View allAll Photos Tagged Power-Generator
...the front sign at one of the Alibaba.com companies in a new high tech park in Dongguan, China:
Dongguan Songshan Lake production Boses The Memory Of Observation and Study
They sell diesel power generators.
A Report from 8 international aid agencies (March 2008).
Executive summary
The situation for 1.5 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip is worse now than it has ever been since the start of the Israeli military occupation in 1967. The current situation in Gaza is man-made, completely avoidable and, with the necessary political will, can also be reversed.
Gaza has suffered from a long-term pattern of economic stagnation and plummeting development indicators. The severity of the situation has increased exponentially since Israel imposed extreme restrictions on the movement of goods and people in response to the Hamas take over of Gaza and to indiscriminate rocket attacks against Israel. This report illustrates the gravity of the current situation across key sectors.
Humanitarian Access
Movement in and out of Gaza is all but impossible and supplies of food and water, sewage treatment, and basic healthcare can no longer be taken for granted...
Poverty and Dependency on Food Aid
The number of people living in absolute poverty in Gaza has increased sharply. Today, 80% of families in Gaza currently rely on humanitarian aid compared to 63% in 2006. This decline exposes unprecedented levels of poverty and the inability of a large majority of the population to afford basic food...
Unemployment
Unemployment in Gaza is close to 40% and is set to rise to 50% . The private sector – that generates 53% of all jobs in Gaza – has been devastated, businesses have been bankrupted and 75,000 workers out of 110,000 are now without a job. At present, 95% of Gaza's industrial operations are suspended because they cannot access inputs for production nor can they export what they produce...
Basic Services
The blockade is destroying public service infrastructure in Gaza. The Israeli government prevents the repair and maintenance of the electricity and water service infrastructure in Gaza by prohibiting the import of spare parts. The impact of this is amplified by Israel's parallel punitive restrictions on fuel and electricity to Gaza. Hospitals cannot generate electricity to keep lifesaving equipment working or to generate oxygen...
Basic Medical Supplies and Access to Treatment
As a result of fuel and electricity restrictions, hospitals are currently experiencing power cuts lasting for 8-12 hours a day. There is currently a 60- 70 percent shortage reported in the diesel required for hospital power generators...
A New Policy for Gaza
The blockade has effectively dismantled the economy and impoverished the population of Gaza. Israel's policy affects the civilian population of Gaza indiscriminately and constitutes a collective punishment against ordinary men, women and children. The measures taken are illegal under international humanitarian law...
International efforts should be directed towards securing a swift end to the blockade of Gaza. Israel's current policy of isolation and refusal to engage with all elements of the Palestinian leadership only closes doors to negotiations while reinforcing the political and humanitarian crisis...
Report Conclusion and Recommendations
The current strategy on Gaza is failing at all levels. As development and human rights agencies we call on the UK government, the wider international community, the Israeli government and the Palestinian leadership to pursue a new strategy of
engagement...
We ask the UK government and EU to issue a strong public condemnation of the continuing blockade of Gaza and the Israeli government’s use of collective punishment and associated violations of international humanitarian law and to make clear that this policy is both unacceptable and illegal...
We urge the UK government and EU to exert greater pressure on the government of Israel to open the crossings into Gaza and stop fuel and electricity cuts...
A second generation Gun/Knife. "Gife"
A Dirigible Airship Boarding Cutlass ... An Air-Kraken Killer. A MultiBarreled gun and Blade. An Electroplasmatically charged "Gife" capable of slicing through hull metal and Kraken armour with impunity. Whilst capable of delivering rapid fire bursts of EP energy front or rear via quad barrel emitters ;)
Think of it more as a four barreled gun with a very hefty bayonet lol .. The blade is 10mm thick all the way to the gaurd and very solidly bolted together. Its an Electroplasmatically powered weapon.
A charged 4 barrel pistol, a charged blade and a charged Knuckleduster guard.
The generator is the cage/coil thingy at the back. (Its a straight line design akin to the Force Lances used in the scifi series Andromeda)
The gauge is a power level indicator (Telling you whats left .. Measured in power units called "Harlots" after my characters name Colonel "Wolfgrin" Harlot - the creator of all these weapons and devices at the R& D facilty at Valles Marineris in the 25th century )
On the opposite side is a three position selector switch for off, pistol & blade/knuckledusters.
