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Photo © Tristan Savatier - All Rights Reserved - License this photo on www.loupiote.com/6740179795
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Deer Cave in Gunung Mulu National Park (Borneo)
Deer Cave is a passage about 150 m (500 feet) in diameter and about 1 Km (0.6 Miles) long, opened on both end. It was, for many years, considered the largest single cave passage in the world.
For more photos and information about Deer Cave, go to my Deer Cave photo series.
If you like this photo, follow me on instagram (tristan_sf) and don't hesitate to leave a comment or email me.
Aluminum Flexible Duct
◆Diameters 3” to 29” （75-736mm）
◆Bend Radius 1.5” x 1.D.
◆Lengths 10 M or as to request
◆Compression ratio 1: 0.05
◆Maximum Velocity: 5500 FPM
◆Static Pressure – positive:10 in. WC
◆Temperature Range: -20°F to 250°F
Our clients choose us for reasons
1.We take care the qualtiy as our life
2.Reasonable price,We are manufactory.
3.Convenient traffic , around 1.5 hours to Shanghai ,
60 km distance to the Ningbo port
Constructed of a heavy duty 3-ply, aluminum foil laminate, encapsulating a high density, corrosion resistant wire helix, forming an air tight, easy to use, quality air connector.
The product comes conveniently boxed in 25 foot lengths, compressed for easy shipping and handling.
It’s work perfect when in the High temperature environments for exhaust system.
Very flexible, ideal for difficult installs
Amanda Wu(sales representative)
on line (14:00-23:00) chinese time
on line (3:00~10:00) USA Time
MSN: amanda-duct@hotmail.com
Mail: amanda@duct-charm.cn
yahoo message: amandawqq@yahoo.com
Skype:amandawqq
Cell phone:86-13777184468 Fax:86-57462085805
Add.: xiao cao e town,yuyao,zhejiang
The Dome
A vertical section of the dome of the Main Reading Room would show an exact half circle, with a diameter of 100 feet. The dome is of stucco, and applied to a framework of iron and steel, filled in with terra cotta. Although it appears to rest upon the deep upper entablature, it really springs immediately from the eight arches resting upon the great piers. The entablature, as will be seen on close inspection, bears no part in the construction. It is projected so far forward from the dome that one may easily walk between the two.
The entablature is about seven feet high, with a richly molded architecture and a heavy projecting corners. The ground of the frieze is gilt, with a relief ornament in white of eagles standing upon hemispheres and holding in their beaks a heavy garland of laurel. Over the north, south, east, and west arches are two female figures, the work of Philip Martiny, represented as seated upon the architrave molding and supporting a heavy cartouche—another instance of the emphasis that the architect has so often placed upon the four main axes of the building.
The Stucco Ornamentation
The dome is so simply planned that a description of its main features may be given in a very brief space. The surface is filled with a system of square coffers. The ornamentation of the body of the dome is in arabesque. The eight ribs that mark off the dome into compartments or reach divided into two by a band of gilded ornament representing a guilloche. The coffers diminish in size from 4½ feet square at the bottom to 2½ feet at the top. The total number of coffers is 320—or 40 in each compartment, and in each horizontal row, and eight in each vertical row. The ground of the coffers is blue, sky blue, as if one were really looking out into the open air—and therefore the color traditionally used in coffer in. To give sparkle and brilliancy, many shades and kinds of blue are used, the darker and heavier at the bottom, and the lighter and area are toward the top. The transition is so gradual and natural that the eye does not perceive any definite change, but only a generally increased vividness. The border moldings of the coffers are cream-colored—old ivory is the usual term—strongly touched with gold, and in the center of each is a great gold rosette.
Although the purpose of the dome arabesque is primarily to give an agreeable impression of light and shade, the individual figures of which it is composed are nearly as interesting a subject of study is the general effect of the whole. The variety of the figures is almost bewildering—lions’ heads, seahorses, dolphins, urns, cartouche’s, griffons, shells, storks, caryatids, tridents, eagles, cherubs, half figures, genii—altogether something like forty-five principal designs, interwoven with very many smaller but no less beautiful pieces of ornament. They all are adapted from Renaissance models of the best and purest period and are combined with the utmost spirit and harmony in an arabesque whose every portion has equal artistic value. No single figure catches the eye; broad horizontal and vertical bands of decoration, gradually diminishing as they approached the top, and circle and ascend the dome, each with its “note” of arrangement and design, but all cunningly united to form an indisputable whole, everywhere balanced and restrained.
Edwin Howland Blashfield’s Paintings
The position of Edwin Howland Blashfield’s decorations in the collar and lantern of the dome is the noblest and most inspiring in the Library. They are literally and obviously the crowning glory of the building and put the final touch on the whole decorative scheme of the interior. The visitor will see how, without them, not a painting in the building would seem to remain solidly and easily in its place, for they occupy not only the highest but the exact central point of the Library, to which, in a sense, every other is nearly relative.
Blashfield was almost certainly drawn to select some subject as he has here chosen: the Evolution of Civilization, the records of which it is the function of a great library to gather and preserve.
The ceiling of the lantern is sky and air, against which, as a background, floats the beautiful female figure representing Human Understanding, lifting her veil and looking upward from Finite Intellectual Achievement (typified in the circle of figures and the collar) to that which is beyond; in a word, Intellectual Progress looking upward and forward. She is attended by two cherubs; one holds the book of wisdom and knowledge, the other seems, by his gesture, to be encouraging those needs to persist in their struggle toward perfection.
The decoration of the collar consists of a ring of twelve seated figures, male and female, ranged against a wall of mosaic patterning. They are of colossal size, measuring, as they sit, about ten feet in height. They represent the twelve countries, or epics, which have contributed most to the development of present-day civilization in this country. Beside each is a tablet, decorated with palms, on which is inscribed the name of the country typified, and below this, on a continuous banderole or streamer, is the name of some cheese or typical contribution of that country to the sum of human excellence. The figures follow one another in chronological order, beginning, appropriately enough, at the east, the East being the cradle of civilization. List is as follows: Egypt, typifying Written Records; Judea, Religion; Greece, Philosophy; Rome, Administration; Islam, Physics; The Middle Ages, Modern Languages; Italy, the Fine Arts; Germany, the Art of Printing; Spain, Discovery; England, Literature; France, Emancipation; and America, Science.
Each figure is winged, as representing an ideal, but the wings, which overlapped regularly throughout, serve mainly to unite the composition in the continuous whole and in no case have been allowed to hamper the artist in his effort to make each figure the picture of a living, breathing man or woman. Four of the twelve figures, it will be observed, stand out more conspicuously than the rest because of the lighter tone of their drapery: Egypt, Rome, Italy, and England. They occupy respectively the East, South, West, and North points in the decoration and furnish another instance of the stress that has been laid, throughout the Library, upon the four cardinal points of the compass that governed the axial lines of the building and that, in turn, have been enriched and dignified in the final decorative scheme of the interior. Each of these axial figures is painted in a more rigid attitude than those beside it informs, as will be noticed, the center of a triad, or group of three, each of flanking figures leaning more or less obviously toward it. It should be noted that there was no intention on the part of the painter to magnify the importance of before figures thus represented over any of the others. The emphasis of color is solely for decorative purposes. The arrangement being chronological, Blashfield was unable to exercise much control over the order in which each figure should occur and still retain his original selection of countries.
Egypt is represented by a male figure clad in the loincloth and with lappets so familiar in the ancient monuments. The idea of Written Records is brought up by the tablet he supports with his left hand, which is inscribed in hieroglyphics the cartouche or personal seal of Mena, the first recorded Egyptian king, and by the case of books at his feet, which is filled with manuscript roles of papyrus, the Egyptian paper. Besides the idea of Writing and Recording, Blashfield brings out the fact that the Egyptians were among the first doctrine of the immortality of the soul. The figure holds in the right hand the Tau, or cross with a ring head, the emblem of life both in this world and beyond; and on the tablet behind his feet is the winged ball, the more familiar symbol of the same idea.
Judea is shown as a woman lifting her hands in an ecstatic prayer to Jehovah. The over garment that she wears falls partly away and discloses the ephod, which was investment borne by the high priests, ornamented with a jeweled breastplate and with shoulder clasps set in gold, which were engraved the names of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. On the face of the stone pillars set beside her is inscribed, in Hebrew characters, the injunction, as found in Leviticus 19:18: “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself”—a sentence selected as being perhaps the noblest single text contributed by the Jewish religion to the system of modern morality. In her lap is a scroll containing, presumably, a portion of the Scriptures; and that her feet is a censer, typical of the Hebrew ritualism.
The figure of Greece is distinctively suggestive, so far as attitude drapery are concerned, one of the beautiful little Tanagra figures of terra cotta—so called from the ancient Greek town in which the first discovered—which are so familiar to students of Greek art. A bronze lamp is set beside her, and in her lap is a scroll—the emblems of wisdom. Her head is crowned with a diadem, perhaps a reference to the City of the Violet Crown, Athens, the Mother of Philosophy.
Rome, the second axial figure, where’s the armor of a centurion, or captain in a legion. A lion’s skin, the mark of a standard-bearer, is thrown over him, the head covering the top of his casque. The whole conception is that of the just but inexorable administration of Rome founded upon the power of its arms. One foot is planted upon the lower drum of a marble column, signifying stability. His right arm rests upon the fasces, or bundle of rods, the typical emblem of Roman power and rule. In his right hand, he holds the baton of command.
Islam is an Arab, standing for the Moorish race, which introduced into Europe not only an improved science of physics—as here used by Blashfield in its older and less restricted sense—but of mathematics and astronomy also. His foot rests upon a glass retort, and he is turning over the leaves of a book of mathematical calculations.
The term Middle Ages, represented by the female figure that comes next in the decoration, is usually understood to mean the epic beginning with the dissolution of the Western Roman Empire in 455 and ending with the discovery of America in 1492. No single country is here indicated, for Europe was throughout that. In a state of flux, so to say, during which the principal modern languages were finally involved from the Latin and Teutonic tongues. But it was an epic notable for many other things, also. The figure typifying the epic is distinguished by an expression at once graven passionate, and has a sword, casque, and cuirass, emblematic of the great institution of Chivalry; a model of a cathedral, standing for Gothic architecture, which was brought to its greatest perfection in these thousand years; and a papal tiara and the keys of St. Peter, signifying medieval devotion and the power of the church.
The next figure, Italy—the Italy of the Renaissance—is shown with symbols of four of the Fine Arts that she represents: Painting, Sculpture, Architecture, and Music. She holds a pallet in her left hand and with the brush in her right seems to lay another stroke of color on her canvas. To her left is a statuette after Michelangelo’s celebrated David, in Florence. At her feet is a Renaissance capital; and leaning against the wall of violin, at once the typical musical instrument and one the Italians excelled in manufacturing.
Germany is the printer, turning from his press—a hand press, accurately copied from early models—to examine the proof sheet he has just pulled. His right foot is placed upon a pile of sheets already corrected, and a roller for inking lies convenient to his hand.
Spain is the sixteenth-century Spanish adventurer. He wears a steel morion on his head and is clad in a leathern jerkin. Holding the tiller of the ship in his right hand, he seems to be watching for land to appear in the seat. Behind him is a globe of the earth, and that his feet a model of a caravel, the sort of ship in which Columbus sailed on his voyages, is introduced.
England wears the ruff and full sleeves of the time of Elizabeth—the era when English literature, both poetry and prose, was at its peak. She is crowned with laurel—the reward of literature—and bears in her lap an open book of Shakespeare’s plays, the right-hand page with a for simile of the title page of the first edition of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, dated 1600.
France, standing for emancipation and the great revolutionary upheaval of the 18th century, is dressed in a characteristic garb of the First Republic: a jacket with lapels, a tricolor scarf, and a liberty cap with a tricolor cockade. She sits on a cannon and carries a drum, a bugle, and a sword—emblems of her military crusade on behalf of liberty. In her left hand, she displays a scroll bearing the words Les Droits de l’Homme, the famous Declaration of the Rights of Man adopted by the French Assembly in 1789.
The twelfth and last figure, bringing us once more round to the east, is that of America—represented as an engineer, in the garb of the machine shop, sitting lost in thought over a problem of mechanics he has encountered. He leans his chin upon the palm of one hand, while the other holds the scientific book that he has been consulting. In front of him as an electric dynamo, recalling the part that the United States has taken in the advancement of electrical science.
On the base of the dynamo Blashfield has signed his work in an inscription that recalls also the name of the artist who assisted him and laying it upon the plaster: “These decorations were designed and executed by Edwin Howland Blashfield, assisted by Arthur Reginald Willet, A.D. MDCCCLXXXXVI.”
The visitor will perhaps have been a little perplexed by the familiar appearance of some of the faces in Blashfield’s decoration. It is an interesting fact that in several cases Blashfield has introduced a resemblance, more or less distinct, to the features of some real person to give greater variety and, above all, greater vitality to his figures. The persons chosen were selected because the character of their features seemed to him peculiarly suited to the type that he wished to represent. In the case of Abraham Lincoln—the figure of America—and of General Casey—Germany—the choice was fitting for other reasons. Among the female figures, the Middle Ages is Mrs. De Navarro (Mary Anderson), and England, Ellen Terry. The faces of Italy and Spain are from sketches made from Amy Rose, a young sculptor in New York, and William Bailey Faxon, the painter, respectively. France suggests the features of the artist’s wife. Throughout, however, it must be remembered that, to use Blashfield’s own words, “no portraiture has been attempted, but only characterization.”
