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Registration: EI-FPG
Type: Bombardier CRJ-900LR
Airline: SAS - Scandinavian Airlines System
Flight: SK556 Amsterdam (AMS) - Stockholm (ARN)
I saw this tonight when I was putting a CD into my stereo system - the music had to wait until I had photographed these lovely colours against the brushed black metal of my amplifier.
Best viewed in full size.
Operated by: Aspen Waste Systems Twin Cities
Unit Number: 58
Chassis: Mack MRU
Body: Heil FL
Vehicle Type: Front load refuse vehicle
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I'm quite sad I can't get a gray border around the D-pad. Revamp of an old MOC, and I think it's quite a bit better. Video
2011.09.21
日比谷 アドアーズ 銀座addict店
麻雀格闘倶楽部で時間を潰しながら電車の運行再開を待つ…
iPhone 4,Hipstamatic,TiltShift Generator,Lo-Mob
Hey everyone!
So, I'm actually posting something quite new for the first time in a very long while and I actually feel good about it. It was my friend's (the one in the photo) mom's birthday yesterday and she invited me and a couple of other close people out for dinner to celebrate and it was actually quite fun. Drank so much champagne and ate too much and just had adult conversations with the other people there. I took this just before we left for the party and it was totally spontaneous. There's something about this that takes me back to my older photos and I really love my older photos so yeah, I might start focusing on taking photos like these.
Anyway, more exciting news. I'm going to be taking new photos this coming week and I'm so excited. I've been meaning to take my camera out for a spin because I've been feeling a bit rusty lately (in terms of taking photos, editing, updating etc) so yeah, new stuff coming
Thanks for the support (comments, views, favorites, etc) and for everything so far! I know that I haven't been updating that much but that'll hopefully change soon.
Railroad tycoon Henry Plant developed Port Tampa as part of his Plant System, which included a liner shipping service to Cuba. His investment proved well timed, as Tampa played a key role in shipping troops and equipment to Cuba when the Spanish-American War broke out in 1898. Of note is the passenger depot, with the larger of the two buildings being a hotel for railway passengers heading overseas. Other business handled by Port Tampa were shipments of Florida citrus fruit while a major import was leaf tobacco for Tampa and Ybor City’s many cigar factories.
Nothing survives today from this view. Port Tampa was located south of the city. Later port developments occurred to the east, in the Channelside area.
It works better, it looks better and only uses 1/3 of the pneumatic cylinders, also way faster! Now i just have to catch up for the exterior...
NASA’s massive Space Launch System (SLS) rocket for the agency’s Artemis I mission is shown fully stacked – with NASA’s Orion spacecraft atop – inside Kennedy Space Center’s Vehicle Assembly Building on Dec. 13, 2021. Artemis I is the inaugural launch of SLS and Orion as an integrated system. With Artemis missions, NASA will explore more of the lunar surface than ever before, using what we learn on and around the Moon to prepare for missions to Mars. Photo credit: NASA/Cory Huston
A shuttle model is magnetically suspended in the transparent hexagonal test section of the MIT/NASA Langley 6 inch MSBS. Massive power supplies are required to drive electromagnets for model position control. A unique electromagnetic position sensor, similar to a linear variable differential transformer, provides five degrees of freedom for the test model. The low speed (Mach 0.5) wind tunnel was hand crafted from mahogany. Aerodynamic forces on the test model are measured by the proportional electrical current used to hold the model in place. The system was built by MIT in the late sixties, and was relocated to Langley in the mid eighties. In a joint effort with Old Dominion University in 1992 the MSBS was used to test the aerodynamics of store separation, simulating a bomb released from an aircraft. The system has been donated to Old Dominion University.
Credit: NASA
Image Number: L-1991-06503
Date: June 11, 1991
All-digital this year (and for the foreseeable future), though I tried.
The planets of our Solar System, captured in 2019 and 2020 with an 80mm refractor and a DSLR.
Camera: Canon T3i
Telescope: Explore Scientific ED80 f/6.0 Apochromatic Refractor
Barlow: Antares 3x Triplet Barlow (effective magnification is 4.932x for 2373mm focal length at f/29.66)
Mount: Orion Sirius EQ-G
Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun, is continuously blasted by solar radiation but lacks an atmosphere. Thus, it has daytime temperatures of 800°F (427°C) and nighttime temperatures of -280°F (-173°C). flic.kr/p/2ksSrQn
Venus, the 2nd planet, has the hottest surface temperature in the Solar System with an average of 867°F (464°C). This is the result of a runaway greenhouse effect. Inevitably, Earth will suffer a similar fate. flic.kr/p/2j1fbct
Mars, the 4th planet, once had a dense atmosphere with a warm climate and liquid water oceans like Earth. Today, Mars is a barren wasteland and its vast quantities of water have been frozen in time for billions of years. Mars has 2 tiny moons which are captured asteroids. flic.kr/p/2k1UJTt
Jupiter, the 5th planet, has 79 known moons. Its atmosphere is separated into several bands at different latitudes, resulting in turbulence and storms along the boundaries. flic.kr/p/2hwoy7F
Saturn, the 6th planet, has 82 known moons and a prominent ring system. Its largest moon, Titan, is the only other place in the Solar System with bodies of surface liquid (rivers, lakes, and seas). flic.kr/p/2jkbowD
Uranus, the 7th planet, has 27 known moons. It has the coldest atmosphere in the Solar System, with temperatures of -371°F (-224°C). flic.kr/p/2ktPAr6
Neptune, the 8th and farthest planet, has 14 known moons. It has the strongest winds in the Solar System, measured at 1,300 mph (2,100 kmh). Neptune is the only planet discovered by mathematical prediction rather than direct observation. flic.kr/p/2ktPAtL
February 2017:
Hard to believe but my journey into mirrorless started almost 4 years ago when I purchased a Sony NEX-6 to try out with some inherited Leica M-mount lenses: www.flickr.com/photos/beachwalker2007/9603195550/. About a year later, the NEX-6 was traded for a full frame Sony A7 www.flickr.com/photos/beachwalker2007/14261248273/. Some of the M-mount lenses I had acquired up to that point turned out not to work that well on the A7, so a bit of a course correction was needed. When Sony/Zeiss released more and more lenses, I briefly considered giving up my Nikon FX system in favor of a full A7 system www.flickr.com/photos/beachwalker2007/18320884181/ and www.flickr.com/photos/beachwalker2007/32159772370/ but ultimately never made that transition.
A friend who purchased the A7 at the same time I did (and got the Sony/Zeiss 24-70/4 and 70-200/4 with it) has in the meantime added the Sony 90/2.8 macro and the Sony/Zeiss 16-35 and also traded the A7 for an A7II. Quite a versatile system too that doesn't take up much more space than what's depicted in the image above.
In late 2016, realizing that manual focus sometimes is a bit slow, I did acquire two Sony AF lenses, the 70-200/4 (for which I gave up the Leica Summicron 90/2) and the 28/2 to give my system a bit more versatility. It probably also marks the beginning of coming full circle, dropping adapted lenses altogether in favor of native ones. Might contemplate in the future trading the 15mm and 21mm for a Zeiss Batis 18/2.8. Never was really interested adapting my Nikon F-mount lenses to the Sony E-mount cameras. Still am not, even though now the first adapters are available that support AF-S and the automatic diaphragm.
Early in 2017, facilitated by Sony offering both a discount and a trade-in bonus, the A7 was replaced by an A7II. Aside from giving me image stabilization with all the lenses above, the A7II isn't all that different from the A7. A bit easier to hold with its larger and deeper grip, not prone to chewing through batteries even when turned off, but still hampered by an AF system that isn't all that great at tracking moving subjects. Firmware upgrades that were made available for the A7RII and A7SII never made it to the A7II (so there is still no means to enter a minimum shutter speed when using AutoISO, for example).
The entire system fits snugly into a Think Tank Retrospective 10 bag and is sufficiently versatile in its current configuration to tackle every photographic situation unless it involves moving subjects or needs more reach than the 70-200 provides; quite suitable when traveling. Each M-mount lens has its own adapter; in a mixed system of adapted and native lenses nothing is worse than having to juggle adapters around.
Update July 2017:
Replaced the three M-mount Voigtlander manual focus lenses with the new Sony FE 12-24/4G zoom (instead of the Zeiss Batis 18/2.8 mentioned above).
12-24, 28, and 70-200 leaves me with a bit of a gap in the middle that for the time being I will have to live with. I could have kept the 40/1.4 but I really haven't used that lens all that much since I purchased it almost three years ago.
2018: I added a used A7RII to the bag and over the course of the year also added a 50/1.8 and a Samyang 35/2.8 to close the gap between the two zooms.
March 2019: Gone are the A7II, A7RII, 28/2, 50/1.8, Samyang 35/2.8, and 70-200/4; my Sony mirrorless system now consists of an A7RM3, the 12-24/4G and the 24-105/4G. Entirely adequate for travel; I currently don't have any plans to extend that system any further. If I feel the need, I can carry the Leica Apo-Telyt 180/3.4 to cover the "long end"; it's a better performer than the Sony FE 70-200/4G anyway.
November 2019: Added the one lens that I had thought about a lot to "round out" and "complete" my Sony system thanks to a generous discount from lensrentals/lensauthority: Sony FE 100-400/4.5-5.6. Now my Sony bag contains three zooms that cover 12-400mm - the "only" thing missing now is a second body.
Completed my Solar System photo
Took around 4 years to complete this photo
Nikon Coolpix p1000
Bresser Messier MC 127 + ASI 224MC
ZWO Seestar S50
Waste Management Moreno Valley
Unincorporated Perris/Riverside, CA
1/22/16
Autocar Heil Freedom Superlight Curotto can
Back in November, WMmaster626 and I went to Moreno Valley and found a truly one of a kind refuse truck, especially in SoCal! A Autocar Heil Freedom Superlight Curotto can, unfortunately we were not able to film it in November and often WMmaster626 and I would talk about the superlight and wanting to film it. So on 1/22/16 we went to Waste Managements Moreno Valley MRF, waited for the Superlight to arrive and followed it to Unincorporated Perris/Riverside. During our November visit we spoke to a real nice driver named Dave who has been with WM for 27 years. We talked to him for a while and eventually NEWCO Waste Systems got brought up and he talked about WM Moreno Valley getting some of their routes in 1999. Unincorporated Perris/Riverside is the area Dave must have been talking about. Many of the NEWCO carts WMmaster626 has filmed in Arcadia were in this area. There were NEWCO zarns, 96 gallon blue and black toters even black and blue Rehrigs and of course 96 gallon black Turn-Keys along with NEWCO dumpsters that were still blue with NEWCO logos on them. We also found a Heil Python on route that was fun to watch.
