A Transperth B Series 6-car train races down the Kwinana fwy with a train to Rockingham

You can tell with this ornate lighting display. Aside from many of the bulbs being dead, you'll note the inclusion of a single energy-saving lightbulb. What more proof do you want?

The swallows and martins are a group of passerine birds in the family Hirundinidae which are characterised by their adaptation to aerial feeding. Swallow is used colloquially in Europe as a synonym for the Barn Swallow.The swallows have a cosmopolitan distribution across the world and breed on all the continents except Antarctica. The swallows and martins have an evolutionary conservative body shape which is similar across the family but is unlike that of other passerines.Swallows have adapted to hunting insects on the wing by developing a slender streamlined body and long pointed wings, which allow great maneuverability and endurance, as well as frequent periods of gliding. Their body shape allows for very efficient flight, which costs 50-75% less for swallows than equivalent passerines of the same size. Swallows usually forage at around 30–40 km/h, although they are capable of reaching speeds of between 50–65 km/h when traveling.The bill of the Sand Martin is typical for the family, being short and wide.Like the unrelated swifts and nightjars, which hunt in a similar way, they have short bills, but strong jaws and a wide gape. Their body length ranges from about 10–24 cm (3.9–9.4 in) and their weight from about 10–60 g (0.35–2.1 oz). The wings are long, pointed, and have nine primary feathers. The tail has 12 feathers and may be deeply forked, somewhat indented, or square-ended. A long tail increases maneuverability, and may also function as a sexual adornment, since the tail is frequently longer in males.In Barn Swallows the tail of the male is 18% longer than the females, and females will select mates on the basis of tail length.

The legs are short, and their feet are adapted for perching rather than walking, as the front toes are partially joined at the base. Swallows are capable of walking and even running, but they do so with a shuffling, waddling gait. The leg muscles of the river martins (Pseudochelidon) are stronger and more robust than those of other swallows.The most common hirundine plumage is glossy dark blue or green above and plain or streaked underparts, often white or rufous. Species which burrow or live in dry or mountainous areas are often matte brown above (e.g. Sand Martin and Crag Martin). The sexes show limited or no sexual dimorphism, with longer outer tail feathers in the adult male probably being the most common distinction.The chicks hatch naked and with closed eyes. Fledged juveniles usually appear as duller versions of the adult.The swallows and martins have a worldwide cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on every continent except Antarctica. One species, the Pacific Swallow, occurs as a breeding bird on a number of oceanic islands in the Pacific Ocean,[5] the Mascarene Martin breeds on Reunion and Mauritius in the Indian Ocean,[6] and a number of migratory species are common vagrants to other isolated islands and even to some sub-Antarctic islands. Many species have enormous worldwide ranges, particularly the Barn Swallow, which breeds over most of the Northern Hemisphere and winters over most of the Southern Hemisphere.The Lesser Striped Swallow is a partial migrant within AfricaThe family uses a wide range of habitats. They are dependent on flying insects and as these are common over waterways and lakes they will frequently feed over these, but they can be found in any open habitat including grasslands, open woodland, savanna, marshes, mangroves and scrubland, from sea level to high alpine areas.Many species inhabit human-altered landscapes including agricultural land and even urban areas. Land use changes have also caused some species to expand their range, most impressively the Welcome Swallow which began to colonise New Zealand in the 1920s, started breeding in the 1950s and is now a common landbird there.

La rondine comune (Hirundo rustica) è un piccolo uccello migratore dell'ordine dei passeri presente in Europa, in Asia, in Africa e nelle Americhe. È spesso chiamata solamente con il nome di rondine, che non è sbagliato, ma indica più ampiamente tutta la famiglia Hirundinidae.

La rondine comune, è un uccello piccolo e agile, lungo circa 18-19,5 cm; ala 12-13 cm; becco 11-13 mm; Questo uccello presenta una coda lunga e biforcuta, ali curve e aguzze e un piccolo becco diritto di color grigio scuro.La sottospecie europea H. r. rustica è di colore blu scuro (quasi nero) sul dorso, grigiastro sul ventre ed ha una striscia rossa sulla gola, separata dal ventre da una fascia blu-grigia. È diffusa in Europa e nella Russia europea (fino al Circolo polare artico) e migra in Africa durante l'inverno.La sottospecie nordamericana H. r. erythrogaster differisce dalla sottospecie europea nel ventre, più rossastro, e nella fascia scura tra petto e ventre, più stretta e più scura. È diffusa nelll'America del Nord e migra nell'America del Sud durante l'inverno.

La sottospecie mediorientale H. r. transitiva e la sottospecie egiziana H. r. savignii hanno il petto di color rosso-arancione e la fascia tra petto e ventre nera.Le sottospecie asiatiche H. r. gutturalis, H. r. mandschurica, H. r. saturata e H. r. tytleri sono simili alla sottospecie nordamericana, con il petto rosso-arancione e la fascia scura petto-ventre più stretta. Sono diffuse in Asia orientale e migrano in Asia del sud ed in Australia del nord durante l'inverno.La rondine comune è simile nelle abitudini agli altri uccelli insettivori, comprese le altre rondini e il rondone (ordine Apodiformes).Questo uccello si nutre di mosche, zanzare (ed infatti è proprio per la sua utilità per l'uomo di mangiatrice di zanzare durante l'estate che la sua scomparsa sta preoccupando; di solito le rondini arrivano da noi intorno al 21 marzo e restano fino ai primi di ottobre), libellule e di altri insetti volanti e anche vermi,e scarafaggi ; non necessita quindi di grande velocità (circa 50 km/h), ma ha un'agilità e una capacità di cambiare direzione in modo incredibilmente veloce, utilissima per il suo scopo.La rondine comune costruisce accuratamente un nido concavo, fatto di fango, trasportato nel becco. La parte interna del nido è composta di erba, piume ed altri materiali morbidi. Annida normalmente sotto costruzioni dell'uomo, quali tetti di case, fienili, stalle. Prima che questi tipi di luoghi diventassero comuni, le rondini comuni annidavano sulle scogliere o nelle caverne. È solita nidificare in tutti gli spazi adatti fino un'altitudine di 1600 m. La rondine nidifica 2 volte all'anno, ogni volta deponendo 4 o 5 uova, che vengono covate dalla femmina per 16 giorni. Entrambi i genitori costruiscono il nido e nutrono i pulcini.La popolazione di rondini comuni, in America del Nord, è notevolmente aumentata durante il ventesimo secolo con la crescente disponibilità dei luoghi di riproduzione artificiali.

Negli ultimi anni, si è avuto un declino graduale di rondini nelle zone europee e nordamericane, dovuto all'intensificazione agricola e all'uso di pesticidi che riduce il numero di insetti, e quindi anche il numero di rondini. Tuttavia, rimane un uccello molto diffuso e piuttosto comune in tutto il mondo.La rondine, e più specificatamente la rondine comune, è diventata l'uccello-simbolo dell'Estonia dal 23 giugno 1960; per gli estoni, la rondine rappresenta il cielo blu, sinonimo di libertà e di felicità eterna. Secondo le credenze estoni, se qualcuno uccide una rondine diventerà cieco. Quando in primavera le rondini tornano al nido, salutano gli umani della casa con acrobazie e canti.

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Surely, with new regulations governing diesel passenger rolling stock and emissions, the class 220/221 'Voyager' family must have a numbered amount of years left...good riddance! With the fumes lingering long after they'd gone, an unidentified Virgin pair race north through Balshaw Lane Jn on 17/02/18.

The BMW i8, first introduced as the BMW Concept Vision Efficient Dynamics, is a plug-in hybrid sports car developed by BMW. The 2015 model year BMW i8 has a 7.1 kWh lithium-ion battery pack that delivers an all-electric range of 37 km (23 mi) under the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC).[5] Under the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cycle, the range in EV mode is 24 km (15 mi) with a small amount of gasoline consumption.

The BMW i8 can go from 0–100 km/h (0 to 60 mph) in 4.4 seconds and has a top speed of 250 km/h (155 mph). The BMW i8 has a fuel efficiency of 2.1 L/100 km (134.5 mpg-imp; 112.0 mpg-US) under the NEDC test with carbon emissions of 49 g/km. EPA rated the i8 combined fuel economy at 76 equivalent (MPG-equivalent) (3.1 L gasoline equivalent/100 km; 91 mpg-imp gasoline equivalent).

The initial turbodiesel concept car was unveiled at the 2009 International Motor Show Germany. The production version of the BMW i8 was unveiled at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show. The i8 was released in Germany in June 2014. Deliveries to retail customers in the U.S. began in August 2014. Global cumulative sales totaled almost 4,500 units through June 2015.

History

The i8 is part of BMW's "Project i" and it is being marketed as a new brand, BMW i, sold separately from BMW or Mini. The BMW i3, launched for retail customers in Europe in the fourth quarter of 2013, was the first model of the i brand available in the market, and it was followed by the i8, released in Germany in June 2014 as a 2015 model year. Other i models are expected to follow.

The initial turbodiesel concept car was unveiled at the 2009 International Motor Show Germany, In 2010, BMW announced the mass production of the Concept Vision Efficient Dynamics in Leipzig beginning in 2013 as the BMW i8. The BMW i8 gasoline-powered concept car destined for production was unveiled at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show. The production version of the BMW i8 was unveiled at the 2013 International Motor Show Germany. The following are the concept and pre-production models developed by BMW that precedeed the production version.

BMW Vision EfficientDynamics (2009)

BMW Vision EfficientDynamics concept car is a plug-in hybrid with a three cylinder turbodiesel engine. Additionally, there are two electric motors with 139 horsepower. It allows an acceleration to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 4.8 seconds and an electronically limited top speed of 250 km/h (160 mph).

According to BMW, the average fuel consumption in the EU test cycle (KV01) is 3.76 liters/100 kilometers, (75.1 mpg imp), and has a carbon dioxide emission rating of 99 grams per kilometer (1,3 l/100 km and 33g CO2/km ; EU-PHEV ECE-R101). The estimated all-electric range is 50 km (31 mi), and the 24-liter petrol tank extends the total vehicle range to up to 700 km (430 mi). The lightweight chassis is made mainly from aluminum. The windshield, top, doors and fenders are made from polycarbonate glass, with the body having a drag coefficient of 0.26.

The designers in charge of the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics Concept were Mario Majdandzic, Exterior Design and Jochen Paesen, Interior Design.

The vehicle was unveiled in 2009 International Motor Show Germany, followed by Auto China 2010.

BMW i8 Concept (2011)

BMW i8 Concept plug-in hybrid electric vehicle includes an electric motor located in the front axle powering the front wheels rated 96 kW (131 PS; 129 hp) and 250 N·m (184 lb·ft), a turbocharged 1.5-liter 3-cylinder gasoline engine driving rear wheels rated 164 kW (223 PS; 220 hp) and 300 N·m (221 lb·ft) of torque, with combined output of 260 kW (354 PS; 349 hp) and 550 N·m (406 lb·ft), a 7.2 kWh (26 MJ) lithium-ion battery pack that allows an all-electric range of 35 km (22 mi). All four wheels provide regenerative braking. The location of the battery pack in the energy tunnel gives the vehicle a low centre of gravity, enhancing its dynamics. Its top speed is electronically limited to 250 km/h (160 mph) and is expected to go from 0 to 100 km/h (0 to 60 mph) in 4.6 seconds. Under normal driving conditions the i8 is expected to deliver 80 mpg-US (2.9 L/100 km; 96 mpg-imp) under the European cycle. A full charge of the battery will take less than 2 hours using 220V. The positioning of the motor and engine over the axles results in optimum 50/50 weight distribution.

The vehicle was unveiled at the 2011 International Motor Show Germany, followed by CENTER 548 in New York City, 42nd Tokyo Motor Show 2011, 82nd Geneva Motor Show 2012, BMW i Born Electric Tour at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni at Via Nazionale 194 in Rome, Auto Shanghai 2013.

This concept car was featured in the film Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.

BMW i8 Concept Spyder (2012)

The BMW i8 Concept Spyder included a slightly shorter wheelbase and overall length over the BMW i8 Concept, carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP) Life module, drive modules made primarily from aluminium components, interlocking of surfaces and lines, 8.8-inch (22.4 cm) screen display, off-white outer layer, orange tone naturally tanned leather upholstery.

The vehicle was unveiled in Auto China 2012 in Beijing and won Concept Car of the Year, followed by 83rd Geneva International Motor Show 2013.

The designer of the BMW i8 Concept Spyder was Richard Kim.

BMW i8 coupe prototype (2013)

The design of the BMW i8 coupe prototype was based on the BMW i8 Concept. The BMW i8 prototype has an average fuel efficiency of less than 2.5 L/100 km (113.0 mpg-imp; 94.1 mpg-US) under the New European Driving Cycle with carbon emissions of less than 59 g/km. The i8 with its carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) passenger cell lightweight, aerodynamically optimized body, and BMW eDrive technology offers the dynamic performance of a sports car, with an expected 0–100 km (0–60 mi) sprint time of less than 4.5 seconds using both power sources. The plug-in hybrid system of the BMW i8 comprises a three-cylinder, 1.5-liter BMW TwinPower turbo gasoline engine combined with BMW eDrive technology used in the BMW i3 and develops maximum power of 170 kW (230 hp). The BMW i8 is the first BMW production model to be powered by a three-cylinder gasoline engine and the resulting specific output of 115 kW (154 hp) per liter of displacement is on a par with high-performance sports car engines and is the highest of any engine produced by the BMW Group.

The BMW i8's second power source is a hybrid synchronous electric motor specially developed and produced by the BMW Group for BMW i. The electric motor develops maximum power of 131 hp (96 kW) and produces its maximum torque of around 320 N·m (240 lbf·ft) from standstill. Typical of an electric motor, responsive power is instantly available when starting and this continues into the higher load ranges. As well as providing a power boost to assist the gasoline engine during acceleration, the electric motor can also power the vehicle by itself. Top speed in electric mode is approximately 120 km/h (75 mph), with a maximum driving range of up to 35 km (22 mi). Linear acceleration is maintained even at higher speeds since the interplay between the two power sources efficiently absorbs any power flow interruptions when shifting gears. The BMW i8 has an electronically controlled top speed of 250 km (160 mi), which can be reached and maintained when the vehicle operates solely on the gasoline engine. The model-specific version of the high-voltage 7.2 lithium-ion battery has a liquid cooling system and can be recharged at a conventional household power socket, at a BMW i Wallbox or at a public charging station. In the US a full recharge takes approximately 3.5 hours from a conventional 120V, 12 amp household circuit or approximately 1.5 hours from a 220V Level 2 charger.

The driver can also select several driving modes: SPORT, COMFORT and ECO PRO. Using the gear selector, the driver can either select position D for automated gear selection or can switch to SPORT mode. SPORT mode offers manual gear selection and at the same time switches to very sporty drive and suspension settings. In SPORT mode, the engine and electric motor deliver extra performance, accelerator response is faster and the power boost from the electric motor is maximized. And to keep the battery topped up, SPORT mode also activates maximum energy recuperation during overrun and braking as the electric motor’s generator function, which recharges the battery using kinetic energy, switches to a more powerful setting. The Driving Experience Control switch on the center console offers a choice of two settings. On starting, COMFORT mode is activated, which offers a balance between sporty performance and fuel efficiency, with unrestricted access to all convenience functions. Alternatively, the ECO PRO mode can be engaged, which, on the BMW i8 as on other models, supports an efficiency-optimized driving style. On this mode the powertrain controller coordinates the cooperation between the gasoline engine and the electric motor for maximum fuel economy. On deceleration, the intelligent energy management system automatically decides, in line with the driving situation and vehicle status, whether to recuperate braking energy or to coast with the powertrain disengaged. At the same time, ECO PRO mode also programs electrical convenience functions such as the air conditioning, seat heating and heated mirrors to operate at minimum power consumption, but without compromising safety. The maximum driving range of the BMW i8 on a full fuel tank and with a fully charged battery is more than 500 km (310 mi) in COMFORT mode, which can be increased by up to 20% in ECO PRO mode. The BMW i8’s ECO PRO mode can also be used during all-electric operation. The vehicle is then powered solely by the electric motor. Only if the battery charge drops below a given level, or under sudden intense throttle application such as kickdown, is the internal combustion engine automatically activated.

The vehicle was unveiled in BMW Group's Miramas test track in France.

Production version

The production BMW i8 was designed by Benoit Jacob. The production version was unveiled at the 2013 International Motor Show Germany, followed by 2013 Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez. It features butterfly doors, head-up display, rear-view cameras and partially false engine noise. Series production of customer vehicles began in April 2014. It is the first production car with laser headlights, reaching further than LED lights.

The i8 has a low vehicle weight of 1,485 kg (3,274 lb) (DIN kerb weight) and a low drag coefficient (Cd) of 0.26. In all-electric mode the BMW i8 has a top speed of 120 km/h (75 mph). In Sport mode the i8 delivers a mid-range acceleration from 80 to 120 km/h (50 to 75 mph) in 2.6 seconds. The electronically controlled top speed is 250 km/h (160 mph).

Range and fuel economy[edit]

The production i8 has a 7.1 kWh lithium-ion battery pack with a usable capacity of 5.2 kWh and intelligent energy management that delivers an all-electric range of 37 km (23 mi) under the NEDC cycle. Under the EPA cycle, the range in EV mode is 15 mi (24 km), with a gasoline consumption of 0.1 gallons per 100 mi, and as a result, EPA's all-electric range is zero. The total range is 330 mi (530 km).

The production version has a fuel efficiency of 2.1 L/100 km (134.5 mpg-imp; 112.0 mpg-US) under the NEDC test with carbon emissions of 49 g/km.[5] Under EPA cycle, the i8 combined fuel economy in EV mode was rated 76 equivalent (MPG-equivalent) (3.1 L gasoline equivalent/100 km; 91 mpg-imp gasoline equivalent), with an energy consumption of 43 kW-hrs/100 mi and gasoline consumption of 0.1 gal-US/100 mi. The combined fuel economy when running only with gasoline is 28 mpg-US (8.4 L/100 km; 34 mpg-imp), 28 mpg-US (8.4 L/100 km; 34 mpg-imp) for city driving, and 29 mpg-US (8.1 L/100 km; 35 mpg-imp) in highway.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's 2014 edition of the "Light-Duty Automotive Technology, Carbon Dioxide Emissions, and Fuel Economy Trends" introduced utility factors for plug-in hybrids to represent the percentage of miles that will be driven using electricity by an average driver, in electric only or blended modes. The BMW i8 has a utility factor in EV mode of 37%, compared with 83% for the BMW i3 REx, 66% for the Chevrolet Volt, 65% for the Cadillac ELR, 45% for the Ford Energi models, 43% for the McLaren P1, 39% for the Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid, and 29% for the Toyota Prius PHV.

[Text from Wikipedia]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_i8

This Lego miniland-scale BMW i8 has been created for Flickr LUGNuts' 94th Build Challenge, - "Appease the Elves Summer Automobile Build-off (Part 2)", - a design challenge combining the resources of LUGNuts, TheLegoCarBlog (TLCB) and Head Turnerz.

Efficient bench-building...

got flat Honda tire? no problem,. There are "repair shops" on almost every street ..

Saigon, Vietnam

Manchester Victoria station was the biggest station, and the headquarters, of the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway - a complex, efficient and busy railway that is criminally under-studied by historians simply due to its sin of not serving London. It was never glamorous, with its black locomotives carrying coal and cotton, and its passenger trains going to Colne, or Todmorden, or Wigan.

Yet it was fascinating, and its station at Victoria especially so. In British Rail days, Victoria was messy, scruffy, unloved, complicated... and glorious. Even in the 1980s it was worth spending time on platform 11 (once the longest station platform in the world, combined with Exchange's main platform) watching the trains go by hauled by class 40s, 45s and 47s with DMUs beetling to and fro - while the Bury electric units glided in and out regularly from their bay platform.

The eastward route from Victoria consisted of a steep bank, almost from the platform end, to Miles Platting two miles away. Banking engines were always kept ready on this siding next to platform 12, and it was always known as 'the wall side' - strangely, as it was right in the centre of the station with no wall anywhere near it...