Dirigible Airship Boarding Cutlass ("Gife" ... "Gunlass" :) )
ElectroPlasmatically powered blade, EP-knuckleduster guard, EP-rapid fire 4 barrel pistol.
4 power settings 0 - 3
Pommel mounted ElectroPlasmatic power generator is rated up to 120,000 Harlots of EP energy. Warning : Sustained discharge over 80,000 Harlots is inadviseable ... But fun ;-)
The piece is hand built with basic tools, constructed entirely from repurposed/found items, junk (some vintage) tool parts, scrap materials. Predominately brass, some copper and the blade is 10mm aluminium. Even the wiring is vintage ;-)
Weight : 3lbs / 1.5 kgs
Overall length : 30.5 inches / 77.5 cm
Blade edge length : 18 inches / 45.5cm
Rosewood grip
IF MY THINKERING TALENTS MAY BE OF USE TO YOU, DROP ME A LINE ;-) ... kruki99@hotmail.com
Bute.
The railway from Wallaroo to Barunga Gap passed through the area that would become Bute in1877. The farmers of the Snowtown area wanted rail access to the international port at Wallaroo, so the government extended the line from Barunga Gap to Snowtown in 1879. This line was eventually extended from Snowtown to Brinkworth in 1894. Because of the dense Mallee scrub across the plains around Bute no survey was undertaken until 1883. The town was established in 1884 which is quite late considering it was on a railway line. It was named after the Isle of Bute in the Firth of the Clyde in Scotland. A small Methodist chapel opened in the district before the town was established. One of the first town buildings was a tin school room in 1886 and the Railway Hotel. The tin school was replaced by a more permanent structure in 1892 and finally a stone school in 1911. A small Catholic Church was opened in 1895 known as the Church of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary. The current Methodist Church( Uniting Church) that you can see today opened in 1907. One of the first major activities of the town was an agricultural field day in 1895. This was soon moved to Paskeville where they still operate in alternate years. A police officer was not stationed at Bute until 1908 and the police station was built in the early 1920s.
The town Insitute opened in 1901. A new entrance porch and facade was opened a few years later. An adjacent Soldiers Memorial Hall to commemerate World War One opened in 1923. A local hospital was established after a local family donated their grand house for this purpose. It is across the railway lines oppposite where the railway station once stood. It is now just a private residence. The small Returned Services League building next to the Soldiers Memorial Hall started life as a saddler and harness maker’s premises in 1889. It was taken over by the RSL in 1948. Today the population of Bute is around 280 people. The rail service from Moonta to Snowtown and Blyth ceased in 1968 and freight services on the rail line stopped in 1970.
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
This steam powered generator was used to power the scenic railway is seen here being loaded on to Anglia Heavy Haulages Multi wheeler four in line low loader in 1970
Created by the Dalia Craft Company in the latter years of the Old Republic, the DCC-146 R-Wing, was used exclusively for deception and espionage. With its large power generator coupled to two enormous field generating 'wings' it had the ability to deceive star ship scanners and 'disappear'. An ability not exclusive to itself, as it was also able to conceal a small fleet of ships in its immediate proximity.
It was originally designed to be used for defense, protecting supply convoys moving between the outer rim planets. By covering them under a virtual veil, these convoys could slip past the ever active scanners of pirates and thieves, undetected. Although the convoys were still visible to the eye, they went completely unnoticed by electronic scanners, a huge advantage in the darker areas of space between systems.
However, due to its immense success at its primary function, it quickly found service at hiding more than just vulnerable cargo ships. In a perverse twist of roles, it became a very effective offensive weapon. The perfect tool to conceal the approach of an invading fleet or pirate marauder. With this role change and been an easy space frame to modify, its owners effected major structural modifications and weapons upgrades. Most of the ships eventually lost their distinctive shape.
Unable to prevent its prized technology from been manipulated and mutated for less than good intensions, the Dalia Craft Company canceled production after a run of only 73.
Represented here is an original R-Wing. It remains in its original configuration, as the blue prints dictated. An historical craft, much revered by those few who flew and maintained them.