So between the Superlight, the Python and perhaps the biggest shock, a ex NEWCO route it was a great day full of surprises. Thank you WMmaster626 for coming and arranging today, Thank you John (Superlight) and Raul (Python), you are both very professional and efficient drivers. I would also like to Thank John Curotto and the Curotto staff who made this awesome carry can. AFL’s have always been my favorite refuse truck. I grew up with S.T.S. Autobuckets, Heil Autocans and of course Curotto cans, so thanks for making this amazing carry can!
Invented in 2009, the Superlight is a Curotto can that is lighter than the Slammin Eagle. The dumpter is primarily made of special high strength Kevlar fabric and weighs only 1,200 pounds (compared to a Slammin Eagle which is closer to 2,000 pounds).
Please check out my YouTube video:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFqTWNtFiJ0
Please check out WMmaster626 video of this truck:
Updated: v3 of my Solar System images! 🔭
(Composite, not to scale)
• Sun/Mercury: Mercury Transit, Nov 11, 2019
• Venus: Mar 21, 2020
• Earth's Moon: Jul 29, 2017
• International Space Station: Jun 1, 2020 (with Crew-Dragon DM-2 docked at the top end)
• Mars: Sep 28, 2020
• Comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE): Jul 20, 2020
• Jupiter: Sep 28, 2020
• Saturn: Sep 28, 2020
• Uranus: Oct 16, 2017
• Neptune: working on capturing it soon!
Equipment:
• Orion SkyQuest XT10 Dobsonian (for all except the comet)
• Canon 60D
Thanks to fellow Solar System Ambassador, Brandon Porter (Crystal Coast Stargazers) for helping process my raw video of Mars, Jupiter & Saturn!
Sliding past the fueling pad during a yard move, Chessie System 8249 (GE B30-7, built February 1979) and a a B&O GP40 are seen here with the Ford Rouge complex in the background.
Ektachrome 64, Canon F1n, January 1981
GP38 #3829 brings westbound SLN3 into Niagara Falls, NY on 9/1/85. In the early days of the Sea-Land landbridge service some containers moved on regular flats. When this happened the preferred routing was the C&O route west of Buffalo through Canada to Detroit & Chicago as it was shorter and required fewer crews. When double stacks were used, the B&O west of Buffalo to New Castle, PA and beyond was used as the Detroit River tunnel on the C&O could not accommodate high cars at that time.(CSS1228c)
Name: REGIONAL TRANSIT SYSTEM
Manufacturer: GILLIG CORPORATION
Serial/Vin: 15GCB2115V1086975
Model: 1997 GILLIG PHANTOM 40"
Number: 308 (EX-LYNX 308)
Route: 125
Destination Sign: LAKESIDE
Numbered: 302-311
Tag/Plate:
Length: 40FEET
Width:
Engine: CUMMINS M 11
Transmission: ZF 5HP590
Place: GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA
Bought: 2009
Retired: 2013
Date: AUGUST 25 2009
Photo by: EL GUAJIRO
A near-medieval scene at Backworth. This remarkable structure was Backworth B Pit Washer, laterly used as a wagon repair shop. It was built by WW1 German P.O.W.s.
0-6-0ST No.3 is on route to the C Pit tip. Circa 1969
Aerothermodynamic Structural Vehicle 1 (ASV-1), part of the Aerothermodynamic/Elastic Structural Systems Environmental Tests (ASSET) Program, is seen being prepared for its September 18, 1963 launch from Launch Complex 17B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
I really like the following article, at the White Eagle Aerospace website, written by J. Terry White. Maybe that's why they disabled/blocked the ability to copy/paste from it:
"…the first ASSET flight test vehicle (ASV-1) successfully flew 1,600 nm down the Eastern Test Range (ETR) following launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Boosted atop a Thor launch vehicle, the hypersonic glider reached a maximum velocity of 10,900 mph (Mach 12).
The Aerothermodynamic/Elastic Structural Systems Environmental Tests (ASSET) Program was a United States Air Force flight research effort aimed at exploring hypersonic lifting entry. Programmatic objectives included evaluation of hypersonic lifting vehicle (1) reentry aerodynamic and aerothermodynamic phenomena (2) structural design concepts, and (3) panel flutter characteristics and body flap oscillatory pressures.
The basic ASSET vehicle configuration was a 70-deg delta planform wing with highly-radiused leading edges. The windward surface of this wing was flat and had a 10-deg break in slope roughly two-thirds of the way back from the nose. A blunted cone-cylinder combination was raked into the leeward surface of the wing to form the fuselage of the vehicle. The aft portion of the vehicle was terminated with a flat base region.
There were two (2) types of ASSET flight vehicles. The Aerothermoelastic Vehicle (AEV) variant was flown to investigate windward panel flutter characteristics and body flap oscillatory pressures. A pair of these vehicles were flown. Each weighed AEV weighed 1,225 Ibs and was launched into a suborbital flight path by a Douglas Thor booster.
The Aerothermodynamic Structural Vehicle (ASV) variant was flown to determine external airframe surface temperature, heat flux and pressure distributions in hypersonic flight. These data were used to evaluate materials and structural concepts under reentry conditions. A quartet of these vehicles were flight tested. Each ASV weighed 1,130 Ibs and was boosted by a Thor-Delta launch vehicle.
ASSET vehicles were boosted to altitudes between 168 KFT and 225 KFT depending on mission type. AEV entry insertion velocity was roughly 13,000 ft/sec while that for ASV shots varied between 16,000 and 19,500 ft/sec. ASSET performed hypersonic flight maneuvers via a combination of aerodynamic and propulsive controls. The windward-mounted body flap was the lone aerodynamic control surface while a set of 3-axis attitude control thrusters were located in the vehicle's base region.
The first flight of the ASSET Program (ASV-1) took place on Wednesday, 18 September 1963. ASV-1 lift-off occurred at 09:39 UTC from Cape Canaveral's LC-17B. Due to booster availability issues, a Thor DSV-2F launch vehicle was used for this mission rather than the higher energy Thor-Delta DSV-2G. Insertion altitude and velocity were 203,200 ft and 16,125 ft/sec, respectively. The ASV-1 mission was highly successful with the exception that the vehicle was lost when it sunk in the South Atlantic during recovery operations.
ASV-1 represented the first time in aerospace history that a lifting vehicle configuration had successfully flown a double-digit Mach number reentry trajectory. Five (5) more ASSET vehicles would fly before completion of the flight research program. The sixth and last mission occurred on Tuesday, 23 February 1965.
The ASSET Program garnered a wealth of first-ever hypersonic vehicle aerodynamic, aerothermodynamic, aerothermoelastic and flight controls data. This priceless information and the valuable experience gained during ASSET contributed significantly to the design and flight testing of the PRIME SV-5D and Space Shuttle Orbiter.
Strangely, only one of the ASSET flight test articles was ever recovered successfully. In particular, ASV-3 was recovered following its 1,800 nm suborbital flight down the Eastern Test Range on Wednesday, 22 July 1964. The recovered airframe is currently on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio."
From/At:
www.whiteeagleaerospace.com/hypersonic-asset/
I'm going to leave the following for a while longer, because I'm pretty damned torqued:
I HAD MY USUAL INFORMATIVE, VALUE-ADDED DESCRIPTION HERE - ABOVE, WHICH I HAD TO YET AGAIN, PAINSTAKINGLY FINAGLE - WITH A LINK TO ANOTHER PERTINENT & INFORMATIVE WEBSITE (BELOW).
HOWEVER, SINCE THE PART-TIME “DEVELOPERS”/IT SUPPORT BUFFOONS AT FLUCKR CONTINUE TO BE COMPOSED OF STONED (LIKE “MANAGEMENT”), INCOMPETENT & LACKADAISICAL MORONS, AND IT WENT "POOF".
AND NOW THERE'S THE UTTERLY PATHETIC MOBILE UPDATE. OBVIOUSLY NOT MEANT FOR IPHONES...A TOTAL, COMPLETE, UNMITIGATED FLUCKING DUMPSTER FIRE. WHAT THE FLUCK ARE YOU FLUCKING STUPID FLUCKR FLUCKSTICKS DOING?!?!?!?!
GET YOUR FLUCKING SNOT/RUNNY-NOSED HEADS OUT OF YOUR COLLECTIVE (DUMB) ASSES!!!!!!!!!!
FLUCKR HAS BEEN CONSISTENTLY MEDIOCRE - THE MOBILE APP ESPECIALLY - FOR AWHILE, BUT AGAIN, CONSISTENTLY AT LEAST. HOWEVER, NOW YOU FLUCKING FLUCKR ASS-CLOWNS HAVE MANAGED TO MAKE IT ABSOLUTELY ABYSMAL!!!!!
AND I'M PAYING FOR THIS?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
UN-FLUCKING-BELIEVABLE!!!!!!!!!!
space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/asset-asv.htm
The same photo:
space.skyrocket.de/img_lau/thor_dsv2f_2.jpg
Both above credit: "Gunter's Space Page" website
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
The TIE/LN starfighter, or TIE/line starfighter, simply known as the TIE Fighter or T/F, was the standard Imperial starfighter seen in massive numbers throughout most of the Galactic Civil War and onward.
The TIE Fighter was manufactured by Sienar Fleet Systems and led to several upgraded TIE models such as TIE/sa bomber, TIE/IN interceptor, TIE/D Defender, TIE/D automated starfighter, and many more.
The original TIEs were designed to attack in large numbers, overwhelming the enemy craft. The Imperials used so many that they came to be considered symbols of the Empire and its might. They were also very cheap to produce, reflecting the Imperial philosophy of quantity over quality.