Daystar Accelerator fitted into SE/30 Motherboard. Note how the replacement axial capacitor I used was a bit too large in diameter to perfectly accommodate the Daystar CPU socket accelerator, and the pins only go down 90% of the way at one edge of the socket. Even so, it functions perfectly in this condition.
You can also see that this photo was taken after I replaced the motherboard capacitors, as evidenced by the yellow SMD tantalum capacitor shown.
A 1mm diameter natural rough diamond, photographed in cross polarised light with a wave plate which causes the colours. A diamond doesn’t show colours like this in white light or polarised light but inserting a quarter wave plate (shifts the light frequency by a quarter of the wavelength) produces a pleasing effect.
The Royal Crescent is a residential road of 30 houses, laid out in a crescent, in the city of Bath, England. Designed by the architect John Wood the Younger and built between 1767 and 1774, it is among the greatest examples of Georgian architecture to be found in the United Kingdom and is a grade I listed building. The houses have been home to various notable people for over 200 years. Changes have been made to the interiors, however the facade remains much as it was when it was built.
The Royal Crescent now include a hotel and museum with some of the houses being converted into flats and offices. The buildings have been used as a location for several films and television programs.
It was originally called just The Crescent and the adjective Royal was added at the end of the 18th century after Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany had lived at numbers 1 and 16. Wood designed the great curved façade of what appears to be about 30 three storey houses with Ionic columns on a rusticated ground floor. The columns are 30 inches (76 cm) in diameter reaching 47 feet (14.3 m) and there are 114 in total, each with an entablature 5 feet (1.5 m) deep. The central house has two sets of coupled columns.
Each purchaser bought a certain length of the façade, and then employed their own architect to build a house to their own specifications behind it; hence what appears to be two houses is sometimes one. This system of town planning is betrayed at the rear of the crescent: while the front is completely uniform and symmetrical, the rear is a mixture of differing roof heights, juxtapositions and fenestration. This "Queen Anne fronts and Mary-Anne backs" architecture occurs repeatedly in Bath.
Together with his father John Wood, the Elder, John Wood the Younger was interested in occult and masonic symbolism; perhaps their creation of largest scale was their joint design of the Royal Crescent and the nearby Circus (originally called "the King's Circus"), which from the air can be observed to be a giant circle and crescent, symbolising the soleil-lune, the sun and moon. The Circus, along with Gay Street and Queen Square, forms a key shape which is also a masonic symbol.
In front of the Royal Crescent is a Ha-ha, a trench on which the inner side of which is vertical and faced with stone, with the outer face sloped and turfed, making the trench, in effect, a sunken fence or retaining wall. The ha-ha is designed not to interrupt the view from Royal Victoria Park, and to be invisible until seen from close by. It is not known whether it was contemporary with the building of the Royal Crescent, however it is known that when it was first built it was deeper than it is at present. (Excerpted from Wikipedia)
1 tonne Gold Kangaroo coin
Specifications
Country: Australia
Nominal : 1,000,000 AUD
Quality: UN
Weight : 1.000 KG
Fineness: AU 9999
Diameter: 80 CM
Thickness: 12 CM
The largest gold coin in the world
In 2011, the Perth Mint (one of the Australian Münzprägestätten/Mints) broke all records: It coined a Goldmünze (gold coin) weighing a ton. The hitherto by the Royal Canadian Mint held record for the largest Goldmünze of the world - with 100 kg - thus was history.
As part of the 25th anniversary of the Australian kangaroo coin-series the unique special edition is now on tour. Schoeller Münzhandel, sometimes the most important distribution partner of the Perth Mint, they also could fetch to Austria. The diameter of the coin is approximately 80 cm, thickness 12 cm. With a fineness of 99.99 %, the coin almost consists of pure gold.
For the design Dr. Stuart Devlin is responsible, yet since more than 20 years designing the one kilogram editions of the Kangaroo coins of the Perth Mint. On the value side of the coin Queen Elizabeth II is depicted, on the image side a kangaroo. The kangaroo series of the Perth Mint is comparable with the Philharmonic, which for Austria has become a symbol, as the kangaroo coins for Australia. Began was the coinage of the kangaroo coins but with a different motive, namely in 1986 with the Gold Nugget. 1989 the picture page has been changed and from then on every year changing kangaroo motifs as a symbol of Australia found use. The popular Anlagemünzen (investing coins) with the kangaroo motif are available in sizes of 10 kilo, 1 kilo, 10 oz, 2 oz, 1 ounce (31.11 g), ½ ounce, ¼ ounce and 1/ 10 oz , and now there is also the 1 ton version available. However, it functions as an inalienable Ausstellungsstück (exhibition piece).
The nominal value of the coin is one million Australian dollars, the gold value of the coin lies far above this value.
For all Münzbegeisterten (coin enthusiastics) and those who want to become ones, exclusively at Schoeller Münzhandel a 1-ounce Kangaroo anniversary edition in gold is available.
1 Tonne Gold-Känguru-Münze
Spezifikationen
Land: Australien
Nominale: 1.000.000 AUD
Qualität: UN
Gewicht: 1.000 KG
Feinheit: AU 9999
Durchmesser: 80 CM
Stärke: 12 CM
Die größte Goldmünze der Welt
Im Jahr 2011 brach die Perth Mint (eine der australischen Münzprägestätten) alle Rekorde: Sie prägte eine Goldmünze im Gewicht von einer Tonne. Der bis dahin von der Royal Canadian Mint gehaltene Rekord für die größte Goldmünze der Welt – mit 100 kg – war somit Geschichte.
Im Zuge des 25-jährigen Jubiläums der australischen Känguru-Münz-Serie ist die einzigartige Sonderausgabe nun auf Tour. Schoeller Münzhandel, mitunter wichtigster Distributionspartner der Perth Mint, konnte sie auch nach Österreich holen. Der Durchmesser der Münze beträgt rund 80 cm, die Stärke 12 cm. Mit einer Feinheit von 99,99 % besteht die Münze aus nahezu reinem Gold.
Für das Design ist Dr. Stuart Devlin verantwortlich, der schon seit über 20 Jahren die 1 Kilogramm-Ausgaben der Känguru-Münzen der Perth Mint gestaltet. Auf der Wertseite der Münze ist Königin Elisabeth II. abgebildet, auf der Bildseite ein Känguru. Die Känguru-Serie der Perth Mint ist mit dem Philharmoniker vergleichbar, der für Österreich, wie die Känguru-Münzen für Australien, zum Symbol geworden ist. Begonnen hat die Prägung der Känguru-Münzen aber mit einem anderen Motiv, und zwar 1986 mit dem Gold Nugget. 1989 wurde die Bildseite geändert und von da an fanden jedes Jahr als Symbol Australiens wechselnde Känguru-Motive Verwendung. Die beliebten Anlagemünzen mit dem Känguru-Motiv sind in den Größen 10 Kilo, 1 Kilo, 10 Unzen, 2 Unzen, 1 Unze (31,11 g), ½ Unze, ¼ Unze und 1/10 Unze erhältlich, und nun gibt es auch die 1 Tonnen-Version. Sie fungiert jedoch als unverkäufliches Ausstellungsstück.
Das Nominale der Münze beträgt eine Million Australische Dollar, der Goldwert der Münze liegt weit darüber.
Für alle Münzbegeisterten und jene, die es noch werden wollen, gibt es exklusiv bei Schoeller Münzhandel eine 1 Unzen-Känguru-Jubiläumsausgabe in Gold.
Chamber of Art Vienna
The Chamber of Art of Vienna is a collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum (Museum of Art History) in Vienna. It is the portrayal of the art and curiosities chambers of the late Middle Ages, the Renaissance and the Baroque period and it mainly goes back to the earlier collections of the Habsburgs.
Look into the Vienna Chamber of Art
Marble sculpture of the Giulia Albani degli Abati Olivieri by Camillo Rusconi (Rome, 1719 ) in the Chamber of Art of Vienna
Equipment for perspective drawing of Jost Bürgi (Kassel, 1604) in the Chamber of Art of Vienna
Ivory statuette "Apollo and Daphne" by Jakob Auer (Vienna, 1688/90) in the Chamber of Art of Vienna
Collection History
The Chamber of Art of Vienna grew out of several individual collections, which have been collected by various clients. The following collections are the foundation for today's Chamber of Art:
The Chamber of Art and Curiosities of Ferdinand II of Tyrol (1529-1595). It was originally housed at Schloss Ambras near Innsbruck. From this stems the larger part of the surviving pieces from older collections of Emperors Frederick III, Maximilian I and Ferdinand I.
The Kunstkammer of Rudolf II (1552-1612), which was compiled in Prague. Many of the treasures of Rudolph went lost in the Thirty Years War in the sack of the Prague Castle, but this were enriched from the previously to Vienna transported collections with works of the goldsmithing and gem carving art of the time around 1600 as well as to bronzes.
In the 17th century the collections from the Kunstkammer of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm (1614-1662) have been added. He is considered as one of the fathers of today in the Cultural History Museum housed paintings gallery, but also acquired Renaissance bronzes mostly of Italian origin and small sculptures made of stone and wood.
Into the Treasury Chamber in the Swiss Wing of the Vienna Hofburg in the 17th century also came at that time popular works of semi-precious stones, fine works of ivory, rhinoceros horn carvings and miniature-like wax models.
The collection at Ambras Castle in 1806 in front of Napoleon's troops was brought to Vienna in safety, where it initially in the Lower Belvedere Palace kept its independence. Only the under the reign of Emperor Franz Joseph I from 1875 tackled major reform of the imperial collections finally united all the Treasure Chamber collections in the 1891 opened Kunsthistorisches Museum and left only the objects with insignia character and those that are reminiscent of members of the imperial family in the Treasury Chamber.
The newly formed collection found its place on the mezzanine floor of the building and was initially referred to as "collection of art industrial objects". In 1919, it was named "collection for sculpture and arts and crafts". Since this collection but only to a small extent contains large sculptures and objects for a specific purpose of arts and crafts, this name was considered to be inappropriate and in 1990 it was decided to return to the naming of "Kunstkammer".
After the collapse of the monarchy in 1918 the collections of the sideline Austria-Este was affiliated to the Viennese Kunstkammer, in 1921 the Tapisseriensammlung (collection of tapestries) consisting of 800 tapestries was added, which originally had served the design of the imperial palaces. This collection is in addition to the one in possession of the Spanish crown one of the most important of its kind. In 1938 Gustav von Benda with a bequest the collection donated more important works of the Florentine Early Renaissance. The Second World War the art collection survived with very low losses. Only parts of the Tapisseriensammlung, which had to be given as a loan to Berlin and to the the facilities of Goering's hunting lodge Carin Hall, since the end of war are considered to be lost.
Since 1963, all stores of the collection are reunited in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. 2002 the structural and technical conditions required the temporary closure of the Kunstkammer. This was followed by a major renovation and expansion of the premises as well as the restructuring and up-to-date presentation of the objects. To the artistically significant exhibits belong gold works like the famous Saliera by Benvenuto Cellini, sculptures such as the Madonna of Krumlov, bronze figures, ivory objects and stone vessels, but also watches, mechanical machines, scientific instruments, gadgets and much more.
After in December 2012 in a public premiere presentation the first room of the museum could be visited, the as one of the most important art collections of the world considered Vienna Chamber of Art on 1 March 2013 was reopened. In the future, on an area of around 2,700 m² more than 2,200 objects can be seen, which are presented in 20 theme rooms.
Aluminum Flexible Duct
◆Diameters 3” to 29” （75-736mm）
◆Bend Radius 1.5” x 1.D.
◆Lengths 10 M or as to request
◆Compression ratio 1: 0.05
◆Maximum Velocity: 5500 FPM
◆Static Pressure – positive:10 in. WC
◆Temperature Range: -20°F to 250°F
Our clients choose us for reasons
1.We take care the qualtiy as our life
2.Reasonable price,We are manufactory.
3.Convenient traffic , around 1.5 hours to Shanghai ,
60 km distance to the Ningbo port
Constructed of a heavy duty 3-ply, aluminum foil laminate, encapsulating a high density, corrosion resistant wire helix, forming an air tight, easy to use, quality air connector.
The product comes conveniently boxed in 25 foot lengths, compressed for easy shipping and handling.
It’s work perfect when in the High temperature environments for exhaust system.
Very flexible, ideal for difficult installs
Amanda Wu(sales representative)
on line (14:00-23:00) chinese time
on line (3:00~10:00) USA Time
MSN: amanda-duct@hotmail.com
Mail: amanda@duct-charm.cn
yahoo message: amandawqq@yahoo.com
Skype:amandawqq
Cell phone:86-13777184468 Fax:86-57462085805
Add.: xiao cao e town,yuyao,zhejiang
Porcelain Bowl (diameter 195mm x height 65mm)
EATART
中村眞弥子
大塚瞳
李荘窯業所｜李荘窯 -riso porcelain-
Available from Marta Hewett Gallery
With a diameter of 100 meters, the Radio Telescope Effelsberg is one of the largest fully steerable radio telescopes on earth. Since operations started in 1972, the technology has been continually improved (i.e. new surface for the antenna-dish, better reception of high-quality data, extremely low noise electronics) making it one of the most advanced modern telescopes worldwide.
The telescope is employed to observe pulsars, cold gas- and dust clusters, the sites of star formation, jets of matter emitted by black holes and the nuclei (centres) of distant far-off galaxies.