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
Citizen-Soldiers from the New York and Puerto Rico National Guard worked together on Oct. 5, in order to bring a power generator to the HealthProMed (HPM) clinic at the island municipality of Culebra, Puerto Rico. During Hurricane Maria, HPM suffered a great amount of damages which left the clinic non-operational and approximately 2,000 residents without access to a medical facility. (Photos by Spc. Agustín Montañez)
Photo © Tristan Savatier - All Rights Reserved - License this photo on www.loupiote.com/9424377349
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Because of frequent and unpredictable power outages, every factory in India must have their own power generator.
This one is made from a diesel truck engine (probably a TATA) , converted into a static electric generator.
If you like this photo, follow me on instagram (tristan_sf) and don't hesitate to leave a comment or email me.
LaVerkin, UT
Went for a hike yesterday. That building is some sort of power generator--abandoned and wrecked. More pics to come. :)
Ralph George Algernon Percy, 12th Duke of Northumberland DL (born 16 November 1956), styled Lord Ralph Percy until 1995, is an English aristocrat, hereditary peer and a major UK land-owner. Northumberland is the son of Hugh Percy, 10th Duke of Northumberland, and his wife Elizabeth, née Lady Elizabeth Montagu Douglas Scott.
He left Wellesley for Eton in 1969 and became the Duke of Northumberland when his older brother, Lord Harry Percy died in 1995. Harry Percy, as he was known when he was Earl Percy at Wellesley died suddenly of natural causes at the age of 42. At Wellesley he was a happy games playing boy who set a splendid example in many facets of school life. He was a clever boy, played cricket in the Ist XI and was awarded the Herbert Day Memorial Prize. He was, sadly, one of the first sufferers of "M.E." He never married. His mother, who was a frequent visitor to Wellesley when her three sons were there, survived him. The previous Duke, his father, played in a Father's Day cricket match for his youngest brother, Lord James Percy when he was over 70 years old.
The seat of the Dukes of Northumberland is Alnwick Castle, in Alnwick, Northumberland; their London residence is Syon House in Brentford which replaced as their London residence the demolished Northumberland House in the Strand. The traditional burial place of the Dukes of Northumberland is Westminster Abbey in London, the Percys thus being the last family to maintain such a privilege.
The Duke of Northumberland studied history at the University of Oxford, and then land management with Reading University and worked in the Arundel Castle estate office for seven years, before moving back to Northumberland to manage the Alnwick estate for his elder brother Henry, the 11th Duke. He succeeded in the dukedom in 1995 on the death of the 11th Duke, who had no offspring. As such, he was a member of the House of Lords until the passing of the House of Lords Act 1999 ended the right of hereditary peers to sit in the House.
As Duke, he is the beneficial owner (or head of the beneficially owning family) of Northumberland Estates, the main ducal commercial vehicle, and a large number of affiliate companies and trusts, which in turn own a great deal of land and property in Northumberland, Scotland, Surrey and Tyneside. Ralph Percy was ranked at number 248 in the Sunday Times Rich List 2011, with an estimated wealth of £315 million. He is the titular owner of Alnwick Castle, an ancestral ducal seat, as well as Warkworth Castle and Prudhoe Castle in Northumberland; Syon Park in London; Hulne Park and Hulne Priory at Alnwick; the Albury Estate in Surrey, and other listed buildings such as Brizlee Tower. Northumberland Estates manages 100,000 acres (40,000 ha) of land, directly managing 4,000 acres (1,600 ha) of forestry interests and 20,000 acres (8,100 ha) of farmland, with 100 tenant farmers managing the remainder of the land.
The 12th Duke has shown a greater degree of entrepreneurial zeal than recent predecessors, and his redevelopment plans meet frequent criticism. His sale on the open market, rather than at a lower price to The National Gallery, of Raphael's Madonna of the Pinks in 2003 was also subject to some criticism. At much the same time, in response to a Foot and Mouth disease crisis, the Duke cut the rents of tenant farmers by 10%. The Duke has signalled his opposition to wind farms, but has engaged with renewable energy in the restoration of a hydroelectric power generator. The Duke is a sponsor of The Northumberland Church of England Academy.
