Operations between Siliguri and Kurseong have been temporarily suspended since 2010 following a Landslide at Tindharia.

 

HISTORY

A broad gauge railway connected Calcutta (now Kolkata) and Siliguri in 1878. Siliguri, at the base of the Himalayas, was connected to Darjeeling by a cart road (the present day Hill Cart Road) on which "Tonga services" (carriage services) were available. Franklin Prestage, an agent of Eastern Bengal Railway Company approached the government with a proposal of laying a steam tramway from Siliguri to Darjeeling. The proposal was accepted in 1879 following the positive report of a committee formed by Sir Ashley Eden, the Lieutenant Governor of Bengal. Construction started the same year.

 

Gillanders Arbuthnot & Co. constructed the railway. The stretch from Siliguri to Kurseong was opened on 23 August 1880, while the official opening of the line up to Darjeeling was on 4 July 1881. Several engineering adjustments were made later in order to ease the gradient of the rails. Despite natural calamities, such as an earthquake in 1897 and a major cyclone in 1899, the DHR continued to improve with new extension lines being built in response to growing passenger and freight traffic. However, the DHR started to face competition from bus services that started operating over the Hill Cart Road, offering a shorter journey time. During World War II, the DHR played a vital role transporting military personnel and supplies to the numerous camps around Ghum and Darjeeling.

 

After the independence of India, the DHR was absorbed into Indian Railways and became a part of the Northeast Frontier Railway zone in 1958. In 1962, the line was realigned at Siliguri and extended by nearly 6 km to New Jalpaiguri (NJP) to meet the new broad gauge line there. DHR remained closed for 18 months during the hostile period of Gorkhaland Movement in 1988-89.

 

The line closed in 2011 due to a 6.8 Magnitude earthquake. The line is currently loss-making and in 2015, Rajah Banerjee, a local tea estate owner, has called for privatisation to encourage investment, which was fiercely resisted by unions.

 

WORLD HERITAGE SITE

DHR was declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1999, only the second railway to have this honour bestowed upon it, the first one being Semmering Railway of Austria in 1998. To be nominated as World Heritage site on the World Heritage List, the particular site or property needs to fulfill a certain set of criteria, which are expressed in the UNESCO World Heritage Convention and its corresponding Operational Guidelines. The site must be of outstanding universal value and meet at least one out of ten selection criteria. The protection, management, authenticity and integrity of properties are also important considerations.

 

CRITERIA FOR SELECTION

The DHR is justified by the following criteria:

 

Criterion ii The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway is an outstanding example of the influence of an innovative transportation system on the social and economic development of a multi-cultural region, which was to serve as a model for similar developments in many parts of the world.

 

Criterion iv The development of railways in the 19th century had a profound influence on social and economic developments in many parts of the world. This process is illustrated in an exceptional and seminal fashion by the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.

  

AUTHENTICITY AND INTEGITY

Since 1881, the original route has been retained in a remarkable condition. Only minimal interventions of an evolutionary nature, such as the reduction of loops, have been carried out. Most of the original steam locomotives are still in use. Like Tea and the Ghurka culture, the DHR has become not only an essential feature of the landscape but also an enduring part of the identity of Darjeeling.

 

MANAGEMENT AND LEGAL STATUS

The DHR and all its movable and immovable assets, including the authentic railway stations, the line, and the track vehicles, belong to the Government of India entrusted to the Ministry of Railways. The Northeast Frontier Railway documented all the elements of the DHR in a comprehensive register. Apart from that, it handles the day-to-day maintenance and management. But moreover, several programs, divisions and departments of the Indian Railways are responsible for operating, maintaining and repairing the DHR. This includes technical as well as non-technical work. In principle, the only two legal protection mechanisms that apply to the conservation of the DHR are the provisions of the 1989 Railway Act and that it is a public property which is state-owned and therefore protected

 

THE ROUTE

The railway line basically follows the Hill Cart Road which is partially the same as National Highway 55. Usually, the track is simply on the road side. In case of landslides both track and road might be affected. As long parts of the road are flanked with buildings, the railway line often rather resembles urban tramway tracks than an overland line.

 

To warn residents and car drivers about the approaching train, engines are equipped with very loud horns that even drown horns of Indian trucks and buses. Trains honk almost without pause.

 

LOOPS AND Z-REVERSE

One of the main difficulties faced by the DHR was the steepness of the climb. Features called loops and Z-Reverses were designed as an integral part of the system at different points along the route to achieve a comfortable gradient for the stretches in between them. When the train moves forwards, reverses and then moves forward again, climbing a slope each time while doing so, it gains height along the side of the hill.