However, a disadvantage of the fighter was its lack of deflector shields. In combat, pilots had to rely on the TIE/LN's maneuverability to avoid damage. The cockpit did incorporate crash webbing, a repulsorlift antigravity field, and a high-g shock seat to help protect the pilot, however these did next to nothing to help protect against enemy blaster fire.
Due to the lack of life-support systems, each TIE pilot had a fully sealed flight suit superior to their Rebel counterparts. The absence of a hyperdrive also rendered the light fighter totally dependent on carrier ships when deployed in enemy systems. TIE/LNs also lacked landing gear, another mass-reducing measure. While the ships were structurally capable of "sitting" on their wings, they were not designed to land or disembark their pilots without special support. On Imperial ships, TIEs were launched from racks in the hangar bays.
The high success rate of more advanced Rebel starfighters against standard Imperial TIE Fighters resulted in a mounting cost of replacing destroyed fighters and their pilots. That, combined with the realization that the inclusion of a hyperdrive would allow the fleet to be more flexible, caused the Imperial Navy to rethink its doctrine of using swarms of cheap craft instead of fewer high-quality ones, leading to the introduction of the TIE Advanced x1 and its successor, the TIE Avenger. The following TIE/D Defender as well as the heavy TIE Escort Fighter (or TIE/E) were touted as the next "logical advance" of the TIE Series—representing a shift in starfighter design from previous, expendable TIE models towards fast, well armed and protected designs, capable of hyperspace travel and long-term crew teams which gained experience and capabilities over time.
The TIE/E Escort, was a high-performance TIE Series starfighter developed for the Imperial Navy by Sienar Fleet Systems and it was introduced into service shortly before the Battle of Endor. It was a much heavier counterpart to the agile and TIE/D fighter, and more of an attack ship or even a light bomber than a true dogfighter. Its role were independent long range operations, and in order to reduce the work load and boost morale a crew of two was introduced (a pilot and a dedicated weapon systems officer/WSO). The primary duty profile included attack and escort task, but also reconnoiter missions. The TIE/E shared the general layout with the contemporary TIE/D fighter, but the cockpit section as well as the central power unit were much bigger, and the ship was considerably heavier.
The crew enjoyed – compared with previous TIE fighter designs – a spacious and now fully pressurized cockpit, so that no pressurized suits had to be worn anymore. The crew members sat in tandem under a large, clear canopy. The pilot in front had a very good field of view, while the WSO sat behind him, in a higher, staggered position with only a limited field of view. Both work stations had separate entries, though, and places could not be switched in flight: the pilot mounted the cockpit through a hatch on port side, while the WSO entered the rear compartment through a roof hatch.
In a departure from the design of previous TIE models, instead of two parallel wings to either side of the pilot module, the TIE Escort had three quadanium steel solar array wings mounted symmetrically around an aft section, which contained an I-s4d solar ionization reactor to store and convert solar energy collected from the wing panels. The inclusion of a third wing provided additional solar power to increase the ship's range and the ship's energy management system was designed to allow weapons and shields to be charged with minimum loss of power to the propulsion system.
Although it was based on the standard twin ion engine design, the TIE/E’s propulsion system was upgraded to the entirely new, powerful P-sz9.8 triple ion engine. This allowed the TIE/E a maximum acceleration of 4,220 G or 21 MGLT/s and a top speed of 144 MGLT, or 1,680 km/h in an atmosphere — almost 40 percent faster than a former standard TIE Fighter. With tractor beam recharge power (see below) redirected to the engines, the top speed could be increased to 180 MGLT in a dash.
In addition to the main thrusters located in the aft section, the TIE Escort's triple wing design allowed for three arrays of maneuvering jets and it featured an advanced F-s5x flight avionics system to process the pilot's instructions. Production models received a class 2, ND9 hyperdrive motivator, modified from the version developed for the TIE Avenger. The TIE/E also carried a Sienar N-s6 Navcon navigation computer with a ten-jump memory.
Special equipment included a small tractor beam projector, originally developed for the TIE Avenger, which could be easily fitted to the voluminous TIE Escort. Models produced by Ysanne Isard's production facility regularly carried such tractor beams and the technology found other uses, such as towing other damaged starfighters until they could achieve the required velocity to enter hyperspace. The tractor beam had limited range and could only be used for a short time before stopping to recharge, but it added new tactics, too. For instance, the beam allowed the TIE/E crews to temporarily inhibit the mobility of enemy fighters, making it easier to target them with the ship's other weapon systems, or prevent enemies from clear shots.
The TIE Escort’s weapons systems were primarily designed to engage bigger ships and armored or shielded targets, like armed freighters frequently used by the Alliance. Thanks to its complex weapon and sensor suite, it could also engage multiple enemy fighters at once. The sensors also allowed an effective attack of ground targets, so that atmospheric bombing was a potential mission for the TIE/E, too.
.
The TIE Escort Fighter carried a formidable array of weaponry in two modular weapon bays that were mounted alongside the lower cabin. In standard configuration, the TIE/E had two L-s9.3 laser cannons and two NK-3 ion cannons. The laser and ion cannons could be set to fire separately or, if concentrated power was required, to fire-linked in either pairs or as a quartet.
The ship also featured two M-g-2 general-purpose warhead launchers, each of which could be equipped with a standard load of three proton torpedoes or four concussion missiles. Depending on the mission profile, the ship could be fitted with alternative warheads such as proton rockets, proton bombs, or magnetic pulse warheads.
Additionally, external stores could be carried under the fuselage, which included a conformal sensor pallet for reconnaissance missions or a cargo bay with a capacity for 500 kg (1.100 lb).
The ship's defenses were provided by a pair of forward and rear projecting Novaldex deflector shield generators—another advantage over former standard TIE models. The shields were designed to recharge more rapidly than in previous Imperial fighters and were nearly as powerful as those found on capital ships, so that the TIE/E could engage other ships head-on with a very high survivability. The fighters were not equipped with particle shields, though, relying on the reinforced titanium hull to absorb impacts from matter. Its hull and wings were among the strongest of any TIE series Starfighter yet.
The advanced starfighter attracted the attention of several other factions, and the Empire struggled to prevent the spread of the technology. The ship's high cost, together with political factors, kept it from achieving widespread use in the Empire, though, and units were assigned only to the most elite crews.
The TIE/E played a central role in the Empire's campaign against rogue Grand Admiral Demetrius Zaarin, and mixed Defender and Escort units participated in several other battles, including the Battle of Endor. The TIE Escort continued to see limited use by the Imperial Remnant up to at least 44 ABY, and was involved in numerous conflicts, including the Yuuzhan Vong War..
The kit and its assembly:
Another group build contribution, this time to the Science Fiction GB at whatifmodelers.com during summer 2017. Originally, this one started as an attempt to build a vintage MPC TIE Interceptor kit which I had bought and half-heartedly started to build probably 20 years ago. But I did not have the right mojo (probably, The Force was not strong enough…?), so the kit ended up in a dark corner and some parts were donated to other projects.
The sun collectors were still intact, though, and in the meantime I had the idea of reviving the kit’s remains, and convert it into (what I thought was) a fictional TIE Fighter variant with three solar panels. For this plan I got myself another TIE Interceptor kit, and stashed it away, too. Mojo was still missing, though.
Well, then came the SF GB and I took it as an occasion to finally tackle the build. But when I prepared for the build I found out that my intended design (over the years) more or less actually existed in the Star Wars universe: the TIE/D Defender! I could have built it with the parts and hand and some improvisation, but the design similarity bugged me. Well, instead of a poor copy of something that was more or less clearly defined, I rather decided to create something more individual, yet plausible, from the parts at hand.
The model was to stay a TIE design, though, in order to use as much donor material from the MPC kits as possible. Doing some legwork, I settled for a heavy fighter – bigger than the TIE Interceptor and the TIE/D fighter, a two-seater.
Working out the basic concept and layout took some time and evolved gradually. The creative spark for the TIE/E eventually came through a Revell “Obi Wan’s Jedi Starfighter” snap fit kit in my pile – actually a prize from a former GB participation at phoxim.de (Thanks a lot, Wolfgang!), and rather a toy than a true model kit.
The Jedi Fighter was in so far handy as it carries some TIE Fighter design traits, like the pilot capsule and the characteristic spider web windscreen. Anyway, it’s 1:32, much bigger than the TIE Interceptor’s roundabout 1:50 scale – but knowing that I’d never build the Jedi Starfighter OOB I used it as a donor bank, and from this starting point things started to evolve gradually.
Work started with the cockpit section, taken from the Jedi Starfighter kit. The two TIE Interceptor cockpit tubs were then mounted inside, staggered, and the gaps to the walls filled with putty. A pretty messy task, and once the shapes had been carved out some triangular tiles were added to the surfaces – a detail I found depicted in SW screenshots and some TIE Fighter models.
Another issue became the crew – even though I had two MPC TIE Interceptors and, theorectically, two pilot figures, only one of them could be found and the second crewman had to be improvised. I normally do not build 1:48 scale things, but I was lucky (and happy) to find an SF driver figure, left over from a small Dougram hoovercraft kit (from Takara, as a Revell “Robotech” reboxing). This driver is a tad bigger than the 1:50 TIE pilot, but I went with it because I did not want to invest money and time in alternatives. In order to justify the size difference I decided to paint the Dougram driver as a Chiss, based on the expanded SW universe (with blue skin and hair, and glowing red eyes). Not certain if this makes sense during the Battle of Endor timeframe, but it adds some color to the project – and the cockpit would not be visible in much detail since it would be finished fully closed.
Reason behind the closed canopy is basically the poor fit of the clear part. OOB, this is intended as an action toy – but also the canopy’s considerable size in 1:50 would prevent its original opening mechanism.
Additional braces on the rel. large window panels were created with self-adhesive tape and later painted over.
The rear fuselage section and the solar panel pylons were scratched. The reactor behind the cockpit section is actually a plastic adapter for water hoses, found in a local DIY market. It was slightly modified, attached to the cockpit “egg” and both parts blended with putty. The tail opening was closed with a hatch from the OOB TIE Interceptor – an incidental but perfect match in size and style.