Northumberland married Jane Richard in 1979. They have four children:
Lady Catherine Sarah Valentine (b. 23 June 1982), married to Patrick Valentine since 26 February 2011.
George Dominic Percy, Earl Percy (b. 4 May 1984), managing director of energy company Cluff Geothermal with Professor Paul Younger.
Lady Melissa Jane Percy (b. 20 May 1987), engaged to Thomas van Straubenzee
Lord Max Ralph Percy (b. 26 May 1990) rumoured to be dating Princess Nora Oettingen-Spielburg.
A second generation Gun/Knife. "Gife"
A Dirigible Airship Boarding Cutlass ... An Air-Kraken Killer. A MultiBarreled gun and Blade. An Electroplasmatically charged "Gife" capable of slicing through hull metal and Kraken armour with impunity. Whilst capable of delivering rapid fire bursts of EP energy front or rear via quad barrel emitters ;)
Electroplasmatic power is measured in "Harlot" units. After the creator, Colonel "Wolfgrin" Harlot. :-)
Think of it more as a four barreled gun with a very hefty bayonet lol .. The blade is 10mm thick all the way to the gaurd and very solidly bolted together. Its an Electroplasmatically powered weapon.
A charged 4 barrel pistol, a charged blade and a charged Knuckleduster guard.
The generator is the cage/coil thingy at the back. (Its a straight line design akin to the Force Lances used in the scifi series Andromeda)
The gauge is a power level indicator (Telling you whats left .. Measured in power units called "Harlots" after my characters name Colonel "Wolfgrin" Harlot - the creator of all these weapons and devices at the R& D facilty at Valles Marineris in the 25th century )
On the opposite side is a three position selector switch for off, pistol & blade/knuckledusters.
Dirigible Airship Boarding Cutlass ("Gife" ... "Gunlass" :) )
ElectroPlasmatically powered blade, EP-knuckleduster guard, EP-rapid fire 4 barrel pistol.
4 power settings 0 - 3
Pommel mounted ElectroPlasmatic power generator is rated up to 120,000 Harlots of EP energy. Warning : Sustained discharge over 80,000 Harlots is inadviseable ... But fun ;-)
The piece is hand built with basic tools, constructed entirely from repurposed/found items, junk (some vintage) tool parts, scrap materials. Predominately brass, some copper and the blade is 10mm aluminium. Even the wiring is vintage ;-)
Weight : 3lbs / 1.5 kgs
Overall length : 30.5 inches / 77.5 cm
Blade edge length : 18 inches / 45.5cm
Rosewood grip
IF MY THINKERING TALENTS MAY BE OF USE TO YOU, DROP ME A LINE ;-) ... kruki99@hotmail.com
Sorry for the mishmass of images but we are home now and I just was not as organized or diligent at posting pics as I have been in past trips. So I plan to go through my photos and post missing pics. I will try to make some sense out of place, time and order but who knows. Five a day is my goal.
Coming back around Monterrey. Next stop the Mex/US border. Crossing was a breeze and Monterey didn't seem as polluted this time around. The mountains are stunningly beautiful and it is a treat to actually see and appreciate them. I think the air pollution comes from power generators, steel mills and cement production- all along this bypass.
Don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without explicit permission.
© Barbara Dickie All rights reserved.
Metropolitan Electric Tramways, Car No. 331. Built 1930. 70 seats. Feltham prototype, with centre entrance doors instead of end doors. This didn't suit London's conduit system, so it was sold to Sunderland to become No.100. Restored funded by British Steel, and appeared in a BS blue livery at Gateshead garden Festival in 1990. Known by enthusiasts and staff as MET 331, or by its original name of "Cissie". Entered workshops in June 2008.
This shot doesn't give a true impression of the diversity of shops in Deira. One would see a shop selling mobile phones, next to one selling motorbikes, next to beds, next to clothing, next to electronics, next to power generators, next to a green-grocer.
Union Pacific 1943(SD70AH) 'Spirit of the Union Pacific' and 8003(AC45CCTE) Leading a 21 Car Officer Special for Bush Funeral Train Southbound on the UP Coffeyville Sub seen here from the 215th Street Crossing West of Antioch Road near Bucyrus, 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 1:52 pm
Picture ID# 2885
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
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Check out our small wind turbines and wind power systems at:
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
These very sweet fellows put me up for the night in their commune. There was a meet up in my room and an hour for a mass. They only had a gas powered generator and it lit a lamp in the church. Now on Google I see they are wired to a grid.