 

LOCOMOTIVES

CURRENT

STEAM

All the steam locomotives currently in use on the railway are of the "B" Class, a design built by Sharp, Stewart and Company and later the North British Locomotive Company, between 1889 and 1925. A total of 34 were built, but by 2005 only 12 remained on the railway and in use (or under repair).

 

In 2002, No. 787 was rebuilt with oil firing. This was originally installed to work on the same principle as that used on Nilgiri Mountain Railway No.37395. A diesel-powered generator was fitted to operate the oil burner and an electrically-driven feed pump, and a diesel-powered compressor was fitted to power the braking system. Additionally, the locomotive was fitted with a feedwater heater. The overall result was a dramatic change in the appearance of the locomotive. However, the trials of the locomotive were disappointing and it never entered regular service. In early 2011, it was in Tindharia Works awaiting reconversion to coal-firing.

 

In March 2001, No.794 was transferred to the Matheran Hill Railway to allow a "Joy Train" (steam-hauled tourist train) to be operated on that railway. It did not, however, enter service there until May 2002.

 

DIESEL

Four diesel locomotives are in use: Nos. 601-2, 604 and 605 of the NDM6 class transferred from the Matheran Hill Railway.

Past

 

In 1910 the railway purchased the third Garratt locomotive built, a D Class 0-4-0+0-4-0.

 

Only one DHR steam locomotive has been taken out of India, No.778 (originally No.19). After many years out of use at the Hesston Steam Railway, it was sold to an enthusiast in the UK and restored to working order. It is now based on a private railway (The Beeches Light Railway) in Oxfordshire but has run on the Ffestiniog Railway, the Launceston Steam Railway and the Leighton Buzzard Light Railway.

 

IN POPULAR CULTURE

The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway has long been viewed with affection and enthusiasm by travellers to the region and the Earl of Ronaldshay gave the following description of a journey in the early 1920s:

 

"Siliguri is palpably a place of meeting... The discovery that here the metre gauge system ends and the two foot gauge of the Darjeeling-Himalayan railway begins, confirms what all these things hint at... One steps into a railway carriage which might easily be mistaken for a toy, and the whimsical idea seizes hold of one that one has accidentally stumbled into Lilliput. With a noisy fuss out of all proportion to its size the engine gives a jerk - and starts... No special mechanical device such as a rack is employed - unless, indeed, one can so describe the squat and stolid hill-man who sits perched over the forward buffers of the engine and scatters sand on the rails when the wheels of the engine lose their grip of the metals and race, with the noise of a giant spring running down when the control has been removed. Sometimes we cross our own track after completing the circuit of a cone, at others we zigzag backwards and forwards; but always we climb at a steady gradient - so steady that if one embarks in a trolley at Ghum, the highest point on the line, the initial push supplies all the energy necessary to carry one to the bottom."

 

The trip up to Darjeeling on railway has changed little since that time, and continues to delight travellers and rail enthusiasts, so much so that it has its own preservation and support group, the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Society.

 

Several films have portrayed the railway. Especially popular was the song Mere sapno ki rani from the film Aradhana where the protagonist Rajesh Khanna tries to woo heroine Sharmila Tagore who was riding in the train. Other notable films include Barfi!, Parineeta and Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman. The Darjeeling Limited, a film directed by Wes Anderson, features a trip by three brothers on a fictional long-distance train based loosely on the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.

 

TELEVISION

The BBC made a series of three documentaries dealing with Indian Hill Railways, shown in February 2010. The first film covers the Darjeeling-Himalayan Railway, the second the Nilgiri Mountain Railway and the third the Kalka-Shimla Railway. The films were directed by Tarun Bhartiya, Hugo Smith and Nick Mattingly and produced by Gerry Troyna. The series won the UK Royal Television Society Award in June 2010. Wes Anderson's film The Darjeeling Limited also showcases three brothers riding the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.

 

WIKIPEDIA

I took this series of Ten Photographs outside the International Independent Showmen's Carnival Museum, which is located at 6938 Riverview Drive in Riverview, Florida.

 

This is a former James E. Strates Wagon from their Carnival Train. Strates Shows Winter Quarters is a few miles South of Downtown Orlando, Florida, just South of CSX Taft Railroad Yard on Orange Ave.

 

Strates Shows still travels by rail to various Expositions, County Fairs, State Fails that have Railroad access. For those Fairs that don't have Railroad access, they travel to the nearest Rail Yard and Truck their Carnival Rides, Food Trailers and Game Joints the remainder of the way to the Fair location.

 

On August 4, 2017, I drove to Riverview, Florida to see the International Independent Showman's Museum to see what the Carnies had on display in the museum. Unfortunately, i arrive late in the afternoon and apparently it was closed. They were apparently having a Public Convention, but I arrived too late to gain admission to the museum. Therefore, I took Photographs of the Items displayed outside the museum.