The three pylons are also lucky finds: actually, these are SF wargaming/tabletop props and would normally be low walls or barriers, made from resin. For my build, they were more or less halved and trimmed. Tilted by 90°, they are attached to the hull with iron wire stabilizers, and later blended to the hull with putty, too.
Once the cockpit was done, things moved more swiftly. The surface of the hull was decorated with many small bits and pieces, including thin styrene sheet and profiles, steel and iron wire in various strengths, and there are even 1:72 tank tracks hidden somewhere, as well as protective caps from syringes (main guns and under the rear fuselage). It’s amazing how much stuff you can add to such a model – but IMHO it’s vital in order to create some structure and to emulate the (early) Star Wars look.
Painting and markings:
The less spectacular part of the project, even though still a lot of work because of the sheer size of the model’s surface. Since the whole thing is fictional, I tried to stay true to the Imperial designs from Episode IV-VI and gave the TIE/E a simple, all-light grey livery. All basic painting was done with rattle cans.
Work started with a basic coat of grey primer. On top of that, an initial coat of RAL 7036 Platingrau was added, esp. to the lower surfaces and recesses, for a rough shading effect. Then, the actual overall tone, RAL 7047, called “Telegrau 4”, one of Deutsche Telekom’s corporate tones, was added - mostly sprayed from abone and the sides onto the model. Fuselage and panels were painted separately, overall assembly was one of the final steps.
The solar panels were to stand out from the grey rest of the model, and I painted them with Revell Acrylic “Iron Metallic” (91) first, and later applied a rather rich wash with black ink , making sure the color settled well into the many small cells. The effect is pretty good, and the contrast was slightly enhanced through a dry-brushing treatment.
Only a few legible stencils were added all around the hull (most from the scrap box or from mecha sheets), the Galactic Empire Seal were inkjet-printed at home, as well as some tactical markings on the flanks, puzzled together from single digits in "Aurebash", one of the Imperial SW languages/fonts.
For some variety and color highlights, dozens of small, round and colorful markings were die-punched from silver, yellow, orange, red and blue decal sheet and were placed all over the hull - together with the large panels they blur into the the overall appearance, though. The hatches received thin red linings, also made from generic decals strips.
The cockpit interior was a bit challenging, though. Good TIE Fighter cockpit interior pictures are hard to find, but they suggest a dark grey tone. More confusingly, the MPC instructions call for a “Dark Green” cockpit? Well, I did not like the all-grey option, since the spaceship is already monochrome grey on the outside.
As a compromise I eventually used Tamiya XF-65 "Field Grey". The interior recieved a black ink in and dry-brushing treatment, and some instruments ansd screens were created with black decal material and glossy black paint; some neon paint was used for sci-fi-esque conmtraol lamps everywhere - I did not pay too much intention on the interior, since the cockpit would stay closed, and the thick clear material blurs everything inside.
Following this rationale, the crew was also painted in arather minimal fashion - both wear a dark grey uniform, only the Chiss pilot stands aout with his light blue skin and the flourescent red eyes.
After an overall black ink wash the model received a dry brusing treatment with FS 36492 and FS 36495, for a weathered and battle-worn look. After all, the "Vehement" would not survive the Ballte of Endor, but who knows what became of TIE/E "801"'s mixed crew...?
Finally, the kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish, and some final cosmetic corrections made.
The display is a DIY creation, too, made from a 6x6" piece of wood, it's edges covered with edgebonder, a steel wire as holder, and finally the display was paited with semi-matt black acrylic paint from the rattle can.
A complex build, and the TIE/E more or less evolved along the way, with only the overall layout in mind. Work took a month, but I think it was worth the effort. This fantasy creation looks pretty plausible and blends well into the vast canonical TIE Fighter family - and I am happy that I finally could finish this mummy project, including the surplus Jedi Starfighter kit which now also find a very good use!
An epic one, and far outside my standard comfort zone. But a wothwhile build!
The San Francisco cable car system is the world's last manually operated cable car system and an icon of the city of San Francisco. The system forms part of the intermodal urban transport network operated by the San Francisco Municipal Railway, which also includes the separate E Embarcadero and F Market & Wharves heritage streetcar lines, and the Muni Metro modern light rail system. Of the 23 cable car lines established between 1873 and 1890, only three remain (one of which combines parts of two earlier lines): two routes from downtown near Union Square to Fisherman's Wharf, and a third route along California Street.
While the cable cars are used to a certain extent by commuters, the vast majority of the millions of passengers who use the system every year are tourists, and as a result, the wait to get on can often reach two hours or more. They are among the most significant tourist attractions in the city, along with Alcatraz Island, the Golden Gate Bridge, and Fisherman's Wharf.
San Francisco's cable cars are listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is one of only two street railways to be named a National Historic Landmark, along with the St. Charles Streetcar Line in New Orleans.
In 1869, Andrew Smith Hallidie had the idea for a cable car system in San Francisco, reportedly after witnessing an accident in which a streetcar drawn by horses over wet cobblestones slid backwards, killing the horses. Hallidie solicited financial support in 1871 and 1872, and his primary backers were Henry L. Davis, Joseph Britton, and James Moffit.
The first successful cable-operated street running train was the Clay Street Hill Railroad, which had its inaugural run on August 2, 1873. The promoter of the line was Hallidie, and the engineer was William Eppelsheimer; both Hallidie and Eppelsheimer obtained several patents for their work on the Clay Street line. The line involved the use of grip cars, which carried the grip that engaged with the cable, towing trailer cars; the design was the first to use grips. The term "grip" became synonymous with the operator.
The line started regular service on September 1, 1873, and its success led it to become the template for other cable car transit systems. It was a financial success, and Hallidie's patents were enforced on other cable car promoters, making him wealthy.
Accounts differ as to the precise degree of Hallidie's involvement in the inception of the line, and to the exact date on which it first ran. According to the franchise granted by the city, operations were required to begin by August 1, 1873. A retrospective published in 1895 stated that a single car was run over the line at 4 am on the morning of August 1 with few witnesses to ensure the franchise would not expire. Eppelsheimer would later bring a suit against Hallidie and the Clay Street Hill RR in June 1877 over patents, but dismissed it voluntarily the following March.
The next cable car line to open was the Sutter Street Railway, which converted from horse operation in January 1877. This line introduced the side grip, and lever operation, both designed by Henry Casebolt and his assistant Asa Hovey, and patented by Casebolt. This idea came about because Casebolt did not want to pay Hallidie royalties of $50,000 a year for the use of his patent. The side grip allowed cable cars to cross at intersections.
In 1878, Leland Stanford opened his California Street Cable Railroad (Cal Cable). This company's first line was on California Street, and is the oldest cable car line still in operation. In 1880, the Geary Street, Park & Ocean Railway began operation. The Presidio and Ferries Railway followed two years later, and was the first cable company to include curves on its routes. The curves were "let-go" curves, in which the car drops the cable and coasts around the curve on its own momentum.
In 1883, the Market Street Cable Railway opened its first line. This company was controlled by the Southern Pacific Railroad and would grow to become San Francisco's largest cable car operator. At its peak, it operated five lines, all of which converged on Market Street to a common terminus at the Ferry Building. During rush hours, cars left that terminus every 15 seconds.
In 1888, the Ferries and Cliff House Railway opened its initial two-line system. The Powell–Mason line is still operated on the same route today; their other route was the Powell–Washington–Jackson line, stretches of which are used by today's Powell–Hyde line. The Ferries & Cliff House Railway was also responsible for the building of a car barn and powerhouse at Washington and Mason, and this site is still in use today. In the same year, it also purchased the original Clay Street Hill Railway, which it incorporated into a new Sacramento–Clay line in 1892.
In 1889, the Omnibus Railroad and Cable Company became the last new cable car operator in San Francisco. The following year the California Street Cable Railroad opened two new lines, these being the last entirely new cable car lines built in the city. One of them was the O'Farrell–Jones–Hyde line, the Hyde section of which still remains in operation as part of the current Powell–Hyde line.
In all, twenty-three lines were established between 1873 and 1890.
The San Francisco cable car system is the world's last manually operated cable car system and an icon of the city of San Francisco. The system forms part of the intermodal urban transport network operated by the San Francisco Municipal Railway, which also includes the separate E Embarcadero and F Market & Wharves heritage streetcar lines, and the Muni Metro modern light rail system. Of the 23 cable car lines established between 1873 and 1890, only three remain (one of which combines parts of two earlier lines): two routes from downtown near Union Square to Fisherman's Wharf, and a third route along California Street.
While the cable cars are used to a certain extent by commuters, the vast majority of the millions of passengers who use the system every year are tourists, and as a result, the wait to get on can often reach two hours or more. They are among the most significant tourist attractions in the city, along with Alcatraz Island, the Golden Gate Bridge, and Fisherman's Wharf.
San Francisco's cable cars are listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is one of only two street railways to be named a National Historic Landmark, along with the St. Charles Streetcar Line in New Orleans.
In 1869, Andrew Smith Hallidie had the idea for a cable car system in San Francisco, reportedly after witnessing an accident in which a streetcar drawn by horses over wet cobblestones slid backwards, killing the horses. Hallidie solicited financial support in 1871 and 1872, and his primary backers were Henry L. Davis, Joseph Britton, and James Moffit.
The first successful cable-operated street running train was the Clay Street Hill Railroad, which had its inaugural run on August 2, 1873. The promoter of the line was Hallidie, and the engineer was William Eppelsheimer; both Hallidie and Eppelsheimer obtained several patents for their work on the Clay Street line. The line involved the use of grip cars, which carried the grip that engaged with the cable, towing trailer cars; the design was the first to use grips. The term "grip" became synonymous with the operator.
The line started regular service on September 1, 1873, and its success led it to become the template for other cable car transit systems. It was a financial success, and Hallidie's patents were enforced on other cable car promoters, making him wealthy.
Accounts differ as to the precise degree of Hallidie's involvement in the inception of the line, and to the exact date on which it first ran. According to the franchise granted by the city, operations were required to begin by August 1, 1873. A retrospective published in 1895 stated that a single car was run over the line at 4 am on the morning of August 1 with few witnesses to ensure the franchise would not expire. Eppelsheimer would later bring a suit against Hallidie and the Clay Street Hill RR in June 1877 over patents, but dismissed it voluntarily the following March.