On this summer's day, LYR 'coffee pot' 0-6-0 engines 52341 and 52431 awaited their next duty while at platform 12 alongside, a Blackpool (Central) to Manchester express had terminated. The dirt is everywhere - the engines are dirty, there are piles of cinders next to the track, and the timber screen (erected after wartime bomb damage) clearly hadn't seen a lick of paint since it was put there. But it was a wonderful place to stand and watch trains (and the top decks of buses passing over the bridge just visible in the background).

Everything in this photo is long gone. Dirty, scruffy Manchester Victoria was largely replaced by a newer, more functional station with the AO Arena above - although thankfully, the main offices and frontage were retained. The new Victoria is also much smaller, with no need for newspaper loading platforms and no trains to Accrington via Heywood. In fact, it's now generally realised that Voctoria was over-pruned and with the growth in passenger numbers in the last 30 years, a couple more platforms might have been useful.

Victoria also now sees Metrolink, Greater Manchester's modern tramway system, and Victoria is one of its busiest and biggest stops. A new overall roof keeps passengers dry, and if you wander off a tram onto the main station concourse, a fair bit of Victoria's grandeur still remains. It's worth stopping off there for a look around.

If you'd like to know more about the Museum of Transport Greater Manchester and its collection of vintage buses, go to motgm.uk.

© Greater Manchester Transport Society. All rights reserved. Unauthorised reproduction is strictly prohibited and may result in action being taken to protect the intellectual property interests of the Society.

Construction at the new $52 million Urlas townhouses located in Ansbach,Germany is approximately at the half way point. These energy efficient Passivhauser or passive homes are German designed. When complete, each of the 22 homes will use approximately one-fourth the energy demands of a standard German home. To the Soldier living in them, there will be little visual different with the expection of a solar panel on each roof. The real difference is on the walls and in the windows. Extra thick insulation, triple-paned glass and innovative HVAC system makes these townhomes the most energy efficient homes in the Department of the Defense. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photo by Carol E. Davis)

Efficient Weight-loss Natural Treatment / therapeutic programs are provided in Czech Health SPA.

The old dishwasher (GE Nautilus) used $58 to operate per year with an electric water heater and $31 per year with a gas water heater (according to the old dishwasher's Energy Guide).

25 per cent more efficient from 2025.

Enhanced with further technologies and innovative high-temperature materials, the Advance core overall pressure ratio is pushed to more than 70:1. UltraFan also features a new geared architecture (introduced between the fan and intermediate pressure compressor),ensuring the fan runs at optimum speed, as does the engine compressor and turbine thanks to the core architecture. The carbon titanium fan system is further developed to allow the removal of the thrust reverser, enabling a truly slim-line nacelle system

2,000 views on 14th November 2013

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The "new" Police Station

In compliance with the Police (Scotland) Act of 1857 every County in Scotland (excluding Orkney & Shetland) was required to set up a police force or unite with a neighbour. In most cases what happened was the existing force was reconstituted, albeit with major clearance of existing staff.

Provided the force was deemed efficient, a Government grant of 25 per cent of the annual cost of upkeep of the force (wages and uniforms) was paid. To establish efficiency or otherwise, a new position - Her Majesty’s Inspector for Scotland (“HMI”) – was created and that poor soul travelled the length and breadth of Scotland every year, inspecting every force (including burgh/city ones if they had decided to remain separate from their County neighbours).

In the inaugural Report, produced in May 1859, and which covered the period from 16.3.1858 to 15.3.1859, the original Inspector, Colonel John Kinloch outlined his duty : to 'visit and enquire into the State and Efficiency of the Police appointed for every County and Burgh, and also into the State of the Police Stations, Charge Rooms, Cells, or Lock-ups, and other Premises occupied for the Use of such Police'.

He did however appreciate that “Rome was not built in a day” - and obviously neither were police stations!

In Colonel Kinloch's next Annual Report - covering the period March 1859 to March 1860 – he noted that the Sutherland Force had grown by one to NINE (one man for each district)and that there were also proposals to build a police station in the County Town of Dornoch. Presumably the Force Headquarters at that time was merely a spare room (or two) within the Sheriff Courthouse, or in the old Court building/Jail.

The officer for Dornoch would be the Sergeant (Deputy Chief Constable) by then, although the Chief constable would have been also the local bobby up until then. It would be some time before a Constable was also based in Dornoch. But despite that, there was still a need for a proper police office for the officer(s) to work out of and where the public could attend to make complaints, and also to hold prisoners.

Whichever building was used up until then would have been unsatisfactory, being without suitable accommodation in which to lodge prisoners - brought in from all parts of the county for Court appearance before the Sheriff.

The Commissioners met again on 30 April 1861, when a further increase in the Rogue Money assessment was set, this year being £200. The sum of £350 was to be required as the Police assessment for the year to 15/3/1862, to cover the cost of salaries, uniforms and other matters.

"The meeting do further assess a sum of £400 towards the expense of erecting a Police Station in Dornoch ... in terms of a pledge given (to) Colonel Kinloch, Her Majesty's Inspector of the constabulary force in Scotland, as the condition under which he reported the police force of this County efficient, entitling them to draw the Government allowance of 25 per cent, but this sum was not to be collected before the first day of October next."

The plans of the Station, and all matters relating to it, along with the contracts involved, were delegated to the Police Committee with full powers to take the matter forward to completion.

Mr Kinloch in April 1862 reported that plans (for the new Station at Dornoch) were well advanced. His plan had worked for once. Not all Counties and Burgh Police authorities were prepared to work with him - many stubbornly resisted his proposals!

Then, at the Annual Meeting of the Commissioners held on 30/4/1862, when it came to calculating the Police Assessment: "The Commissioners do therefore assess ... in the sum of £380, with a further sum of £300 to complete the Police Station now in the course of erection in the Burgh of Dornoch."

On 30th April 1863, the Police Assessment came to:"£850 including a balance due to the Bank disbursed on account of erecting the new Police Station."

Value for money was important, and value the people of Sutherland got! That building – in Dornoch Square - would be used as a Police Station for nearly 120 years!

As well as being the local Police Station for the Burgh of Dornoch (the burgh was one of few in Scotland never to have its own police force), it served as the Headquarters for the Sutherland Constabulary until that force merged with the Ross & Cromarty Constabulary in May 1963 – to form Ross & Sutherland Constabulary.. Thereafter it was the Sub Divisional Office for Sutherland throughout the existence of Ross & Sutherland Constabulary - which merged with the other forces of the Scottish Highlands & Islands on 16th May 1975 to form Northern Constabulary.

The original building was clearly by then no longer fit for purpose and plans were already afoot to build a new Station in Dornoch, and this finally opened in the early 1980s. Set on a rise just beyond the Square, it occupied an imposing position overlooking a petrol filling station, affording a good clear view of the Square and right up the main thoroughfare of Dornoch. At least it did, until the filling station went the same way as most urban ones, and closed and became a prime location for the building of flatted dwellings. Now the station no longer has a view, thanks to the new three story structure which now stands in front of it.

The new police station became the new Sub Divisional Station for Sutherland (Part of Central Division, which comprised almost the whole of the former Ross and Sutherland force area) , originally with a Chief Inspector and Inspector in charge. The higher rank was however soon redeployed elsewhere, an early precursor of a rationalisation of ranks.

In due course, in the early 1990s the Divisional structure was dissolved within Northern Constabulary, and 8 Area Commands were set up instead. Sutherland became a Sub Area of Caithness and Sutherland, with the Inspector at Dornoch being in charge of Sutherland Sub Area. More recent changes saw boundary changes result in formation on an enlarged Area Command, retitled Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross.

Dornoch was never a 24-hour Station and in 2011, Northern Constabulary announced a number of Station closures. Dornoch, as a larger station, would remain open but the public counter would only be open 0900-1700 Monday-Friday.

These days, it seems few members of the public actually call in person at a police station – most contact is nowadays done by telephone. Such is progress?

In preparation for the merger of all 8 Scottish Police Forces to form the “Police Service of Scotland” on 1st April 2013, signage was de-badged to remove all mention of the former force of origin. Hence removal of the sizeable Northern Constabulary logo from the Police Station sign board has resulted in an over-abundance of white space.

Although the “new” station is not unpleasing to the eye, to my mind the original station is far more impressive – even if was designed more on dwelling-house lines than as a “Police Complex”. It is one of a line of grand structures (all facing the Cathedral) ranked along the main street of Dornoch, including the old Jail (now a large shop), the Sheriff Courthouse (soon scheduled to close in favour of Tain) and the Bishop’s Castle (now a Hotel) - what once comprised a whole line of symbols of Dornoch’s status as an ancient Royal Burgh, Cathedral City and County town.

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

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

Some background:

The Kawasaki Ki-100 was a fighter aircraft used by the Imperial Japanese Army in World War II. The Japanese Army designation was "Type 5 Fighter". The emergency measure of adapting a Ki-61-II-KAI fighter to carry a Mitsubishi radial engine resulted in one of the best interceptors used by the Army during the entire war. It combined excellent power and maneuverability and, although its high-altitude performance against the USAAF Boeing B-29 Superfortress heavy bombers was limited by the lack of an efficient supercharger, it performed better than most other IJAAF fighters.

Operational missions began in March 1945. From the first engagements, the Ki-100 performed well against the B-29 and showed itself to be equally effective against U.S. Navy carrier fighters. But the development did not stop, because the B-29 bombers still presented a serious threat, and even higher altitudes of the intruders were expected. As a desperate measure to improve high altitude performance, a radical further step was taken, which eventually led to the Ki-100-II with a turbocharged radial and the Ki-100-III with a modified airframe and a license-built German engine.

Nevertheless, the Ki-100-III KAI proved to be very effective at altitudes of 12.000 m and more, and the machines' original armament of only two wing-mounted 20 mm Ho-5 cannons was quickly augmented in the field by another pair of these guns in streamlined pods on the underwing hardpoints.

General characteristics:

Crew: 1

Length: 10.29 m (33 ft 9 in)

Wingspan: 14.25 m (46 ft 8 in)

Height: 4.17 m (13 ft 8 in)

Wing area: 20 m² (215 ft²)

Empty weight: 2,525 kg (5,567 lb)

Loaded weight: 3,495 kg (7,705 lb)

Powerplant:

1× Kawasaki Ha-213 (a license-built variant of the German Jumo 213E) liquid-cooled

inverted V-12, delivering 1,287 kW (1,750 PS) and temporary 2,050 PS with

MW-50 injection at low altitudes

Performance:

Maximum speed: 759 km/h (472 mph) at 12,500 m (41,000 ft) using GM-1 boost

Range: 2,000 km (1,240 mi)

Service ceiling: 15,100 m using GM-1 boost (49,540 ft using GM-1 boost)

Rate of climb: 20 m/s to 25.4 m/s (3,937 ft/min at maximum weight of 5,217 kg

to ~5,000+ ft/min at 4,727 kg)

Wing loading: 196.8 kg/m² (41.38 lb/ft²)

Power/mass: 0.276 kW/kg (0.167 hp/lb)

Armament:

2× 20 mm Ho-5 cannons, mounted in the wings outside of the propeller arc.

Two underwing hardpoints for 94 gal. drop tanks or bombs of up to 250 kg caliber,

frequently occupied by two further Ho-5 cannons in external pods

The kit and its assembly:

This project was inspired by a very similar build that I found recently while browsing the WWW. I liked the idea of a Ki-61 with a German Jumo 213 from the Ta 152 high altitude fighter - would make sense, and there was actually a technology exchange between Japan an Germany, so that the combo appears plausible. The engine appears very suitable for a Japanese emergency high altitude fighter, because it was operational in 1945 and did not rely on a huge turbo-supercharger with complex plumbing, rather on a combined injection system for extra performance.

The basis is the vintage Ki-100 I kit from Aoshima from the early 70ies. It's simple, with raised details and a retractable landing gear(!). Anyway, it was cheap, I did not want to slice up a more modern (and much more expensive) kit of this aircraft. The Ki-100 was chosen because it already features the late, lowered spine, and the radial fitted to the streamlined Ki-61 fuselage would hopefully create a wider intersection to take the Jumo 213 more easily and with less body work.

The latter comes from the (also seriously vintage) Ta 152 from FROG, in this case in a recent Revell re-boxing. With its annular radiator, the engine looks almost like a radial, and it is pretty long. So I tried to put the new engine as close as possible to the cockpit. The respective fuselage cut was made at the wings' leading edge. Fitting the new engine to the narrow Ki-100 fuselage still proved to be trickier than expected, though. I had to take out wedges from both of the rather round Ta 152 engine section halves to narrow it down far enough that it would roughly match the oval Ki-100 fuselage. The round annular radiator was kept, though. The nose shape is a bit odd now, but the plausible result of mating things that were not originally intended for each other…

I also found the German propeller to be very massive an the slender Ki-100, so I replaced it with an alternative from an AZ Model Spitfire Mk. IX. The radiator fan (from a BMW 801) was added, because the FROG Ta 152 radiator just features a gaping ring hole. And instead of implanting a structure I rather hid the weak spot behind the fan... Odd arrangement, yes, but it works.

As a high altitude fighter, I increased wingspan and rudder area. The additional wing tips are actually parts from an Airfix B-26 elevator, after LOTS of carving and sculpting... The original fixed part of the fin was retained but a deeper rudder with a more square shape, somewhat matching the new wing tips, was implanted, scratched/carved from a leftover tail of a PM Model Ta 183. The cannon pods under the wings come from a Hobby Boss Bf 109 kit.

In order to compensate for the bigger span and longer nose I finally implanted a 1cm fuselage plug in front of the tail – very similar to the Fw 190 D/Ta 152 arrangement. This was sculpted from massive 2C putty.

Inside, a complete cockpit was implanted, taken from an Italerl Fw 190 D. The landing gear was slightly upgraded, too. The rather massive struts are OOB, but new wheels, from a Hobby Boss Bf 109, were used. A bulkhead was added in the main gear wells, blocking sight into the fuselage. The original fixed tail wheel was replaced by a retractable alternative (also from a Spitfire) with new covers.

Painting and markings:

This went a bit wrong, but I kept the result. I originally wanted to paint the machine all over light green-grey, a bit like Sky "S". But I decided to mix a color instead of taking a stock paint - I mixed Humbrol 28 (FS 36622) with a little Humbrol 155 (FS 34087), and the result was not a pale green but rather a dull beige, almost like British Hemp with an olive hue. The tone looked interesting, though, so I stuck with it.

Anyway, the engine received covers in bare steel and aluminum, and I painted the radiator section as well as an anti-glare panel in front of the cockpit in black, which turned the Ki-100 II into a kind of IJN aircraft, reminiscent of early WWII A6M 'Zero' fighters of the IJN?

That changed after weathering and panel shading, when I applied decals, especially the white home defense bars under the Hinomaru and the yellow ID stripes on the wings (all stripes were cut from generic decal sheet from TL Modellbau). Still, the livery is a little confusing?

All interior surfaces were painted with Chrome Yellow primer (Humbrol 81, mixed with 94).

The squadron markings comes from a vintage MicroScale decal sheet, the blue fuselage stripe is a personal addition that underlines the aircraft’s 4th Sentai affiliation.

After some soot stains around guns and exhaust pipes the kit received a coat of matt acrylic varnish.

An interesting build, and quite a challenge. Even though most of the original Ki-100 was kept, the larger wing span and the different engine change the look considerably. At first glance, this one really reminds of the Ta 152 in Japanese colors, but except for the engine (which was modified, too) nothing actually comes from the German aircraft! On the other side, this conversion shows how ‘natural’ the way from the Fw 190 to the Ta 152 H must have been, since I went through similar modifications in order to get to this high altitude version?

The palanquin is a class of wheelless vehicles, a type of human-powered transport, for the transport of persons. Examples of litter vehicles include lectica (ancient Rome), kiệu [轎] (Vietnam), sedan chair (Britain), litera (Spain), palanquin (France, India, Ghana), jiao (China), liteira (Portugal), wo (วอ, Chinese style known as kiao เกี้ยว) (Thailand), gama (Korea), koshi, ren and kago [駕籠] (Japan) and tahtırevan (Turkey).

Smaller litters may take the form of open chairs or beds carried by two or more carriers, some being enclosed for protection from the elements. Larger litters, for example those of the Chinese emperors, may resemble small rooms upon a platform borne upon the shoulders of a dozen or more people. To most efficiently carry a litter, porters will attempt to transfer the load to their shoulders, either by placing the carrying poles upon their shoulders, or the use of a yoke to transfer the load from the carrying poles to the shoulder.

DEFINITIONS

A simple litter, often called a king carrier, consists of a sling attached along its length to poles or stretched inside a frame. The poles or frame are carried by porters in front and behind. Such simple litters are common on battlefields and emergency situations, where terrain prohibits wheeled vehicles from carrying away the dead and wounded.

Litters can also be created by the expedient of the lashing of poles to a chair. Such litters, consisting of a simple cane chair with maybe an umbrella to ward off the elements and two stout bamboo poles, may still be found in Chinese mountain resorts such as the Huangshan Mountains to carry tourists along scenic paths and to viewing positions inaccessible by other means of transport.

A more luxurious version consists of a bed or couch, sometimes enclosed by curtains, for the passenger or passengers to lie on. These are carried by at least two porters in equal numbers in front and behind, using wooden rails that pass through brackets on the sides of the couch. The largest and heaviest types would be carried by draught animals.

Another form, commonly called a sedan chair, consists of a chair or windowed cabin suitable for a single occupant, also carried by at least two porters in front and behind, using wooden rails that pass through brackets on the sides of the chair. These porters were known in London as "chairmen". These have been very rare since the 19th century, but such enclosed portable litters have been used as an elite form of transport for centuries, especially in cultures where women are kept secluded.

Sedan chairs, in use until the 19th century, were accompanied at night by link-boys who carried torches. Where possible, the link boys escorted the fares to the chairmen, the passengers then being delivered to the door of their lodgings. Several houses in Bath, Somerset, England still have the link extinguishers on the exteriors, shaped like outsized candle snuffers. In the 1970s, entrepreneur and Bathwick resident, John Cuningham, revived the sedan chair service business for a brief amount of time.

ANTIQUITY

In pharaonic Egypt and many oriental realms such as China, the ruler and divinities (in the form of an idol) were often transported in a litter in public, frequently in procession, as during state ceremonial or religious festivals.

The ancient Hebrews fashioned the Ark of the Covenant to resemble and function as a litter for the ten commandments and presence of God.

In Ancient Rome, a litter called lectica or "sella" often carried members of the imperial family, as well as other dignitaries and other members of the rich elite, when not mounted on horseback.

The habit must have proven quite persistent, for the Third Council of Braga in 675 AD saw the need to order that bishops, when carrying the relics of martyrs in procession, must walk to the church, and not be carried in a chair, or litter, by deacons clothed in white.

In the Catholic Church, Popes were carried the same way in Sedia gestatoria, which was replaced later by the Popemobile.

IN ASIA

CHINA

In Han China the elite travelled in light bamboo seats supported on a carrier's back like a backpack. In the Northern Wei Dynasty and the Northern and Southern Song Dynasties, wooden carriages on poles appear in painted landscape scrolls.

A commoner used a wooden or bamboo civil litter (Chinese: 民轎; pinyin: min2 jiao4), while the mandarin class used an official litter (Chinese: 官轎; pinyin: guan1 jiao4) enclosed in silk curtains.

The chair with perhaps the greatest importance was the bridal chair. A traditional bride is carried to her wedding ceremony by a "shoulder carriage" (Chinese: 肩輿; pinyin: jiān yú), usually hired. These were lacquered in an auspicious shade of red, richly ornamented and gilded, and were equipped with red silk curtains to screen the bride from onlookers.

Sedan chairs were once the only public conveyance in Hong Kong, filling the role of cabs. Chair stands were found at all hotels, wharves, and major crossroads. Public chairs were licensed, and charged according to tariffs which would be displayed inside. Private chairs were an important marker of a person's status. Civil officers' status was denoted by the number of bearers attached to his chair. Before Hong Kong's Peak Tram went into service in 1888, wealthy residents of The Peak were carried on sedan chairs by coolies up the steep paths to their residence including Sir Richard MacDonnell's (former Governor of Hong Kong) summer home, where they could take advantage of the cooler climate. Since 1975 an annual sedan chair race has been held to benefit the Matilda International Hospital and commemorate the practice of earlier days.