 

There was a Banner attached to the Fence with the following lettering upon it:

SHOWMAN'S CARNIVAL MUSEUM OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Museum 813 671-3503 - - - - By Appointment 813 765-7xxx

 

Unfortunately, the Banner was folded back on itself, so that I couldn't see the last three digits of the second Phone Number.

 

I came back a week later and discovered that, many of the items that I photographed had been removed from the grounds and most likely locked up inside the museum. So I stopped in the Office on the otherside of Riverview Drive at International Showman's Foundation Building and asked the Office Manager, for a schedule of when the Museum is opened to the Public. She didn't know, but suggested that they might be opened on weekends. I took one more photo of a banner outside of the foundation building which depicts two American Fags, a Globe of the Earth and a Ribbon superimposed on the banner tittle'd: "International - Independent Showmen's Association". This Photograph can be seen as the next Photo in my Photostream, following this Ten Photo Sequence.

  

General view. Class AEGIR turntable ladder belongs to the special purpose aerial apparatus class of fire fighting vehicle. More in particular class AEGIR vehicles are "quint" fire trucks, turntable ladders with additional functions such as an onboard pump, a water tank, fire hose, aerial ladder and multiple ground ladders. A class AEGIR fire truck has a 40 meters long telescopic ladder with a large chest and a water cannon, 4 main hoses (front, left side, right side, ladder) and 4 spare hoses, ground ladders, medical kit, fire fighting equipments (air tanks and masks, hatchets, jackets, saws, hydraulic spreader and cutter, various tools, fire extinguishers), external power generator, lights. The main pump (for water and hydraulic) has 450 horse power (from vehicle engine), and every class AEGIR vehicle has 2 water tank: 1x water (4500 l) and 1x foam (700 l).

Union Pacific 1943(SD70AH) 'Spirit of the Union Pacific' and 8003(AC45CCTE) Leading a 21 Car Officer Special for Bush Funeral Train Eastbound on the Omaha Main of the UP KC Metro Sub seen here from the Market Street Crossing North of Woodswether Road in the West Bottoms in Kansas City, Kansas.

 

Video: youtu.be/CZ8r0m5Zkz0

 

Car List:

Kenefick UPP 119 Business Car

Walter Dean UPP 9005 Dome Lounge

City of Denver UPP 5011 Diner Lounge

Portola UPP 1610 Deluxe Sleeper

Overland UPP 302 Diner Lounge

Harriman UPP 9004 Dome Lounge

Lone Star UPP 101 Business Car

Council Bluffs UPP 5769 Baggage Recreation Car

City of San Francisco UPP 9009 Dome Lounge

City of Portland UPP 8008 Dome Diner

UPP 2066 Power/Generator Car

Feather River UPP 114 Business Car

Little Rock UPP 315 Crew Sleeper

City of Los Angeles UPP 4808 Diner

Omaha UPP 200 Deluxe Sleeper

Green River UPP 1602 Deluxe Sleeper

Lake Forest UPP 412 Deluxe Sleeper

Lake Bluff UPP 413 Deluxe Sleeper

Powder River UPP 1605 Deluxe Sleeper

Columbia River UPP 314 Crew Sleeper

UPP 207 Power/Generator Car

 

Train: PCBFW1-02

 

Photo Taken: 12-2-18 at 12:35 pm

 

Picture ID# 2815

Blackpool Corporation Transport Car No.40. Built 1926. 78seats This was the last open balcony tram to operate in Great Britain. Returned to service June 2008.

In March 2020 Greece requested support via the EU Civil Protection Mechanism following the sudden increase of refugees and migrants at its external borders.

 

In response to the request, 14 European countries offered nearly 70,000 items of assistance.

 

It included sleeping bags, blankets, power generators, tents, and other shelter, sanitation and health items. The EU’s emergency response coordination centre in Brussels coordinated the aid deliveries and co-financed the transport of the assistance to Greece.

 

Source: © Greek General Secretariat for Civil Protection, 2020

 

In response to severe power losses incurred in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, over a dozen communities from New Hampshire to Virginia will benefit from new backup power systems destined for 14 national wildlife refuges. These installations will serve as valuable emergency resources for nearby areas during future electrical outages. This Hurricane Sandy funded recovery project will provide backup power to Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge (MD), part of the Chesapeake Marshlands National Wildlife Refuge Complex (MD).

 

More project details: www.fws.gov/hurricane/sandy/projects/ChesapeakeMarshlands...

 

Photo credit: Teresa Walter/USFWS

 

Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/usfwsnortheast

 

Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/usfwsnortheast