A second generation Gun/Knife. "Gife"
A Dirigible Airship Boarding Cutlass ... An Air-Kraken Killer. A MultiBarreled gun and Blade. An Electroplasmatically charged "Gife" capable of slicing through hull metal and Kraken armour with impunity. Whilst capable of delivering rapid fire bursts of EP energy front or rear via quad barrel emitters ;)
Think of it more as a four barreled gun with a very hefty bayonet lol .. The blade is 10mm thick all the way to the gaurd and very solidly bolted together. Its an Electroplasmatically powered weapon.
A charged 4 barrel pistol, a charged blade and a charged Knuckleduster guard.
The generator is the cage/coil thingy at the back. (Its a straight line design akin to the Force Lances used in the scifi series Andromeda)
The gauge is a power level indicator (Telling you whats left .. Measured in power units called "Harlots" after my characters name Colonel "Wolfgrin" Harlot - the creator of all these weapons and devices at the R& D facilty at Valles Marineris in the 25th century )
On the opposite side is a three position selector switch for off, pistol & blade/knuckledusters.
Dirigible Airship Boarding Cutlass ("Gife" ... "Gunlass" :) )
ElectroPlasmatically powered blade, EP-knuckleduster guard, EP-rapid fire 4 barrel pistol.
4 power settings 0 - 3
Pommel mounted ElectroPlasmatic power generator is rated up to 120,000 Harlots of EP energy. Warning : Sustained discharge over 80,000 Harlots is inadviseable ... But fun ;-)
The piece is hand built with basic tools, constructed entirely from repurposed/found items, junk (some vintage) tool parts, scrap materials. Predominately brass, some copper and the blade is 10mm aluminium. Even the wiring is vintage ;-)
Weight : 3lbs / 1.5 kgs
Overall length : 30.5 inches / 77.5 cm
Blade edge length : 18 inches / 45.5cm
Rosewood grip
IF MY THINKERING TALENTS MAY BE OF USE TO YOU, DROP ME A LINE ;-) ... kruki99@hotmail.com
Last Monday I was wandering around the City of Arts and Sciences, Valencia (Spain), where some facilities have been installed for the world presentation of the 2007 Mercedes McLaren Formula One Team with Fernando Alonso as the main driver. Well, when I decided to come back home, I bumped into this 'wonderful' green power generator used to supply energy to this provisional facilities and the idea of this photo sprung in my brain. I like the contrast between the blue sky and the green power generator. HDR photo .
Canon Powershot Pro1.
Emacs!
Media Advisory
UPDATED INTERNATIONAL SPEAKERS LIST:
Get ready for the Community Power Conference 2010
Join Ontario's largest annual gathering of
Community Power producers, proponents and supporters
The Community Power Conference 2010 is hosted by
the Ontario Sustainable Energy Association
(OSEA). 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.
WHEN AND WHAT:
- November 14, 2010 (6:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.)
The Green Connection opening reception
co-organized with Green Enterprise Ontario (GEO)
- November 15-16, 2010 (7:00 a.m. - 9:30 p.m.)
Second Annual Community Power Conference
- November 16 - 17, 2010 (9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.)
Power Networking Centre trade show
co-organized with the Association of Power Producers of Ontario (APPrO)
- November 15, 2010 (7:00 -9:30 pm)
Presentation of Community Power Awards.
WHERE:
Metro Toronto Convention Centre, South Building, 700 and 800 Level
222 Bremner Blvd., Toronto, ON Canada
This year, conference organizers have attracted
the following Ontario-wide and international
experts to speak at seminars and share their thoughts.