KOREA

In Korea, royalty and aristocrats were carried in wooden litters called gama. Gamas were primarily used by royalty and government officials. There were six types of gama, each assigned to different government official rankings. In traditional weddings, the bride and groom are carried to the ceremony in separate gamas. Because of the difficulties posed by the mountainous terrain of the Korean peninsula and the lack of paved roads, gamas were preferred over wheeled vehicles.

JAPAN

As the population of Japan increased, less and less land was available as grazing for the upkeep of horses. With the availability of horses restricted to martial uses, human powered transport became more important and prevalent.

Kago (Kanji: 駕籠, Hiragana: かご) were often used in Japan to transport the non-samurai citizen. Norimono were used by the warrior class and nobility, most famously during the Tokugawa period when regional samurai were required to spend a part of the year in Edo (Tokyo) with their families, resulting in yearly migrations of the rich and powerful (Sankin-kōtai) to and from the capital along the central backbone road of Japan.

Somewhat similar in appearance to kago are the portable shrines that are used to carry the "god-body" (goshintai), the central totemic core normally found in the most sacred area of Shinto Shrines, on a tour to and from a shrine during some religious festivals.

THAILAND

In Thailand, the royalty were also carried in wooden litters called wo ("พระวอ" Phra Wo, literally, "Royal Sedan") for large ceremonies. Wos were elaborately decorated litters that were delicately carved and colored by gold leaves. Stained glass is also used to decorate the litters. Presently, Royal Wos and carriages are only used for royal ceremonies in Thailand. They are exhibited in the Bangkok National Museum.

INDONESIA

In traditional Javanese society, the generic palanquin or joli was a wicker chair with a canopy, attached to two poles, and borne on men's shoulders, and was available for hire to any paying customer. As a status marker, gilded throne-like palanquins, or jempana, were originally reserved solely for royalty, and later co-opted by the Dutch, as a status marker: the more elaborate the palanquin, the higher the status of the owner. The joli was transported either by hired help, by nobles' peasants, or by slaves.

Historically, the palanquin of a Javanese king (raja), prince (pangeran), lord (raden mas) or other noble (bangsawan) was known as a jempana; a more throne-like version was called a pangkem. It was always part of a large military procession, with a yellow (the Javanese colour for royalty) square canopy. The ceremonial parasol (payung) was held above the palanquin, which was carried by a bearer behind and flanked by the most loyal bodyguards, usually about 12 men, with pikes, sabres, lances, muskets, keris and a variety of disguised blades. In contrast, the canopy of the Sumatran palanquin was oval-shaped and draped in white cloth; this was reflective of greater cultural permeation by Islam. Occasionally, a weapon or heirloom, such as an important keris or tombak, was given its own palanquin. In Hindu culture in Bali today, the tradition of using palanquins for auspicious statues, weapons or heirlooms continues, for funerals especially; in more elaborate rituals, a palanquin is used to bear the body, and is subsequently cremated along with the departed.

INDIA

A palanquin, also known as palkhi, is a covered sedan chair (or litter) carried on four poles. It derives from the Sanskrit word for a bed or couch, pa:lanka.

Palanquins are mentioned in literature as early as the Ramayana (c. 250BC).

Palanquins began to fall out of use after rickshaws (on wheels, more practical) were introduced in the 1930s.

The doli (also transliterated from Hindi as dhooly or dhoolie) is a cot or frame, suspended by the four corners from a bamboo pole. Two or four men would carry it. In the time of the British in India, dhooly-bearers were used to carry the wounded from the battlefield and transport them.

Today in numerous areas of India including at the Hindu pilgrimage site of Amarnath Temple in Kashmir, palanquins can be hired to carry the customer up steep hills.

IN AFRICA

GHANA

In Southern Ghana the Akan and the Ga-Dangme carry their chiefs and kings in palanquins when they appear in their state durbars. When used in such occasions these palanquins may be seen as a substitutes of a state coach in Europe or a horse used in Northern Ghana. The chiefs of the Ga (mantsemei) in the Greater Accra Region (Ghana) use also figurative palanquins which are built after a chief's family symbol or totem. But these day the figurative palanquins are very seldom used. They are related with the figurative coffins which have become very popular among the Ga in the last 50 years. Since these figurative coffins were shown 1989 in the exhibition "Les magicians de la terre" in the Centre Pompidou in Paris they were shown in many art museums around the world.

ANGOLA

From at least the 15th century until the 19th century, litters of varying types known as tipoye were used in the Kingdom of Kongo as a mode of transportation for the elites. Seat-style litters with a single pole along the back of the chair carried by two men (usually slaves) were topped with an umbrella. Lounge-style litters in the shape of a bed were used to move one to two people with porter at each corner. Due to the tropical climate, horse were not native to the area nor could they survive very ong once introduced by the Portuguese. Human portage was the only mode of transportation in the region and became highly adept with missionary accounts claiming the litter transporters could move at speeds 'as fast as post horses at the gallop'.

IN THE WEST

EUROPE

Portuguese and Spanish navigators and colonistics encountered litters of various sorts in India, Mexico, and Peru. They were imported into Spain and spread into France and then Britain. All the names for these devices are ultimately derived from the root sed- in Latin sedere, "sit," which gave rise to seda ("seat") and its diminutive sedula ("little seat"), the latter of which was contracted to sella, the traditional Latin name for a carried chair.The carried chair met instant success in Europe, whose city streets were often a literal mess of mud and refuse: Where cities and towns did not enjoy the presence of sewage systems left over from Imperial Roman days, it was common to empty chamber pots and discard kitchen refuse from windows down into the adjacent streets. Affluent and well-to-do citizens often found it hazardous and impractical to negotiate those avenues, and sedan chairs allowed them to remain prim and spotless while the carrying valets had to contend with the mud and the filth.In Europe, Henry VIII of England was carried around in a sedan chair — it took four strong chairmen to carry him towards the end of his life — but the expression "sedan chair" was not used in print until 1615. It does not seem to take its name from the city of Sedan. Trevor Fawcett notes (see link) that British travellers Fynes Moryson (in 1594) and John Evelyn (in 1644-5) remarked on the seggioli of Naples and Genoa, which were chairs for public hire slung from poles and carried on the shoulders of two porters.From the mid-17th century, visitors taking the waters at Bath would be conveyed in a chair enclosed in baize curtains, especially if they had taken a heated bath and were going straight to bed to sweat. The curtains kept off a possibly fatal draft. These were not the proper sedan chairs "to carry the better sort of people in visits, or if sick or infirmed" (Celia Fiennes). In the 17th and 18th centuries, the chairs stood in the main hall of a well-appointed city residence, where a lady could enter and be carried to her destination without setting foot in a filthy street. The neoclassical sedan chair made for Queen Charlotte remains at Buckingham Palace.

By the mid-17th century, sedans for hire were a common mode of transportation. In London, "chairs" were available for hire in 1634, each assigned a number and the chairmen licensed because the operation was a monopoly of a courtier of Charles I. Sedan chairs could pass in streets too narrow for a carriage and were meant to alleviate the crush of coaches in London streets, an early instance of traffic congestion. A similar system was later used in Scotland. In 1738, a fare system was established for Scottish sedans, and the regulations covering chairmen in Bath are reminiscent of the modern Taxi Commission's rules. A trip within a city cost six pence and a day's rental was four shillings. A sedan was even used as an ambulance in Scotland's Royal Infirmary.

Chairmen moved at a good clip. In Bath they had the right-of-way and pedestrians hearing "By your leave" behind them knew to flatten themselves against walls or railings as the chairmen hustled through. There were often disastrous accidents, upset chairs, and broken glass-paned windows.

Sedan chairs were also used by the wealthy in the cities of colonial America. Benjamin Franklin used a sedan chair late in the 18th century.

COLONIAL PRACTICE

In various colonies, litters of various types were maintained under native traditions, but often adopted by the white colonials as a new ruling and/or socio-economic elite, either for practical reasons (often comfortable modern transport was unavailable, e.g. for lack of decent roads) and/or as a status symbol. During the 17-18th centuries, palanquins (see above) were very popular among European traders in Bengal, so much so that in 1758 an order was issued prohibiting their purchase by certain lower-ranking employees.

THE END OF A TRADITION

In Great Britain, in the early 19th century, the public sedan chair began to fall out of use, perhaps because streets were better paved or perhaps because of the rise of the more comfortable, companionable and affordable hackney carriage. In Glasgow, the decline of the sedan chair is illustrated by licensing records which show twenty-seven sedan chairs in 1800, eighteen in 1817, and ten in 1828. During that same period the number of registered hackney carriages in Glasgow rose to one hundred and fifty.

THE TRAVELING SILLA OF LATIN AMERICA

A similar but simpler palanquin was used by the elite in parts of 18th- and 19th-century Latin America. Often simply called a silla (Spanish for seat or chair), it consisted of a simple wooden chair with an attached tumpline. The occupant sat in the chair, which was then affixed to the back of a single porter, with the tumpline supported by his head. The occupant thus faced backwards during travel. This style of palanquin was probably due to the steep terrain and rough or narrow roads unsuitable to European-style sedan chairs. Travellers by silla usually employed a number of porters, who would alternate carrying the occupant.

A chair borne on the back of a porter, almost identical to the silla, is used in the mountains of China for ferrying older tourists and visitors up and down the mountain paths. One of these mountains where the silla is still used is the Huangshan Mountains of Anhui province in Eastern China.

WIKIPEDIA

Energy Efficient Light

The palaquin is a class of wheelless vehicles, a type of human-powered transport, for the transport of persons. Examples of litter vehicles include lectica (ancient Rome), kiệu [轎] (Vietnam), sedan chair (Britain), litera (Spain), palanquin (France, India, Ghana), jiao (China), liteira (Portugal), wo (วอ, Chinese style known as kiao เกี้ยว) (Thailand), gama (Korea), koshi, ren and kago [駕籠] (Japan) and tahtırevan (Turkey).

Smaller litters may take the form of open chairs or beds carried by two or more carriers, some being enclosed for protection from the elements. Larger litters, for example those of the Chinese emperors, may resemble small rooms upon a platform borne upon the shoulders of a dozen or more people. To most efficiently carry a litter, porters will attempt to transfer the load to their shoulders, either by placing the carrying poles upon their shoulders, or the use of a yoke to transfer the load from the carrying poles to the shoulder.

DEFINITIONS

A simple litter, often called a king carrier, consists of a sling attached along its length to poles or stretched inside a frame. The poles or frame are carried by porters in front and behind. Such simple litters are common on battlefields and emergency situations, where terrain prohibits wheeled vehicles from carrying away the dead and wounded.

Litters can also be created by the expedient of the lashing of poles to a chair. Such litters, consisting of a simple cane chair with maybe an umbrella to ward off the elements and two stout bamboo poles, may still be found in Chinese mountain resorts such as the Huangshan Mountains to carry tourists along scenic paths and to viewing positions inaccessible by other means of transport.

A more luxurious version consists of a bed or couch, sometimes enclosed by curtains, for the passenger or passengers to lie on. These are carried by at least two porters in equal numbers in front and behind, using wooden rails that pass through brackets on the sides of the couch. The largest and heaviest types would be carried by draught animals.

Another form, commonly called a sedan chair, consists of a chair or windowed cabin suitable for a single occupant, also carried by at least two porters in front and behind, using wooden rails that pass through brackets on the sides of the chair. These porters were known in London as "chairmen". These have been very rare since the 19th century, but such enclosed portable litters have been used as an elite form of transport for centuries, especially in cultures where women are kept secluded.

Sedan chairs, in use until the 19th century, were accompanied at night by link-boys who carried torches. Where possible, the link boys escorted the fares to the chairmen, the passengers then being delivered to the door of their lodgings. Several houses in Bath, Somerset, England still have the link extinguishers on the exteriors, shaped like outsized candle snuffers. In the 1970s, entrepreneur and Bathwick resident, John Cuningham, revived the sedan chair service business for a brief amount of time.

ANTIQUITY

In pharaonic Egypt and many oriental realms such as China, the ruler and divinities (in the form of an idol) were often transported in a litter in public, frequently in procession, as during state ceremonial or religious festivals.

The ancient Hebrews fashioned the Ark of the Covenant to resemble and function as a litter for the ten commandments and presence of God.

In Ancient Rome, a litter called lectica or "sella" often carried members of the imperial family, as well as other dignitaries and other members of the rich elite, when not mounted on horseback.

The habit must have proven quite persistent, for the Third Council of Braga in 675 AD saw the need to order that bishops, when carrying the relics of martyrs in procession, must walk to the church, and not be carried in a chair, or litter, by deacons clothed in white.

In the Catholic Church, Popes were carried the same way in Sedia gestatoria, which was replaced later by the Popemobile.

IN ASIA

CHINA

In Han China the elite travelled in light bamboo seats supported on a carrier's back like a backpack. In the Northern Wei Dynasty and the Northern and Southern Song Dynasties, wooden carriages on poles appear in painted landscape scrolls.

A commoner used a wooden or bamboo civil litter (Chinese: 民轎; pinyin: min2 jiao4), while the mandarin class used an official litter (Chinese: 官轎; pinyin: guan1 jiao4) enclosed in silk curtains.

The chair with perhaps the greatest importance was the bridal chair. A traditional bride is carried to her wedding ceremony by a "shoulder carriage" (Chinese: 肩輿; pinyin: jiān yú), usually hired. These were lacquered in an auspicious shade of red, richly ornamented and gilded, and were equipped with red silk curtains to screen the bride from onlookers.

Sedan chairs were once the only public conveyance in Hong Kong, filling the role of cabs. Chair stands were found at all hotels, wharves, and major crossroads. Public chairs were licensed, and charged according to tariffs which would be displayed inside. Private chairs were an important marker of a person's status. Civil officers' status was denoted by the number of bearers attached to his chair. Before Hong Kong's Peak Tram went into service in 1888, wealthy residents of The Peak were carried on sedan chairs by coolies up the steep paths to their residence including Sir Richard MacDonnell's (former Governor of Hong Kong) summer home, where they could take advantage of the cooler climate. Since 1975 an annual sedan chair race has been held to benefit the Matilda International Hospital and commemorate the practice of earlier days.

KOREA

In Korea, royalty and aristocrats were carried in wooden litters called gama. Gamas were primarily used by royalty and government officials. There were six types of gama, each assigned to different government official rankings. In traditional weddings, the bride and groom are carried to the ceremony in separate gamas. Because of the difficulties posed by the mountainous terrain of the Korean peninsula and the lack of paved roads, gamas were preferred over wheeled vehicles.

JAPAN

As the population of Japan increased, less and less land was available as grazing for the upkeep of horses. With the availability of horses restricted to martial uses, human powered transport became more important and prevalent.

Kago (Kanji: 駕籠, Hiragana: かご) were often used in Japan to transport the non-samurai citizen. Norimono were used by the warrior class and nobility, most famously during the Tokugawa period when regional samurai were required to spend a part of the year in Edo (Tokyo) with their families, resulting in yearly migrations of the rich and powerful (Sankin-kōtai) to and from the capital along the central backbone road of Japan.

Somewhat similar in appearance to kago are the portable shrines that are used to carry the "god-body" (goshintai), the central totemic core normally found in the most sacred area of Shinto Shrines, on a tour to and from a shrine during some religious festivals.

THAILAND

In Thailand, the royalty were also carried in wooden litters called wo ("พระวอ" Phra Wo, literally, "Royal Sedan") for large ceremonies. Wos were elaborately decorated litters that were delicately carved and colored by gold leaves. Stained glass is also used to decorate the litters. Presently, Royal Wos and carriages are only used for royal ceremonies in Thailand. They are exhibited in the Bangkok National Museum.

INDONESIA

In traditional Javanese society, the generic palanquin or joli was a wicker chair with a canopy, attached to two poles, and borne on men's shoulders, and was available for hire to any paying customer. As a status marker, gilded throne-like palanquins, or jempana, were originally reserved solely for royalty, and later co-opted by the Dutch, as a status marker: the more elaborate the palanquin, the higher the status of the owner. The joli was transported either by hired help, by nobles' peasants, or by slaves.

Historically, the palanquin of a Javanese king (raja), prince (pangeran), lord (raden mas) or other noble (bangsawan) was known as a jempana; a more throne-like version was called a pangkem. It was always part of a large military procession, with a yellow (the Javanese colour for royalty) square canopy. The ceremonial parasol (payung) was held above the palanquin, which was carried by a bearer behind and flanked by the most loyal bodyguards, usually about 12 men, with pikes, sabres, lances, muskets, keris and a variety of disguised blades. In contrast, the canopy of the Sumatran palanquin was oval-shaped and draped in white cloth; this was reflective of greater cultural permeation by Islam. Occasionally, a weapon or heirloom, such as an important keris or tombak, was given its own palanquin. In Hindu culture in Bali today, the tradition of using palanquins for auspicious statues, weapons or heirlooms continues, for funerals especially; in more elaborate rituals, a palanquin is used to bear the body, and is subsequently cremated along with the departed.

INDIA

A palanquin, also known as palkhi, is a covered sedan chair (or litter) carried on four poles. It derives from the Sanskrit word for a bed or couch, pa:lanka.

Palanquins are mentioned in literature as early as the Ramayana (c. 250BC).

Palanquins began to fall out of use after rickshaws (on wheels, more practical) were introduced in the 1930s.

The doli (also transliterated from Hindi as dhooly or dhoolie) is a cot or frame, suspended by the four corners from a bamboo pole. Two or four men would carry it. In the time of the British in India, dhooly-bearers were used to carry the wounded from the battlefield and transport them.

Today in numerous areas of India including at the Hindu pilgrimage site of Amarnath Temple in Kashmir, palanquins can be hired to carry the customer up steep hills.

IN AFRICA

GHANA

In Southern Ghana the Akan and the Ga-Dangme carry their chiefs and kings in palanquins when they appear in their state durbars. When used in such occasions these palanquins may be seen as a substitutes of a state coach in Europe or a horse used in Northern Ghana. The chiefs of the Ga (mantsemei) in the Greater Accra Region (Ghana) use also figurative palanquins which are built after a chief's family symbol or totem. But these day the figurative palanquins are very seldom used. They are related with the figurative coffins which have become very popular among the Ga in the last 50 years. Since these figurative coffins were shown 1989 in the exhibition "Les magicians de la terre" in the Centre Pompidou in Paris they were shown in many art museums around the world.

ANGOLA

From at least the 15th century until the 19th century, litters of varying types known as tipoye were used in the Kingdom of Kongo as a mode of transportation for the elites. Seat-style litters with a single pole along the back of the chair carried by two men (usually slaves) were topped with an umbrella. Lounge-style litters in the shape of a bed were used to move one to two people with porter at each corner. Due to the tropical climate, horse were not native to the area nor could they survive very ong once introduced by the Portuguese. Human portage was the only mode of transportation in the region and became highly adept with missionary accounts claiming the litter transporters could move at speeds 'as fast as post horses at the gallop'.

IN THE WEST

EUROPE

Portuguese and Spanish navigators and colonistics encountered litters of various sorts in India, Mexico, and Peru. They were imported into Spain and spread into France and then Britain. All the names for these devices are ultimately derived from the root sed- in Latin sedere, "sit," which gave rise to seda ("seat") and its diminutive sedula ("little seat"), the latter of which was contracted to sella, the traditional Latin name for a carried chair.The carried chair met instant success in Europe, whose city streets were often a literal mess of mud and refuse: Where cities and towns did not enjoy the presence of sewage systems left over from Imperial Roman days, it was common to empty chamber pots and discard kitchen refuse from windows down into the adjacent streets. Affluent and well-to-do citizens often found it hazardous and impractical to negotiate those avenues, and sedan chairs allowed them to remain prim and spotless while the carrying valets had to contend with the mud and the filth.In Europe, Henry VIII of England was carried around in a sedan chair — it took four strong chairmen to carry him towards the end of his life — but the expression "sedan chair" was not used in print until 1615. It does not seem to take its name from the city of Sedan. Trevor Fawcett notes (see link) that British travellers Fynes Moryson (in 1594) and John Evelyn (in 1644-5) remarked on the seggioli of Naples and Genoa, which were chairs for public hire slung from poles and carried on the shoulders of two porters.From the mid-17th century, visitors taking the waters at Bath would be conveyed in a chair enclosed in baize curtains, especially if they had taken a heated bath and were going straight to bed to sweat. The curtains kept off a possibly fatal draft. These were not the proper sedan chairs "to carry the better sort of people in visits, or if sick or infirmed" (Celia Fiennes). In the 17th and 18th centuries, the chairs stood in the main hall of a well-appointed city residence, where a lady could enter and be carried to her destination without setting foot in a filthy street. The neoclassical sedan chair made for Queen Charlotte remains at Buckingham Palace.