Effelsberg is an important part of the worldwide network of radio telescopes. The combination of different telescopes in interferometric mode makes possible to obtain the sharpest images of the universe.
Text (C) Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy
The telescope may receive radio signals from a distance of up to 12bn light years. Together with a redio telescope in the US (Green Bank, Virginia), it is the largest radio telescope in the world.
The photos show the telescope at different angles because it was turning quite a bit during our visit.
Diameter 3cm - height 1.7cm
Macro Mondays - smaller than 2 inches (5cm) - HMM
This is my sons tooth fairy box - he's now 16!!!
Please feel free to view the full box on my stream!
30" diameter.
Brass center.
Wood appears to be maple (?)
Purchased new about 1970; never used.
See our ads on eBay Classifieds and Craigslist Seattle.
Available at
The Living Room ~ Consignment & Tea ~
Open Tues-Fri 10a-6p, Saturday 10a-4p, and by appointment.
Closed Sundays and Mondays
425-877-1074
6524 NE 181st, Suite 10, Kenmore, WA 98028
the diameter of the wood ring is 58 mm. It is an exeptionally elegant touch for a light coloured cloth. I recommand some tough material - such as a coat or hat - because here the spring mechanism is provided by the textile itself.
About 1/4" in diameter.The front and back are so different -- a prominent spiral on the front but none on the back -- that I could think these pictures are not of the same snail (but they are). No doubt if I were more familiar with snails this wouldn't have surprised me.
In the view from the back (of the snail's underside, seen through the glass) on the right you can see what I'm guessing is the outline of the snail's foot firmly holding onto the glass (of one of our storm doors). See the note that I've added to the right hand picture.
When I came in through this door, saw the snail, opened the storm door that it's suspended on, and saw the snail's other side, I was reminded of this short, simple poem by Ryokan:
Maple leaf
Falling down
Showing front
Showing back
(This translation is from p. 85 of Steve Hagen's Buddhism Plain and Simple (c1997).)
After seeing the real thing in person, I am heavily considering re-building my #300 MOC.
When I first built her, it was a secondary build to my TSRR #500. I built the two locomotives so that they were relative to each other in scale, and I considered the BBB drivers to be in scale with the #500 drivers. Knowing this I build the #300 with drivers too large for it's size.
What I didn't realize was that the #500 drivers were a massive 74" in diameter, something I have since considered to be larger than BBB large drivers. In fact, the 56" drivers on the #300 is the size I've come to consider to be appropriately represented by large BBB drivers.
So.
I am currently considering rebuilding both my #300 and #500 to be bigger and wider, and hopefully better represent their true scale.
My idea would be to create a 5-wide cheese-slope boiler for the #300, making her either 7 or 8 wide, and probably much longer. This will also allow me to make the matching passenger cars 8 wide so that it will have two rows of seats.
Shed No1 Cardington Shorts Town Bedford.
The Airships and Imperial Airship Service.
The first ship to come out of the Cardington airship facility was the R31. The ship was commissioned only 5 days before the Armistice on 11th November 1918, and exactly two years and two months from the time that Claude Lipscomb had set up in Bedford. The shed was an impressive construction and design project, admirable even in retrospect in a time of high powered computers and modern communication. Today it is easy to forget that it was hand designed and hand built. Cardington became one of the World’s best airship facilities. Due to the economic depression of the post war years, the Airship station was closed in 1921 after the construction of the R38 and the scrapping of the R37. However the station was reopened in 1924 following the announcement of the Imperial Airship Service and the undertaking of the construction of, amongst others, the R101. For communications, a wireless station and Cardington control tower was constructed in 1928 behind the Administration block.
The huge airship mast was constructed for the civil programme in 1926. 202 feet high and 70 feet in diameter at the base, the tower was the first ever cantilever mooring mast to be built. It was demolished in 1943 to help the war effort.
Discussions in Parliament following the crash of the R101 in October 1930 led to the Committee on National Expenditure’s final decision to dismantle the R100 in shed no.2. In 1931, the Station was nearly closed, with only a skeleton maintenance staff of some 44 people remaining. However work soon resumed with resurrection of the old WW1 national defense system of barage balloons as a deterrent to the German Bombers.
The impact crater Aristarchus is generally considered to be the brightest large feature on the moon and it is clearly visible in many pictures as a bright white streak near the western limb of the full or nearly full moon (it is even visible under earthshine).
Note also the rille or valley called Vallis Schroteri (Schroter's Valley) that runs partiality across the darkened region to the left of Aristarchus. That region is known as "Wood's Spot" and it may be the most colorful surface area on the earth-facing side of the moon.
The image notes also mark two relatively small impact craters, Aristarchus B and Brayley D. By knowing the distance to the moon (on Sept. 10) and the documented size of these two craters you can compute their approximate angular diameter as seen from the surface of the earth. To simplify the calculations I have ignored any effects of foreshortening caused by the curved surface of the moon (i.e. the craters appear as foreshortened ovals rather than perfect circles).
Aristarchus B at a size of 7km extends an angle of 4 arc seconds, while the somewhat smaller Brayley D is just over 3 arc seconds in diameter. Several other craters were also checked and these limits seem pretty consistent. You can actually see smaller features and there is slight evidence from craters as small as 5km (approximately 3 arc seconds). The 40km (25 mile) diameter crater Aristarchus extends an angle of approximately 22 arc seconds.
For comparison to other objects it can be noted that the planet Mars is currently only 4.8 arc seconds in diameter (as calculated by Wolfram Alpha, its size varies between 3.5 and 25 arc seconds) while Ganymede, the largest of Jupiter's moons, is currently 1.7 arc seconds in size (Wolfram Alpha). The planet Jupiter itself is currently 46 arc seconds in diameter (SkySafari). Finally, the planet Uranus varies in size between 3.3 and 4.1 arc seconds (Wikipedia).
Near Aristarchus B you can also see the faint shadow of the Rupes Toscanelli (Toscanelli's Cliff, a fault line or escarpment).
Captured on September 10, 2011 at 12:52AM PDT using an Astro-Tech AT72ED telescope (2.8"/72mm aperture, 430mm prime focal length, f/6) coupled to a Nikon D5100 DSLR (ISO 320, 1/40 second, afocal projection, 10mm eyepiece with 2X barlow, 24mm Nikon Ai lens).
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. Members of the STS-114 crew learn about a 30-foot-diameter C-band antenna and smaller X-band antenna being installed at KSC, north of the Haulover Canal, from Tony Griffith, JSC project manager for the Ascent Debris Radar Working Group. From left are Mission Specialists Stephen Robinson and Wendy Lawrence; Commander Eileen Collins and Pilot James Kelly, and Mission Specialists Charles Camarda and Soichi Noguchi. The antennas are being tested during the launch of a Delta II rocket carrying NASAs MESSENGER spacecraft bound for the planet Mercury that will work together to create an image of the Delta rocket in flight. The test will evaluate the use of the radars as part of NASAs Return to Flight program for the Space Shuttle to observe possible debris coming from the Shuttle during launch. If successful, the radar configuration could be used on ships downrange, including on one of the solid rocket booster retrieval ships. And it may enable the return to launching Space Shuttles at night. The launch window for Return to Flight mission STS-114 is May 12 through June 3, 2005. Image from NASA, originally appeared on this site: science.ksc.nasa.gov/gallery/photos/ Reposted by San Diego Air and Space Museum
Pictured here are two named craters on Mercury: Bek (32 km in diameter) and Lermontov (166 km in diameter). Bek's beautiful rays are indicative of its relative youth; Lermontov's floor is a suspected site of explosive volcanism, with irregular depressions and a distinct color signature.
The MESSENGER spacecraft is the first ever to orbit the planet Mercury, and the spacecraft's seven scientific instruments and radio science investigation are unraveling the history and evolution of the solar system's innermost planet.
Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington
More about the MESSENGER mission to Mercury:
www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/messenger/main/index.html
messenger.jhuapl.edu/index.php
For information regarding the use of MESSENGER images, see the image use policy:
messenger.jhuapl.edu/the_mission/image_use.html
View the Mercury MESSENGER photoset:
Guess what came with the mail this morning, rofl!
This monstrum has a diameter of 23 centimeters, a focal length of one meter and weighs 25 kilograms!
It's the most beautiful thing I have ever owned. I wanna marry it :P
Construction
The model is completely scratchbuilt from brass, copper, styrene, acrylic, PC Board, steel, tape, lead, resin, nickel silver and glass. There are approximately 1160 parts. I started from five “known” dimensions (driver, pilot wheel, and boiler diameters, cylinder stroke and diameter), and a hand full of photographs to draw my own drawings.
I employed a few commercial parts where appropriate: throttle, lubricator, brake stand, firebox door, various valve handles, steam turret, brake wheel, water valves, spigot, markers, headlight, air pump, brake cylinder and reservoir, air filter, air hose and various nut-bolt-washer castings and bolt heads.
For most of the parts, I simply cut shapes from stock and glued, screwed or soldered them together. Exceptions and deviations from the norm are noted below.
The boiler is several layers of styrene. These were curled to the appropriate diameter and glued together. I used my drill to turn the domes and stack from acrylic rod, and filed and sanded them to fit the boiler. Because of all the curves, the cylinder saddle is the most complicated piece of styrene modeling I have ever attempted.
The tender is permanently attached to the locomotive to allow me to model the water and air connections. These connections feed electricity to the tender, which carries the sound system.
The tender trucks were etched from brass to a design I made myself. From flat, each side frame is folded 17 times to yield the basic shape. The bolsters are then built up to make an equalizing truck (they roll like glass!). The journals are resin castings, again made to my own patterns.
The locomotive rides on Proto:87 wheels, which were modified from commercial P4 offerings. The tender wheels are unmodified Proto:87.
Because I wanted a detailed backhead and sound, I could not use the typical 4-4-0 tender-drive mechanism. Consequently, I designed and built my own gear box and motor mount that enables the motor and flywheel to fill the boiler (there is less than 1 mm clearance).
Detail
The details on this model are too numerous to mention. Some representative refinements are
·Full detail on the frames, including bolts for frame extension.
·Clapper in the bell (scratchbuilt)
·Brakes including brake shoes and beams (tender only, the locomotive had no brakes!)
·Full backhead, including faces on steam and air pressure gauges
·Sadly non-functional Stephenson valve gear
·Tender air and water connections
·Cylinder drain cocks and their operating levers (you twist the right handrail to operate)
·Boiler inspection hole covers
·Sanding lever
·Bell chord (hopefully it makes it there intact!)
Conformity
The model represents my best guess at the state of Canada Atlantic #10 when she was working the Pembroke Southern around 1905. The data on this engine are somewhat suspect as the generally accepted history states that she was built by a builder that has no record of her. A half-dozen images exist, mostly dating prior to 1898. The main reference photo is the one where she is numbered 10 (the photos of 6 pre-date 1898). These information sources were supplemented with standard practices in locomotive construction for the era where the photographs did not provide sufficient information. Indeed, to estimate the crosshead dimensions, frames, valve spindles and various other dimensions, I started with an estimated boiler pressure together with the known cylinder dimensions, and effectively designed the full-scale engine.
The locomotive lost her front link and pin coupler, with the general upgrading of brakes and couplers that occurred in about 1897. Rather than design a mounting for the new automatic coupler, the Canada Atlantic simply created a massive wooden block: the engine can push, but not pull!
The boiler colour is my interpretation of Russia iron. I consulted photographs of numerous samples, no two of which were alike. Apparently the material changes dramatically with light conditions, and I managed to achieve this effect.
The lettering and cab colours, and general finish (black) are based on specifications for locomotives ordered from Baldwin seven years prior to the year modeled. In the absence of specific information for #10, I assumed that the new engines were ordered to complement a standard fleet.
The markers are green in front and red to the rear. These are per the Canada Atlantic rule book of 1900, and differ from the later standard marker colours you may be familiar with.
The weathering is representative of an older locomotive in mixed passenger service, during or toward the end of the day. The cleaners would have kept the superstructure as clean as they could each day. The bell, whistles and other brass parts would have been polished, and the boiler, domes and smokebox oiled. The running gear in the reference photo, however, is obviously dusty.
Finish and Lettering
The engine is finished using numerous layers. The base coat is air brushed. Most of the colour separations were accomplished with separate parts that were glued together after painting, rather than by masking. The boiler and cylinders were painted with glazes to accomplish the look and ambiguous colour of Russia iron.
This was followed by detail painting, and dry-brushing to highlight details. Washes further helped to break up the flat colour. I dusted chalks on some areas where additional weathering was needed. On the tender deck, cab roof, and running board are some small accumulations of cinders.
I designed the lettering based on photographs of other Canada Atlantic equipment. A local printer produced dry transfers from my art.
The front number board was scraped back to leave a brass number and ring.
Scratchbuilding
The model is almost completely scratchbuilt. The construction photos tell the full story of over 1160 parts that I designed, fabricated and assembled. The following assemblies were scratchbuilt:
·tender tank·tender hand grabs·tool boxes·air tank·water hatch·hand brake·tender frame·tender brakes·tender trucks·tender cut lever·locomotive frame·locomotive steps and hand grabs·ashpan·locomotive springs·locomotive water connections·air equalizing tank·cylinder drain cocks and their levers·Stephenson valve gear·pilot·flag holders·pilot·pilot air hoses·boiler braces bolts·cylinders·crossheads and their guides·smoke box·view ports·motor and flywheel mount·main and connecting rods·engine truck·boiler·running boards·small step·cab·cylinder saddle·valve chests·steam and sand domes and stack·whistle·safety valve·smokebox front including hinges·backhead·johnson bar·blowdown·view glass·brake gauge·injectors·steam gauge·check valves·reversing lever·blower·boiler stays·hand rails including stanchions·bell, its hanger and clapper
60cm diameter sphere woven together from 516 cable ties. Work-in-progress photos taken before rubber bands were removed...