The next cable car line to open was the Sutter Street Railway, which converted from horse operation in January 1877. This line introduced the side grip, and lever operation, both designed by Henry Casebolt and his assistant Asa Hovey, and patented by Casebolt. This idea came about because Casebolt did not want to pay Hallidie royalties of $50,000 a year for the use of his patent. The side grip allowed cable cars to cross at intersections.
In 1878, Leland Stanford opened his California Street Cable Railroad (Cal Cable). This company's first line was on California Street, and is the oldest cable car line still in operation. In 1880, the Geary Street, Park & Ocean Railway began operation. The Presidio and Ferries Railway followed two years later, and was the first cable company to include curves on its routes. The curves were "let-go" curves, in which the car drops the cable and coasts around the curve on its own momentum.
In 1883, the Market Street Cable Railway opened its first line. This company was controlled by the Southern Pacific Railroad and would grow to become San Francisco's largest cable car operator. At its peak, it operated five lines, all of which converged on Market Street to a common terminus at the Ferry Building. During rush hours, cars left that terminus every 15 seconds.
In 1888, the Ferries and Cliff House Railway opened its initial two-line system. The Powell–Mason line is still operated on the same route today; their other route was the Powell–Washington–Jackson line, stretches of which are used by today's Powell–Hyde line. The Ferries & Cliff House Railway was also responsible for the building of a car barn and powerhouse at Washington and Mason, and this site is still in use today. In the same year, it also purchased the original Clay Street Hill Railway, which it incorporated into a new Sacramento–Clay line in 1892.
In 1889, the Omnibus Railroad and Cable Company became the last new cable car operator in San Francisco. The following year the California Street Cable Railroad opened two new lines, these being the last entirely new cable car lines built in the city. One of them was the O'Farrell–Jones–Hyde line, the Hyde section of which still remains in operation as part of the current Powell–Hyde line.
In all, twenty-three lines were established between 1873 and 1890.
The cable cars are pulled by a cable running below the street, held by a grip that extends from the car through a slit in the street surface, between the rails. Each cable is 1.25 inches (3.2 cm) in diameter, running at a constant speed of 9.5 miles per hour (15.3 km/h), and driven by a 510 horsepower (380 kW) electric motor located in the central power house (see below), via a set of self-adjusting sheaves. Each cable has six steel strands, with each strand containing 19 wires, wrapped around a sisal rope core (to allow easier gripping). The cable is coated with a synthetic lubricant to reduce wear and friction. Historically, pine tar was used to lubricate the cable. To start and stop the movement of the car, the grip operator (see below) closes and opens the grip around the cable (similar to the clutch of a conventional car). The grip's jaws exert a pressure of up to 30,000 pounds per square inch (210,000 kPa) on the cable. Due to wear and tear, a grip's dies have to be replaced after three days of usage.
There are four separate cables: one 16,000-foot (4,900 m) length and one 10,300-foot (3,100 m) length for the Hyde and Mason segments, a 9,300-foot (2,800 m) length for their common Powell section, and one 21,000-foot (6,400 m) length for the California Street line.
Apart from the cable itself (which limits the speeds of cars when going downhill), the cable cars use three separate braking systems:
Metal brake shoes on the wheels. The single-ended cars used on the Powell–Mason and Powell–Hyde lines have a foot pedal, controlled by the grip operator, that applies the brakes on the front wheels and a handle, operated by the conductor, that applies the brakes on the rear wheels. On the double-ended cars used on the California St. line, there are pedals near both grips, one controlled by the grip operator, the other by the conductor.
Wooden brake blocks pressed against the track when the gripman pulls a lever. The four blocks are made of Monterey Fir and can produce a smell of burning wood when in operation. They have to be replaced after just a few days.
An emergency brake consisting of a piece of steel, around 1.5 inches (40 mm) thick and 18 inches (460 mm) long, suspended beneath the car and pushed into the track slot when the gripman pulls a red lever. It wedges tightly into the slot and often has to be removed with a cutting torch.
Electrical system
Over the years, the cable cars have been retrofitted with several electrical components, including headlights, interior lighting, a GPS tracking system and cameras. However, unlike most modern trains, the cable cars have no method to generate power on board and instead must use large batteries that are recharged in the car barn. In 2018, the incandescent bulbs used for the headlights and interior lighting were replaced with LED bulbs which increased visibility for operators and had a lower drain on the batteries.
The current cable car network consists of three routes:
The Powell–Mason (Line 59 or PM) line, follows a common route with the Powell–Hyde line, running north and steeply uphill from a terminal at Powell and Market Streets, before crossing the California Street line at the crest of the hill. Once California Street has been crossed, cars coast downhill, off the cable, for three and a half blocks until the lines split as they turn left onto Jackson Street (as this is one-way, cable cars in the opposite direction use the parallel Washington Street). This line turns North, merges, and continues downhill along Mason Street, briefly half left along Columbus Avenue, and then down Taylor Street to a terminal at Taylor and Bay. This terminus is two blocks south of Fisherman's Wharf and is the closest to Pier 39. As with the Powell–Hyde line, there are manually-powered turntables at each end to reverse the cars. The Powell–Mason line has been in operation since 1888.
The Powell–Hyde (Line 60 or PH) line, follows a common route with the Powell–Mason line, running north and steeply uphill from a terminal at Powell and Market Streets, before crossing the California Street line at the crest of the hill. Once California Street has been crossed, cars coast downhill, off the cable, for three and a half blocks until the lines split as they turn left onto Jackson Street. As this section is one-way, cable cars in the opposite direction use the parallel Washington Street. The cars on this line continue uphill on Jackson/Washington to a crest at Hyde Street. Here the line turns North past the "crooked" Lombard Street, then runs steeply downhill (at 21%, the steepest grade in the cable car system) along Hyde Street, to the Hyde and Beach terminal, which is adjacent to the waterfront at the San Francisco Maritime Museum and Ghirardelli Square. As with the Powell–Mason line, there are manually-powered turntables at each end to reverse the cars. The line was spliced together in 1957 using portions of the O'Farrell, Jones & Hyde line and the Washington–Jackson line. Because this line offers iconic views of Alcatraz Island, passes Lombard Street and terminates near popular tourist destinations, it is the most popular with tourists and often has long waits to board.
The California Street (Line 61 or C) line runs east and west on California Street from a terminal at California and Market Streets, close to the famed Embarcadero to Van Ness Avenue. The California Street cable cars use double-ended cars with "grip" levers at either end of the longer cars which are operated in each direction without the cars being turned at the ends of the line, where the double tracks converge into a single "stub-end" track. The line once ran a much longer distance from Presidio Avenue to Market Street but service west of Van Ness Avenue was discontinued in 1954. Calls to restore the route to its original length are heard from time to time but nothing serious towards this end has been proposed. This route runs only on California Street, running at first uphill to the summit of Nob Hill, then more gently downhill to a terminus at Van Ness Avenue. This line is used to a greater extent by commuters, with the majority of passengers on weekdays being commuters.
There is also a set of non-revenue tracks from the California Street line along Hyde Street to join the Powell–Hyde line at Hyde and Washington. This connection exists to enable California Street cars to reach the car barn.
A small signal tower controls the crossing of the lines at the intersection of California Street and Powell Street. It has been rebuilt in 1907, 1937, 1967, and 2020–2021.
The system generally starts operating at 5:30 am each day and shuts down at 1:30 am.
The cable car system connects at both its terminals on Market Street with the F Market heritage streetcar line. The Taylor and Bay terminal, and the Hyde and Beach terminal, are both short walks from the F Market line. The system connects with other Muni lines and BART at the Powell & Market and California & Drumm terminals.
As of January 1, 2020, riding a cable car costs $8 for a single ride, except for seniors riding before 7 am or after 9 pm when the fare is $4. Cable car rides are included in monthly Muni passes, as well as 1-day, 3-day, 7-day passes, and the CityPASS program. Passes loaded on a Clipper card can be read by the conductor with a mobile device. Transfers or fare receipts are not accepted. In the 1960s, the fare for a single ride was 15 cents.
There are 27 cars in rotation when the system is operating. They come in two kinds:
Single-ended cars serve the Powell–Hyde and Powell–Mason lines. These cars have an open-sided front section, with outward-facing seats flanking the gripman and a collection of levers that actuate the grip and various brakes. The rear half of the car is enclosed with seats facing inward and entrances at each end, and the car has a small platform at the rear. These cars are 27 feet 6 inches (8.4 m) long and 8 feet (2.4 m) wide and weigh 15,500 pounds (7,000 kg). They have a passenger capacity of 60, 29 of them seated. These cars must be rotated to reverse direction at each end of the line, an operation performed on turntables. Most of these cars were built or rebuilt at Muni's Woods Carpentry Division.
Double-ended cars serve the California Street line. These cars are somewhat longer, having open-sided grip sections at both ends and an enclosed section in the middle. These cars are 30 feet 3 inches (9.2 m) long and 8 feet (2.4 m) wide and weigh 16,800 pounds (7,600 kg). They can hold 68 passengers, 34 of them seated. The California Street line lacks turning capabilities at each end, resulting in the necessity of the double-ended cars. Some of these cars are former O'Farrell, Jones, and Hyde Street cable cars, while some cars were built at Muni's Woods Carpentry Division.
There are 28 single-ended cars available for operation on the Powell lines and 12 double-ended cars on the California Street line.
Both types of car ride on a pair of four-wheel trucks, to fit the track's 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) narrow gauge. The term California Street car, as in a car running on the California Street line, should not be confused with the term California Car. The latter term applies to all the cable cars currently operating in San Francisco and is a historical term distinguishing this style of car from an earlier style where the open grip section and the enclosed section were separate four-wheel cars (known as the grip car and trailer).
The cable cars are occasionally replaced with new or restored cars, with the old cars being moved to storage for later restoration. There are two historic cable cars in storage in the cable car museum: car numbers 19 and 42, which were used on the Sacramento-Clay and O'Farrell, Jones and Hyde Street lines, respectively.
The cable-car barn is located between Washington and Jackson Streets just uphill of where Mason Street crosses them. Cars reverse into the barn off Jackson Street and run out into Washington Street, coasting downhill for both moves. To ensure that single-ended cars leave facing in the correct direction, the car barn contains a fourth turntable. Cars are moved around the car barn with the assistance of a rubber-tired tractor.