By the mid-17th century, sedans for hire were a common mode of transportation. In London, "chairs" were available for hire in 1634, each assigned a number and the chairmen licensed because the operation was a monopoly of a courtier of Charles I. Sedan chairs could pass in streets too narrow for a carriage and were meant to alleviate the crush of coaches in London streets, an early instance of traffic congestion. A similar system was later used in Scotland. In 1738, a fare system was established for Scottish sedans, and the regulations covering chairmen in Bath are reminiscent of the modern Taxi Commission's rules. A trip within a city cost six pence and a day's rental was four shillings. A sedan was even used as an ambulance in Scotland's Royal Infirmary.

Chairmen moved at a good clip. In Bath they had the right-of-way and pedestrians hearing "By your leave" behind them knew to flatten themselves against walls or railings as the chairmen hustled through. There were often disastrous accidents, upset chairs, and broken glass-paned windows.

Sedan chairs were also used by the wealthy in the cities of colonial America. Benjamin Franklin used a sedan chair late in the 18th century.

COLONIAL PRACTICE

In various colonies, litters of various types were maintained under native traditions, but often adopted by the white colonials as a new ruling and/or socio-economic elite, either for practical reasons (often comfortable modern transport was unavailable, e.g. for lack of decent roads) and/or as a status symbol. During the 17-18th centuries, palanquins (see above) were very popular among European traders in Bengal, so much so that in 1758 an order was issued prohibiting their purchase by certain lower-ranking employees.

THE END OF A TRADITION

In Great Britain, in the early 19th century, the public sedan chair began to fall out of use, perhaps because streets were better paved or perhaps because of the rise of the more comfortable, companionable and affordable hackney carriage. In Glasgow, the decline of the sedan chair is illustrated by licensing records which show twenty-seven sedan chairs in 1800, eighteen in 1817, and ten in 1828. During that same period the number of registered hackney carriages in Glasgow rose to one hundred and fifty.

THE TRAVELING SILLA OF LATIN AMERICA

A similar but simpler palanquin was used by the elite in parts of 18th- and 19th-century Latin America. Often simply called a silla (Spanish for seat or chair), it consisted of a simple wooden chair with an attached tumpline. The occupant sat in the chair, which was then affixed to the back of a single porter, with the tumpline supported by his head. The occupant thus faced backwards during travel. This style of palanquin was probably due to the steep terrain and rough or narrow roads unsuitable to European-style sedan chairs. Travellers by silla usually employed a number of porters, who would alternate carrying the occupant.

A chair borne on the back of a porter, almost identical to the silla, is used in the mountains of China for ferrying older tourists and visitors up and down the mountain paths. One of these mountains where the silla is still used is the Huangshan Mountains of Anhui province in Eastern China.

WIKIPEDIA

as featured (in violation of license terms) on ridiculous pages like this and this; also featured in a presentation on, of all things, pair programming

Construction on a vehicle maintenance warehouse near the company and battalion operations centers south of U.S. Army Garrison Grafenwoehr's PX/Commissary complex nears completion as one of the final projects in U.S. Army Europe's $700+ million Efficient Basing Grafenwoehr program, which is set to complete in spring 2010. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photo by Justin Ward)

Some background:

Simple, efficient and reliable, the Regult (リガード, Rigādo) was the standard mass production mecha of the Zentraedi forces. Produced by Esbeliben at the 4.432.369th Zentraedi Fully Automated Weaponry Development and Production Factory Satellite in staggering numbers to fill the need for an all-purpose mecha, this battle pod accommodated a single Zentraedi soldier in a compact cockpit and was capable of operating in space or on a planet's surface. The Regult saw much use during Space War I in repeated engagements against the forces of the SDF-1 Macross and the U.N. Spacy, but its lack of versatility against superior mecha often resulted in average effectiveness and heavy losses. The vehicle was regarded as expendable and was therefore cheap, simple, but also very effective when fielded in large numbers. Possessing minimal defensive features, the Regult was a simple weapon that performed best in large numbers and when supported by other mecha such as Gnerl Fighter Pods. Total production is said to have exceeded 300 million in total.

At the end of Space War I in January 2012, production of the Regult for potential Earth defensive combat continued when the seizure operation of the Factory Satellite was executed. After the war, Regults were used by both U.N. Spacy and Zentraedi insurgents. Many surviving units were incorporated into the New U.N. Forces and given new model numbers. The normal Regult became the “Zentraedi Battle Pod” ZBP-104 (often just called “Type 104”) and was, for example, used by Al-Shahal's New U.N. Army's Zentraedi garrison. The related ZBP-106 was a modernized version for Zentraedi commanders, with built-in boosters, additional Queadluun-Rhea arms and extra armaments. These primarily replaced the Glaug battle pod, of which only a handful had survived. By 2067, Regult pods of all variants were still in operation among mixed human/Zentraedi units.

General characteristics:

Accommodation: pilot only, in standard cockpit in main body

Overall Height: 18.2 meters

Overall Length: 7.6 meters

Overall Width: 12.6 meters

Max Weight: 39.8 metric tons

Powerplant & propulsion:

1x 1.3 GGV class Ectromelia thermonuclear reaction furnace,

driving 2x main booster Thrusters and 12x vernier thrusters

Performance:

unknown

Armament:

None

Special Equipment and Features:

Standard all-frequency radar antenna

Standard laser long-range sensor

Ectromelia infrared, visible light and ultraviolet frequency sensor cluster

ECM/ECCM suite

The kit and its assembly:

I had this kit stashed away for a couple of years, together with a bunch of other 1:100 Zentraedi pods of all kinds and the plan to build a full platoon one day – but this has naturally not happened so far and the kits were and are still waiting. The “Reconnaissance & Surveillance” group build at whatifmodellers.com in August 2021 was a good occasion and motivation to tackle the Tactical Scout model from the pile, though, as it perfectly fits the GB’s theme and also adds an exotic science fiction/anime twist to the submissions.

The kit is an original ARII boxing from 1983, AFAIK the only edition of this model. One might expect this kit to be a variation of the 1982 standard Regult (sometimes spelled “Reguld”) kit with extra parts, but that’s not the case – it is a new mold with different parts and technical solutions, and it offers optional parts for the standard Regult pod as well as the two missile carrier versions that were published at the same time, too. The Tactical Scout uses the same basis, but it comes with parts exclusive for this variant (hull and a sprue with the many antennae and sensors).

I remembered from a former ARII Regult build in the late Eighties that the legs were a wobbly affair. Careful sprue inspection revealed, however, that this second generation comes with some sensible detail changes, e. g. the feet, which originally consisted of separate toe and heel sections (and these were hollow from behind/below!). To my biggest surprise the knees – a notorious weak spot of the 1st generation Regult kit – were not only held by small and flimsy vinyl caps anymore: These were replaced with much bigger vinyl rings, fitted into sturdy single-piece enclosures made from a tough styrene which can even be tuned with small metal screws(!), which are included in the kit. Interesting!

But the joy is still limited: even though the mold is newer, fit is mediocre at best, PSR is necessary on every seam. However, the good news is that the kit does not fight with you. The whole thing was mostly built OOB, because at 1:100 there's little that makes sense to add to the surface, and the kit comes with anything you'd expect on a Regult Scout pod. I just added some lenses and small stuff behind the large "eye", which is (also to my surprise) a clear part. The stuff might only appear in schemes on the finished model, but that's better than leaving the area blank.

Otherwise, the model was built in sub-sections for easier painting and handling, to be assembled in a final step – made possible by the kit’s design which avoids the early mecha kit’s “onion layer” construction, except for the feet. This is the only area that requires some extra effort, and which is also a bit tricky to assemble.

However, while the knees appear to be a robust construction, the kit showed some material weakness: while handling the leg assembly, one leg suddenly came off under the knees - turned out that the locator that holds the knee joint above (which I expected to be the weak point) completely broke off of the lower leg! Weird damage. I tried to glue the leg into place, but this did not work, and so I inserted a replacement for the broken. This eventually worked.

Painting and markings:

Colorful, but pretty standard and with the attempt to be authentic. However, information concerning the Regults’ paint scheme is somewhat inconsistent. I decided to use a more complex interpretation of the standard blue/grey Regult scheme, with a lighter “face shield” and some other details that make the mecha look more interesting. I used the box art and some screenshots from the Macross TV series as reference; the Tactical Scout pod already appears in episode #2 for the first time, and there are some good views at it, even though the anime version is highly simplified.

Humbrol enamels were used, including 48 (Mediterranean Blue), 196 (RAL 7035, instead of pure white), 40 (Pale Grey) and 27 (Sea Grey). The many optics were created with clear acrylics over a silver base, and the large frontal “eye” is a piece of clear plastic with a coat of clear turquoise paint, too.

The model received a black ink washing to emphasize details, engraved panel lines and recesses, as well as some light post-shading through dry-brushing. Some surface details were created with decal stripes, e. g. on the upper legs, or with a black fineliner, and some color highlights were distributed all over the hull, e. g. the yellowish-beige tips of the wide antenna or the bright blue panels on the upper legs.

The decals were taken OOB, and thanks to a translation chart I was able to decipher some of the markings which I’d interpret as a serial number and a unit code – but who knows?

Finally, the kit received an overall coat of matt acrylic varnish and some weathering/dust traces around the feet with simple watercolors – more would IMHO look out of place, due to the mecha’s sheer size in real life and the fact that the Regult has to be considered a disposable item. Either it’s brand new and shiny, or busted, there’s probably little in between that justifies serious weathering which better suits the tank-like Destroids.

A “normal” build, even though the model and the topic are exotic enough. This 2nd generation Regult kit went together easier than expected, even though it has its weak points, too. However, material ageing turned out to be the biggest challenge (after all, the kit is almost 40 years old!), but all problems could be overcome and the resulting model looks decent – and it has this certain Eighties flavor! :D

Construction on a vehicle maintenance warehouse near the company and battalion operations centers south of U.S. Army Garrison Grafenwoehr's PX/Commissary complex nears completion as one of the final projects in U.S. Army Europe's $700+ million Efficient Basing Grafenwoehr program, which is set to complete in spring 2010. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photo by Justin Ward)

efficient line

In the quiet woods, nature’s most efficient handyman gets to work. A determined woodpecker grips a heavy cordless drill like a seasoned carpenter, boring a perfect round entryway into the tree. Wood chips scatter, echoing his rhythm of precise craftsmanship. Today’s project: a custom luxury penthouse nest, complete with reinforced walls and impeccable design. With safety goggles unseen but spirit strong, the forest’s tiniest contractor proves—sometimes, power tools make nest-building a whole lot easier.

Construction at the new $52 million Urlas townhouses located in Ansbach,Germany is approximately at the half way point. These energy efficient Passivhauser or passive homes are German designed. When complete, each of the 22 homes will use approximately one-fourth the energy demands of a standard German home. To the Soldier living in them, there will be little visual different with the exception of a solar panel on each roof. The real difference is on the walls and in the windows. Extra thick insulation, triple-paned glass and innovative HVAC system makes these townhomes the most energy efficient homes in the Department of the Defense. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photo by Carol E. Davis)

The palaquin is a class of wheelless vehicles, a type of human-powered transport, for the transport of persons. Examples of litter vehicles include lectica (ancient Rome), kiệu [轎] (Vietnam), sedan chair (Britain), litera (Spain), palanquin (France, India, Ghana), jiao (China), liteira (Portugal), wo (วอ, Chinese style known as kiao เกี้ยว) (Thailand), gama (Korea), koshi, ren and kago [駕籠] (Japan) and tahtırevan (Turkey).

Smaller litters may take the form of open chairs or beds carried by two or more carriers, some being enclosed for protection from the elements. Larger litters, for example those of the Chinese emperors, may resemble small rooms upon a platform borne upon the shoulders of a dozen or more people. To most efficiently carry a litter, porters will attempt to transfer the load to their shoulders, either by placing the carrying poles upon their shoulders, or the use of a yoke to transfer the load from the carrying poles to the shoulder.

DEFINITIONS

A simple litter, often called a king carrier, consists of a sling attached along its length to poles or stretched inside a frame. The poles or frame are carried by porters in front and behind. Such simple litters are common on battlefields and emergency situations, where terrain prohibits wheeled vehicles from carrying away the dead and wounded.

Litters can also be created by the expedient of the lashing of poles to a chair. Such litters, consisting of a simple cane chair with maybe an umbrella to ward off the elements and two stout bamboo poles, may still be found in Chinese mountain resorts such as the Huangshan Mountains to carry tourists along scenic paths and to viewing positions inaccessible by other means of transport.

A more luxurious version consists of a bed or couch, sometimes enclosed by curtains, for the passenger or passengers to lie on. These are carried by at least two porters in equal numbers in front and behind, using wooden rails that pass through brackets on the sides of the couch. The largest and heaviest types would be carried by draught animals.

Another form, commonly called a sedan chair, consists of a chair or windowed cabin suitable for a single occupant, also carried by at least two porters in front and behind, using wooden rails that pass through brackets on the sides of the chair. These porters were known in London as "chairmen". These have been very rare since the 19th century, but such enclosed portable litters have been used as an elite form of transport for centuries, especially in cultures where women are kept secluded.

Sedan chairs, in use until the 19th century, were accompanied at night by link-boys who carried torches. Where possible, the link boys escorted the fares to the chairmen, the passengers then being delivered to the door of their lodgings. Several houses in Bath, Somerset, England still have the link extinguishers on the exteriors, shaped like outsized candle snuffers. In the 1970s, entrepreneur and Bathwick resident, John Cuningham, revived the sedan chair service business for a brief amount of time.

ANTIQUITY

In pharaonic Egypt and many oriental realms such as China, the ruler and divinities (in the form of an idol) were often transported in a litter in public, frequently in procession, as during state ceremonial or religious festivals.

The ancient Hebrews fashioned the Ark of the Covenant to resemble and function as a litter for the ten commandments and presence of God.

In Ancient Rome, a litter called lectica or "sella" often carried members of the imperial family, as well as other dignitaries and other members of the rich elite, when not mounted on horseback.

The habit must have proven quite persistent, for the Third Council of Braga in 675 AD saw the need to order that bishops, when carrying the relics of martyrs in procession, must walk to the church, and not be carried in a chair, or litter, by deacons clothed in white.

In the Catholic Church, Popes were carried the same way in Sedia gestatoria, which was replaced later by the Popemobile.

IN ASIA

CHINA

In Han China the elite travelled in light bamboo seats supported on a carrier's back like a backpack. In the Northern Wei Dynasty and the Northern and Southern Song Dynasties, wooden carriages on poles appear in painted landscape scrolls.

A commoner used a wooden or bamboo civil litter (Chinese: 民轎; pinyin: min2 jiao4), while the mandarin class used an official litter (Chinese: 官轎; pinyin: guan1 jiao4) enclosed in silk curtains.

The chair with perhaps the greatest importance was the bridal chair. A traditional bride is carried to her wedding ceremony by a "shoulder carriage" (Chinese: 肩輿; pinyin: jiān yú), usually hired. These were lacquered in an auspicious shade of red, richly ornamented and gilded, and were equipped with red silk curtains to screen the bride from onlookers.

Sedan chairs were once the only public conveyance in Hong Kong, filling the role of cabs. Chair stands were found at all hotels, wharves, and major crossroads. Public chairs were licensed, and charged according to tariffs which would be displayed inside. Private chairs were an important marker of a person's status. Civil officers' status was denoted by the number of bearers attached to his chair. Before Hong Kong's Peak Tram went into service in 1888, wealthy residents of The Peak were carried on sedan chairs by coolies up the steep paths to their residence including Sir Richard MacDonnell's (former Governor of Hong Kong) summer home, where they could take advantage of the cooler climate. Since 1975 an annual sedan chair race has been held to benefit the Matilda International Hospital and commemorate the practice of earlier days.

KOREA

In Korea, royalty and aristocrats were carried in wooden litters called gama. Gamas were primarily used by royalty and government officials. There were six types of gama, each assigned to different government official rankings. In traditional weddings, the bride and groom are carried to the ceremony in separate gamas. Because of the difficulties posed by the mountainous terrain of the Korean peninsula and the lack of paved roads, gamas were preferred over wheeled vehicles.

JAPAN

As the population of Japan increased, less and less land was available as grazing for the upkeep of horses. With the availability of horses restricted to martial uses, human powered transport became more important and prevalent.

Kago (Kanji: 駕籠, Hiragana: かご) were often used in Japan to transport the non-samurai citizen. Norimono were used by the warrior class and nobility, most famously during the Tokugawa period when regional samurai were required to spend a part of the year in Edo (Tokyo) with their families, resulting in yearly migrations of the rich and powerful (Sankin-kōtai) to and from the capital along the central backbone road of Japan.

Somewhat similar in appearance to kago are the portable shrines that are used to carry the "god-body" (goshintai), the central totemic core normally found in the most sacred area of Shinto Shrines, on a tour to and from a shrine during some religious festivals.

THAILAND

In Thailand, the royalty were also carried in wooden litters called wo ("พระวอ" Phra Wo, literally, "Royal Sedan") for large ceremonies. Wos were elaborately decorated litters that were delicately carved and colored by gold leaves. Stained glass is also used to decorate the litters. Presently, Royal Wos and carriages are only used for royal ceremonies in Thailand. They are exhibited in the Bangkok National Museum.

INDONESIA

In traditional Javanese society, the generic palanquin or joli was a wicker chair with a canopy, attached to two poles, and borne on men's shoulders, and was available for hire to any paying customer. As a status marker, gilded throne-like palanquins, or jempana, were originally reserved solely for royalty, and later co-opted by the Dutch, as a status marker: the more elaborate the palanquin, the higher the status of the owner. The joli was transported either by hired help, by nobles' peasants, or by slaves.

Historically, the palanquin of a Javanese king (raja), prince (pangeran), lord (raden mas) or other noble (bangsawan) was known as a jempana; a more throne-like version was called a pangkem. It was always part of a large military procession, with a yellow (the Javanese colour for royalty) square canopy. The ceremonial parasol (payung) was held above the palanquin, which was carried by a bearer behind and flanked by the most loyal bodyguards, usually about 12 men, with pikes, sabres, lances, muskets, keris and a variety of disguised blades. In contrast, the canopy of the Sumatran palanquin was oval-shaped and draped in white cloth; this was reflective of greater cultural permeation by Islam. Occasionally, a weapon or heirloom, such as an important keris or tombak, was given its own palanquin. In Hindu culture in Bali today, the tradition of using palanquins for auspicious statues, weapons or heirlooms continues, for funerals especially; in more elaborate rituals, a palanquin is used to bear the body, and is subsequently cremated along with the departed.

INDIA

A palanquin, also known as palkhi, is a covered sedan chair (or litter) carried on four poles. It derives from the Sanskrit word for a bed or couch, pa:lanka.

Palanquins are mentioned in literature as early as the Ramayana (c. 250BC).

Palanquins began to fall out of use after rickshaws (on wheels, more practical) were introduced in the 1930s.

The doli (also transliterated from Hindi as dhooly or dhoolie) is a cot or frame, suspended by the four corners from a bamboo pole. Two or four men would carry it. In the time of the British in India, dhooly-bearers were used to carry the wounded from the battlefield and transport them.