A vast quantity of incandescent volcanic bombs up to 10 m in diameter rises like an expanding sphere from a crater that lies hidden behind one of the peaks of the Montagnola on the upper south flank of Mount Etna volcano in Sicily. This crater, whose exact position, shape and size were not visible from our vantage point, lay between the Montagnola (at right) and a new cone that had started growing a few days earlier, and whose lower south flank can be seen at extreme left. The building at lower left is the arrival station of the Etna cable-car, which was still largely intact but would be set on fire by a lava flow two days later. A small hut can be seen on the small peak in the center of the image, just in front of the explosion - this hut hosted a monitoring camera of the INGV-Catania, which had stopped transmitting around 14 July when ground fracturing cut the power supply and data transfer cables. As violent explosive activity went on for a few days, this hut was subjected to heavy bombardment by volcanic bombs, and very little trace was found of it once the ordeal was over.
This photo was taken on 28 July 2001, eleven days after the onset of a spectacular flank eruption - Etna's first flank eruption in the third millennium - which on this day reached its peak. I was with a group of colleagues and hikers, approaching the most violently active vents of this eruption from southeast, still about 2 km away.
Taken with a Canon AE1 and scanned from original Ektachrome color slide
33cms diameter on chipped bowl repurposed. Vitreous tile, millefiori, glass gems.
This is a water dish for a client's garden. It's nice to make a little something for my long term clients and sneak it into their gardens... They are in their 80's and I know where they sit and have breakfast, I will put it so they can see birds in it in the morning....
Jade Vine seeds! Aren't they brilliant? A friend sent these to me and it was my first time seeing and handling them. They have a limited window of viability. thus must be sown fresh and not allowed to dry out any time between harvest and sowing.
This marvellous Philippine endemic liana is endangered.
red habanero pepper planet and a 36 inch diameter garden with 75 Chinese long beans and 6 tomato vines plants Square foot hydroponic gardens are self-contained growing systems and is a reliable method for circulating oxygen and nutrients
to the roots of your plants. By using a Drainback, your plants will flourish!
This 6" diameter dual roll-top bar bag has a minimum width of 13", and can expand in length for additional volume.
Having the bag tucked under your bars and close to your steerer tube, helps prevent the load from adversely effecting your handling with the type of additional leverage that occurs when clamps are used to place the bag out in front of the bars.
Simple straps also keep the bag lightweight, simple, and crash resistant.
Riser bars are a simple way to prevent interference between the bag and controls. The bags also work with all but the narrowest flat bar set-ups, but the clearances are tighter.
Some other bars that have been used successfully include H bars, dirt drops, Mary's, etc.
The amount that I cut each go. The yellow line is to where I previously decided that the flange would end. I've already scraped some of the foam out but it's not possible to get all the way under the flange yet.
Cittadella (Padua) is a medieval walled city founded in the thirteenth century which started life as a military outpost of Padua. The surrounding wall has been restored and is 1461 m in circumference with a diameter of around 450 m. There are four gates which roughly correspond the points of the compass.
It was built in successive stages in a polygonal shape on orthogonal axes through the construction of 32 large and small towers, with the formation of a protective moat and with four drawbridges next to the four entrance gates.
Its walls, 14 to 16 meters tall, were built with the "box masonry": two parallel walls filled with a sturdy core of stones and hot slaked lime totaling a thickness of about 2.10 meters.
Rocca di Porta Bassano is one of the most enchanting parts of the fortified complex of Cittadella as it is clear evidence of the defense apparatus of the keep and entrance gates.
So as to give the town better defense, the walls originally could be traveled over on various levels through communication trenches, partly made of stone though many other stretches were made of wood or were made along the embankments that ran along the entire wall.
Cittadella è un comune di 20.025 abitanti della provincia di Padova. Dista 31 km dal capoluogo.
La città, con la sua splendida cinta muraria, sorse nel 1220 per volontà del comune di Padova. Da allora, gli elementi più caratteristici della cittadina furono proprio l'eccezionalità dell'anello murario e la posizione strategica, ricoperta nell'ambito del territorio padovano. Fin dall'età del bronzo risulta documentata la presenza dell'uomo nella zona in cui sorse Cittadella, mentre in epoca romana fu interessata da un importante agro centuriato, che aveva come decumano massimo la via Postumia, costruita nel 148 a .C.
Dall'XI secolo si erano andate formando signorie rurali con una serie di minuscoli villaggi, costruiti attorno a pievi, come quella di S. Donato e abbazie, come S. Lucia di Brenta. In epoca medievale, subito dopo la sua fondazione, Cittadella garantì al comune di Padova una base dalla quale contrastare il potere dei signorotti rurali locali, quali l'aristocrazia del feudo di Onara e di Fontaniva.
Caduta in mano ad Ezzelino da Romano per un breve periodo, assunse un ruolo strategico nei confronti del territorio circostante nella seconda metà del Duecento, secolo in cui conobbe una notevole fioritura. Nel 1236 Padova concesse alla città la facoltà di dotarsi di propri Statuti.
Nel 1318 Cittadella passò sotto il dominio di Cangrande della Scala. Ritornò poi sotto Padova, allora signoria dei Da Carrara. Nel Trecento il ruolo di Cittadella crebbe ulteriormente e la Podesteria si allargò.
Nel 1405 Cittadella si dava spontaneamente a Venezia, ottenendo in cambio la facoltà di conservare i propri Statuti. Dal 1483 fu donata da Venezia a Roberto Sanseverino; i suoi successori la tennero fino al 1499, mentre per un anno, dal 1503 al 1504, fu data a Pandolfo Malatesta, a seguito dei patti giurati stretti tra Pandolfo e la Repubblica Veneziana. L'anno 1508 vede la nascita della lega di Cambrai, contro Venezia. Il Malatesta, signore di Cittadella, passò allora allo schieramento nemico. Per questo motivo la cittadina fu più volte attaccata e saccheggiata dalle truppe imperiali. La pace veneziana verrà ripristinata solo nel 1516.
Dopo queste burrascose vicende, Cittadella conoscerà tre secoli di pace, interrotti nel 1797, quando le truppe napoleoniche si impossessarono di tutto il territorio appartenuto alla Repubblica di Venezia. Cittadella passò allora sotto il dipartimento del Bacchiglione e, per un certo tempo, addirittura sotto la provincia di Vicenza. Dal 1814 anche Cittadella conobbe la dominazione austriaca, terminata nel 1866, anno in cui venne annessa al Regno d'Italia.
Oggi Cittadella è una delle città più ricche d'Italia, avendo 2500 imprese per soli 20000 abitanti.
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Fed up of this heatwave (31 degrees in our hallway this morning!) so we drove to Street in Somerset for a spot of air conditioned retail therapy in Clarks Shopping Village and a mooch around the charity shops as well. Imagine my excitement when I spotted this vintage hand-cut wooden puzzle from French manufacturer Michèle Wilson in a charity shop for an amazing £3! It's 650 pieces and 43cm in diameter and (hopefully) complete. Just a tiny image on the side of the lid, so it'll be a nightmare to assemble but I'm up for the challenge.
If anyone can date this puzzle or point me in the direction of a larger, clearer image I'd be most grateful.
UPDATE: It's Aviary in a Winter Garden by Adrien Chancel... still no date of manufacture though...
Small diameter plastic back draft shutter to be installed within a circular duct to prevent back draft of air when the fans are switched off.
Compuerta antirretorno de plástico. Impide la entrada de olores, corrientes de aire y evita fugas de calefacción cuando el extractor no funciona.
The Dome and the Lightning Rod
Facts About the Dome
•Height, from base to weather vane: 121'
•Diameter at base: 40'
•Construction begun: 1785
•Interior work completed: 1797
•Wood used in dome construction: Timber from Maryland’s Eastern Shore, supplied by Dashiell family of Cypress Swamp, Somerset County.
•Architect of the dome: Joseph Clark
•Possible model for design of the dome: Schloßturm, the dome of the free-standing tower next to the palace of Karl-Wilhelm, Markgraf of Baden, in Karlsruhe, Germany
History of the State House Dome
When the Continental Congress came to Annapolis to meet in the Old Senate Chamber from November 1783 – August 1784, they found a State House which was still unfinished. Although the Old Senate Chamber was complete, the roof was not and it had leaked during the last few winters, damaging the upstairs rooms. The dome—or cupola—atop the State House was variously described as inadequate, unimpressive, and too small for the building and, it, too, leaked.
In order to rectify the situation, Joseph Clark, an Annapolis architect and builder, was asked to repair the roof and the dome. Clark first raised the pitch of the roof to facilitate the runoff of water and covered it with cypress shingles. The crowning achievement of Clark’s work on the State House was, of course, the extraordinary dome which he designed and built. It is not known where Clark’s inspiration for the unusual design of the dome came from, but it is very similar to one in Karlsruhe, Germany called the Schloßturm.
By the summer of 1788, the exterior of the new dome was complete. It was constructed of timber and no metal nails were used in its construction and, to this day, it is held together by wooden pegs reinforced by iron straps forged by an Annapolis ironmonger.
Although the exterior of the dome was completed by 1788, the interior was not completed until 1797. Tragedy struck the project in 1793 when a plasterer named Thomas Dance fell to his death from the inside of the dome. By 1794, Joseph Clark was completely disillusioned with the project and left it to John Shaw, the noted Annapolis cabinetmaker, to oversee completion. Over the years, John Shaw did much of the maintenance work on the State House, built various items for it and, in 1797, made the desks and chairs which furnished the Old Senate Chamber.
The First Dome: 1769-1774
Just as the Articles of Confederation did not effectively govern the country, the first dome of the State House at Annapolis did not survive more than a decade of Maryland weather. In 1769, the General Assembly of Maryland passed an act to erect a new state house, securely covered with slate tile or lead. The architect was Joseph Horatio Anderson, and the undertaker or builder of the project was Charles Wallace. According to William Eddis in 1773, the work was carried on with great dispatch and when completed would “be equal to any public edifice on the American continent.”
The exact date of the completion of the first dome or cupola is not known but evidence suggests that it was completed by the year 1774. In a 1773 Act of Assembly, Charles Wallace was instructed to fix an iron rod pointed with silver or gold at least six feet above the cupola. The General Assembly also recommended that the roof be covered with copper because the slate originally specified would require frequent repairs and cause other inconveniences. According to Charles E. Peterson’s “Notes on Copper Roofing in America to 1802”, it was more than likely that local copper was put on the roof to advertise the new industry of Maryland.
The Second Dome: 1785-1794
According to the Intendent of Revenue, Daniel St. Thomas Jenifer, the first dome of the State House was a contradiction of architectural design. A survey of the timbers in 1784 revealed that they were so decayed by water damage that a new dome would be required.
“It was originally constructed contrary to all rules of architecture; it ought to have been built double instead of single, and a staircase between the two domes, leading up to the lanthorn. The water should have been carried off by eaves, instead of being drawn to the center of the building, to two small conductors, which are liableto be choked by ice, and overflowed by rains. That it was next to impossible, under present construction, that it could have been made tight”.
On February 24, 1785 Jenifer placed a notice in the Maryland Gazette for carpenters work to be made to the dome and roof under the execution of Joseph Clark
“The work We are a Doing is to put a Roof on the Governor’s House and we are going to take the Roof of the State house and it is a going to Raise it one story higher and the Doom is to be Sixty foot higher then the old one”.
Clark raised the pitch of the dome to facilitate the runoff of excess water, the chief reason the timbers rotted in the original dome.
“The Annapolis dome is in its proportions like the original Karlsruhe tower. Possibly its more classical feeling is a result of the universal trend of architectural styles rather than the influence of the altered Schloßturm. Yet the arched windows below the architrave in Annapolis, one with the lower part closed, are like the windows below the Architrave in Karlsruhe in all of which the lower parts are closed. The horizontal oval windows below the main curving section of the dome in Annapolis resemble the vertical ovals in the equivalent part of the Karlsruhe tower. The small square windows above the balustrades and the architraves themselves in both buildings are similarly placed.”
The Acorn
Facts About the Acorn
•Material: Original cypress from ca. 1785-1788, covered with copper panels Pedestal covered with sheet lead, probably from 1837
•Original colors (from Charles Willson Peale drawing):
•Top: gilt
•Bottom: green
•Pedestal: white
•Purpose: To provide stability to the “Franklin” lightning rod which goes through its center. Acorns were common decorative elements in the late 18th century. In the language of the day, “sound as an acorn” meant to be without a flaw, free from imperfection, clearly something the architect of the dome, Joseph Clark, and the General Assembly, intended his creation to be.
•Replacement of the Acorn, September 1996: During restoration work on the State House dome, it was discovered that the 208-year-old acorn had become rotten because of water seepage. As it too damaged to be repaired, it was decided to replace it by having 32 craftspeople from around the state make “slices” that would be used to assemble a new acorn. The new acorn was then clad in copper and gilded and painted according to the original drawings of Charles Willson Peale. In 2011, the acorn was regilded.