As of 2018, the cable-car barn was staffed with 17 mechanics, six custodians, three carpenters, two painters, two supervisors and one superintendent.
The car barn is situated directly west of the power house and the Cable Car Museum. The museum's entrance is at Washington and Mason. It contains several examples of old cable cars, together with smaller exhibits and a shop. Two galleries allow the visitor to overlook the main power house, and also to descend below the junction of Washington and Mason Streets and see the large cavern where the cables are routed out to the street via huge sheaves.
The car is driven by the grip, whose job requires strength, coordination, and balance. The grip must smoothly grip and release the cable, know the points at which the grip must be released to coast over intersecting lines or places where the cable does not follow the tracks, and maintain clearance from other traffic. The conductor collects fares, manages crowding, and controls the rear-wheel brakes on some hills.
On the second or third Thursday of each July, a cable car bell-ringing contest is held in Union Square between cable car crews, following a preliminary round held during the second to last or the last week of June. The preliminary round determines which contestants go on to the finals in Union Square, by a process of points awarded by a panel of judges
San Francisco officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, financial, and cultural center in Northern California. With a population of 808,437 residents as of 2022, San Francisco is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of California. The city covers a land area of 46.9 square miles (121 square kilometers) at the end of the San Francisco Peninsula, making it the second-most densely populated large U.S. city after New York City and the fifth-most densely populated U.S. county, behind only four New York City boroughs. Among the 92 U.S. cities proper with over 250,000 residents, San Francisco was ranked first by per capita income and sixth by aggregate income as of 2022. Colloquial nicknames for San Francisco include Frisco, San Fran, The City, and SF (although Frisco and San Fran are generally not used by locals).
Prior to European settlement, the modern city proper was inhabited by the Yelamu, who spoke a language now referred to as Ramaytush Ohlone. On June 29, 1776, settlers from New Spain established the Presidio of San Francisco at the Golden Gate, and the Mission San Francisco de Asís a few miles away, both named for Francis of Assisi. The California Gold Rush of 1849 brought rapid growth, transforming an unimportant hamlet into a busy port, making it the largest city on the West Coast at the time; between 1870 and 1900, approximately one quarter of California's population resided in the city proper. In 1856, San Francisco became a consolidated city-county. After three-quarters of the city was destroyed by the 1906 earthquake and fire, it was quickly rebuilt, hosting the Panama-Pacific International Exposition nine years later. In World War II, it was a major port of embarkation for naval service members shipping out to the Pacific Theater. In 1945, the United Nations Charter was signed in San Francisco, establishing the United Nations and in 1951, the Treaty of San Francisco re-established peaceful relations between Japan and the Allied Powers. After the war, the confluence of returning servicemen, significant immigration, liberalizing attitudes, the rise of the beatnik and hippie countercultures, the sexual revolution, the peace movement growing from opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War, and other factors led to the Summer of Love and the gay rights movement, cementing San Francisco as a center of liberal activism in the United States.
San Francisco and the surrounding San Francisco Bay Area are a global center of economic activity and the arts and sciences, spurred by leading universities, high-tech, healthcare, finance, insurance, real estate, and professional services sectors. As of 2020, the metropolitan area, with 6.7 million residents, ranked 5th by GDP ($874 billion) and 2nd by GDP per capita ($131,082) across the OECD countries, ahead of global cities like Paris, London, and Singapore. San Francisco anchors the 13th most populous metropolitan statistical area in the United States with 4.6 million residents, and the fourth-largest by aggregate income and economic output, with a GDP of $729 billion in 2022. The wider San Jose–San Francisco–Oakland Combined Statistical Area is the fifth-most populous, with 9.0 million residents, and the third-largest by economic output, with a GDP of $1.32 trillion in 2022. In the same year, San Francisco proper had a GDP of $252.2 billion, and a GDP per capita of $312,000. San Francisco was ranked fifth in the world and second in the United States on the Global Financial Centres Index as of September 2023. Despite an ongoing post-COVID-19 pandemic exodus of over 30 retail businesses from the northeastern quadrant of San Francisco, including the downtown core, the city is still home to numerous companies inside and outside of technology, including Salesforce, Uber, Airbnb, X Corp., Levi's, Gap, Dropbox, and Lyft.
In 2022, San Francisco had more than 1.7 million international visitors - the fifth-most visited city from abroad in the United States after New York City, Miami, Orlando, and Los Angeles - and approximately 20 million domestic visitors for a total of 21.9 million visitors. The city is known for its steep rolling hills and eclectic mix of architecture across varied neighborhoods, as well as its cool summers, fog, and landmarks, including the Golden Gate Bridge, cable cars, and Alcatraz, along with the Chinatown and Mission districts. The city is home to a number of educational and cultural institutions, such as the University of California, San Francisco, the University of San Francisco, San Francisco State University, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, the de Young Museum, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the San Francisco Symphony, the San Francisco Ballet, the San Francisco Opera, the SFJAZZ Center, and the California Academy of Sciences. Two major league sports teams, the San Francisco Giants and the Golden State Warriors, play their home games within San Francisco proper. San Francisco's main international airport offers flights to over 125 destinations while a light rail and bus network, in tandem with the BART and Caltrain systems, connects nearly every part of San Francisco with the wider region.
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2 million residents across a total area of approximately 163,696 square miles (423,970 km2), it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the most populated subnational entity in North America and the 34th most populous in the world. The Greater Los Angeles area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nation's second and fifth most populous urban regions respectively, with the former having more than 18.7 million residents and the latter having over 9.6 million. Sacramento is the state's capital, while Los Angeles is the most populous city in the state and the second most populous city in the country. San Francisco is the second most densely populated major city in the country. Los Angeles County is the country's most populous, while San Bernardino County is the largest county by area in the country. California borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, the Mexican state of Baja California to the south; and has a coastline along the Pacific Ocean to the west.
The economy of the state of California is the largest in the United States, with a $3.4 trillion gross state product (GSP) as of 2022. It is the largest sub-national economy in the world. If California were a sovereign nation, it would rank as the world's fifth-largest economy as of 2022, behind Germany and ahead of India, as well as the 37th most populous. The Greater Los Angeles area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nation's second- and third-largest urban economies ($1.0 trillion and $0.5 trillion respectively as of 2020). The San Francisco Bay Area Combined Statistical Area had the nation's highest gross domestic product per capita ($106,757) among large primary statistical areas in 2018, and is home to five of the world's ten largest companies by market capitalization and four of the world's ten richest people.
Prior to European colonization, California was one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse areas in pre-Columbian North America and contained the highest Native American population density north of what is now Mexico. European exploration in the 16th and 17th centuries led to the colonization of California by the Spanish Empire. In 1804, it was included in Alta California province within the Viceroyalty of New Spain. The area became a part of Mexico in 1821, following its successful war for independence, but was ceded to the United States in 1848 after the Mexican–American War. The California Gold Rush started in 1848 and led to dramatic social and demographic changes, including large-scale immigration into California, a worldwide economic boom, and the California genocide of indigenous people. The western portion of Alta California was then organized and admitted as the 31st state on September 9, 1850, following the Compromise of 1850.
Notable contributions to popular culture, for example in entertainment and sports, have their origins in California. The state also has made noteworthy contributions in the fields of communication, information, innovation, environmentalism, economics, and politics. It is the home of Hollywood, the oldest and one of the largest film industries in the world, which has had a profound influence upon global entertainment. It is considered the origin of the hippie counterculture, beach and car culture, and the personal computer, among other innovations. The San Francisco Bay Area and the Greater Los Angeles Area are widely seen as the centers of the global technology and film industries, respectively. California's economy is very diverse: 58% of it is based on finance, government, real estate services, technology, and professional, scientific, and technical business services. Although it accounts for only 1.5% of the state's economy, California's agriculture industry has the highest output of any U.S. state. California's ports and harbors handle about a third of all U.S. imports, most originating in Pacific Rim international trade.
The state's extremely diverse geography ranges from the Pacific Coast and metropolitan areas in the west to the Sierra Nevada mountains in the east, and from the redwood and Douglas fir forests in the northwest to the Mojave Desert in the southeast. The Central Valley, a major agricultural area, dominates the state's center. California is well known for its warm Mediterranean climate and monsoon seasonal weather. The large size of the state results in climates that vary from moist temperate rainforest in the north to arid desert in the interior, as well as snowy alpine in the mountains.
Settled by successive waves of arrivals during at least the last 13,000 years, California was one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse areas in pre-Columbian North America. Various estimates of the native population have ranged from 100,000 to 300,000. The indigenous peoples of California included more than 70 distinct ethnic groups, inhabiting environments from mountains and deserts to islands and redwood forests. These groups were also diverse in their political organization, with bands, tribes, villages, and on the resource-rich coasts, large chiefdoms, such as the Chumash, Pomo and Salinan. Trade, intermarriage and military alliances fostered social and economic relationships between many groups.
The first Europeans to explore the coast of California were the members of a Spanish maritime expedition led by Portuguese captain Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo in 1542. Cabrillo was commissioned by Antonio de Mendoza, the Viceroy of New Spain, to lead an expedition up the Pacific coast in search of trade opportunities; they entered San Diego Bay on September 28, 1542, and reached at least as far north as San Miguel Island. Privateer and explorer Francis Drake explored and claimed an undefined portion of the California coast in 1579, landing north of the future city of San Francisco. Sebastián Vizcaíno explored and mapped the coast of California in 1602 for New Spain, putting ashore in Monterey. Despite the on-the-ground explorations of California in the 16th century, Rodríguez's idea of California as an island persisted. Such depictions appeared on many European maps well into the 18th century.
The Portolá expedition of 1769-70 was a pivotal event in the Spanish colonization of California, resulting in the establishment of numerous missions, presidios, and pueblos. The military and civil contingent of the expedition was led by Gaspar de Portolá, who traveled over land from Sonora into California, while the religious component was headed by Junípero Serra, who came by sea from Baja California. In 1769, Portolá and Serra established Mission San Diego de Alcalá and the Presidio of San Diego, the first religious and military settlements founded by the Spanish in California. By the end of the expedition in 1770, they would establish the Presidio of Monterey and Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo on Monterey Bay.