Today in numerous areas of India including at the Hindu pilgrimage site of Amarnath Temple in Kashmir, palanquins can be hired to carry the customer up steep hills.

IN AFRICA

GHANA

In Southern Ghana the Akan and the Ga-Dangme carry their chiefs and kings in palanquins when they appear in their state durbars. When used in such occasions these palanquins may be seen as a substitutes of a state coach in Europe or a horse used in Northern Ghana. The chiefs of the Ga (mantsemei) in the Greater Accra Region (Ghana) use also figurative palanquins which are built after a chief's family symbol or totem. But these day the figurative palanquins are very seldom used. They are related with the figurative coffins which have become very popular among the Ga in the last 50 years. Since these figurative coffins were shown 1989 in the exhibition "Les magicians de la terre" in the Centre Pompidou in Paris they were shown in many art museums around the world.

ANGOLA

From at least the 15th century until the 19th century, litters of varying types known as tipoye were used in the Kingdom of Kongo as a mode of transportation for the elites. Seat-style litters with a single pole along the back of the chair carried by two men (usually slaves) were topped with an umbrella. Lounge-style litters in the shape of a bed were used to move one to two people with porter at each corner. Due to the tropical climate, horse were not native to the area nor could they survive very ong once introduced by the Portuguese. Human portage was the only mode of transportation in the region and became highly adept with missionary accounts claiming the litter transporters could move at speeds 'as fast as post horses at the gallop'.

IN THE WEST

EUROPE

Portuguese and Spanish navigators and colonistics encountered litters of various sorts in India, Mexico, and Peru. They were imported into Spain and spread into France and then Britain. All the names for these devices are ultimately derived from the root sed- in Latin sedere, "sit," which gave rise to seda ("seat") and its diminutive sedula ("little seat"), the latter of which was contracted to sella, the traditional Latin name for a carried chair.The carried chair met instant success in Europe, whose city streets were often a literal mess of mud and refuse: Where cities and towns did not enjoy the presence of sewage systems left over from Imperial Roman days, it was common to empty chamber pots and discard kitchen refuse from windows down into the adjacent streets. Affluent and well-to-do citizens often found it hazardous and impractical to negotiate those avenues, and sedan chairs allowed them to remain prim and spotless while the carrying valets had to contend with the mud and the filth.In Europe, Henry VIII of England was carried around in a sedan chair — it took four strong chairmen to carry him towards the end of his life — but the expression "sedan chair" was not used in print until 1615. It does not seem to take its name from the city of Sedan. Trevor Fawcett notes (see link) that British travellers Fynes Moryson (in 1594) and John Evelyn (in 1644-5) remarked on the seggioli of Naples and Genoa, which were chairs for public hire slung from poles and carried on the shoulders of two porters.From the mid-17th century, visitors taking the waters at Bath would be conveyed in a chair enclosed in baize curtains, especially if they had taken a heated bath and were going straight to bed to sweat. The curtains kept off a possibly fatal draft. These were not the proper sedan chairs "to carry the better sort of people in visits, or if sick or infirmed" (Celia Fiennes). In the 17th and 18th centuries, the chairs stood in the main hall of a well-appointed city residence, where a lady could enter and be carried to her destination without setting foot in a filthy street. The neoclassical sedan chair made for Queen Charlotte remains at Buckingham Palace.

By the mid-17th century, sedans for hire were a common mode of transportation. In London, "chairs" were available for hire in 1634, each assigned a number and the chairmen licensed because the operation was a monopoly of a courtier of Charles I. Sedan chairs could pass in streets too narrow for a carriage and were meant to alleviate the crush of coaches in London streets, an early instance of traffic congestion. A similar system was later used in Scotland. In 1738, a fare system was established for Scottish sedans, and the regulations covering chairmen in Bath are reminiscent of the modern Taxi Commission's rules. A trip within a city cost six pence and a day's rental was four shillings. A sedan was even used as an ambulance in Scotland's Royal Infirmary.

Chairmen moved at a good clip. In Bath they had the right-of-way and pedestrians hearing "By your leave" behind them knew to flatten themselves against walls or railings as the chairmen hustled through. There were often disastrous accidents, upset chairs, and broken glass-paned windows.

Sedan chairs were also used by the wealthy in the cities of colonial America. Benjamin Franklin used a sedan chair late in the 18th century.

COLONIAL PRACTICE

In various colonies, litters of various types were maintained under native traditions, but often adopted by the white colonials as a new ruling and/or socio-economic elite, either for practical reasons (often comfortable modern transport was unavailable, e.g. for lack of decent roads) and/or as a status symbol. During the 17-18th centuries, palanquins (see above) were very popular among European traders in Bengal, so much so that in 1758 an order was issued prohibiting their purchase by certain lower-ranking employees.

THE END OF A TRADITION

In Great Britain, in the early 19th century, the public sedan chair began to fall out of use, perhaps because streets were better paved or perhaps because of the rise of the more comfortable, companionable and affordable hackney carriage. In Glasgow, the decline of the sedan chair is illustrated by licensing records which show twenty-seven sedan chairs in 1800, eighteen in 1817, and ten in 1828. During that same period the number of registered hackney carriages in Glasgow rose to one hundred and fifty.

THE TRAVELING SILLA OF LATIN AMERICA

A similar but simpler palanquin was used by the elite in parts of 18th- and 19th-century Latin America. Often simply called a silla (Spanish for seat or chair), it consisted of a simple wooden chair with an attached tumpline. The occupant sat in the chair, which was then affixed to the back of a single porter, with the tumpline supported by his head. The occupant thus faced backwards during travel. This style of palanquin was probably due to the steep terrain and rough or narrow roads unsuitable to European-style sedan chairs. Travellers by silla usually employed a number of porters, who would alternate carrying the occupant.

A chair borne on the back of a porter, almost identical to the silla, is used in the mountains of China for ferrying older tourists and visitors up and down the mountain paths. One of these mountains where the silla is still used is the Huangshan Mountains of Anhui province in Eastern China.

WIKIPEDIA

In 1982 Mercedes-Benz released the production version of more than a decade's research into developing a compact format, efficient and safe luxury car. The name '190' referred back to the 1950 and 60s versions of 'reduced power output' models of their mainstream saloon car range. The 190E specified a fuel-injected 2.0 litre, four cylinder engine, whilst a 190 model, without the 'E' (for einspritz' appellation, referred to the same engine, but using a carburetor.

This is the version most commonly seen in taxis, along with a 2.0 litre 4-cylinder diesel, with even less power......

Then something strange happened within the halls of Mercedes-Benz....

190E 2.3-16 "Cosworth":

In the late 1970s, Mercedes competed in rallying with the big V8-powered Coupés of the R107 Series, mainly the light-weight Mercedes 450 SLC 5.0. Mercedes wished to take the 190 E rallying, and asked British engineering company Cosworth to develop an engine with 320 bhp (239 kW) for the rally car. This project was known as project "WAA' by Cosworth". During this time, the Audi Quattro with its all-wheel drive and turbocharger was launched, making the 2.3-16v appear outclassed. With a continued desire to compete in high-profile motor sport with the 190, and also now an engine to do it with, Mercedes turned to the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (DTM) (German Touring Car Championship) motor sport series instead. Cars racing in this championship, however, had to be based on a roadgoing model. Mercedes therefore had to put into series production a 190 fitted with a detuned version of the Cosworth engine. This high-performance model was known as the 190 E 2.3-16, and debuted at the Frankfurt Auto Show in September 1983, after its reputation had already been established. Three cars, only slightly cosmetically altered, had set three world records in August at the Nardo testing facility in Italy, recording a combined average speed of 154.06 mph (247.94 km/h) over the 50,000 km endurance test, and establishing twelve international endurance records. The Mercedes 190-E Cosworth was also featured on the second episode in series fifteen of the popular car show Top Gear.

Engine:

2.5-16 Cosworth

The Cosworth engine was based on the M102 four cylinder 2.3-litre 8-valve 136 hp (101 kW) unit already fitted to the 190- and E-Class series. Cosworth developed the cylinder head, "applying knowledge we've learnt from the DFV and BDA." It was made from light alloy using Coscast's unique casting process and brought with it dual overhead camshafts and four valves per cylinder, meaning 16 valves total which were developed to be the "largest that could practically be fitted into the combustion chamber".

In roadgoing trim,the 2.3 L 16-valve engine made "185 hp (138 kW) at 6,200 rpm and 174 lb·ft (236 N·m) at 4,500 rpm. The oversquare 95.50 x 80.25 mm bore and stroke dimensions ensuring that it revs easily up to the 7000 rpm redline". Acceleration from 0–100 km/h (62 mph) was less than eight seconds, and the top speed was 230 km/h (143 mph).

US-Specification cars had a slightly reduced compression ratio (9.7:1 instead of 10.5:1), and were rated at 167 hp (125 kW) @ 5800 rpm and 162 lb·ft (220 N·m) @ 4750.

The roadgoing version of the engine was reconfigured with reduced inlet and exhaust port sizes, different camshaft profiles, no dry sump configuration and Bosch K-jetronic replacing the specialised Kugelfischer fuel injection. These changes helped bring power down to the required 185 bhp (138 kW) specification, but still resulted in a "remarkably flexible engine, with a very flat torque curve and a wide power band". The heads for the engines were cast at Cosworth's Coscast foundry in Worcester and sent to Germany to be fitted to the rest of the engine, parts of which were different from the standard 2.3 including light pressed alloy pistons, and rings designed to withstand higher engine speeds, whilst con-rods, bearings and bearing caps were found to be strong enough as standard and left unaltered.

16v differences:

Due to their performance, the 16-valve cars were different from the other 190 models. The body kit on the 2.3-16 and 2.5-16 reduced the drag coefficient to 0.32, one of the lowest CD values on a four-door saloon of the time, whilst also reducing lift at speed. The steering ratio was quicker and the steering wheel smaller than that on other 190s, whilst the fuel tank was enlarged from 55 to 70 L. The Getrag 5-speed manual gearbox was unique to the 16-valve and featured a 'racing' gear pattern with 'dog-leg' first gear, left and down from neutral. This meant that the remaining 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th gears were in a simple H pattern allowing fast and easy selection. The gearchange quality was, however, noted as "notchy, baulky", criticisms which weren't levelled at the BMW M3 (E30) which shared the same gearbox. The pattern is also unusual in that the driver engages reverse by shifting left and up from neutral, as for first gear in a conventional pattern. This was demonstrated in a Top Gear episode (S15E02) where James May took a 190E 2.3-16 Cosworth and repeatedly confused reverse and first gear. An oil cooler was fitted to ensure sufficient oil cooling for the inevitable track use many of these cars were destined for.

The strictly four-seater interior had Recaro sports seats with strong side bolsters for front and rear passengers. 3 extra dials - an oil temperature gauge, stopwatch and voltmeter - were included in the centre console. The 190 E 2.3-16 was available in only two colours, Blue-Black metallic (Pearl Black in the US), and Smoke Silver. The 2.5-16 added Almandine Red and Astral Silver.

All 2.3-16-valve 190 models are fitted with a Limited Slip Differential (LSD) as standard. They were also available with Mercedes' ASD system which was standard equipment on the 2.5-16v. The ASD is an electronically controlled, hydraulically locking differential which activates automatically when required. The electronic control allows varied amounts of differential lock from the standard 15% right up to 100%. It is not a traction control system however, and can only maximize traction rather than prevent wheel spin. Activation of the ASD system is indicated by an illuminating amber triangle in the speedometer.

The suspension on 16-valve models is very different from the standard 190 (W201). As well as being lower and stiffer, it has quicker dampers, larger anti-roll bars, harder bushings and hydraulic Self-levelling suspension (SLS) on the rear. This allows the rear ride height to remain constant even when the car is fully loaded.

At the inauguration of the new, shorter Nürburgring in 1984, a race with identical cars was held, with former and current F1 pilots at the wheel. A then unknown Ayrton Senna took first place.

Private Teams such as AMG later entered the 2.3-16 in touring cars races, especially the DTM. In the late 1980s, the 2.5-16 (never released in the United States) raced many times, against the similar BMW M3 and even the turbocharged Ford Sierra RS Cosworth.

[Test taken from Wikipedia]

This Lego miniland-scale 190E 2.3-16 sedan has been created for Flickr LUGNuts' 85th Build Challenge, - "Like, Totally 80's", - for vehicles created during the decade of the 1980s.

Not a patch on how it looked nearly sixty years ago but functional and efficient .....

Construction at the new $52 million Urlas townhouses located in Ansbach,Germany is approximately at the half way point. These energy efficient Passivhauser or passive homes are German designed. When complete, each of the 22 homes will use approximately one-fourth the energy demands of a standard German home. To the Soldier living in them, there will be little visual different with the expection of a solar panel on each roof. The real difference is on the walls and in the windows. Extra thick insulation, triple-paned glass and innovative HVAC system makes these townhomes the most energy efficient homes in the Department of the Defense. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photo by Carol E. Davis)

Construction at the new $52 million Urlas townhouses located in Ansbach,Germany is approximately at the half way point. These energy efficient Passivhauser or passive homes are German designed. When complete, each of the 22 homes will use approximately one-fourth the energy demands of a standard German home. To the Soldier living in them, there will be little visual different with the expection of a solar panel on each roof. The real difference is on the walls and in the windows. Extra thick insulation, triple-paned glass and innovative HVAC system makes these townhomes the most energy efficient homes in the Department of the Defense. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photo by Carol E. Davis)

Construction at the new $52 million Urlas townhouses located in Ansbach,Germany is approximately at the half way point. These energy efficient Passivhauser or passive homes are German designed. When complete, each of the 22 homes will use approximately one-fourth the energy demands of a standard German home. To the Soldier living in them, there will be little visual different with the expection of a solar panel on each roof. The real difference is on the walls and in the windows. Extra thick insulation, triple-paned glass and innovative HVAC system makes these townhomes the most energy efficient homes in the Department of the Defense. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photo by Carol E. Davis)

The palanquin is a class of wheelless vehicles, a type of human-powered transport, for the transport of persons. Examples of litter vehicles include lectica (ancient Rome), kiệu [轎] (Vietnam), sedan chair (Britain), litera (Spain), palanquin (France, India, Ghana), jiao (China), liteira (Portugal), wo (วอ, Chinese style known as kiao เกี้ยว) (Thailand), gama (Korea), koshi, ren and kago [駕籠] (Japan) and tahtırevan (Turkey).

Smaller litters may take the form of open chairs or beds carried by two or more carriers, some being enclosed for protection from the elements. Larger litters, for example those of the Chinese emperors, may resemble small rooms upon a platform borne upon the shoulders of a dozen or more people. To most efficiently carry a litter, porters will attempt to transfer the load to their shoulders, either by placing the carrying poles upon their shoulders, or the use of a yoke to transfer the load from the carrying poles to the shoulder.

DEFINITIONS

A simple litter, often called a king carrier, consists of a sling attached along its length to poles or stretched inside a frame. The poles or frame are carried by porters in front and behind. Such simple litters are common on battlefields and emergency situations, where terrain prohibits wheeled vehicles from carrying away the dead and wounded.

Litters can also be created by the expedient of the lashing of poles to a chair. Such litters, consisting of a simple cane chair with maybe an umbrella to ward off the elements and two stout bamboo poles, may still be found in Chinese mountain resorts such as the Huangshan Mountains to carry tourists along scenic paths and to viewing positions inaccessible by other means of transport.

A more luxurious version consists of a bed or couch, sometimes enclosed by curtains, for the passenger or passengers to lie on. These are carried by at least two porters in equal numbers in front and behind, using wooden rails that pass through brackets on the sides of the couch. The largest and heaviest types would be carried by draught animals.

Another form, commonly called a sedan chair, consists of a chair or windowed cabin suitable for a single occupant, also carried by at least two porters in front and behind, using wooden rails that pass through brackets on the sides of the chair. These porters were known in London as "chairmen". These have been very rare since the 19th century, but such enclosed portable litters have been used as an elite form of transport for centuries, especially in cultures where women are kept secluded.

Sedan chairs, in use until the 19th century, were accompanied at night by link-boys who carried torches. Where possible, the link boys escorted the fares to the chairmen, the passengers then being delivered to the door of their lodgings. Several houses in Bath, Somerset, England still have the link extinguishers on the exteriors, shaped like outsized candle snuffers. In the 1970s, entrepreneur and Bathwick resident, John Cuningham, revived the sedan chair service business for a brief amount of time.

ANTIQUITY

In pharaonic Egypt and many oriental realms such as China, the ruler and divinities (in the form of an idol) were often transported in a litter in public, frequently in procession, as during state ceremonial or religious festivals.

The ancient Hebrews fashioned the Ark of the Covenant to resemble and function as a litter for the ten commandments and presence of God.

In Ancient Rome, a litter called lectica or "sella" often carried members of the imperial family, as well as other dignitaries and other members of the rich elite, when not mounted on horseback.

The habit must have proven quite persistent, for the Third Council of Braga in 675 AD saw the need to order that bishops, when carrying the relics of martyrs in procession, must walk to the church, and not be carried in a chair, or litter, by deacons clothed in white.

In the Catholic Church, Popes were carried the same way in Sedia gestatoria, which was replaced later by the Popemobile.

IN ASIA

CHINA

In Han China the elite travelled in light bamboo seats supported on a carrier's back like a backpack. In the Northern Wei Dynasty and the Northern and Southern Song Dynasties, wooden carriages on poles appear in painted landscape scrolls.

A commoner used a wooden or bamboo civil litter (Chinese: 民轎; pinyin: min2 jiao4), while the mandarin class used an official litter (Chinese: 官轎; pinyin: guan1 jiao4) enclosed in silk curtains.

The chair with perhaps the greatest importance was the bridal chair. A traditional bride is carried to her wedding ceremony by a "shoulder carriage" (Chinese: 肩輿; pinyin: jiān yú), usually hired. These were lacquered in an auspicious shade of red, richly ornamented and gilded, and were equipped with red silk curtains to screen the bride from onlookers.

Sedan chairs were once the only public conveyance in Hong Kong, filling the role of cabs. Chair stands were found at all hotels, wharves, and major crossroads. Public chairs were licensed, and charged according to tariffs which would be displayed inside. Private chairs were an important marker of a person's status. Civil officers' status was denoted by the number of bearers attached to his chair. Before Hong Kong's Peak Tram went into service in 1888, wealthy residents of The Peak were carried on sedan chairs by coolies up the steep paths to their residence including Sir Richard MacDonnell's (former Governor of Hong Kong) summer home, where they could take advantage of the cooler climate. Since 1975 an annual sedan chair race has been held to benefit the Matilda International Hospital and commemorate the practice of earlier days.

KOREA

In Korea, royalty and aristocrats were carried in wooden litters called gama. Gamas were primarily used by royalty and government officials. There were six types of gama, each assigned to different government official rankings. In traditional weddings, the bride and groom are carried to the ceremony in separate gamas. Because of the difficulties posed by the mountainous terrain of the Korean peninsula and the lack of paved roads, gamas were preferred over wheeled vehicles.

JAPAN

As the population of Japan increased, less and less land was available as grazing for the upkeep of horses. With the availability of horses restricted to martial uses, human powered transport became more important and prevalent.

Kago (Kanji: 駕籠, Hiragana: かご) were often used in Japan to transport the non-samurai citizen. Norimono were used by the warrior class and nobility, most famously during the Tokugawa period when regional samurai were required to spend a part of the year in Edo (Tokyo) with their families, resulting in yearly migrations of the rich and powerful (Sankin-kōtai) to and from the capital along the central backbone road of Japan.

Somewhat similar in appearance to kago are the portable shrines that are used to carry the "god-body" (goshintai), the central totemic core normally found in the most sacred area of Shinto Shrines, on a tour to and from a shrine during some religious festivals.

THAILAND

In Thailand, the royalty were also carried in wooden litters called wo ("พระวอ" Phra Wo, literally, "Royal Sedan") for large ceremonies. Wos were elaborately decorated litters that were delicately carved and colored by gold leaves. Stained glass is also used to decorate the litters. Presently, Royal Wos and carriages are only used for royal ceremonies in Thailand. They are exhibited in the Bangkok National Museum.