Restoration Work
The acorn has been replaced by a new one constructed of sections made by 31 Maryland craftspeople from specification supplied by the Department of General Services. The new acorn is made of cypress wood, as was the original. The original lightning rod has been left in place and a metal sleeve placed around it for protection. In 1997, the State House Trust and the Department of General Services were awarded the Calvert Prize by the Maryland Historical Trust for their roles in the restoration and preservation of the State House dome.
The lightening rod which tops the dome is a story in itself. It is a “Franklin” rod, constructed and grounded to Benjamin Franklin’s specifications. In some respects, the useof this type of lightning rod was also a political statement, expressing support for Franklin’s theories on protection of public buildings from lightning strikes and the rejection of the opposing theories supported by King George III. The pointed lightning rod atop such an important new public building was a powerful symbol of the independence and ingenuity of the young nation.
As an architect trained in London and with a brother who had a bookshop in Annapolis, Clark would have been familiar with the writings of Benjamin Franklin. In addition, Charles Willson Peale confirmed Clark’s design. On July 14, 1788, he and his brother went to Philadelphia to see His Excellency Doctor Franklin to ask his opinion on the efficacy of lightning rods on the State House. They were unable to see Franklin, but did see Robert Patterson and David Rittenhouse, both eminent authorities on the physical sciences. Peale reported that Mr. Rittenhouse was of the opinion that “if the points are good and near anough the Building and the part going into the ground so deep as to get into soft earth no danger is to be apprehended, but if the end could be put in water of a Well it would be best.”
The engineering of the lightning rod and the acorn which holds it in place represents an astonishing achievement. Protruding 28' into the air, the rod is anchored at its bottom to the top of the dome. It then runs through the pedestal and the acorn and is surmounted by a copper weather vane. The acorn and pedestal have served to stabilize the Franklin rod and hold it in place for more than two centuries of extremes of Maryland weather.
The dome which Clark designed and built for the State House has been the defining landmark of the Annapolis skyline for more than 225 years. It was also, for many years, a popular spot from which to observe the city and the Chesapeake Bay beyond. Charles Willson Peale planned a dramatic cyclorama of Annapolis with eight views from the dome and a centerpiece drawing of State Circle from Cornhill Street. Only the drawing of the State House was completed and published in 1789. Thomas Jefferson spent some most enjoyable three hours in September 1790 on the balcony of the dome with James Madison, Thomas Lee Shippen and an Annapolis friend who entertained them with the gossip related to each of the houses they could see from their perch above the town.
In 1996, an examination of the dome and the acorn revealed that almost all of the material in the acorn, its pedestal and the lightning rod was original from the 18th century. During the summer and fall of 1996, the acorn was removed and replaced by a new one. The new acorn is constructed of 31 pieces of cypress made by craftspeople from around the state and is clad in copper and gilded on the top, like the original. The original lightning rod has remained intact and continues to serve as it has for more than 225 years, although a steel sleeve has been placed around it inside the new acorn to strengthen it.
The Moscow Metro is a metro system serving the Russian capital of Moscow as well as the neighbouring cities of Krasnogorsk, Reutov, Lyubertsy and Kotelniki in Moscow Oblast. Opened in 1935 with one 11-kilometre (6.8 mi) line and 13 stations, it was the first underground railway system in the Soviet Union.
As of 2023, the Moscow Metro, excluding the Moscow Central Circle, the Moscow Central Diameters and the Moscow Monorail, had 294 stations and 514.5 km (319.7 mi) of route length, excluding light rail Monorail, making it the 8th-longest in the world and the longest outside China. It is the third metro system in the world (after Madrid and Beijing), which has two ring lines. The system is mostly underground, with the deepest section 84 metres (276 ft) underground at the Park Pobedy station, one of the world's deepest underground stations. It is the busiest metro system in Europe, the busiest in the world outside Asia, and is considered a tourist attraction in itself.
The Moscow Metro is a world leader in the frequency of train traffic—intervals during peak hours do not exceed 90 seconds. In February 2023, Moscow was the first in the world to reduce the intervals of metro trains to 80 seconds.
Name
The full legal name of the metro has been "Moscow Order of Lenin and Order of the Red Banner of Labor V.I. Lenin Metro" (Московский ордена Ленина и ордена Трудового Красного Знамени метрополитен имени В.И. Ленина) since 1955. This is usually shortened to V.I. Lenin Metro (Метрополитен им. В.И. Ленина). This shorter official name appears on many stations. Although there were proposals to remove Lenin from the official name, it still stands. During the 1990s and 2000s, Lenin's name was excluded from the signage on newly built and reconstructed stations. In 2016, the authorities promised to return the official name of the metro to all the stations' signage.
The first official name of the metro was L. M. Kaganovich Metro (Метрополитен им. Л.М. Кагановича) after Lazar Kaganovich. (see History section). However, when the Metro was awarded the Order of Lenin, it was officially renamed "Moscow Order of Lenin L. M. Kaganovich Metro" (Московский ордена Ленина Метрополитен им. Л. М. Кагановича) in 1947. And when the metro was renamed in 1955, Kaganovich was "given a consolation prize" by renaming the Okhotny Ryad station to "Imeni Kaganovicha". Yet in a matter of only two years, the original Okhotny Ryad name of the station was reinstated.
Logo
The first line of the Moscow Metro was launched in 1935, complete with the first logo, the capital M paired with the text "МЕТРО". There is no accurate information about the author of the logo, so it is often attributed to the architects of the first stations – Samuil Kravets, Ivan Taranov and Nadezhda Bykova. At the opening in 1935, the M letter on the logo had no definite shape.
Today, with at least ten different variations of the shape in use, Moscow Metro still does not have clear brand or logo guidelines. An attempt was made in October 2013 to launch a nationwide brand image competition, only to be closed several hours after its announcement. A similar contest, held independently later that year by the design crowdsourcing company DesignContest, yielded better results, though none were officially accepted by the Metro officials.
Operations
The Moscow Metro, a state-owned enterprise, is 449 km (279 mi) long and consists of 15 lines and 263 stations organized in a spoke-hub distribution paradigm, with the majority of rail lines running radially from the centre of Moscow to the outlying areas. The Koltsevaya Line (line 5) forms a 20-kilometre (12 mi) long circle which enables passenger travel between these diameters, and the new Moscow Central Circle (line 14) and even newer Bolshaya Koltsevaya line (line 11) form a 54-kilometre (34 mi) and 57-kilometre (35 mi) long circles respectively that serve a similar purpose on middle periphery. Most stations and lines are underground, but some lines have at-grade and elevated sections; the Filyovskaya Line, Butovskaya Line and the Central Circle Line are the three lines that are at grade or mostly at grade.
The Moscow Metro uses 1,520 mm (4 ft 11+27⁄32 in) Russian gauge, like other Russian railways, and an underrunning third rail with a supply of 825 Volts DC, except lines 13 and 14, the former being a monorail, and the latter being directly connected to the mainlines with 3000V DC overhead lines, as is typical. The average distance between stations is 1.7 kilometres (1.1 mi); the shortest (502 metres (1,647 ft) long) section is between Vystavochnaya and Mezhdunarodnaya, and the longest (6.62 kilometres (4.11 mi) long) is between Krylatskoye and Strogino. Long distances between stations have the positive effect of a high cruising speed of 41.7 kilometres per hour (25.9 mph).
The Moscow Metro opens at 05:25 and closes at 01:00. The exact opening time varies at different stations according to the arrival of the first train, but all stations simultaneously close their entrances at 01:00 for maintenance, and so do transfer corridors. The minimum interval between trains is 90 seconds during the morning and evening rush hours.
As of 2017, the system had an average daily ridership of 6.99 million passengers. Peak daily ridership of 9.71 million was recorded on 26 December 2014.
Free Wi-Fi has been available on all lines of the Moscow Metro since 2 December 2014.
Lines
A Moscow Metro train passes through Sokolnicheskaya and Koltsevaya lines. View from the driver's cabin
Each line is identified by a name, an alphanumeric index (usually consisting of just a number, and sometimes a letter suffix), and a colour. The colour assigned to each line for display on maps and signs is its colloquial identifier, except for the nondescript greens and blues assigned to the Bolshaya Koltsevaya, the Zamoskvoretskaya, the Lyublinsko-Dmitrovskaya, and Butovskaya lines (lines, 11, 2, 10, and 12, respectively).[citation needed] The upcoming station is announced by a male voice on inbound trains to the city center (on the Circle line, the clockwise trains), and by a female voice on outbound trains (anti-clockwise trains on the Circle line).
The metro has a connection to the Moscow Monorail, a 4.7-kilometre (2.9 mi), six-station monorail line between Timiryazevskaya and VDNKh which opened in January 2008. Prior to the official opening, the monorail had operated in "excursion mode" since 2004.
Also, from 11 August 1969 to 26 October 2019, the Moscow Metro included Kakhovskaya line 3.3 km long with 3 stations, which closed for a long reconstruction. On 7 December 2021, Kakhovskaya is reopened after reconstruction as part of the Bolshaya Koltsevaya line. The renewed Varshavskaya and Kashirskaya stations reopened as part of the Bolshaya Koltsevaya line, which became fully functional on 1 March 2023. Its new stations included Pechatniki, Nagatinsky Zaton and Klenovy Bulvar.
Renamed lines
Sokolnicheskaya line was previously named Kirovsko-Fruzenskaya
Zamoskvoretskaya line was previously named Gorkovsko-Zamoskvoretskaya.
Filyovskaya line was previously named Arbatsko-Filyovskaya.
Tagansko-Krasnopresnenskaya line was previously named Zhdanovsko-Krasnopresnenskaya
History
The first plans for a metro system in Moscow date back to the Russian Empire but were postponed by World War I, the October Revolution and the Russian Civil War. In 1923, the Moscow City Council formed the Underground Railway Design Office at the Moscow Board of Urban Railways. It carried out preliminary studies, and by 1928 had developed a project for the first route from Sokolniki to the city centre. At the same time, an offer was made to the German company Siemens Bauunion to submit its own project for the same route. In June 1931, the decision to begin construction of the Moscow Metro was made by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. In January 1932 the plan for the first lines was approved, and on 21 March 1933 the Soviet government approved a plan for 10 lines with a total route length of 80 km (50 mi).
The first lines were built using the Moscow general plan designed by Lazar Kaganovich, along with his project managers (notably Ivan M. Kuznetsov and, later, Isaac Y. Segal) in the 1930s–1950s, and the Metro was named after him until 1955 (Metropoliten im. L.M. Kaganovicha). The Moscow Metro construction engineers consulted with their counterparts from the London Underground, the world's oldest metro system, in 1936: British architect Charles Holden and administrator Frank Pick had been working on the station developments of the Piccadilly Line extension, and Soviet delegates to London were impressed by Holden's thoroughly modern redeployment of classical elements and use of high-quality materials for the circular ticket hall of Piccadilly Circus, and so engaged Pick and Holden as advisors to Moscow's metro system. Partly because of this connection, the design of Gants Hill tube station, which was completed in 1947, is reminiscent of a Moscow Metro station. Indeed, Holden's homage to Moscow has been described as a gesture of gratitude for the USSR's helpful role in The Second World War.
Soviet workers did the labour and the art work, but the main engineering designs, routes, and construction plans were handled by specialists recruited from London Underground. The British called for tunnelling instead of the "cut-and-cover" technique, the use of escalators instead of lifts, the routes and the design of the rolling stock. The paranoia of the NKVD was evident when the secret police arrested numerous British engineers for espionage because they gained an in-depth knowledge of the city's physical layout. Engineers for the Metropolitan-Vickers Electrical Company (Metrovick) were given a show trial and deported in 1933, ending the role of British business in the USSR.
First four stages of construction
The first line was opened to the public on 15 May 1935 at 07:00 am. It was 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) long and included 13 stations. The day was celebrated as a technological and ideological victory for socialism (and, by extension, Stalinism). An estimated 285,000 people rode the Metro at its debut, and its design was greeted with pride; street celebrations included parades, plays and concerts. The Bolshoi Theatre presented a choral performance by 2,200 Metro workers; 55,000 colored posters (lauding the Metro as the busiest and fastest in the world) and 25,000 copies of "Songs of the Joyous Metro Conquerors" were distributed. The Moscow Metro averaged 47 km/h (29 mph) and had a top speed of 80 km/h (50 mph). In comparison, New York City Subway trains averaged a slower 25 miles per hour (40 km/h) and had a top speed of 45 miles per hour (72 km/h). While the celebration was an expression of popular joy it was also an effective propaganda display, legitimizing the Metro and declaring it a success.
The initial line connected Sokolniki to Okhotny Ryad then branching to Park Kultury and Smolenskaya. The latter branch was extended westwards to a new station (Kiyevskaya) in March 1937, the first Metro line crossing the Moskva River over the Smolensky Metro Bridge.
The second stage was completed before the war. In March 1938, the Arbatskaya branch was split and extended to the Kurskaya station (now the dark-blue Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya Line). In September 1938, the Gorkovskaya Line opened between Sokol and Teatralnaya. Here the architecture was based on that of the most popular stations in existence (Krasniye Vorota, Okhotnyi Ryad and Kropotkinskaya); while following the popular art-deco style, it was merged with socialist themes. The first deep-level column station Mayakovskaya was built at the same time.