After the Portolà expedition, Spanish missionaries led by Father-President Serra set out to establish 21 Spanish missions of California along El Camino Real ("The Royal Road") and along the Californian coast, 16 sites of which having been chosen during the Portolá expedition. Numerous major cities in California grew out of missions, including San Francisco (Mission San Francisco de Asís), San Diego (Mission San Diego de Alcalá), Ventura (Mission San Buenaventura), or Santa Barbara (Mission Santa Barbara), among others.
Juan Bautista de Anza led a similarly important expedition throughout California in 1775–76, which would extend deeper into the interior and north of California. The Anza expedition selected numerous sites for missions, presidios, and pueblos, which subsequently would be established by settlers. Gabriel Moraga, a member of the expedition, would also christen many of California's prominent rivers with their names in 1775–1776, such as the Sacramento River and the San Joaquin River. After the expedition, Gabriel's son, José Joaquín Moraga, would found the pueblo of San Jose in 1777, making it the first civilian-established city in California.
The Spanish founded Mission San Juan Capistrano in 1776, the third to be established of the Californian missions.
During this same period, sailors from the Russian Empire explored along the northern coast of California. In 1812, the Russian-American Company established a trading post and small fortification at Fort Ross on the North Coast. Fort Ross was primarily used to supply Russia's Alaskan colonies with food supplies. The settlement did not meet much success, failing to attract settlers or establish long term trade viability, and was abandoned by 1841.
During the War of Mexican Independence, Alta California was largely unaffected and uninvolved in the revolution, though many Californios supported independence from Spain, which many believed had neglected California and limited its development. Spain's trade monopoly on California had limited the trade prospects of Californians. Following Mexican independence, Californian ports were freely able to trade with foreign merchants. Governor Pablo Vicente de Solá presided over the transition from Spanish colonial rule to independent.
In 1821, the Mexican War of Independence gave the Mexican Empire (which included California) independence from Spain. For the next 25 years, Alta California remained a remote, sparsely populated, northwestern administrative district of the newly independent country of Mexico, which shortly after independence became a republic. The missions, which controlled most of the best land in the state, were secularized by 1834 and became the property of the Mexican government. The governor granted many square leagues of land to others with political influence. These huge ranchos or cattle ranches emerged as the dominant institutions of Mexican California. The ranchos developed under ownership by Californios (Hispanics native of California) who traded cowhides and tallow with Boston merchants. Beef did not become a commodity until the 1849 California Gold Rush.
From the 1820s, trappers and settlers from the United States and Canada began to arrive in Northern California. These new arrivals used the Siskiyou Trail, California Trail, Oregon Trail and Old Spanish Trail to cross the rugged mountains and harsh deserts in and surrounding California. The early government of the newly independent Mexico was highly unstable, and in a reflection of this, from 1831 onwards, California also experienced a series of armed disputes, both internal and with the central Mexican government. During this tumultuous political period Juan Bautista Alvarado was able to secure the governorship during 1836–1842. The military action which first brought Alvarado to power had momentarily declared California to be an independent state, and had been aided by Anglo-American residents of California, including Isaac Graham. In 1840, one hundred of those residents who did not have passports were arrested, leading to the Graham Affair, which was resolved in part with the intercession of Royal Navy officials.
One of the largest ranchers in California was John Marsh. After failing to obtain justice against squatters on his land from the Mexican courts, he determined that California should become part of the United States. Marsh conducted a letter-writing campaign espousing the California climate, the soil, and other reasons to settle there, as well as the best route to follow, which became known as "Marsh's route". His letters were read, reread, passed around, and printed in newspapers throughout the country, and started the first wagon trains rolling to California. He invited immigrants to stay on his ranch until they could get settled, and assisted in their obtaining passports.
After ushering in the period of organized emigration to California, Marsh became involved in a military battle between the much-hated Mexican general, Manuel Micheltorena and the California governor he had replaced, Juan Bautista Alvarado. The armies of each met at the Battle of Providencia near Los Angeles. Marsh had been forced against his will to join Micheltorena's army. Ignoring his superiors, during the battle, he signaled the other side for a parley. There were many settlers from the United States fighting on both sides. He convinced these men that they had no reason to be fighting each other. As a result of Marsh's actions, they abandoned the fight, Micheltorena was defeated, and California-born Pio Pico was returned to the governorship. This paved the way to California's ultimate acquisition by the United States.
In 1846, a group of American settlers in and around Sonoma rebelled against Mexican rule during the Bear Flag Revolt. Afterward, rebels raised the Bear Flag (featuring a bear, a star, a red stripe and the words "California Republic") at Sonoma. The Republic's only president was William B. Ide,[65] who played a pivotal role during the Bear Flag Revolt. This revolt by American settlers served as a prelude to the later American military invasion of California and was closely coordinated with nearby American military commanders.
The California Republic was short-lived; the same year marked the outbreak of the Mexican–American War (1846–48).
Commodore John D. Sloat of the United States Navy sailed into Monterey Bay in 1846 and began the U.S. military invasion of California, with Northern California capitulating in less than a month to the United States forces. In Southern California, Californios continued to resist American forces. Notable military engagements of the conquest include the Battle of San Pasqual and the Battle of Dominguez Rancho in Southern California, as well as the Battle of Olómpali and the Battle of Santa Clara in Northern California. After a series of defensive battles in the south, the Treaty of Cahuenga was signed by the Californios on January 13, 1847, securing a censure and establishing de facto American control in California.
Following the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (February 2, 1848) that ended the war, the westernmost portion of the annexed Mexican territory of Alta California soon became the American state of California, and the remainder of the old territory was then subdivided into the new American Territories of Arizona, Nevada, Colorado and Utah. The even more lightly populated and arid lower region of old Baja California remained as a part of Mexico. In 1846, the total settler population of the western part of the old Alta California had been estimated to be no more than 8,000, plus about 100,000 Native Americans, down from about 300,000 before Hispanic settlement in 1769.
In 1848, only one week before the official American annexation of the area, gold was discovered in California, this being an event which was to forever alter both the state's demographics and its finances. Soon afterward, a massive influx of immigration into the area resulted, as prospectors and miners arrived by the thousands. The population burgeoned with United States citizens, Europeans, Chinese and other immigrants during the great California Gold Rush. By the time of California's application for statehood in 1850, the settler population of California had multiplied to 100,000. By 1854, more than 300,000 settlers had come. Between 1847 and 1870, the population of San Francisco increased from 500 to 150,000.
The seat of government for California under Spanish and later Mexican rule had been located in Monterey from 1777 until 1845. Pio Pico, the last Mexican governor of Alta California, had briefly moved the capital to Los Angeles in 1845. The United States consulate had also been located in Monterey, under consul Thomas O. Larkin.
In 1849, a state Constitutional Convention was first held in Monterey. Among the first tasks of the convention was a decision on a location for the new state capital. The first full legislative sessions were held in San Jose (1850–1851). Subsequent locations included Vallejo (1852–1853), and nearby Benicia (1853–1854); these locations eventually proved to be inadequate as well. The capital has been located in Sacramento since 1854 with only a short break in 1862 when legislative sessions were held in San Francisco due to flooding in Sacramento. Once the state's Constitutional Convention had finalized its state constitution, it applied to the U.S. Congress for admission to statehood. On September 9, 1850, as part of the Compromise of 1850, California became a free state and September 9 a state holiday.
During the American Civil War (1861–1865), California sent gold shipments eastward to Washington in support of the Union. However, due to the existence of a large contingent of pro-South sympathizers within the state, the state was not able to muster any full military regiments to send eastwards to officially serve in the Union war effort. Still, several smaller military units within the Union army were unofficially associated with the state of California, such as the "California 100 Company", due to a majority of their members being from California.
At the time of California's admission into the Union, travel between California and the rest of the continental United States had been a time-consuming and dangerous feat. Nineteen years later, and seven years after it was greenlighted by President Lincoln, the First transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869. California was then reachable from the eastern States in a week's time.
Much of the state was extremely well suited to fruit cultivation and agriculture in general. Vast expanses of wheat, other cereal crops, vegetable crops, cotton, and nut and fruit trees were grown (including oranges in Southern California), and the foundation was laid for the state's prodigious agricultural production in the Central Valley and elsewhere.
In the nineteenth century, a large number of migrants from China traveled to the state as part of the Gold Rush or to seek work. Even though the Chinese proved indispensable in building the transcontinental railroad from California to Utah, perceived job competition with the Chinese led to anti-Chinese riots in the state, and eventually the US ended migration from China partially as a response to pressure from California with the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act.
Under earlier Spanish and Mexican rule, California's original native population had precipitously declined, above all, from Eurasian diseases to which the indigenous people of California had not yet developed a natural immunity. Under its new American administration, California's harsh governmental policies towards its own indigenous people did not improve. As in other American states, many of the native inhabitants were soon forcibly removed from their lands by incoming American settlers such as miners, ranchers, and farmers. Although California had entered the American union as a free state, the "loitering or orphaned Indians" were de facto enslaved by their new Anglo-American masters under the 1853 Act for the Government and Protection of Indians. There were also massacres in which hundreds of indigenous people were killed.
Between 1850 and 1860, the California state government paid around 1.5 million dollars (some 250,000 of which was reimbursed by the federal government) to hire militias whose purpose was to protect settlers from the indigenous populations. In later decades, the native population was placed in reservations and rancherias, which were often small and isolated and without enough natural resources or funding from the government to sustain the populations living on them. As a result, the rise of California was a calamity for the native inhabitants. Several scholars and Native American activists, including Benjamin Madley and Ed Castillo, have described the actions of the California government as a genocide.
In the twentieth century, thousands of Japanese people migrated to the US and California specifically to attempt to purchase and own land in the state. However, the state in 1913 passed the Alien Land Act, excluding Asian immigrants from owning land. During World War II, Japanese Americans in California were interned in concentration camps such as at Tule Lake and Manzanar. In 2020, California officially apologized for this internment.
Migration to California accelerated during the early 20th century with the completion of major transcontinental highways like the Lincoln Highway and Route 66. In the period from 1900 to 1965, the population grew from fewer than one million to the greatest in the Union. In 1940, the Census Bureau reported California's population as 6.0% Hispanic, 2.4% Asian, and 89.5% non-Hispanic white.