INDONESIA

In traditional Javanese society, the generic palanquin or joli was a wicker chair with a canopy, attached to two poles, and borne on men's shoulders, and was available for hire to any paying customer. As a status marker, gilded throne-like palanquins, or jempana, were originally reserved solely for royalty, and later co-opted by the Dutch, as a status marker: the more elaborate the palanquin, the higher the status of the owner. The joli was transported either by hired help, by nobles' peasants, or by slaves.

Historically, the palanquin of a Javanese king (raja), prince (pangeran), lord (raden mas) or other noble (bangsawan) was known as a jempana; a more throne-like version was called a pangkem. It was always part of a large military procession, with a yellow (the Javanese colour for royalty) square canopy. The ceremonial parasol (payung) was held above the palanquin, which was carried by a bearer behind and flanked by the most loyal bodyguards, usually about 12 men, with pikes, sabres, lances, muskets, keris and a variety of disguised blades. In contrast, the canopy of the Sumatran palanquin was oval-shaped and draped in white cloth; this was reflective of greater cultural permeation by Islam. Occasionally, a weapon or heirloom, such as an important keris or tombak, was given its own palanquin. In Hindu culture in Bali today, the tradition of using palanquins for auspicious statues, weapons or heirlooms continues, for funerals especially; in more elaborate rituals, a palanquin is used to bear the body, and is subsequently cremated along with the departed.

INDIA

A palanquin, also known as palkhi, is a covered sedan chair (or litter) carried on four poles. It derives from the Sanskrit word for a bed or couch, pa:lanka.

Palanquins are mentioned in literature as early as the Ramayana (c. 250BC).

Palanquins began to fall out of use after rickshaws (on wheels, more practical) were introduced in the 1930s.

The doli (also transliterated from Hindi as dhooly or dhoolie) is a cot or frame, suspended by the four corners from a bamboo pole. Two or four men would carry it. In the time of the British in India, dhooly-bearers were used to carry the wounded from the battlefield and transport them.

Today in numerous areas of India including at the Hindu pilgrimage site of Amarnath Temple in Kashmir, palanquins can be hired to carry the customer up steep hills.

IN AFRICA

GHANA

In Southern Ghana the Akan and the Ga-Dangme carry their chiefs and kings in palanquins when they appear in their state durbars. When used in such occasions these palanquins may be seen as a substitutes of a state coach in Europe or a horse used in Northern Ghana. The chiefs of the Ga (mantsemei) in the Greater Accra Region (Ghana) use also figurative palanquins which are built after a chief's family symbol or totem. But these day the figurative palanquins are very seldom used. They are related with the figurative coffins which have become very popular among the Ga in the last 50 years. Since these figurative coffins were shown 1989 in the exhibition "Les magicians de la terre" in the Centre Pompidou in Paris they were shown in many art museums around the world.

ANGOLA

From at least the 15th century until the 19th century, litters of varying types known as tipoye were used in the Kingdom of Kongo as a mode of transportation for the elites. Seat-style litters with a single pole along the back of the chair carried by two men (usually slaves) were topped with an umbrella. Lounge-style litters in the shape of a bed were used to move one to two people with porter at each corner. Due to the tropical climate, horse were not native to the area nor could they survive very ong once introduced by the Portuguese. Human portage was the only mode of transportation in the region and became highly adept with missionary accounts claiming the litter transporters could move at speeds 'as fast as post horses at the gallop'.

IN THE WEST

EUROPE

Portuguese and Spanish navigators and colonistics encountered litters of various sorts in India, Mexico, and Peru. They were imported into Spain and spread into France and then Britain. All the names for these devices are ultimately derived from the root sed- in Latin sedere, "sit," which gave rise to seda ("seat") and its diminutive sedula ("little seat"), the latter of which was contracted to sella, the traditional Latin name for a carried chair.The carried chair met instant success in Europe, whose city streets were often a literal mess of mud and refuse: Where cities and towns did not enjoy the presence of sewage systems left over from Imperial Roman days, it was common to empty chamber pots and discard kitchen refuse from windows down into the adjacent streets. Affluent and well-to-do citizens often found it hazardous and impractical to negotiate those avenues, and sedan chairs allowed them to remain prim and spotless while the carrying valets had to contend with the mud and the filth.In Europe, Henry VIII of England was carried around in a sedan chair — it took four strong chairmen to carry him towards the end of his life — but the expression "sedan chair" was not used in print until 1615. It does not seem to take its name from the city of Sedan. Trevor Fawcett notes (see link) that British travellers Fynes Moryson (in 1594) and John Evelyn (in 1644-5) remarked on the seggioli of Naples and Genoa, which were chairs for public hire slung from poles and carried on the shoulders of two porters.From the mid-17th century, visitors taking the waters at Bath would be conveyed in a chair enclosed in baize curtains, especially if they had taken a heated bath and were going straight to bed to sweat. The curtains kept off a possibly fatal draft. These were not the proper sedan chairs "to carry the better sort of people in visits, or if sick or infirmed" (Celia Fiennes). In the 17th and 18th centuries, the chairs stood in the main hall of a well-appointed city residence, where a lady could enter and be carried to her destination without setting foot in a filthy street. The neoclassical sedan chair made for Queen Charlotte remains at Buckingham Palace.

By the mid-17th century, sedans for hire were a common mode of transportation. In London, "chairs" were available for hire in 1634, each assigned a number and the chairmen licensed because the operation was a monopoly of a courtier of Charles I. Sedan chairs could pass in streets too narrow for a carriage and were meant to alleviate the crush of coaches in London streets, an early instance of traffic congestion. A similar system was later used in Scotland. In 1738, a fare system was established for Scottish sedans, and the regulations covering chairmen in Bath are reminiscent of the modern Taxi Commission's rules. A trip within a city cost six pence and a day's rental was four shillings. A sedan was even used as an ambulance in Scotland's Royal Infirmary.

Chairmen moved at a good clip. In Bath they had the right-of-way and pedestrians hearing "By your leave" behind them knew to flatten themselves against walls or railings as the chairmen hustled through. There were often disastrous accidents, upset chairs, and broken glass-paned windows.

Sedan chairs were also used by the wealthy in the cities of colonial America. Benjamin Franklin used a sedan chair late in the 18th century.

COLONIAL PRACTICE

In various colonies, litters of various types were maintained under native traditions, but often adopted by the white colonials as a new ruling and/or socio-economic elite, either for practical reasons (often comfortable modern transport was unavailable, e.g. for lack of decent roads) and/or as a status symbol. During the 17-18th centuries, palanquins (see above) were very popular among European traders in Bengal, so much so that in 1758 an order was issued prohibiting their purchase by certain lower-ranking employees.

THE END OF A TRADITION

In Great Britain, in the early 19th century, the public sedan chair began to fall out of use, perhaps because streets were better paved or perhaps because of the rise of the more comfortable, companionable and affordable hackney carriage. In Glasgow, the decline of the sedan chair is illustrated by licensing records which show twenty-seven sedan chairs in 1800, eighteen in 1817, and ten in 1828. During that same period the number of registered hackney carriages in Glasgow rose to one hundred and fifty.

THE TRAVELING SILLA OF LATIN AMERICA

A similar but simpler palanquin was used by the elite in parts of 18th- and 19th-century Latin America. Often simply called a silla (Spanish for seat or chair), it consisted of a simple wooden chair with an attached tumpline. The occupant sat in the chair, which was then affixed to the back of a single porter, with the tumpline supported by his head. The occupant thus faced backwards during travel. This style of palanquin was probably due to the steep terrain and rough or narrow roads unsuitable to European-style sedan chairs. Travellers by silla usually employed a number of porters, who would alternate carrying the occupant.

A chair borne on the back of a porter, almost identical to the silla, is used in the mountains of China for ferrying older tourists and visitors up and down the mountain paths. One of these mountains where the silla is still used is the Huangshan Mountains of Anhui province in Eastern China.

WIKIPEDIA

Construction at the new $52 million Urlas townhouses located in Ansbach,Germany is approximately at the half way point. These energy efficient Passivhauser or passive homes are German designed. When complete, each of the 22 homes will use approximately one-fourth the energy demands of a standard German home. To the Soldier living in them, there will be little visual different with the expection of a solar panel on each roof. The real difference is on the walls and in the windows. Extra thick insulation, triple-paned glass and innovative HVAC system makes these townhomes the most energy efficient homes in the Department of the Defense. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photo by Carol E. Davis)

I don’t take the bus that often, but when I do I catch this highly efficient service that cuts travel time as it doesn’t take a torturous route. It’s a 24 hour service.

Construction at the new $52 million Urlas townhouses located in Ansbach,Germany is approximately at the half way point. These energy efficient Passivhauser or passive homes are German designed. When complete, each of the 22 homes will use approximately one-fourth the energy demands of a standard German home. To the Soldier living in them, there will be little visual different with the expection of a solar panel on each roof. The real difference is on the walls and in the windows. Extra thick insulation, triple-paned glass and innovative HVAC system makes these townhomes the most energy efficient homes in the Department of the Defense. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photo by Carol E. Davis)

The public learns about energy efficient light bulb options in the exhibit tent at the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2011 at West Potomac Park in Washington, D.C., Thursday, Sept. 29, 2011. (Credit: Stefano Paltera/U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon)

bit.ly/r3Becv  

If you are trying for a get rid of for constipation, property cures frequently operate. Constipation can happen for a range of considerations quite often connected to your food regimen or pressure. If you have suddenly started off currently being constipated you will want to seek the advice of your medical professional as it can be a indication of a way more severe sickness. He will give you a thorough examination to rule out ailments this kind of as hypothyroidism and other issues linked with the enormous and small-scale intestines.

The decent information is that you can deal with this predicament particularly comfortably when you know how. You have to commence as shortly as you start to experience as failure to offer with blockages can lead to a not ever ending circle of problems. You could induce piles if you strain also sometimes when heading to the toilet. If you already have piles you might be subconsciously triggering your constipation in an effort to steer clear of suffering.

Most sufferers try out a thing new but really don't preserve the treatment solution heading and so imagine it does not labor. If you follow these points your system should commence functioning additional efficiently as a result getting rid of the constipation.

Increasing the amount of h2o you drink will aid your internal organs to become significantly more successful at doing away with waste. You ought to purpose to drink at minimum one.5 liters a day and more if the weather conditions is exceptionally warm.

Expanding the amount of fiber in your food plan will also allow. We all might try to eat a lot more fruit and veggies but if you are constipated you may very well want to avoid bananas in the short term. You may want to goal to have five or 6 tiny meals a day to get your process relocating. Each and every of these meals should certainly be made up primarily of fruit and veggies with some top notch protein and carbohydrates. White bread is notorious for producing bowel difficulties so do away with it from your procuring list. Substitute with full meal and do the identical with pasta and rice.

Valuable residence remedies for constipation consist of chewing your food properly. In our time bad society, we more often than not come to feel below pressure to consume our meals too rather quickly. We have to chew accurately as the digestion plan begins in your mouth with saliva breaking down the food. If your digestion program doesn't job the right way you can develop into constipated.

Are you doing exercises consistently? If not, you should really be. Some many people dislike heading to the health and fitness center and use this as an excuse not to training. You do not have to abide by a gym regime, you can doing exercises anyplace you like together with your individual your home. It is finest to get out into the new air if you can but even managing up and down your stairs will assist to boost your total fitness levels.

Do you routinely take medication? Have a glance at the elements as this may perhaps be the result in of your difficulty. A straightforward your home remedy for constipation is to give up applying medicines with codeine in them. Not surprisingly you will want to examine with your medical doctor but if you reveal your predicament, he can typically prescribe an alternate. When treating constipation, family home treatments will need to be attempted initially right before resorting to more treatment.

Here are two constipation solutions that you can use for a mild circumstance of constipation and for a persistent circumstance of constipation.

Apple and Pear Juice

If you have a gentle circumstance of constipation, you can use this treatment to get effects.

Prepare equal amounts of refreshing apple and pear juice. Drink this combo when you for starters wake up and 1 hour earlier than bedtime.

Juice the pears that are a bit complicated. If the pear is ripe, it is finest to blend it complete with apple juice to generate a thick drink. Working with the complete pear will give you supplemental fiber. Just eliminate the seeds but do not peel the natural sort.

Pears have minerals, nutritional vitamins, and chemical compounds that aid to thoroughly clean out your colon, kidney and to regenerate your blood cells.

Apple Juice and Prune Juice

Here's a constipation remedy that you can use if you have chronic constipation. In addition to just consuming apple juice, you can accelerate your peristaltic action with prune juice.

Here's how to do it.

If you have a juicer you can make fresh new apple juice and drink 3-4 glasses a day. You can also consume shop-bought apple juice but test to get new squeezed and not the form that has been flash pasteurized or pasteurized. If you can find fresh new apple juice then use flash pasteurized.

Buy your juice in glass containers if conceivable.

Plastic containers are processed by using solvents that stay in the container partitions and step by step outgas into the apple juice. This out gassing is a lot more serious when plastic containers are saved in hot destinations.

To velocity up the laxative results of apple juice, get the next mixture initial thing in the early morning previously you have breakfast,

Drink 2-3 cups of prune juice.<br>When &frac12 hour, consume just one cup of apple juice<br>Then, 1-hour later on drink one more cup of apple juice.

I often invest in my prune juice in a bottle and fresh squeeze my apple juice.

Be prepared to head for the rest room just after you drink your prune juice and your first glass of apple juice. You might possibly require to head to the bathroom quickly after you consume prune juice, everybody under the sun is varied. I have implemented this combo and have encouraged it to my shoppers and have had wonderful success.

Prune juice by itself is fantastic for constipation. It is a safe, light and an effective laxative. Drink a cup in the early morning and a cup in the night. Prune juice incorporate the substance dihydrophenylisatin, which is liable for the laxative action. Prunes are also higher in iron and are a terrific supplement if you are anemic or lower on iron.

If you include prune juice to your diet program, do not consume as much of it as you would when you have constipation. Drink &frac12 glass in the early morning and conceivably &frac12 glass in the night.

Cats make terrific companions and should have the optimum treatment and health care prevention plan attainable. Constipation in cats is a familiar event that has various causing reasons these as inadequate weight loss program, hairball ingestion, intestinal obstruction or dehydration. Happily, there is a cat constipation treatment that can alleviate the pain your companion experiences. Prior to administering a remedy, you may want to be confident your cat is suffering from constipation. You will need to also contemplate consulting with a veterinarian acquainted with your cat's health-related historical past to make sure there is no fundamental contribute to. Recognizing the indications of constipation is the very first phase to efficiently treating the ailment.

Cats present a number of clues to constipation. There can be physical alterations, variations in your cat's bowel actions or a switch in the cat's demeanor. If you discover your cat straining to use the restroom or if the abdomen is tense to the touch, she will probably be suffering from constipation. Furthermore, a cat's feces will seem laborious and dry if she is able to obtain a bowel movement. On the other hand, the feces can be mistaken for diarrhea, which is a highly free bowel. As a final point, your cat could possibly lose her appetite, which can be a indication of one additional problem, but can come about because of to a feeling of fullness. When you are guaranteed the cat is constipated, you have a couple of choices to treatment the constipation.

Metamucil - a human dietary complement - works perfectly for cats. Because of to the psyllium husk in the merchandise, acquire treatment to thoroughly blend one/four to one teaspoon in canned foods at every feeding. Psyllium is a bulking laxative that absorbs intestinal moisture earning a bowel movement less difficult to pass. Make sure you grant an sufficient supply of water, which can assist your cat pass the Metamucil.

Significant-fiber cat meals can initiate simpler bowel movements. Check-out your neighborhood pet offer shop and evaluate your present meals label to huge-fiber articles choices. This way could possibly get a very little for a longer time, but the cat might have to have a shift in weight-reduction plan to protect against long run flare-ups.

Pureed or unseasoned canned pumpkin can relieve constipation. A person to two teaspoons combined into your cat's meals for each feeding should return humidity to your cat's bowel and promote a nutritious bowel movement. Most cats like the style of pumpkin and will most probably value the deal with.

When all else fails, a drop by to the veterinarian for Laxatone - a bowel stimulant for cats - is warranted. The item is obtainable by using a veterinarian prescription and is engineered to shift bowels in cats that have hairball connected constipation, but it will work for other resources of constipation as well. The products tastes like tuna and ought to be given when the cat's abdomen is empty. In addition, the manufacturer's or veterinarian's instructions should preferably be closely followed when administering the product.

A cat constipation treatment is effective at the onset of the concern and only when the cat is in otherwise great health and wellbeing. Vomiting, lethargy or otherwise abnormal conduct needs an instant consultation with a veterinarian. If you really feel unpleasant about your cat's situation, do not hesitate to get enable right away.

There comes a time in everyone's lifetime when constipation rears its unpleasant head. The very same retains correct for canines, alas. Absence of training and good weight loss plan can lead to bouts of constipation (sound familiar?). Even though you may perhaps search for a wide variety of techniques to "eliminate" this difficulty in your unique everyday living, let us look into some residence remedies for canine constipation which can be utilized in the eventuality it happens in theirs.

As talked about earlier, a right diet program and training are key element elements in ensuring your puppy has the capability to move his bowels as often as needed. Household dogs frequently need to be walked 2 times a day although maintaining a correct diet. If your dog will become constipated, an individual approach to alleviate this dilemma is by adding 1 to two teaspoons of bran to his meal. This lets for excess moisture in the stool.

Another process to soften the stool would be to include psyllium (Metamucil in the adult globe) to his eating routine. 50 percent a teaspoon two times a day, in addition to drinking a lot of h2o, will suffice. A third solution would be mineral oil. This could be employed in circumstances the place there is a enormous develop-up of challenging stool. Two teaspoons, 2 times a day should really be extra to his meal, but for only a week. There are a few other guidelines you can acquire to relieve your dog's constipation. Retain his foods moist by including a bit of h2o. If your dog is having on in years, add some raw meat and vegetables to his weight-reduction plan.

There are sure indicators which can inform you to likely issues, and for which you can acquire rapid tips. Prolonged hair on puppies can contribute to feces to turn out to be entangled consequently, continue to keep your canine accurately groomed. Dogs are inclined to eat all in sight, be sure no bones or other material has been ingested. Just as we practical experience constipation because of to specific drugs, canines are no exception. Psychological stress and anxiety is a second indicator relating to constipation.

Despite the fact that it has been recommended that all breeds and puppies of any age are prone to constipation, there are other elements which you could require to bear in mind, and for which a large number of dog proprietors are culpable. Practically never feed your puppy from the dinner table. Even when you may well indulge the canine with a couple of scraps right here and there, you are contributing to his constipation.

Meals that contain flour, sugar, rice, dairy and higher protein are the essential source of the challenge. Ice cream, cookies, bread, chocolate, or other unhealthy meals goods can induce your puppy unwanted discomfort. As outlined before, a lack of fiber and dehydration are prevalent brings about. An extra bring about for worry would be a affliction recognised as mega colon. This only would mean your dog has an inflamed colon which prevents the discharge of feces.

The time to go to the vet will developed into evident when your dog's inability to defecate is hampered by a diminished appetite, passing blood in minimal amounts, and over-all lethargy. Maintain in thoughts, contributing to the all round health and wellbeing of your canine will need to be of the utmost benefits. A dog's absolutely adore is unconditional, because of this, he or she is completely dependent upon you to preserve a healthier and harmonious existence. Be actually vigilant to any symptoms of tension and guarantee his weight loss program and physical exercise routine is acceptable and on-going.

[caption id="attachment_234" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Constipation"][/caption]

ger @box @expono @gdocs @photobucket @pingfm @sonico @youtube constipation home remedy

Heading for Glasgow on the 926 is West Coast Motors Irizar i6s Efficient YT23 HYN (12311), the last of the first batch of i6s Efficients.

The BMW i8, first introduced as the BMW Concept Vision Efficient Dynamics, is a plug-in hybrid sports car developed by BMW. The 2015 model year BMW i8 has a 7.1 kWh lithium-ion battery pack that delivers an all-electric range of 37 km (23 mi) under the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC).[5] Under the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cycle, the range in EV mode is 24 km (15 mi) with a small amount of gasoline consumption.