Building work on the third stage was delayed (but not interrupted) during World War II, and two Metro sections were put into service; Teatralnaya–Avtozavodskaya (three stations, crossing the Moskva River through a deep tunnel) and Kurskaya–Partizanskaya (four stations) were inaugurated in 1943 and 1944 respectively. War motifs replaced socialist visions in the architectural design of these stations. During the Siege of Moscow in the fall and winter of 1941, Metro stations were used as air-raid shelters; the Council of Ministers moved its offices to the Mayakovskaya platforms, where Stalin made public speeches on several occasions. The Chistiye Prudy station was also walled off, and the headquarters of the Air Defence established there.
After the war ended in 1945, construction began on the fourth stage of the Metro, which included the Koltsevaya Line, a deep part of the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya line from Ploshchad Revolyutsii to Kievskaya and a surface extension to Pervomaiskaya during the early 1950s. The decoration and design characteristic of the Moscow Metro is considered to have reached its zenith in these stations. The Koltsevaya Line was first planned as a line running under the Garden Ring, a wide avenue encircling the borders of Moscow's city centre. The first part of the line – from Park Kultury to Kurskaya (1950) – follows this avenue. Plans were later changed and the northern part of the ring line runs 1–1.5 kilometres (0.62–0.93 mi) outside the Sadovoye Koltso, thus providing service for seven (out of nine) rail terminals. The next part of the Koltsevaya Line opened in 1952 (Kurskaya–Belorusskaya), and in 1954 the ring line was completed.
Stalinist ideals in Metro's history
When the Metro opened in 1935, it immediately became the centrepiece of the transportation system (as opposed to horse-carried barrows still widely used in 1930s Moscow). It also became the prototype, the vision for future Soviet large-scale technologies. The artwork of the 13 original stations became nationally and internationally famous. For example, the Sverdlov Square subway station featured porcelain bas-reliefs depicting the daily life of the Soviet peoples, and the bas-reliefs at the Dynamo Stadium sports complex glorified sports and physical prowess on the powerful new "Homo Sovieticus" (Soviet man). The metro was touted as the symbol of the new social order – a sort of Communist cathedral of engineering modernity.
The Metro was also iconic for showcasing Socialist Realism in public art. The method was influenced by Nikolay Chernyshevsky, Lenin's favorite 19th-century nihilist, who stated that "art is no useful unless it serves politics". This maxim sums up the reasons why the stations combined aesthetics, technology and ideology: any plan which did not incorporate all three areas cohesively was rejected.
Kaganovich was in charge; he designed the subway so that citizens would absorb the values and ethos of Stalinist civilization as they rode. Without this cohesion, the Metro would not reflect Socialist Realism. If the Metro did not utilize Socialist Realism, it would fail to illustrate Stalinist values and transform Soviet citizens into socialists. Anything less than Socialist Realism's grand artistic complexity would fail to inspire a long-lasting, nationalistic attachment to Stalin's new society.
Socialist Realism was in fact a method, not exactly a style.[31]
Bright future and literal brightness in the Metro of Moscow
The Moscow Metro was one of the USSR's most ambitious architectural projects. The metro's artists and architects worked to design a structure that embodied svet (literally "light", figuratively "radiance" or "brilliance") and svetloe budushchee (a well-lit/radiant/bright future). With their reflective marble walls, high ceilings and grand chandeliers, many Moscow Metro stations have been likened to an "artificial underground sun".
This palatial underground environment reminded Metro users their taxes were spent on materializing bright future; also, the design was useful for demonstrating the extra structural strength of the underground works (as in Metro doubling as bunkers, bomb shelters).
The chief lighting engineer was Abram Damsky, a graduate of the Higher State Art-Technical Institute in Moscow. By 1930 he was a chief designer in Moscow's Elektrosvet Factory, and during World War II was sent to the Metrostroi (Metro Construction) Factory as head of the lighting shop.[33] Damsky recognized the importance of efficiency, as well as the potential for light as an expressive form. His team experimented with different materials (most often cast bronze, aluminum, sheet brass, steel, and milk glass) and methods to optimize the technology. Damsky's discourse on "Lamps and Architecture 1930–1950" describes in detail the epic chandeliers installed in the Taganskaya Station and the Kaluzhskaia station (Oktyabrskaya nowadays, not to be confused with contemporary "Kaluzhskaya" station on line 6). The work of Abram Damsky further publicized these ideas hoping people would associate the party with the idea of bright future.
The Kaluzhskaya Station was designed by the architect [Leonid] Poliakov. Poliakov's decision to base his design on a reinterpretation of Russian classical architecture clearly influenced the concept of the lamps, some of which I planned in collaboration with the architect himself. The shape of the lamps was a torch – the torch of victory, as Polyakov put it... The artistic quality and stylistic unity of all the lamps throughout the station's interior made them perhaps the most successful element of the architectural composition. All were made of cast aluminum decorated in a black and gold anodized coating, a technique which the Metrostroi factory had only just mastered.
The Taganskaia Metro Station on the Ring Line was designed in...quite another style by the architects K.S. Ryzhkov and A. Medvedev... Their subject matter dealt with images of war and victory...The overall effect was one of ceremony ... In the platform halls the blue ceramic bodies of the chandeliers played a more modest role, but still emphasised the overall expressiveness of the lamp.
— Abram Damsky, Lamps and Architecture 1930–1950
Industrialization
Stalin's first five-year plan (1928–1932) facilitated rapid industrialization to build a socialist motherland. The plan was ambitious, seeking to reorient an agrarian society towards industrialism. It was Stalin's fanatical energy, large-scale planning, and resource distribution that kept up the pace of industrialization. The first five-year plan was instrumental in the completion of the Moscow Metro; without industrialization, the Soviet Union would not have had the raw materials necessary for the project. For example, steel was a main component of many subway stations. Before industrialization, it would have been impossible for the Soviet Union to produce enough steel to incorporate it into the metro's design; in addition, a steel shortage would have limited the size of the subway system and its technological advancement.
The Moscow Metro furthered the construction of a socialist Soviet Union because the project accorded with Stalin's second five-year plan. The Second Plan focused on urbanization and the development of social services. The Moscow Metro was necessary to cope with the influx of peasants who migrated to the city during the 1930s; Moscow's population had grown from 2.16 million in 1928 to 3.6 million in 1933. The Metro also bolstered Moscow's shaky infrastructure and its communal services, which hitherto were nearly nonexistent.
Mobilization
The Communist Party had the power to mobilize; because the party was a single source of control, it could focus its resources. The most notable example of mobilization in the Soviet Union occurred during World War II. The country also mobilized in order to complete the Moscow Metro with unprecedented speed. One of the main motivation factors of the mobilization was to overtake the West and prove that a socialist metro could surpass capitalist designs. It was especially important to the Soviet Union that socialism succeed industrially, technologically, and artistically in the 1930s, since capitalism was at a low ebb during the Great Depression.
The person in charge of Metro mobilization was Lazar Kaganovich. A prominent Party member, he assumed control of the project as chief overseer. Kaganovich was nicknamed the "Iron Commissar"; he shared Stalin's fanatical energy, dramatic oratory flare, and ability to keep workers building quickly with threats and punishment. He was determined to realise the Moscow Metro, regardless of cost. Without Kaganovich's managerial ability, the Moscow Metro might have met the same fate as the Palace of the Soviets: failure.
This was a comprehensive mobilization; the project drew resources and workers from the entire Soviet Union. In his article, archeologist Mike O'Mahoney describes the scope of the Metro mobilization:
A specialist workforce had been drawn from many different regions, including miners from the Ukrainian and Siberian coalfields and construction workers from the iron and steel mills of Magnitogorsk, the Dniepr hydroelectric power station, and the Turkestan-Siberian railway... materials used in the construction of the metro included iron from Siberian Kuznetsk, timber from northern Russia, cement from the Volga region and the northern Caucasus, bitumen from Baku, and marble and granite from quarries in Karelia, the Crimea, the Caucasus, the Urals, and the Soviet Far East
— Mike O'Mahoney, Archeological Fantasies: Constructing History on the Moscow Metro
Skilled engineers were scarce, and unskilled workers were instrumental to the realization of the metro. The Metrostroi (the organization responsible for the Metro's construction) conducted massive recruitment campaigns. It printed 15,000 copies of Udarnik metrostroia (Metrostroi Shock Worker, its daily newspaper) and 700 other newsletters (some in different languages) to attract unskilled laborers. Kaganovich was closely involved in the recruitment campaign, targeting the Komsomol generation because of its strength and youth.
Later Soviet stations
"Fifth stage" set of stations
The beginning of the Cold War led to the construction of a deep section of the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya Line. The stations on this line were planned as shelters in the event of nuclear war. After finishing the line in 1953 the upper tracks between Ploshchad Revolyutsii and Kiyevskaya were closed, and later reopened in 1958 as a part of the Filyovskaya Line. The stations, too, were supplied with tight gates and life-sustenance systems to function as proper nuclear shelters.
In the further development of the Metro the term "stages" was not used any more, although sometimes the stations opened in 1957–1959 are referred to as the "fifth stage".
During the late 1950s and throughout the 1960s, the architectural extravagance of new Metro stations was decisively rejected on the orders of Nikita Khrushchev. He had a preference for a utilitarian "minimalism"-like approach to design, similar to Brutalism style. The idea behind the rejection was similar to one used to create Khrushchyovkas: cheap yet easily mass-produced buildings. Stations of his era, as well as most 1970s stations, were simple in design and style, with walls covered with identical square ceramic tiles. Even decorations at the Metro stations almost finished at the time of the ban (such as VDNKh and Alexeyevskaya) got their final decors simplified: VDNKh's arcs/portals, for example, got plain green paint to contrast with well-detailed decorations and pannos around them.
A typical layout of the cheap shallow-dug metro station (which quickly became known as Sorokonozhka – "centipede", from early designs with 40 concrete columns in two rows) was developed for all new stations, and the stations were built to look almost identical, differing from each other only in colours of the marble and ceramic tiles. Most stations were built with simpler, cheap technology; this resulted in utilitarian design being flawed in some ways. Some stations such as adjacent Rechnoi Vokzal and Vodny Stadion or sequiential Leninsky Prospect, Akadmicheskaya, Profsoyuznaya and Novye Cheryomushki would have a similar look due to the extensive use of same-sized white or off-white ceramic tiles with hard-to-feel differences.
Walls with cheap ceramic tiles were susceptible to train-related vibration: some tiles would eventually fall off and break. It was not always possible to replace the missing tiles with the ones of the exact color and tone, which eventually led to variegated parts of the walls.
Metro stations of late USSR
The contrasting style gap between the powerfully decorated stations of Moscow's center and the spartan-looking stations of the 1960s was eventually filled. In the mid-1970s the architectural extravagance was partially restored. However, the newer design of shallow "centipede" stations (now with 26 columns, more widely spaced) continued to dominate. For example, Kaluzhskaya "centipede" station from 1974 (adjacent to Novye Cheryomushki station) features non-flat tiles (with 3D effect utilized), and Medvedkovo from 1978 features complex decorations.
1971 station Kitay-Gorod ("Ploshchad Nogina" at the time) features cross-platform interchange (Line 6 and line 7). Although built without "centipede" design or cheap ceramic tiles, the station utilizes near-grayscale selection of colors. It is to note the "southbound" and "northbound" halls of the station have identical look.
Babushkinskaya station from 1978 is a no-column station (similar to Biblioteka Imeni Lenina from 1935). 1983 Chertanovskaya station has resemblance to Kropotkinskaya (from 1935). Some stations, such as the deep-dug Shabolovskaya (1980), have the near-tunnel walls decorated with metal sheets, not tiles. Tyoply Stan features a theme related to the name and the location of the station ("Tyoply Stan" used to literally mean warm area): its walls are covered in brick-colored ribbed panes, which look like radiators).
Downtown area got such stations as Borovitskaya (1986), with uncovered red bricks and gray, concrete-like colors accompanying a single gold-plated decorative pane known as "Tree of peoples' of USSR" or additional station hall for Tretyakovskaya to house cross-platform interchange system between line 6 and line 8. To this day, Tretyakovskaya metro station consists of two contrasting halls: brutalism-like 1971 hall and custom design hall reminiscent of Tretyakovskaya Galereya from 1986.
Post-USSR stations of the modern Russian Federation
Metro stations of the 1990s and 2000s vary in style, but some of the stations seem to have their own themes:
Ulitsa Akademika Yangelya station used to feature thick orange neon lamp-like sodium lights instead of regular white lights.
Park Pobedy, the deepest station of the Moscow Metro, was built in 2003; it features extensive use of dark orange polished granite.
Slavyansky Bulvar station utilizes a plant-inspired theme (similar to "bionic style").
The sleek variant of aforementioned bionic style is somewhat represented in various Line 10 stations.
Sretensky Bulvar station of line 10 is decorated with paintings of nearby memorials and locations.
Strogino station has a theme of huge eye-shaped boundaries for lights; with "eyes" occupying the station's ceiling.
Troparyovo (2014) features trees made of polished metal. The trees hold the station's diamond-shaped lights. The station, however, is noticeably dim-lit.
Delovoy Tsentr (2016, MCC, overground station) has green tint.
Lomonosovsky Prospekt (Line 8A) is decorated with various equations.
Olkhovaya (2019) uses other plant-inspired themes (ольха noun means alder) with autumn/winter inspired colours.
Kosino (2019) uses high-tech style with the addition of thin LED lights.