Speakers from Ontario include:
- Colin Anderson, Chief Executive Officer of the Ontario Power Authority
- The Honourable Brad Duguid, Ontario Minister of Energy
- Gord Miller, Environmental Commissioner of Ontario
- Tom Rand, Advisory and Practice Lead of Cleantech, MaRS
- Michael Lyle, Vice President, Legal,
Aboriginal and Regulatory Affairs, Ontario Power Authority
- Don McCabe, Vice President, Ontario Federation of Agriculture
- Jennifer Green, Executive Coordinator,
Agrienergy Producers' Association of Ontario
- Donna Cansfield, MPP and Parliamentary
Assistant to the Ontario Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing
UPDATED: International speakers include:
- Shaun Chapman, Vote Solar, United States
- Mary Dougherty, Embark, Australia
- Paul Gipe, Author, Advocate and Renewable
Energy Industry Analyst, United States
- Stefan Gsaenger, WWEA, Germany
- Henning Holst, Ingenieurbüro Henning Holst, Germany
- Frede Hvelplund, Aalborg University, Denmark
- Tetsunari Iida, Institute for Sustainable Energy Policies, Japan
- Johan Lewin, Seeland Development Trust, South Africa
- Preben, Maegaard, Nordic Folkecenter for Renewable Energy, Denmark
- Miguel Mendoça, World Future Council, United Kingdom
- Fabio Rosa, IDEAAS, Brazil
The full list of speakers and their biographies can be found at:
cpconference.ca/Page.asp?PageID=924&SiteNodeID=385
For further details, please visit: www.cpconference.ca
The conference schedule can be found at:
www.cpconference.ca/Page.asp?PageID=861&SiteNodeID=384
To register for the conference, please visit:
For more information or to schedule interviews
with any of the speakers above, please contact:
Maria Leung, Environmental Communication Options,
mleung@ecostrategy.ca OR 416-972-7401
-30-
OSEA works to initiate, facilitate and support
the work of local sustainable energy organizations through
membership services, province wide capacity
building and non-partisan policy work. They work
to catalyze the efforts of community organizers
and raise awareness of the benefits of community
power and renewable energy through various
communication channels and by offering a variety
of workshops and guidebooks on topics.
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
My brother bought me this photo of ret. Navy Capt. Alan L. Bean, who made an appearance at a 1999 science-fiction convention (!) Later, I met Bean during a presentation at the University of Delaware, where he signed my Space Shuttle: The First 20 Years book. (Bean was an astronaut up until 1981, and accounts suggest he had been in line to command the first Spacelab mission.)
Bean was one of the third group of astronauts named by NASA in October 1963. He served as backup astronaut for the Gemini 10 and Apollo 9 missions.
Bean was lunar module pilot on Apollo 12, mans second lunar landing. In November 1969, Bean and Capt. Pete Conrad landed in the moons Ocean of Storms after a flight of some 250,000 miles. They explored the lunar surface, deployed several lunar surface experiments, and installed the first nuclear power generator station on the moon to provide the power source. Capt. Richard Gordon remained in lunar orbit photographing landing sites for future missions.
Bean was spacecraft commander of Skylab Mission II (SL-3), July 29 to September 25, 1973. With him on the 59-day, 24,400,000 mile world record setting flight were scientist-astronaut Owen K. Garriott and Marine Lt. Col. Jack R. Lousma. Mission II accomplished 150% of its pre-mission forecast goals.
On his next assignment, Bean was backup spacecraft commander of the United States flight crew for the joint American-Russian Apollo-Soyuz Test Project.
Bean has logged 1,671 hours and 45 minutes in spaceof which 10 hours and 26 minutes were spent in EVAs on the moon and in earth orbit. Bean has flown 27 types of military aircraft as well as many civilian airplanes. He has logged more than 7,145 hours flying timeincluding 4,890 hours in jet aircraft.
Bean retired from the Navy in October 1975 but continued as head of the Astronaut Candidate Operations and Training Group within the Astronaut Office in a civilian capacity.
Bean resigned from NASA in June 1981 to devote his full time to painting. He said his decision was based on the fact that, in his 18 years as an astronaut, he was fortunate enough to visit worlds and see sights no artists eye, past or present, has ever viewed firsthand and he hopes to express these experiences through the medium of art. He is pursuing this dream at his home and studio in Houston.
From the FC AV Circus-Bender 5/4 at the White House. Shot on a Canon a1 on some cinestil 800t push processed to 3200. Mostly used the radioactive Canon 35mm fd. A few shots were the 50mm 1.8. One or two with a 4.5 tete. There was a blackout in the area and band/venue rented a power generator and went for it. The lighting was a fun challenge.