The BMW i8 can go from 0–100 km/h (0 to 60 mph) in 4.4 seconds and has a top speed of 250 km/h (155 mph). The BMW i8 has a fuel efficiency of 2.1 L/100 km (134.5 mpg-imp; 112.0 mpg-US) under the NEDC test with carbon emissions of 49 g/km. EPA rated the i8 combined fuel economy at 76 equivalent (MPG-equivalent) (3.1 L gasoline equivalent/100 km; 91 mpg-imp gasoline equivalent).

The initial turbodiesel concept car was unveiled at the 2009 International Motor Show Germany. The production version of the BMW i8 was unveiled at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show. The i8 was released in Germany in June 2014. Deliveries to retail customers in the U.S. began in August 2014. Global cumulative sales totaled almost 4,500 units through June 2015.

History

The i8 is part of BMW's "Project i" and it is being marketed as a new brand, BMW i, sold separately from BMW or Mini. The BMW i3, launched for retail customers in Europe in the fourth quarter of 2013, was the first model of the i brand available in the market, and it was followed by the i8, released in Germany in June 2014 as a 2015 model year. Other i models are expected to follow.

The initial turbodiesel concept car was unveiled at the 2009 International Motor Show Germany, In 2010, BMW announced the mass production of the Concept Vision Efficient Dynamics in Leipzig beginning in 2013 as the BMW i8. The BMW i8 gasoline-powered concept car destined for production was unveiled at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show. The production version of the BMW i8 was unveiled at the 2013 International Motor Show Germany. The following are the concept and pre-production models developed by BMW that precedeed the production version.

BMW Vision EfficientDynamics (2009)

BMW Vision EfficientDynamics concept car is a plug-in hybrid with a three cylinder turbodiesel engine. Additionally, there are two electric motors with 139 horsepower. It allows an acceleration to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 4.8 seconds and an electronically limited top speed of 250 km/h (160 mph).

According to BMW, the average fuel consumption in the EU test cycle (KV01) is 3.76 liters/100 kilometers, (75.1 mpg imp), and has a carbon dioxide emission rating of 99 grams per kilometer (1,3 l/100 km and 33g CO2/km ; EU-PHEV ECE-R101). The estimated all-electric range is 50 km (31 mi), and the 24-liter petrol tank extends the total vehicle range to up to 700 km (430 mi). The lightweight chassis is made mainly from aluminum. The windshield, top, doors and fenders are made from polycarbonate glass, with the body having a drag coefficient of 0.26.

The designers in charge of the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics Concept were Mario Majdandzic, Exterior Design and Jochen Paesen, Interior Design.

The vehicle was unveiled in 2009 International Motor Show Germany, followed by Auto China 2010.

BMW i8 Concept (2011)

BMW i8 Concept plug-in hybrid electric vehicle includes an electric motor located in the front axle powering the front wheels rated 96 kW (131 PS; 129 hp) and 250 N·m (184 lb·ft), a turbocharged 1.5-liter 3-cylinder gasoline engine driving rear wheels rated 164 kW (223 PS; 220 hp) and 300 N·m (221 lb·ft) of torque, with combined output of 260 kW (354 PS; 349 hp) and 550 N·m (406 lb·ft), a 7.2 kWh (26 MJ) lithium-ion battery pack that allows an all-electric range of 35 km (22 mi). All four wheels provide regenerative braking. The location of the battery pack in the energy tunnel gives the vehicle a low centre of gravity, enhancing its dynamics. Its top speed is electronically limited to 250 km/h (160 mph) and is expected to go from 0 to 100 km/h (0 to 60 mph) in 4.6 seconds. Under normal driving conditions the i8 is expected to deliver 80 mpg-US (2.9 L/100 km; 96 mpg-imp) under the European cycle. A full charge of the battery will take less than 2 hours using 220V. The positioning of the motor and engine over the axles results in optimum 50/50 weight distribution.

The vehicle was unveiled at the 2011 International Motor Show Germany, followed by CENTER 548 in New York City, 42nd Tokyo Motor Show 2011, 82nd Geneva Motor Show 2012, BMW i Born Electric Tour at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni at Via Nazionale 194 in Rome, Auto Shanghai 2013.

This concept car was featured in the film Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.

BMW i8 Concept Spyder (2012)

The BMW i8 Concept Spyder included a slightly shorter wheelbase and overall length over the BMW i8 Concept, carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP) Life module, drive modules made primarily from aluminium components, interlocking of surfaces and lines, 8.8-inch (22.4 cm) screen display, off-white outer layer, orange tone naturally tanned leather upholstery.

The vehicle was unveiled in Auto China 2012 in Beijing and won Concept Car of the Year, followed by 83rd Geneva International Motor Show 2013.

The designer of the BMW i8 Concept Spyder was Richard Kim.

BMW i8 coupe prototype (2013)

The design of the BMW i8 coupe prototype was based on the BMW i8 Concept. The BMW i8 prototype has an average fuel efficiency of less than 2.5 L/100 km (113.0 mpg-imp; 94.1 mpg-US) under the New European Driving Cycle with carbon emissions of less than 59 g/km. The i8 with its carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) passenger cell lightweight, aerodynamically optimized body, and BMW eDrive technology offers the dynamic performance of a sports car, with an expected 0–100 km (0–60 mi) sprint time of less than 4.5 seconds using both power sources. The plug-in hybrid system of the BMW i8 comprises a three-cylinder, 1.5-liter BMW TwinPower turbo gasoline engine combined with BMW eDrive technology used in the BMW i3 and develops maximum power of 170 kW (230 hp). The BMW i8 is the first BMW production model to be powered by a three-cylinder gasoline engine and the resulting specific output of 115 kW (154 hp) per liter of displacement is on a par with high-performance sports car engines and is the highest of any engine produced by the BMW Group.

The BMW i8's second power source is a hybrid synchronous electric motor specially developed and produced by the BMW Group for BMW i. The electric motor develops maximum power of 131 hp (96 kW) and produces its maximum torque of around 320 N·m (240 lbf·ft) from standstill. Typical of an electric motor, responsive power is instantly available when starting and this continues into the higher load ranges. As well as providing a power boost to assist the gasoline engine during acceleration, the electric motor can also power the vehicle by itself. Top speed in electric mode is approximately 120 km/h (75 mph), with a maximum driving range of up to 35 km (22 mi). Linear acceleration is maintained even at higher speeds since the interplay between the two power sources efficiently absorbs any power flow interruptions when shifting gears. The BMW i8 has an electronically controlled top speed of 250 km (160 mi), which can be reached and maintained when the vehicle operates solely on the gasoline engine. The model-specific version of the high-voltage 7.2 lithium-ion battery has a liquid cooling system and can be recharged at a conventional household power socket, at a BMW i Wallbox or at a public charging station. In the US a full recharge takes approximately 3.5 hours from a conventional 120V, 12 amp household circuit or approximately 1.5 hours from a 220V Level 2 charger.

The driver can also select several driving modes: SPORT, COMFORT and ECO PRO. Using the gear selector, the driver can either select position D for automated gear selection or can switch to SPORT mode. SPORT mode offers manual gear selection and at the same time switches to very sporty drive and suspension settings. In SPORT mode, the engine and electric motor deliver extra performance, accelerator response is faster and the power boost from the electric motor is maximized. And to keep the battery topped up, SPORT mode also activates maximum energy recuperation during overrun and braking as the electric motor’s generator function, which recharges the battery using kinetic energy, switches to a more powerful setting. The Driving Experience Control switch on the center console offers a choice of two settings. On starting, COMFORT mode is activated, which offers a balance between sporty performance and fuel efficiency, with unrestricted access to all convenience functions. Alternatively, the ECO PRO mode can be engaged, which, on the BMW i8 as on other models, supports an efficiency-optimized driving style. On this mode the powertrain controller coordinates the cooperation between the gasoline engine and the electric motor for maximum fuel economy. On deceleration, the intelligent energy management system automatically decides, in line with the driving situation and vehicle status, whether to recuperate braking energy or to coast with the powertrain disengaged. At the same time, ECO PRO mode also programs electrical convenience functions such as the air conditioning, seat heating and heated mirrors to operate at minimum power consumption, but without compromising safety. The maximum driving range of the BMW i8 on a full fuel tank and with a fully charged battery is more than 500 km (310 mi) in COMFORT mode, which can be increased by up to 20% in ECO PRO mode. The BMW i8’s ECO PRO mode can also be used during all-electric operation. The vehicle is then powered solely by the electric motor. Only if the battery charge drops below a given level, or under sudden intense throttle application such as kickdown, is the internal combustion engine automatically activated.

The vehicle was unveiled in BMW Group's Miramas test track in France.

Production version

The production BMW i8 was designed by Benoit Jacob. The production version was unveiled at the 2013 International Motor Show Germany, followed by 2013 Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez. It features butterfly doors, head-up display, rear-view cameras and partially false engine noise. Series production of customer vehicles began in April 2014. It is the first production car with laser headlights, reaching further than LED lights.

The i8 has a low vehicle weight of 1,485 kg (3,274 lb) (DIN kerb weight) and a low drag coefficient (Cd) of 0.26. In all-electric mode the BMW i8 has a top speed of 120 km/h (75 mph). In Sport mode the i8 delivers a mid-range acceleration from 80 to 120 km/h (50 to 75 mph) in 2.6 seconds. The electronically controlled top speed is 250 km/h (160 mph).

Range and fuel economy[edit]

The production i8 has a 7.1 kWh lithium-ion battery pack with a usable capacity of 5.2 kWh and intelligent energy management that delivers an all-electric range of 37 km (23 mi) under the NEDC cycle. Under the EPA cycle, the range in EV mode is 15 mi (24 km), with a gasoline consumption of 0.1 gallons per 100 mi, and as a result, EPA's all-electric range is zero. The total range is 330 mi (530 km).

The production version has a fuel efficiency of 2.1 L/100 km (134.5 mpg-imp; 112.0 mpg-US) under the NEDC test with carbon emissions of 49 g/km.[5] Under EPA cycle, the i8 combined fuel economy in EV mode was rated 76 equivalent (MPG-equivalent) (3.1 L gasoline equivalent/100 km; 91 mpg-imp gasoline equivalent), with an energy consumption of 43 kW-hrs/100 mi and gasoline consumption of 0.1 gal-US/100 mi. The combined fuel economy when running only with gasoline is 28 mpg-US (8.4 L/100 km; 34 mpg-imp), 28 mpg-US (8.4 L/100 km; 34 mpg-imp) for city driving, and 29 mpg-US (8.1 L/100 km; 35 mpg-imp) in highway.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's 2014 edition of the "Light-Duty Automotive Technology, Carbon Dioxide Emissions, and Fuel Economy Trends" introduced utility factors for plug-in hybrids to represent the percentage of miles that will be driven using electricity by an average driver, in electric only or blended modes. The BMW i8 has a utility factor in EV mode of 37%, compared with 83% for the BMW i3 REx, 66% for the Chevrolet Volt, 65% for the Cadillac ELR, 45% for the Ford Energi models, 43% for the McLaren P1, 39% for the Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid, and 29% for the Toyota Prius PHV.

[Text from Wikipedia]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_i8

This Lego miniland-scale BMW i8 has been created for Flickr LUGNuts' 94th Build Challenge, - "Appease the Elves Summer Automobile Build-off (Part 2)", - a design challenge combining the resources of LUGNuts, TheLegoCarBlog (TLCB) and Head Turnerz.

Bulldog23,,Occupy America said : "Lipoblasphemy"

Fireplace inserts have become more and more efficient over the years. Recently this Vermont Castings Montpelier fireplace insert with a Georgian surround was installed in our home. This is a medium sized insert that can heat anywhere between 1500 and 1800 square feet, but it will be used mainly as supplmental heat fror our gas furnace.

I will update the performance over time, but see my attached energy blog entry for a short history of improvements in heating stoves.

Update 1. This stove is a real performer. We have it about two months duirng late fall and early winter. The temperatures have been mild, so there have been no really cold days. The insert is used for supplemental heat. The stove does back smoke into the room if you do not start it in a certain way. We leave a bed of ash in the bottom of the insert, put two balls of newspaper at the back, dry kindling over the newspaper, and light it from the very back. This produces an immediate draft with very little smoke entering the room. The stove then requires dry medium split logs (about 2 inches by 2 inches) to really get the temperature in the firbox to rise. After that it is very easy to maintain the fire by simply adding dry split wood and adjusting the airflow. We do not use the included fan (which on low is not as noisy as we thought it would be) as we do not want the room to heat up too much and would rather have the stove heat up and then give off heat after we quit adding wood. So all in all it is a great performer as well as very attractive. More updates coming.

Update 2. We use the Vermont Castings Montpelier fireplace insert every night for supplemental heat and it has performed very well. However, after more experimentation we now start the fire by using fatwood and what has been called a log cabin approach. The old procedure worked fine, but it tends to give off quite a bit of smoke during fire starting because of all the small branches and newspaper. The new approach promotes greater air flow in the firebox, a cleaner burning fire and very little carbon on the glass viewing area of the door. To accomplish this, one oak log is cut in half so the pieces are able to fit front to back in the fireplace, and then each half piece is split into three more pieces to make kindling. Two of the six to 10 inch long split pieces then are placed over the ashes vertical to the fireplace opening to take advantage of the stoves air flow system. Several smaller pieces of branchwood along with one piece of fatwood are placed on top of those pieces and laid across the foundation wood. This square crossing pattern is continued with all six split pieces of oak. If there is enough room we put a normal sized log on the very top of this square structure. The fatwood is lighted and due to its slow initial burn rate it activates a positive airflow up the flue preventing any back-smoking problems. Once things begin to catch the door is left slightly ajar until the fire blazes and becomes hot, usually taking just a few minutes. After this the door is closed and the air control is set to maximum until the firebox becomes hot (about one-half hour). At this point the airflow is turned down to the desired level (medium or low) and wood is added as needed. Once all this burns down to form a bed of coals, we just add wood in the usual manner.

Update 3. I am still impressed with this stove after a year of use and we have just started using it for this heating season. I have refined the method of starting this stove and now do not have any backsmoking into the room. I put two large logs on the bottom parallel to the back wall of the stove. Over these logs I then put two 8 inch long logs perpendicular to stove back wall making a kind of rectangle. Or if they are short enough you can criss-cross normal logs diagonally in the firebox. Between these 8 inch logs I place fatwood and kindling at varous angles. The fatwood is optional if you have very small branched that will light with fireplace matches. Over this I put some small logs just under the air tubes. I can't stress enough the importance of having seasoned wood. We purchased wood (mostly oak) in March and put it in our garage. On purchase the moisture content was in the 30% range for many pieces even though the dealer said it was seasoned. But many wood sellers often do not split the wood until just before delivery. At that time this wood was not usable in the wood stove due to the high moisture content . After 6 months of having this wood in a hot garage over the summer the wood's moisture content is now 20% or below and is ready for use in the wood stove. Good luck.

Update 4. Much has been written about this stove and backsmoking (when airflow reverses direction and smoke comes out of the combustion air entrance for the stove). I have found that for our stove chimney configuration the stove only backsmokes when the stove is very cold and there are unique weather conditions. If you use the stove daily, it is unlikely to backsmoke. You can tell if it will backsmoke if you put your hand under the top front of the stove and feel cold air coming down the chimney into the stove. If this is the case then you have to warm the stove before attemplting to start the fire either by placing a candle or electric light bulb inside the stove to warm it and to create a draft. But this takes quite a bit of time. An alternative method is to use some fatwood or other material placed at the top of the stove to start the draft.

For information on heating stove standards for the USA, see the link from my blog below.

www.energyfordevelopment.com/2011/02/better-stove-standar...

The BMW i8, first introduced as the BMW Concept Vision Efficient Dynamics, is a plug-in hybrid sports car developed by BMW. The 2015 model year BMW i8 has a 7.1 kWh lithium-ion battery pack that delivers an all-electric range of 37 km (23 mi) under the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC).[5] Under the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cycle, the range in EV mode is 24 km (15 mi) with a small amount of gasoline consumption.

The BMW i8 can go from 0–100 km/h (0 to 60 mph) in 4.4 seconds and has a top speed of 250 km/h (155 mph). The BMW i8 has a fuel efficiency of 2.1 L/100 km (134.5 mpg-imp; 112.0 mpg-US) under the NEDC test with carbon emissions of 49 g/km. EPA rated the i8 combined fuel economy at 76 equivalent (MPG-equivalent) (3.1 L gasoline equivalent/100 km; 91 mpg-imp gasoline equivalent).

The initial turbodiesel concept car was unveiled at the 2009 International Motor Show Germany. The production version of the BMW i8 was unveiled at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show. The i8 was released in Germany in June 2014. Deliveries to retail customers in the U.S. began in August 2014. Global cumulative sales totaled almost 4,500 units through June 2015.

History

The i8 is part of BMW's "Project i" and it is being marketed as a new brand, BMW i, sold separately from BMW or Mini. The BMW i3, launched for retail customers in Europe in the fourth quarter of 2013, was the first model of the i brand available in the market, and it was followed by the i8, released in Germany in June 2014 as a 2015 model year. Other i models are expected to follow.

The initial turbodiesel concept car was unveiled at the 2009 International Motor Show Germany, In 2010, BMW announced the mass production of the Concept Vision Efficient Dynamics in Leipzig beginning in 2013 as the BMW i8. The BMW i8 gasoline-powered concept car destined for production was unveiled at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show. The production version of the BMW i8 was unveiled at the 2013 International Motor Show Germany. The following are the concept and pre-production models developed by BMW that precedeed the production version.

BMW Vision EfficientDynamics (2009)

BMW Vision EfficientDynamics concept car is a plug-in hybrid with a three cylinder turbodiesel engine. Additionally, there are two electric motors with 139 horsepower. It allows an acceleration to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 4.8 seconds and an electronically limited top speed of 250 km/h (160 mph).

According to BMW, the average fuel consumption in the EU test cycle (KV01) is 3.76 liters/100 kilometers, (75.1 mpg imp), and has a carbon dioxide emission rating of 99 grams per kilometer (1,3 l/100 km and 33g CO2/km ; EU-PHEV ECE-R101). The estimated all-electric range is 50 km (31 mi), and the 24-liter petrol tank extends the total vehicle range to up to 700 km (430 mi). The lightweight chassis is made mainly from aluminum. The windshield, top, doors and fenders are made from polycarbonate glass, with the body having a drag coefficient of 0.26.

The designers in charge of the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics Concept were Mario Majdandzic, Exterior Design and Jochen Paesen, Interior Design.

The vehicle was unveiled in 2009 International Motor Show Germany, followed by Auto China 2010.

BMW i8 Concept (2011)

BMW i8 Concept plug-in hybrid electric vehicle includes an electric motor located in the front axle powering the front wheels rated 96 kW (131 PS; 129 hp) and 250 N·m (184 lb·ft), a turbocharged 1.5-liter 3-cylinder gasoline engine driving rear wheels rated 164 kW (223 PS; 220 hp) and 300 N·m (221 lb·ft) of torque, with combined output of 260 kW (354 PS; 349 hp) and 550 N·m (406 lb·ft), a 7.2 kWh (26 MJ) lithium-ion battery pack that allows an all-electric range of 35 km (22 mi). All four wheels provide regenerative braking. The location of the battery pack in the energy tunnel gives the vehicle a low centre of gravity, enhancing its dynamics. Its top speed is electronically limited to 250 km/h (160 mph) and is expected to go from 0 to 100 km/h (0 to 60 mph) in 4.6 seconds. Under normal driving conditions the i8 is expected to deliver 80 mpg-US (2.9 L/100 km; 96 mpg-imp) under the European cycle. A full charge of the battery will take less than 2 hours using 220V. The positioning of the motor and engine over the axles results in optimum 50/50 weight distribution.

The vehicle was unveiled at the 2011 International Motor Show Germany, followed by CENTER 548 in New York City, 42nd Tokyo Motor Show 2011, 82nd Geneva Motor Show 2012, BMW i Born Electric Tour at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni at Via Nazionale 194 in Rome, Auto Shanghai 2013.