Some bleak, bland-looking "centipedes" like Akademicheskaya and Yugo-Zapadnaya have undergone renovations in the 21st century (new blue-striped white walls on Akademicheskaya, aqualine glassy, shiny walls on Yugo-Zapadnaya).
Moscow Central Circle urban railway (Line 14)
A new circle metro line in Moscow was relatively quickly made in the 2010s. The Moscow Central Circle line (Line 14) was opened for use in September 2016 by re-purposing and upgrading the Maloe ZheleznoDorozhnoe Kol'tso. A proposal to convert that freight line into a metropolitan railway with frequent passenger service was announced in 2012. The original tracks had been built in pre-revolutionary Moscow decades before the creation of Moscow Metro; the tracks remained in place in one piece as a non-electrified line until the 21st century. Yet the circle route was never abandoned or cut. New track (along the existing one) was laid and all-new stations were built between 2014 and 2016. MCC's stations got such amenities as vending machines and free water closets.
Line 14 is operated by Russian Railways and uses full-sized trains (an idea, somewhat similar to S-Train). The extra resemblance to an S-Train line is, the 1908 line now connects modern northern residential districts to western and southern downtown area, with a station adjacent to Moscow International Business Center.
There is a noticeable relief of congestion, decrease in usage of formerly overcrowded Koltsevaya line since the introduction of MCC. To make line 14 attractive to frequent Koltsevaya line interchanges users, upgrades over regular comfort of Moscow Metro were made. Use of small laptops/portable video playing devices and food consumption from tupperwares and tubs was also improved for Line 14: the trains have small folding tables in the back of nearly every seat, while the seats are facing one direction like in planes or intercity buses - unlike side-against-side sofas typical for Metro.
Unlike MCD lines (D1, D2 etc.) MCC line accepts "unified" tickets and "Troika" cards just like Moscow Metro and buses of Moscow do. Free transfers are permitted between the MCC and the Moscow Metro if the trip before the transfer is less than 90 minutes. It's made possible by using same "Ediny", literally "unified" tickets instead of printing "paper tickets" used at railroads.
To interchange to line 14 for free, passenger must keep their freshly used ticket after entering Moscow Metro to apply it upon entering any line 14 station (and vice versa, keep their "fresh" ticket to enter underground Metro line after leaving Line 14 for an interchange).
MCD (D lines)
In 2019, new lines of Russian Railways got included in the map of Metro as "line D1" and "line D2". Unlike Line 14, the MCD lines actually form S-Train lines, bypassing the "vokzals", terminus stations of respective intercity railways. Line D3 is planned to be launched in August 2023, while D4 will be launched in September of that year. The schedule for the development of the infrastructure of the Central Transport Hub in 2023 was signed by the Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin and the head of Russian Railways Oleg Belozerov in December 2022.
As for the fees, MCD accepts Moscow's "Troika" cards. Also, every MCD station has printers which print "station X – station Y" tickets on paper. Users of the D lines must keep their tickets until exiting their destination stations: their exit terminals require a valid "... to station Y" ticket's barcode.
Big Circle Line (line 11)
After upgrading the railway from 1908 to a proper Metro line, the development of another circle route was re-launched, now adjusted for the pear-shaped circle route of line #14.
Throughout the late 2010s, Line 11 was extended from short, tiny Kakhovskaya line to a half-circle (from Kakhovskaya to Savyolovskaya). In early 2023, the circle was finished.
Similarly made Shelepikha, Khoroshovskaya, CSKA and Petrovsky Park stations have lots of polished granite and shiny surfaces, in contrast to Soviet "centipedes". Throughout 2018–2021, these stations were connected to line 8A.
Narodnoye Opolcheniye (2021) features lots of straight edges and linear decorations (such as uninterrupted "three stripes" style of the ceiling lights and rectangular columns).
As for the spring of 2023, the whole circle route line is up and running, forming a circle stretching to the southern near-MKAD residential parts of the city (Prospekt Vernadskogo, Tekstilshchiki) as opposed to the MCC's stretching towards the northern districts of Moscow. In other words, it "mirrors" Line 14 rather than forming a perfect circle around the city centre. While being 70 km long, the line is now the longest subway line in the world, 13 kilometres ahead of the previous record holder - the line 10 of Beijing Subway.
Expansions
GIF-animated scheme of Moscow Metro growth (1935-2019)
Since the turn of the 2nd millennium several projects have been completed, and more are underway. The first was the Annino-Butovo extension, which extended the Serpukhovsko-Timiryazevskaya Line from Prazhskaya to Ulitsa Akademika Yangelya in 2000, Annino in 2001 and Bulvar Dmitriya Donskogo in 2002. Its continuation, an elevated Butovskaya Line, was inaugurated in 2003. Vorobyovy Gory station, which initially opened in 1959 and was forced to close in 1983 after the concrete used to build the bridge was found to be defective, was rebuilt and reopened after many years in 2002. Another recent project included building a branch off the Filyovskaya Line to the Moscow International Business Center. This included Vystavochnaya (opened in 2005) and Mezhdunarodnaya (opened in 2006).
The Strogino–Mitino extension began with Park Pobedy in 2003. Its first stations (an expanded Kuntsevskaya and Strogino) opened in January 2008, and Slavyansky Bulvar followed in September. Myakinino, Volokolamskaya and Mitino opened in December 2009. Myakinino station was built by a state-private financial partnership, unique in Moscow Metro history. A new terminus, Pyatnitskoye Shosse, was completed in December 2012.
After many years of construction, the long-awaited Lyublinskaya Line extension was inaugurated with Trubnaya in August 2007 and Sretensky Bulvar in December of that year. In June 2010, it was extended northwards with the Dostoyevskaya and Maryina Roscha stations. In December 2011, the Lyublinskaya Line was expanded southwards by three stations and connected to the Zamoskvoretskaya Line, with the Alma-Atinskaya station opening on the latter in December 2012. The Kalininskaya Line was extended past the Moscow Ring Road in August 2012 with Novokosino station.
In 2011, works began on the Third Interchange Contour that is set to take the pressure off the Koltsevaya Line. Eventually the new line will attain a shape of the second ring with connections to all lines (except Koltsevaya and Butovskaya).
In 2013, the Tagansko-Krasnopresnenskaya Line was extended after several delays to the south-eastern districts of Moscow outside the Ring Road with the opening of Zhulebino and Lermontovsky Prospekt stations. Originally scheduled for 2013, a new segment of the Kalininskaya Line between Park Pobedy and Delovoy Tsentr (separate from the main part) was opened in January 2014, while the underground extension of Butovskaya Line northwards to offer a transfer to the Kaluzhsko-Rizhskaya Line was completed in February. Spartak, a station on the Tagansko-Krasnopresnenskaya Line that remained unfinished for forty years, was finally opened in August 2014. The first stage of the southern extension of the Sokolnicheskaya Line, the Troparyovo station, opened in December 2014.
Current plans
In addition to major metro expansion the Moscow Government and Russian Railways plans to upgrade more commuter railways to a metro-style service, similar to the MCC. New tracks and stations are planned to be built in order to achieve this.
Stations
The deep stations comprise 55 triple-vaulted pylon stations, 19 triple-vaulted column stations, and one single-vault station. The shallow stations comprise 79 spanned column stations (a large portion of them following the "centipede" design), 33 single-vaulted stations (Kharkov technology), and four single-spanned stations. In addition, there are 12 ground-level stations, four elevated stations, and one station (Vorobyovy Gory) on a bridge. Two stations have three tracks, and one has double halls. Seven of the stations have side platforms (only one of which is subterranean). In addition, there were two temporary stations within rail yards.
The stations being constructed under Stalin's regime, in the style of socialist classicism, were meant as underground "palaces of the people". Stations such as Komsomolskaya, Kiyevskaya or Mayakovskaya and others built after 1935 in the second phase of the evolution of the network are tourist landmarks: their photogenic architecture, large chandeliers and detailed decoration are unusual for an urban transport system of the twentieth century.
The stations opened in the 21st century are influenced by an international and more neutral style with improved technical quality.
Rolling stock
Since the beginning, platforms have been at least 155 metres (509 ft) long to accommodate eight-car trains. The only exceptions are on the Filyovskaya Line: Vystavochnaya, Mezhdunarodnaya, Studencheskaya, Kutuzovskaya, Fili, Bagrationovskaya, Filyovsky Park and Pionerskaya, which only allows six-car trains (note that this list includes all ground-level stations on the line, except Kuntsevskaya, which allows normal length trains).
Trains on the Zamoskvoretskaya, Kaluzhsko-Rizhskaya, Tagansko-Krasnopresnenskaya, Kalininskaya, Solntsevskaya, Bolshaya Koltsevaya, Serpukhovsko-Timiryazevskaya, Lyublinsko-Dmitrovskaya and Nekrasovskaya lines have eight cars, on the Sokolnicheskaya line seven or eight cars, on the original Koltsevaya line seven cars, and on the Filyovskaya line six cars. The Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya line also once ran seven-car 81-717 size trains, but now use five-car trains of another type. Butovskaya line uses three-car trains of another type.
Dimensions have varied subtly, but for the most cars fit into the ranges of 19–20 metres (62 ft 4 in – 65 ft 7 in) long and 2.65–2.7 metres (8 ft 8+3⁄8 in – 8 ft 10+1⁄4 in) wide with 4 doors per side. The 81-740/741 Rusich deviates greatly from this, with a 3-car Rusich being roughly 4 normal cars and a 5-car Rusich being 7 normal cars.
Trains in operation
Currently, the Metro only operates 81-style trains.
Rolling stock on several lines was replaced with articulated 81-740/741 Rusich trains, which were originally designed for light rail subway lines. The Butovskaya Line was designed by different standards, and has shorter (96-metre (315 ft) long) platforms. It employs articulated 81-740/741 trains, which consist of three cars (although the line can also use traditional four-car trains).
On the Moscow Monorail, Intamin P30 trains are used, consisting of six short cars. On the Moscow Central Circle, which is a route on the conventional railway line, ES2G Lastochka trains are used, consisting of five cars.
Ticketing
Moscow Metro underground has neither "point A – point B" tariffs nor "zone" tariffs. Instead, it has a fee for a "ride", e.g. for a single-time entry without time or range limit. The exceptions "only confirm the rule": the "diameters" (Dx lines) and the Moscow Central Circle (Line 14) are Russian Railways' lines hence the shared yet not unified tariff system.
As for October 2021, one ride costs 60 rubles (approx. 1 US dollar). Discounts (up to 33%) for individual rides are available upon buying rides "in bulk" (buying multiple-trip tickets (such as twenty-trip or sixty-trip ones)), and children under age seven can travel free (with their parents). Troika "wallet" (a card, similar to Japanese Suica card) also offers some discounts for using the card instead of queueing a line for a ticket. "Rides" on the tickets available for a fixed number of trips, regardless of distance traveled or number of transfers.
An exception in case of MCC e.g. Line 14: for a free interchange, one should interchange to it/from it within 90 minutes after entering the Metro. However, one can ride it for hours and use its amenities without leaving it.
There are tickets without "rides" as well: – a 24-hour "unified" ticket (265 rub in 2022), a 72-hour ticket, a month-long ticket, and a year-long ticket.
Fare enforcement takes place at the points of entry. Once a passenger has entered the Metro system, there are no further ticket checks – one can ride to any number of stations and make transfers within the system freely. Transfers to other public-transport systems (such as bus, tram, trolleybus/"electrobus") are not covered by the very ride used to enter Metro. Transfer to monorail and MCC is a free addition to the ride (available up to 90 minutes after entering a metro station).
In modern Metro, turnstiles accept designated plastic cards ("Troika", "social cards") or disposable-in-design RFID chip cardboard cards. Unlimited cards are also available for students at reduced price (as of 2017, 415 rubles—or about $US6—for a calendar month of unlimited usage) for a one-time cost of 70 rubles. Transport Cards impose a delay for each consecutive use; i.e. the card can not be used for 7 minutes after the user has passed a turnstile.
History of smart ticketing
Soviet era turnstiles simply accepted N kopeck coins.
In the early years of Russian Federation (and with the start of a hyperinflation) plastic tokens were used. Disposable magnetic stripe cards were introduced in 1993 on a trial basis, and used as unlimited monthly tickets between 1996 and 1998. The sale of tokens ended on 1 January 1999, and they stopped being accepted in February 1999; from that time, magnetic cards were used as tickets with a fixed number of rides.
On 1 September 1998, the Moscow Metro became the first metro system in Europe to fully implement "contactless" smart cards, known as Transport Cards. Transport Cards were the card to have unlimited amount of trips for 30, 90 or 365 days, its active lifetime was projected as 3½ years. Defective cards were to be exchanged at no extra cost.
In August 2004, the city government launched the Muscovite's Social Card program. Social Cards are free smart cards issued for the elderly and other groups of citizens officially registered as residents of Moscow or the Moscow region; they offer discounts in shops and pharmacies, and double as credit cards issued by the Bank of Moscow. Social Cards can be used for unlimited free access to the city's public-transport system, including the Moscow Metro; while they do not feature the time delay, they include a photograph and are non-transferable.
Since 2006, several banks have issued credit cards which double as Ultralight cards and are accepted at turnstiles. The fare is passed to the bank and the payment is withdrawn from the owner's bank account at the end of the calendar month, using a discount rate based on the number of trips that month (for up to 70 trips, the cost of each trip is prorated from current Ultralight rates; each additional trip costs 24.14 rubles). Partner banks include the Bank of Moscow, CitiBank, Rosbank, Alfa-Bank and Avangard Bank.