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 Royal American Shows Wagon which traveled by Carnival Train to Bring Shows/Carnivals to Major Cities across both the United States and Canada. Their Winter Quarters was located in Tampa, Florida. Unfortunately, they eventually went Bankrupt after a long drawn out Legal Issue with the Canadian Government, caused by a Competitor Carnival/Show with Headquarters in Canada.
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.
Historic (but functional) power generation in Písek, CZ. This is the wheel spun by two turbines in the river (in the next room), spinning a 3 phase AC power generator.
Three position safety selector.
Electroplasmatic power is measured in "Harlot" units. After the creator, Colonel "Wolfgrin" Harlot. :-)
A second generation Gun/Knife. "Gife"
A Dirigible Airship Boarding Cutlass ... An Air-Kraken Killer. A MultiBarreled gun and Blade. An Electroplasmatically charged "Gife" capable of slicing through hull metal and Kraken armour with impunity. Whilst capable of delivering rapid fire bursts of EP energy front or rear via quad barrel emitters ;)
Think of it more as a four barreled gun with a very hefty bayonet lol .. The blade is 10mm thick all the way to the gaurd and very solidly bolted together. Its an Electroplasmatically powered weapon.
A charged 4 barrel pistol, a charged blade and a charged Knuckleduster guard.
The generator is the cage/coil thingy at the back. (Its a straight line design akin to the Force Lances used in the scifi series Andromeda)
The gauge is a power level indicator (Telling you whats left .. Measured in power units called "Harlots" after my characters name Colonel "Wolfgrin" Harlot - the creator of all these weapons and devices at the R& D facilty at Valles Marineris in the 25th century )
On the opposite side is a three position selector switch for off, pistol & blade/knuckledusters.
Dirigible Airship Boarding Cutlass ("Gife" ... "Gunlass" :) )
ElectroPlasmatically powered blade, EP-knuckleduster guard, EP-rapid fire 4 barrel pistol.
4 power settings 0 - 3
Pommel mounted ElectroPlasmatic power generator is rated up to 120,000 Harlots of EP energy. Warning : Sustained discharge over 80,000 Harlots is inadviseable ... But fun ;-)
The piece is hand built with basic tools, constructed entirely from repurposed/found items, junk (some vintage) tool parts, scrap materials. Predominately brass, some copper and the blade is 10mm aluminium. Even the wiring is vintage ;-)
Weight : 3lbs / 1.5 kgs
Overall length : 30.5 inches / 77.5 cm
Blade edge length : 18 inches / 45.5cm
Rosewood grip
IF MY THINKERING TALENTS MAY BE OF USE TO YOU, DROP ME A LINE ;-) ... kruki99@hotmail.com
Capacity for up to 10 passengers overnight or for a day time trip or stationary event, up to 24 guests.
Private Rail Cars can arrange for additional rail cars for more passengers.
The private rail car's buffet provides meals and beverages on board.
The private rail car's staff can prepare and serve meals or another caterer can be hired.
Five double bedrooms are available, with a sixth is reserved for crew.
The Dover Harbor can run on any Amtrak train that does not exceed 110 miles per hour. Its diesel powered generator with fuel tanks also allows it to operate in non Amtrak service and to power a second private rail car.
Private Rail Cars offer the Dover Harbor and other quality rail cars for hire in the USA and elsewhere.
Photo Jim Bryant
In addition to magic lantern presentations, Monongahela National Forest also began promoting the showing of motion pictures to rural communities in the early 1930s. To lead these public relations events Monongahela National Forest employed W.R. Talbott, owner of the first Elkins movie house and local film company, to travel the Mon in this specially marked Chevy Truck and show motion pictures free of charge. The 1930s Chevy truck driven by Talbott, seen here at CCC Camp North Fork near Cabins, was equipped with a gas-powered generator, film projector and screen. The sign on the side of the truck advertised “Talking Pictures Shown Anywhere by Request.”
Publicity efforts like this were an overwhelming success and a popular form of rural entertainment as many had never seen “Talking Pictures.” At one 1937 event, locals packed the small Smoke Hole Church in Pendleton County, West Virginia, to watch a film presentation by Talbott. The local minister, upon seeing the assembly, asked if he could open the event with short service, stating “My goodness, you’ve got people in here I’ve been trying to get here for the past two years!”