To meet the population's needs, major engineering feats like the California and Los Angeles Aqueducts; the Oroville and Shasta Dams; and the Bay and Golden Gate Bridges were built across the state. The state government also adopted the California Master Plan for Higher Education in 1960 to develop a highly efficient system of public education.
Meanwhile, attracted to the mild Mediterranean climate, cheap land, and the state's wide variety of geography, filmmakers established the studio system in Hollywood in the 1920s. California manufactured 8.7 percent of total United States military armaments produced during World War II, ranking third (behind New York and Michigan) among the 48 states. California however easily ranked first in production of military ships during the war (transport, cargo, [merchant ships] such as Liberty ships, Victory ships, and warships) at drydock facilities in San Diego, Los Angeles, and the San Francisco Bay Area. After World War II, California's economy greatly expanded due to strong aerospace and defense industries, whose size decreased following the end of the Cold War. Stanford University and its Dean of Engineering Frederick Terman began encouraging faculty and graduates to stay in California instead of leaving the state, and develop a high-tech region in the area now known as Silicon Valley. As a result of these efforts, California is regarded as a world center of the entertainment and music industries, of technology, engineering, and the aerospace industry, and as the United States center of agricultural production. Just before the Dot Com Bust, California had the fifth-largest economy in the world among nations.
In the mid and late twentieth century, a number of race-related incidents occurred in the state. Tensions between police and African Americans, combined with unemployment and poverty in inner cities, led to violent riots, such as the 1965 Watts riots and 1992 Rodney King riots. California was also the hub of the Black Panther Party, a group known for arming African Americans to defend against racial injustice and for organizing free breakfast programs for schoolchildren. Additionally, Mexican, Filipino, and other migrant farm workers rallied in the state around Cesar Chavez for better pay in the 1960s and 1970s.
During the 20th century, two great disasters happened in California. The 1906 San Francisco earthquake and 1928 St. Francis Dam flood remain the deadliest in U.S. history.
Although air pollution problems have been reduced, health problems associated with pollution have continued. The brown haze known as "smog" has been substantially abated after the passage of federal and state restrictions on automobile exhaust.
An energy crisis in 2001 led to rolling blackouts, soaring power rates, and the importation of electricity from neighboring states. Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas and Electric Company came under heavy criticism.
Housing prices in urban areas continued to increase; a modest home which in the 1960s cost $25,000 would cost half a million dollars or more in urban areas by 2005. More people commuted longer hours to afford a home in more rural areas while earning larger salaries in the urban areas. Speculators bought houses they never intended to live in, expecting to make a huge profit in a matter of months, then rolling it over by buying more properties. Mortgage companies were compliant, as everyone assumed the prices would keep rising. The bubble burst in 2007–8 as housing prices began to crash and the boom years ended. Hundreds of billions in property values vanished and foreclosures soared as many financial institutions and investors were badly hurt.
In the twenty-first century, droughts and frequent wildfires attributed to climate change have occurred in the state. From 2011 to 2017, a persistent drought was the worst in its recorded history. The 2018 wildfire season was the state's deadliest and most destructive, most notably Camp Fire.
Although air pollution problems have been reduced, health problems associated with pollution have continued. The brown haze that is known as "smog" has been substantially abated thanks to federal and state restrictions on automobile exhaust.
One of the first confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States that occurred in California was first of which was confirmed on January 26, 2020. Meaning, all of the early confirmed cases were persons who had recently travelled to China in Asia, as testing was restricted to this group. On this January 29, 2020, as disease containment protocols were still being developed, the U.S. Department of State evacuated 195 persons from Wuhan, China aboard a chartered flight to March Air Reserve Base in Riverside County, and in this process, it may have granted and conferred to escalated within the land and the US at cosmic. On February 5, 2020, the U.S. evacuated 345 more citizens from Hubei Province to two military bases in California, Travis Air Force Base in Solano County and Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, San Diego, where they were quarantined for 14 days. A state of emergency was largely declared in this state of the nation on March 4, 2020, and as of February 24, 2021, remains in effect. A mandatory statewide stay-at-home order was issued on March 19, 2020, due to increase, which was ended on January 25, 2021, allowing citizens to return to normal life. On April 6, 2021, the state announced plans to fully reopen the economy by June 15, 2021.
Two issues
1. The Flickr system isn't allowing me to upload the entire description with this postcard. However, I have been able to upload it separately in its entirety this morning (3/20/2016). You can see it here.
www.flickr.com/photos/hoosier_recollections/25836557491/i...
2. (A few hours after posting this postcard to Flickr.) The paragraphs below represent only a portion of the description I wrote for this postcard. So far, Flickr isn't letting me add the remainder.
However, it could be a moot issue. A friend has found another copy of this postcard for sale online. It was postmarked at Sedalia, Indiana, about ten miles north of Frankfort! She is wondering if this postcard title was meant to be "Nr. Frankfort," that is, near Frankfort in Clinton County. I had tried to contact Clinton County Historical Society a few weeks ago when I began work on this postcard. At that time, I thought the "N. Frankfort" was probably "North Frankfort," but could find no reference to a North Frankfort in Indiana and thought CCHS might be able to help. I didn't get a response, but did find New Frankfort while waiting and the New Frankfort possibility seemed to fit the information I had. I'll make another effort to contact CCHS and will make changes here if warranted.
Stay tuned!
Fictional postcards weren’t uncommon in the early postcard era. Many were humorous and used methods to achieve effects we would call “photoshopping” today. Other examples included postcards with the same scene sold in multiple cities or towns (and sometimes in multiple states) with the only difference being the city or town name in the title. This postcard appears to be the latter type where the photograph upon which it was based came from elsewhere and had a new title applied by the printer. However, this example is unusual. The following is the story I’ve pieced together.
This postcard view of an interurban stop is titled, “Interurban Railroad, N. Frankfort, Ind.” and it was postmarked in 1910. The “N. Frankfort” was probably referring to New Frankfort in Scott County. There was no North Frankfort in Indiana, and New Frankfort probably would have been on the interurban route between Madison and Scottsburg that was first proposed two years earlier. However, that route was never constructed and this postcard was probably created as an advertising piece for the proposed interurban route. It is possible that similar postcards for other communities along the proposed route exist.
Scottsburg was on the busy interurban line that connected Louisville and Indianapolis. Madison, however, was never connected to the interurban system that linked so many other communities in Indiana. Two separate efforts to bring interurban service to Madison materialized in 1903. One of these involved the creation of the Madison, Greensburg & Indianapolis Railway Company that proposed a new interurban rail line extending north from Madison to Greensburg via Versailles and Osgood. The other interurban route involving Madison was proposed by the Southern Traction Company of Indiana. This route would have connected Madison and Columbus via Hanover and North Vernon. However, both projects were among more than 250 proposed interurban routes in Indiana that were never constructed.
A third proposal involving Madison arose In 1908 when the Cincinnati, Madison & Western Traction Company (C. M. & W.) incorporated and proposed construction of an interurban line between Scottsburg and Cincinnati via Madison. The following announcement was published on February 8, 1908.[1]
RECENT INCORPORATIONS.
Cincinnati, Madison, & Western Traction Company. — Incorporated in Indiana to build a number of short lines radiating from Scottsburg to surrounding cities and towns in Indiana and Ohio. These new lines will be built as extensions of the Indianapolis & Louisville Traction Company's line from Seymour to Jeffersonville, now in operation. The different routes as outlined in the articles of incorporation are as follows:
From Scottsburg through Scott and Jefferson counties to Madison, and thence in a northeasterly direction through Switzerland, Ohio, Ripley and Dearborn counties in Indiana to Cincinnati; also in a westerly direction from Scottsburg through Salem in Washington county and through Paoli to West Baden and French Lick; also northwesterly from Scottsburg to Bedford, Ind. It is announced that construction work will be started in the spring. Capital stock, $50,000. Incorporators: J. E. Greeley, Louisville, Ky.; S. D. Miller. Maurice Cahill, G. B. Gaston and G. N. Owen, Indianapolis, Ind.
John E. Greeley was one of the C. M. & W. founders. Mr. Greeley was also involved in other southern Indiana interurban activities. A 1908 directory listed J. E. Greeley as vice-president of the Indianapolis & Louisville Traction Co. In 1912, he was president and general manager when the successor to that company sold at foreclosure.
Over the course of the next few years, several C. M. & W. announcements of corporate activities appeared in various publications. This first group appeared in a weekly industry journal[2] between January and July, 1910.
Part of the series for my collage group. Made entirely w/ scraps found while cleaning my worktable. Yay!
Operated by: Fon Du Lac Transit System
Built in: 2011
Manufacturer: GILLIG Corporation
Model: Low Floor 29' (G27E102R2)
Notes:
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Route 20 - Northeast
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Please do not use this photo or any part of this photo without first asking for permission, thank you.
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A key piece of hardware for NASA's SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and the agency's Artemis III mission is on its way to the Space Coast. The journey for the ICPS (interim cryogenic propulsion stage) began in Decatur, Alabama, where crews with United Launch Alliance first boxed it for shipment July 29 then loaded it onto ULA's "RocketShip" barge July 31. The barge will ferry the SLS flight hardware down the Mississippi River, into the Gulf of Mexico, then around the Florida peninsula to Cape Canaveral. Once it arrives at ULA's facility in Florida near NASA's Kennedy Space Center, the ICPS will undergo final testing and checkouts ahead of the crewed Artemis III mission. The ICPS is the in-space propulsion stage of the SLS rocket, giving NASA's Orion spacecraft and Artemis astronauts inside it the big push they need to journey all the way to the Moon for a lunar landing. The ICPS for Artemis III is the last of its kind as missions beginning with Artemis IV will use the SLS B1B configuration that includes the more powerful Exploration Upper Stage.
Watch this video to learn more about the preparations for its waterway journey!
Image credit: NASA/Brandon Hancock
#NASA #NASAMarshall #sls #spacelaunchsystem #nasasls #exploration #rocket #artemis #ArtemisIII #ICPS #astronauts #RocketScience #ICPS #Moon