In January 2007, Moscow Metro began replacing limited magnetic cards with contactless disposable tickets based on NXP's MIFARE Ultralight technology. Ultralight tickets are available for a fixed number of trips in 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 60-trip denominations (valid for 5 or 90 days from the day of purchase) and as a monthly ticket, only valid for a selected calendar month and limited to 70 trips. The sale of magnetic cards ended on 16 January 2008 and magnetic cards ceased to be accepted in late 2008, making the Moscow metro the world's first major public-transport system to run exclusively on a contactless automatic fare-collection system.
On 2 April 2013, Moscow Transport Department introduced a smartcard-based transport electronic wallet, named Troika. Three more smart cards have been launched:
Ediniy's RFID-chip card, a "disposable"-design cardboard card for all city-owned public transport operated by Mosgortrans and Moscow Metro;
90 minutes card, an unlimited "90-minute" card
and TAT card for surface public transport operated by Mosgortrans.
One can "record" N-ride Ediniy ticket on Troika card as well in order to avoid carrying the easily frayed cardboard card of Ediniy for weeks (e.g. to use Troika's advanced chip). The turnstiles of Moscow Metro have monochrome screens which show such data as "money left" (if Troika is used as a "wallet"), "valid till DD.MM.YYYY" (if a social card is used) or "rides left" (if Ediniy tariff ticket is used).
Along with the tickets, new vending machines were built to sell tickets (1 or 2 rides) and put payments on Troika cards. At that time, the machines were not accepting contactless pay. The same machines now have tiny terminals with keypads for contactless payments (allowing quick payment for Troika card).
In 2013, as a way to promote both the "Olympic Games in Sochi and active lifestyles, Moscow Metro installed a vending machine that gives commuters a free ticket in exchange for doing 30 squats."
Since the first quarter of 2015, all ticket windows (not turnstiles) at stations accept bank cards for fare payment. Passengers are also able to pay for tickets via contactless payment systems, such as PayPass technology. Since 2015, fare gates at stations accept mobile ticketing via a system which the Metro calls Mobilny Bilet (Мобильный билет) which requires NFC-handling smartphone (and a proper SIM-card). The pricing is the same as Troika's. Customers are able to use Mobile Ticket on Moscow's surface transport. The Moscow Metro originally announced plans to launch the mobile ticketing service with Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) in 2010.
In October 2021, the Moscow Metro became the first metro system in the world to offer Face-Pay to their customers. In order to use this system, passengers will need to connect their photo, bank card and metro card to the service through the metro’s mobile app. For this purpose, the metro authorities plan to equip over 900 turnstiles in over 240 stations with biometric scanners. This enables passengers to pay for their ride without taking out their phone, metro or bank card and therefore increasing passenger flow at the station entrances. In 2022, Face-Pay was used over 32 million times over the course of the year.
Notable incidents
1977 bombing
On 8 January 1977, a bomb was reported to have killed 7 and seriously injured 33. It went off in a crowded train between Izmaylovskaya and Pervomayskaya stations. Three Armenians were later arrested, charged and executed in connection with the incident.
1981 station fires
In June 1981, seven bodies were seen being removed from the Oktyabrskaya station during a fire there. A fire was also reported at Prospekt Mira station about that time.
1982 escalator accident
Escalator accident in 1982
A fatal accident occurred on 17 February 1982 due to an escalator collapse at the Aviamotornaya station on the Kalininskaya Line. Eight people were killed and 30 injured due to a pileup caused by faulty emergency brakes.
1996 murder
In 1996, an American-Russian businessman Paul Tatum was murdered at the Kiyevskaya Metro station. He was shot dead by a man carrying a concealed Kalashnikov gun.
2000 bombings
On 8 August 2000, a strong blast in a Metro underpass at Pushkinskaya metro station in the center of Moscow claimed the lives of 12, with 150 injured. A homemade bomb equivalent to 800 grams of TNT had been left in a bag near a kiosk.
2004 bombings
August 2004 Moscow Metro bombing
On 6 February 2004, an explosion wrecked a train between the Avtozavodskaya and Paveletskaya stations on the Zamoskvoretskaya Line, killing 41 and wounding over 100. Chechen terrorists were blamed. A later investigation concluded that a Karachay-Cherkessian resident had carried out a suicide bombing. The same group organized another attack on 31 August 2004, killing 10 and injuring more than 50 others.
2005 Moscow blackout
On 25 May 2005, a citywide blackout halted operation on some lines. The following lines, however, continued operations: Sokolnicheskaya, Zamoskvoretskaya from Avtozavodskaya to Rechnoy Vokzal, Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya, Filyovskaya, Koltsevaya, Kaluzhsko-Rizhskaya from Bitsevskiy Park to Oktyabrskaya-Radialnaya and from Prospekt Mira-Radialnaya to Medvedkovo, Tagansko-Krasnopresnenskaya, Kalininskaya, Serpukhovsko-Timiryazevskaya from Serpukhovskaya to Altufyevo and Lyublinskaya from Chkalovskaya to Dubrovka. There was no service on the Kakhovskaya and Butovskaya lines. The blackout severely affected the Zamoskvoretskaya and Serpukhovsko-Timiryazevskaya lines, where initially all service was disrupted because of trains halted in tunnels in the southern part of city (most affected by the blackout). Later, limited service resumed and passengers stranded in tunnels were evacuated. Some lines were only slightly impacted by the blackout, which mainly affected southern Moscow; the north, east and western parts of the city experienced little or no disruption.
2006 billboard incident
On 19 March 2006, a construction pile from an unauthorized billboard installation was driven through a tunnel roof, hitting a train between the Sokol and Voikovskaya stations on the Zamoskvoretskaya Line. No injuries were reported.
2010 bombing
On 29 March 2010, two bombs exploded on the Sokolnicheskaya Line, killing 40 and injuring 102 others. The first bomb went off at the Lubyanka station on the Sokolnicheskaya Line at 7:56, during the morning rush hour. At least 26 were killed in the first explosion, of which 14 were in the rail car where it took place. A second explosion occurred at the Park Kultury station at 8:38, roughly forty minutes after the first one. Fourteen people were killed in that blast. The Caucasus Emirate later claimed responsibility for the bombings.
2014 pile incident
On 25 January 2014, at 15:37 a construction pile from a Moscow Central Circle construction site was driven through a tunnel roof between Avtozavodskaya and Kolomenskaya stations on the Zamoskvoretskaya Line. The train operator applied emergency brakes, and the train did not crash into the pile. Passengers were evacuated from the tunnel, with no injures reported. The normal line operation resumed the same day at 19:50.
2014 derailment
On 15 July 2014, a train derailed between Park Pobedy and Slavyansky Bulvar on the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya Line, killing 24 people and injuring dozens more.
Metro-2
Main article: Metro-2
Conspiracy theorists have claimed that a second and deeper metro system code-named "D-6", designed for emergency evacuation of key city personnel in case of nuclear attack during the Cold War, exists under military jurisdiction. It is believed that it consists of a single track connecting the Kremlin, chief HQ (General Staff –Genshtab), Lubyanka (FSB Headquarters), the Ministry of Defense and several other secret installations. There are alleged to be entrances to the system from several civilian buildings, such as the Russian State Library, Moscow State University (MSU) and at least two stations of the regular Metro. It is speculated that these would allow for the evacuation of a small number of randomly chosen civilians, in addition to most of the elite military personnel. A suspected junction between the secret system and the regular Metro is supposedly behind the Sportivnaya station on the Sokolnicheskaya Line. The final section of this system was supposedly completed in 1997.
In popular culture
The Moscow Metro is the central location and namesake for the Metro series, where during a nuclear war, Moscow's inhabitants are driven down into the Moscow Metro, which has been designed as a fallout shelter, with the various stations being turned into makeshift settlements.
In 2012, an art film was released about a catastrophe in the Moscow underground.
Drill bit for making 3-ft-diameter holes in soil and soft rock. Used in La Honda, San Mateo County, California for stitch-pier stabilization of a slow-moving landslide.
Diameter: 16 and 22 cm. Blown free without mold in 4 layers, cut, grinded, polished and sanded.
Belongs to the article I wrote about Anna in my Modern Home Design section.
fun fact:
Two easy steps on how to calculate board feet of wood in a standing tree or log
(1) First measure the diameter of the tree (or log) at breast height and the height of the tree up to the minimum log diameter (where the tree is approximately 8" to 10" wide).
(2) Then input the following the formula and compute:
Area = radius^2 * π (PI) ([diameter/2]^2 * 3.14)
Cubic Feet = Area (ft) x Height (ft) / 4 (4 accounts for tree taper)
Board Feet = Cubic Feet * 12
Canada
flickr today
12 meter diameter fountain created by WET DESIGN
From their site....
(Look for Midfield Terminal - THe fountain was created in 2002)
Visible from multiple vantage points in the East Concourse, the
water expression of Midfield Terminal is a thematic interpretation
of today’s unified world, accessible to all via intercontinental air
routes. In spirit, the work is intended to create an elating focal
point for travelers and visitors to the site.
WET Design developed the water concept and implementation in
collaboration with Smith Group architects and Northwest Airlines.
An elevated elliptical platform in hand-polished black granite, is
coated with a delicate membrane of water that serves as a mirror
reflective base for a kinetic composition of illuminated water arches
above. The parabolic water activity is inspired by international flight
paths. The streams are choreographed to create a kinetic display
that varies from tranquil and contemplative to playful and energetic.
At times, they are nearly still, creating a silent sculpture of interwoven
arcs. The composition evolves as the streams begin to independently
change in height. The kinetic activity can accelerate further, when
individual streams, or clusters of water arcs in concert, leap and dance
in whimsical and elating patterns and sequences.
The streams are illuminated resulting in a radiance that emanates from
within the water. Color varies, depending on the changing settings of
the white overhead lighting. When the external light is withdrawn, the
red illumination of the streams becomes resonant.
In concert, these water elements and their sculptural surroundings are
intended to interrelate, both architecturally and in spirit with their
environment, creating an experience of vibrancy and wonder for visitors
to the new midfield terminal.
... black-granite-and-steel fountain or “water feature” in the center point of Concourse A. Influenced by the hub and spoke transportation systems and air-route maps in the back of the airline magazines, the fountain features dancing streams of water that come and go in a variety of patterns and speeds.
from www.expedia.com/daily/airports/detroit.asp?CCheck=1&
i111306 149
Design: Oleksandra Lysenko
PRECIOSA ORNELA presents the new PRECIOSA Hill™ fire polished bead.
This half-ball with a round base at a diameter of 6 and 8 mm is decorated with a multiple cut. The shallow rounding in the lower section makes it easier to sew around and to mutually link the bead with seed beads and other selected PRECIOSA Traditional Czech Beads™. It is possible to apply any type of surface finish to the excellently polished top of the delicate arching. Choose from the wide range of half-coatings and full-coatings to create your own collection. Use the options provided by this new geometric shape with facets which enhance the effects of the surface finishes and combine the bead with other popular shapes, for example with PRECIOSA Farfalle™, PRECIOSA Pellet™ and PRECIOSA Solo™ and create an elegant fashion accessory.
TECHNICAL INFORMATION:
Article number: 151 01 375
Size: 8 mm
Approx.PCS/KG: 2060
Visit our website for more information about the new PRECIOSA Hill™: PRECIOSA Hill™
Silky Saws Katanaboy 500 vs. maximum 13-inch diameter, dry, seasoned olive. Cutting through this dry, dense wood was an aerobic job. My wimpy electric chainsaw would have been faster, not counting setting it up. Later in the day, though, the Katanaboy made short work of several cuts through 5-inch diameter green eucalyptus (and probably paid for itself) in more acrobatic scenarios, in which I wouldn't dare use the chainsaw.
Prolonged wrestling with the chainsaw would have concentrated more strain on my lower back. Between this maiden voyage and my tree-trimming adventure, every flexor muscle from my waist, across my back, and into my triceps got an evenly distributed workout.
The other option around here would be the Silky Saws Master 330. The smaller saw's blade length (330mm) is about the same as the large diameter of this log. It would have worked, eventually, if I'd rotated the log around and cut in from different directions. And its narrower kerf (1.35mm vs. 1.9mm) would have required fewer calories by the time I was done. However, it would have been slower and more painstaking work. The half-meter blade of the Katanaboy 500 allowed me to continue a single cut, more or less, adjusting angles only as necessary to re-position the log for stability, or for my own comfort.
In case you're wondering, I'll split the two pieces of olive into smaller pieces, for grilling.
When this saw arrived, I found that it now has a big brother with a 650mm blade! As I write, this saw is so new that it still doesn't appear at silkysaws.com, even though it's available through third parties. However, the extra 150mm of blade length costs about a dollar per millimeter. I'm happy with what I got, and confident I'll have the most bad-ass saw on the block for some time to come.
DSC_2360.jpg
Twin Bristol Siddeley BS.1009 BT.2 Thor 16" diameter ramjets, 5,275-lbf at M2.0 at sea level
Four Bristol Aerojet Gosling solid fuel booster rockets, 23,200-lbf each
_DSC1050 Anx2 1200w Q90
Out of the Archives: The Cannonsville Reservoir and the West Delaware Tunnel, completed in 1965, comprised the third and final stage of the Delaware water system. Here a 17.5 foot diameter steel form is ready to be set during the construction of the diversion conduit. May 16, 1960. (Image ID: hdq.d.19988)