Caption: U.S. Forest Service “Talking Pictures” truck at CCC Camp North Fork to show motion pictures to rural communities in the 1930s. Cabins, West Virginia, 1938 (USDA Forest Service photo)
A second generation Gun/Knife. "Gife"
A Dirigible Airship Boarding Cutlass ... An Air-Kraken Killer. A MultiBarreled gun and Blade. An Electroplasmatically charged "Gife" capable of slicing through hull metal and Kraken armour with impunity. Whilst capable of delivering rapid fire bursts of EP energy front or rear via quad barrel emitters ;)
Think of it more as a four barreled gun with a very hefty bayonet lol .. The blade is 10mm thick all the way to the gaurd and very solidly bolted together. Its an Electroplasmatically powered weapon.
A charged 4 barrel pistol, a charged blade and a charged Knuckleduster guard.
The generator is the cage/coil thingy at the back. (Its a straight line design akin to the Force Lances used in the scifi series Andromeda)
The gauge is a power level indicator (Telling you whats left .. Measured in power units called "Harlots" after my characters name Colonel "Wolfgrin" Harlot - the creator of all these weapons and devices at the R& D facilty at Valles Marineris in the 25th century )
On the opposite side is a three position selector switch for off, pistol & blade/knuckledusters.
Dirigible Airship Boarding Cutlass ("Gife" ... "Gunlass" :) )
ElectroPlasmatically powered blade, EP-knuckleduster guard, EP-rapid fire 4 barrel pistol.
4 power settings 0 - 3
Pommel mounted ElectroPlasmatic power generator is rated up to 120,000 Harlots of EP energy. Warning : Sustained discharge over 80,000 Harlots is inadviseable ... But fun ;-)
The piece is hand built with basic tools, constructed entirely from repurposed/found items, junk (some vintage) tool parts, scrap materials. Predominately brass, some copper and the blade is 10mm aluminium. Even the wiring is vintage ;-)
Weight : 3lbs / 1.5 kgs
Overall length : 30.5 inches / 77.5 cm
Blade edge length : 18 inches / 45.5cm
Rosewood grip
IF MY THINKERING TALENTS MAY BE OF USE TO YOU, DROP ME A LINE ;-) ... kruki99@hotmail.com
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
Description: 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 the Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge (DE) and the Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge (DE), and install solar photovoltaic components at Prime Hook. The installation of the backup generator junction panel and surge protector to Prime Hook refuge headquarters/visitor center building was recently completed, which required a re-routing of the power lines that came directly into the building through the panel. This will allow the use of a trailer mounted, back-up generator to supply power when needed. The generator is located at Prime Hook NWR and is to be shared between the two refuges.
More project details: www.fws.gov/hurricane/sandy/projects/PrimeHook.html
Photo credit: Teresa Walter/USFWS
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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
For my science class we had to write a report on an energy source and for honors credit make a model of the energy source's power generator. I realized that a Lego model of a wind turbine would be the easiest solution so I picked wind energy. Since this is for school it's nothing really fancy.
Leaving Cardiff Central at 11:02 on the 2P35 Ystrad Mynach to Penarth service. This is one of nine 4 car Class 319 electric units for TFW converted to bi-modal by Brush Traction, fitted with MAN diesel engines powering generators. The first entered service in November 2020 and one of the 9 (769426) has never been used; they are so unreliable they are likely to be scrapped as soon as replacements can be found.
One of our neighbors used to host servers out of his house. So he had a 5k natural gas powered generator installed that automatically kicks in. So while the rest of our neighborhood is dark (with a few exceptions of kickstart generators), he has power. Not enough for AC, but enough for lights, fridge and fans.
And as it so happens Jim is also somewhat of a community organizer. So he put the word out that there was a movie party with Star Wars on his lawn last night. Adult beverages for us and something for the kids to do for a few hours.
You have to like people like him. Awesome.
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.
©EU/ECHO
On set decorations, from left to right: Power generator, Portable bathroom, on site supervisor office trailer, on site medical office trailer
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
Tata Zica Photo
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