This concept car was featured in the film Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.

BMW i8 Concept Spyder (2012)

The BMW i8 Concept Spyder included a slightly shorter wheelbase and overall length over the BMW i8 Concept, carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP) Life module, drive modules made primarily from aluminium components, interlocking of surfaces and lines, 8.8-inch (22.4 cm) screen display, off-white outer layer, orange tone naturally tanned leather upholstery.

The vehicle was unveiled in Auto China 2012 in Beijing and won Concept Car of the Year, followed by 83rd Geneva International Motor Show 2013.

The designer of the BMW i8 Concept Spyder was Richard Kim.

BMW i8 coupe prototype (2013)

The design of the BMW i8 coupe prototype was based on the BMW i8 Concept. The BMW i8 prototype has an average fuel efficiency of less than 2.5 L/100 km (113.0 mpg-imp; 94.1 mpg-US) under the New European Driving Cycle with carbon emissions of less than 59 g/km. The i8 with its carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) passenger cell lightweight, aerodynamically optimized body, and BMW eDrive technology offers the dynamic performance of a sports car, with an expected 0–100 km (0–60 mi) sprint time of less than 4.5 seconds using both power sources. The plug-in hybrid system of the BMW i8 comprises a three-cylinder, 1.5-liter BMW TwinPower turbo gasoline engine combined with BMW eDrive technology used in the BMW i3 and develops maximum power of 170 kW (230 hp). The BMW i8 is the first BMW production model to be powered by a three-cylinder gasoline engine and the resulting specific output of 115 kW (154 hp) per liter of displacement is on a par with high-performance sports car engines and is the highest of any engine produced by the BMW Group.

The BMW i8's second power source is a hybrid synchronous electric motor specially developed and produced by the BMW Group for BMW i. The electric motor develops maximum power of 131 hp (96 kW) and produces its maximum torque of around 320 N·m (240 lbf·ft) from standstill. Typical of an electric motor, responsive power is instantly available when starting and this continues into the higher load ranges. As well as providing a power boost to assist the gasoline engine during acceleration, the electric motor can also power the vehicle by itself. Top speed in electric mode is approximately 120 km/h (75 mph), with a maximum driving range of up to 35 km (22 mi). Linear acceleration is maintained even at higher speeds since the interplay between the two power sources efficiently absorbs any power flow interruptions when shifting gears. The BMW i8 has an electronically controlled top speed of 250 km (160 mi), which can be reached and maintained when the vehicle operates solely on the gasoline engine. The model-specific version of the high-voltage 7.2 lithium-ion battery has a liquid cooling system and can be recharged at a conventional household power socket, at a BMW i Wallbox or at a public charging station. In the US a full recharge takes approximately 3.5 hours from a conventional 120V, 12 amp household circuit or approximately 1.5 hours from a 220V Level 2 charger.

The driver can also select several driving modes: SPORT, COMFORT and ECO PRO. Using the gear selector, the driver can either select position D for automated gear selection or can switch to SPORT mode. SPORT mode offers manual gear selection and at the same time switches to very sporty drive and suspension settings. In SPORT mode, the engine and electric motor deliver extra performance, accelerator response is faster and the power boost from the electric motor is maximized. And to keep the battery topped up, SPORT mode also activates maximum energy recuperation during overrun and braking as the electric motor’s generator function, which recharges the battery using kinetic energy, switches to a more powerful setting. The Driving Experience Control switch on the center console offers a choice of two settings. On starting, COMFORT mode is activated, which offers a balance between sporty performance and fuel efficiency, with unrestricted access to all convenience functions. Alternatively, the ECO PRO mode can be engaged, which, on the BMW i8 as on other models, supports an efficiency-optimized driving style. On this mode the powertrain controller coordinates the cooperation between the gasoline engine and the electric motor for maximum fuel economy. On deceleration, the intelligent energy management system automatically decides, in line with the driving situation and vehicle status, whether to recuperate braking energy or to coast with the powertrain disengaged. At the same time, ECO PRO mode also programs electrical convenience functions such as the air conditioning, seat heating and heated mirrors to operate at minimum power consumption, but without compromising safety. The maximum driving range of the BMW i8 on a full fuel tank and with a fully charged battery is more than 500 km (310 mi) in COMFORT mode, which can be increased by up to 20% in ECO PRO mode. The BMW i8’s ECO PRO mode can also be used during all-electric operation. The vehicle is then powered solely by the electric motor. Only if the battery charge drops below a given level, or under sudden intense throttle application such as kickdown, is the internal combustion engine automatically activated.

The vehicle was unveiled in BMW Group's Miramas test track in France.

Production version

The production BMW i8 was designed by Benoit Jacob. The production version was unveiled at the 2013 International Motor Show Germany, followed by 2013 Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez. It features butterfly doors, head-up display, rear-view cameras and partially false engine noise. Series production of customer vehicles began in April 2014. It is the first production car with laser headlights, reaching further than LED lights.

The i8 has a low vehicle weight of 1,485 kg (3,274 lb) (DIN kerb weight) and a low drag coefficient (Cd) of 0.26. In all-electric mode the BMW i8 has a top speed of 120 km/h (75 mph). In Sport mode the i8 delivers a mid-range acceleration from 80 to 120 km/h (50 to 75 mph) in 2.6 seconds. The electronically controlled top speed is 250 km/h (160 mph).

Range and fuel economy[edit]

The production i8 has a 7.1 kWh lithium-ion battery pack with a usable capacity of 5.2 kWh and intelligent energy management that delivers an all-electric range of 37 km (23 mi) under the NEDC cycle. Under the EPA cycle, the range in EV mode is 15 mi (24 km), with a gasoline consumption of 0.1 gallons per 100 mi, and as a result, EPA's all-electric range is zero. The total range is 330 mi (530 km).

The production version has a fuel efficiency of 2.1 L/100 km (134.5 mpg-imp; 112.0 mpg-US) under the NEDC test with carbon emissions of 49 g/km.[5] Under EPA cycle, the i8 combined fuel economy in EV mode was rated 76 equivalent (MPG-equivalent) (3.1 L gasoline equivalent/100 km; 91 mpg-imp gasoline equivalent), with an energy consumption of 43 kW-hrs/100 mi and gasoline consumption of 0.1 gal-US/100 mi. The combined fuel economy when running only with gasoline is 28 mpg-US (8.4 L/100 km; 34 mpg-imp), 28 mpg-US (8.4 L/100 km; 34 mpg-imp) for city driving, and 29 mpg-US (8.1 L/100 km; 35 mpg-imp) in highway.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's 2014 edition of the "Light-Duty Automotive Technology, Carbon Dioxide Emissions, and Fuel Economy Trends" introduced utility factors for plug-in hybrids to represent the percentage of miles that will be driven using electricity by an average driver, in electric only or blended modes. The BMW i8 has a utility factor in EV mode of 37%, compared with 83% for the BMW i3 REx, 66% for the Chevrolet Volt, 65% for the Cadillac ELR, 45% for the Ford Energi models, 43% for the McLaren P1, 39% for the Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid, and 29% for the Toyota Prius PHV.

[Text from Wikipedia]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_i8

This Lego miniland-scale BMW i8 has been created for Flickr LUGNuts' 94th Build Challenge, - "Appease the Elves Summer Automobile Build-off (Part 2)", - a design challenge combining the resources of LUGNuts, TheLegoCarBlog (TLCB) and Head Turnerz.

Energy efficient solar screens offered by Screenmobile block up to ninety percent of the sun's radiant heat before it reaches window glass and can help reduce a homeowner's utility bills up to fifty percent. Lower electric usage, protect furnishings, hall hangings, carpet and yourself from harmful UV rays. You Call, We Screen. Screenmobile.

- Scooters and skate shoes, these are the efficient transportation devises of a new generation.

We had a trip to Prague in January – for Jayne’s birthday - we don’t buy Christmas or birthday presents, we travel instead. We left snowy England for a very, very dull and grey Czech Republic. Yet again I was on a photographic downer looking at the weather forecast, grey is the colour that haunts me. Fortunately it was dull grey and not burnt highlight inducing bright grey.With the grey sky acting like a big diffuser I was going to have deep shadow and contrast to deal with. We had three very short spells of broken cloud which gave us a bit of sun and colour, which I managed to more or less anticipate so we managed to be in decent locations every time – generally somewhere high.

We had been upgraded to a five star hotel, apparently our original choice was flooded. We got compensation and five star hotel upgrade– a first for me. The Art Nouveau Palace has a beautiful interior, with beautiful rooms, the breakfast room was fantastic, as was the breakfast it has to be said. We were able to have an early breakfast so were out on foot just after eight. It was very cold – and dull! We spent the whole week well wrapped up. It drizzled for a day, but never really wet us, it snowed for a day, again we didn’t get wet and the snow didn’t settle. We walked 65 mile, spending plenty of time checking buildings and their interiors out – and coffee shop and bar interiors it has to be said. Although it was dull and sometimes wet I decided that the Camera was staying in my hands for the whole trip. Whenever I put it in my backpack for one reason or another I regret it.

Again, I didn’t look at any photographs of Prague before we got there, I like to just walk and discover, with the DK guidebook in my pocket (which is full of photos it has to be said). We like to get off the beaten track and see the grittier side of the places we visit – within reason! Prague has an incredible tram network, over 1000 trams – with many of them Tatra Eastern Bloc machines. The system seems chaotic but in reality it is incredible with one of the largest networks and highest usages in the world. The trams and cars frequently share the same road space with very little in the way of drama, none of the inexplicable and pathetic constant horn blowing one finds in many countries. Once it became apparent that buildings with a grey blanket as a background were going to be a bit un-inspirational I decided that the trams would be a good focal point instead. Where I have photographed one of the older trams against a background without clues it is easy to imagine that the photos were taken fifty years ago.

The train network also provided photo opportunities. The rolling stock ranges from old Eastern Bloc to very modern double decker’s and pendolinos. There are three stations although we visited the main station and Smichov. The main station interior is art deco and has been renovated by a private company. The exterior and the platforms are very rundown with a grim eastern bloc 1950’s feel –but it works! We discovered to our amusement that we could just walk across multiple lines, no health and safety, just keep your eyes open and don’t walk under a train – you’ll make a mess. Smichov station was grim, it didn’t help that it snowed all day and was grey and bitter. We felt like we were in a 50’s film set in Russia, broken concrete platforms and dereliction. With both stations there was another world underneath them. The underground Metro is running seamlessly and efficiently away beneath your feet. I didn’t have any problems taking photos anywhere but I was very open and obviously a tourist, I didn’t act covertly or suspiciously. There was only one occasion I was stopped and that was in a shopping centre – full of CCTV cameras filming everyone else!

We discovered old and beautiful- and very large- shopping centres hidden away in quite a few places. Brass framed windows and doors, shops thriving, there was a massive camera shop with thousands of second hand cameras, too much to look at. Many of the landmark buildings prevent photography, some make a small charge, some encourage it, the DK guide book gives a good indication regarding camera use. Nothing stops many people though, they just shoot away regardless, usually wanting a picture that includes their self. Prague is surrounded by low hills and has a fair few towers that you can pay a few pounds to go up, so viewpoints are plentiful. I think we visited most of them. I read about the Zizkov Tower, which looks like a Soviet rocket on the horizon and we headed straight for it - after crossing the rail lines! Set in a quiet residential area, there wasn’t a soul about. Two beautiful girls on reception and we parted with a few pounds, into the lift and were on the observation deck with no one else up there. There are fantastic views over the city, but! It is through two layers of not very clean glass so you go for the view rather than sharp panoramas. Still a fascinating place, with a nice café bar and very clean toilets – there are toilets everywhere, usually manned with a fee. Places are well staffed compared with home were three students are supposed to run a 20 screen multiplex cinema.

Graffiti was prominent, no matter how grand the monument, some moron would have daubed it. How do they get away with it in a 24 hour city centre with a strong police presence? The place is very clean, constantly being swept. What did surprise me, was that many buildings, that looked grand and built of stone, from a distance, were actually rendered with very low quality brickwork concealed. When restored the building look very impressive, others are missing the outer render from ground level to a fair height.

I need to cut this short really, I like to put a background story to the photos and although it would be better to individualise it to a specific photo or group of photos I don’t have the time to do that. I do try to give specific detail in the title bar after I have uploaded, this is time consuming enough although I’m pretty proficient at it by now. There are many things I would like to write that should be of interest to anyone thinking of going to Prague but I’ll have to let the pictures do the talking. As usual I am unlikely to be selective enough with my uploads, I’m not very good at leaving photos out so I just upload and be damned.

Here at Haas Automation, we take full advantage of the capacities and capabilities of every machine in the shop to produce the right number of parts at the right time, in the most efficient way possible. Here, we’re utilizing the high-speed capabilities and large table of a Haas VF-3SSYT VMC to precision chamfer gears for the Haas 40-taper gearbox – 20 gears at a time, in a single setup.

It’s a high-production environment, and we put as much thought and engineering into optimizing our workholding and machining processes as we do into designing high-quality components for Haas machines.

Original Caption: A highly efficient solar greenhouse at a school in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Black barrels contain water and are heated during the day. Plastic panels are double layered with a space in between. At night styrofoam beads are blown in this space as insulation and sucked out during daylight, 04/1974

U.S. National Archives’ Local Identifier: 412-DA-12846

Photographer: Norton, Boyd

Subjects:

Environmental protection

Natural resources

Pollution

Albuquerque (New Mexico, United States) inhabited place

Persistent URL: research.archives.gov/description/555298

Repository: Still Picture Records Section, Special Media Archives Services Division (NWCS-S), National Archives at College Park, 8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD, 20740-6001.

For information about ordering reproductions of photographs held by the Still Picture Unit, visit: www.archives.gov/research/order/still-pictures.html

Reproductions may be ordered via an independent vendor. NARA maintains a list of vendors at www.archives.gov/research/order/vendors-photos-maps-dc.html

Access Restrictions: Unrestricted

Use Restrictions: Unrestricted

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

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

Some background:

The "Entwicklung" tank series (= "development"), more commonly known as the E-Series, was a late-World War II attempt by Germany to produce a standardized series of tank designs. There were to be six standard designs in different weight classes, from which several specialized variants were to be developed. This intended to reverse the trend of extremely complex tank designs that had resulted in poor production rates and mechanical unreliability.

The new tank hunters only saw limited use, though, since they suffered from many early production flaws, and general technical reliability was also low. Other weaknesses were soon revealed, too. The SdKfz. 191/2's high casemate design made the vehicle hard to camouflage. With its almost vertical front and side armor, as well as the separate and edgy driver and radio operator compartments, it proved to be very vulnerable, too, so that - on the same chassis - an improved hull (similar to the Jagdpanther, but with the engine in front of the crew section and armed with a new 105 mm cannon) for the newly developed SdKfz 195 hull (a.k.a. "Jagdpanther II") was quickly developed, offering a much improved ballistic protection from any angle.

Specifications:

Crew: Six (commander, gunner, 2x loader, radio operator, driver)

Weight: 54 tonnes (60 short tons)

Length: 7.27 metres (23 ft 8 in) (hull only)

9.36 metres (30 ft 8 in) incl. gun

Width: 3.88 metres (12 ft 9 in)

Height 3.35 metres (11 ft)

Ground clearance: 495 to 510 mm (1 ft 7.5 in to 1 ft 8.1 in)

Suspension: Conical spring

Fuel capacity: 720 litres (160 imp gal; 190 US gal)

Armor:

10–70 mm (0.4 – 2.75 in)

Performance:

Speed

- Maximum, road: 46 km/h (28.6 mph)

- Sustained, road: 38 km/h (24 mph)

- Cross country: 15 to 20 km/h (9.3 to 12.4 mph)

Operational range: 160 km (99 miles)

Power/weight: 16,67 PS/tonne (14,75 hp/ton)

Engine:

V-12 Maybach HL 234 gasoline engine with 900 PS (885 hp/650 kW)

Transmission:

ZF AK 7-200 with 7 forward 1 reverse gears

Armament:

1× 12.8 cm KwK L/61 with 32 rounds

2× 7.92 mm Maschinengewehr 34 with a total of 5.200 rounds (one in the casemate front

and an optional AA gun on the commander's cupola)

The kit and its assembly:

This build was spawned from the question: with the German Experimental-Panzer designs becoming available, what would have been an initial solution for the large 12,8cm PaK, and a kind or predecessor of the more effective designs that were to follow (like the Jagdpanther II on E-50/75 basis or the heavy ‘Krokodil’ from the E-100 chassis)? Creations like the Jagdtiger or the Elefant/Ferdinand had failed due to their weight, and roofless self-propelled designs like the Nashorn or the lighter Marder family had also not been very effective designs.

Consequently I tried my luck with a kitbash: the standard E-50 chassis (from a Model Collect combat tank variant), combined with the superstructure of the “Sturer Emil” SPG prototype (Trumpeter kit).

Work started with the lower hull, which was more or less taken OOB – just the upper side was completely re-arranged and the engine roof cut out, together with the attachment ring for the original Schmalturm turret, and transplanted to the front. In this step, the original driver hatches on top of the hull were deleted, too.

On the hull’s gaping rear end I tried to integrate the (originally roofless) weapon compartment from the “Sturer Emil” SPG. The latter comes as a single piece and turned out to be a little too narrow. I could have taken it OOB, but then a small step in the hull’s side walls had to be accepted. So I cut the box structure into pieces and tried to blend them as smoothly into the lower hull’s lines as possible – with the benefit of slightly more angled side walls. The resulting gaps at all four corners were filled with styrene sheet and putty, and the rear wall called for some major adjustments because it has a convex shape with an entry hatch. A bit messy, but the flanking exhaust pipes cover most of the mess.

On the new roof (cut from styrene sheet using a pattern made from adhesive tape and graphite rubbed along the edges), a commander cupola from a Panzer IV and some details like rangefinder optics or air vents were added. Since the interior would not be visible anymore, I only added a primitive console that would hold the OOB cannon bearing and allow slight movement with the barrel in place.

The kit would receive new tracks – vinyl pieces instead of the single styrene pieces from the Model Collect kit. And for a more lively look, the mud guards and side skirts (integral part of the upper hull half) were dented – using a candle flame to warm and warp the material.

Painting and markings:

The rather massive and tall tank was to look simple, yet a bit improvised, so I decided to mimic a primer finish with some thin camouflage paint added on top, so that much of the primer would still shine through.

In an initial step, the hull and still separate parts like the barrel and the wheels received a uniform coat of RAL 3009 Oxidrot – a rich, rust-red tone that comes close to the German primer used on late-war tank hulls. This basic tone was considerably lightened, through dry-brushing and shading with Humbrol 70, 113 and 119 (Brick Red, Rust and Red Brown, respectively), since paint was sparse in Germany in late WWII and colors frequently stretched and thinned with added pigments like white lead, resulting in an almost pinkish tone.

Once dry, the kit received an overall cover with thinned acrylic Sand and Beige (Revell 16 and 314) – almost a custard-colored wash - so that a good amount of the light paint would cling to details and run down the vertical surfaces, leaving an uneven, partly translucent coat on top the red primer that shines through everywhere. This finish was later tailored with brass brush, steel wool and sand paper treatments. No further camouflage (e. g. with Olivgrün) was added, for a simple look.

On top of the basic paint, a dark brown washing was added and the edges further emphasized through dry-brushing with light grey and pale sand tones, plus some acrylic silver. Once the wheels and tracks were fitted into place and the few decals applied, a coat of matt acrylic varnish was added. Finally, dust and dry mud were simulated with mixed pigments, applied with a soft brush onto wet stains of varnish.

An impressive whif tank, and the complex superstructure was quite challenging. Even though it’s a kitbashing, the whole thing looks pretty plausible and “German”, so the original objective was accomplished.

Crystal Brockington and Aaron Barron, both 18 years old, designed a more efficient and cost effective solar cell that harnesses energy without cadmium, which has been shown to be harmful to the environment. They were selected to participate in the White House Science Fair after they were awarded the High School Grand Prize at the Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge. The fourth White House Science Fair was held at the White House on May 27, 2014 and included 100 students from more than 30 different states who competed in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) competitions. (Photo Credit: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)