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Lambeau Field is the home stadium of the NFL's Green Bay Packers, located in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The stadium opened in 1957 as City Stadium, replacing the original City Stadium as the Packers' home field. For that reason, it was also informally known as New City Stadium until 1965, when it was renamed in memory of Packers founder, player, and long-time head coach, Curly Lambeau, who had died earlier in the year.
The stadium's street address has been 1265 Lombardi Avenue since 1968, when Highland Avenue was renamed in honor of Vince Lombardi. It sits on a block bounded by Lombardi Avenue (north); Oneida Street (east); Stadium Drive and Valley View Road (south); and Ridge Road (west). The playing field at the stadium sits at an elevation of 640 feet (195 m) above sea level.
Lambeau Field is the N.F.L. stadium continually operated the longest. In 2007, the Packers completed their 51st season at Lambeau, breaking the all-time N.F.L. record set by the Chicago Bears at Wrigley Field (1921–70). (While Soldier Field in Chicago is older, it was not the home of the Bears until 1971.) Only the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park and the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley have longer active home-field tenures in American professional sports.
Although the capacity has more than doubled since Lambeau Field was opened, demand for tickets remains high. The Packers have sold out every game since 1960, and more than 81,000 names remain on the waiting list (with a reported average wait time of 30 years). The sell-out streak has had the effect (intended or not) of ensuring that all Packers home games are televised in Green Bay and Milwaukee, a streak that started in 1973 (prior to that time, local telecasts of home games were disallowed regardless of how many tickets were sold); the Packers are one of four NFL teams (the others being the Washington Redskins, Denver Broncos, and Pittsburgh Steelers) that have not had a home game blacked out since the current blackout rules were put into place.
With a capacity of 80,750, Lambeau is now the largest stadium in the state of Wisconsin, beating out Camp Randall Stadium on the campus of the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lambeau_field
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_Creative_Commons_...
The Needles Battery is a military Battery built above the Needles stacks in 1861–63 to guard the West end of the Solent. Its field of fire was from approximately West South West clockwise to Northeast and it was designed to defend against enemy ships
It was equipped with six 7-inch Armstrong rifled breechloading guns. These were replaced by four 7-inch and two 9-inch rifled muzzle loaders in 1872, and six 9-inch rifled muzzle loaders in 1893. The 9 inch guns took a team of 9 men to load and fire. These guns fired projectiles weighing 256 pounds (116 kg).[1] The 9-inch guns remained in place until 1903 when they were discarded by throwing them over the side of the cliff. These were later recovered and two are on display presently at the Old Battery.[2]
A deep ditch with a retractable bridge was dug into the chalk to protect the facility from ground attack from the island side. In 1885 a tunnel was dug towards the cliff face from the parade grounds. An elevator down to the beach was completed in 1887. Early searchlight experiments were conducted at the site[3] between 1889 and 1892.[2] The present observation post housing a searchlight was built in 1899.[4]
Just to the east of the Old Battery, at Hatherwood Point are the remains of Hatherwood Battery, built to defend the area alongside the Needles Battery.
The Old Battery is a Grade II Listed Building.
A tunnel leads to a searchlight emplacement with good views towards the Needles lighthouse.
Unfortunately, there were subsidence problems and concerns that the concussion from firing the guns was causing the cliffs to crumble. This was solved by building the New Battery higher up the cliff, at a height of 120 metres above sea level. The New Battery was completed in 1895.
Three 9.2-inch Mk IX breech-loading guns were installed at the New Battery : two in 1900 and a third in 1903. A crew of 11 was required to fire one of these guns. Each shell weighed 380 pounds (172 kg).[6] The New Battery guns remained in place until 1954, when they were scrapped.[6]
The Old and New Batteries were manned during the World Wars. German U boats sank two ships off The Needles during World War I.[7] This facility was also the site of early trials of anti-aircraft guns.[2]
In World War II, anti-aircraft guns defended the Isle of Wight against air attacks but repeated German air attacks necessitated improvements in the fortifications at the site. The guns at the Batteries also fired on German torpedo boats attempting night landings[citation needed]. Troops trained for the D-Day landing on the neighbouring cliffs. After the war, the Ministry of Defence deactivated the batteries.[7]
In the 1950s, the battery was used for testing the Blue Streak missile.[8]
Like the Old Battery, the New Battery has also been listed at Grade II
Clementine: Avrei voluto che fossi rimasto.
Joel: E io vorrei averlo fatto. Ora vorrei essere rimasto. Vorrei aver fatto molte cose. Vorrei... vorrei essere rimasto. Davvero.
Clementine: Tornai subito di sotto, ma non c'eri!
Joel: Ero uscito, me n'ero andato via.
Clementine: Perché?
Joel: Non lo so! Ero come un bambino spaventato e... era una cosa più grande di me. Non lo so...
Clementine: Avevi paura?!
Joel: Sì... pensavo che l'avessi capito.
An attempt to replace Power Points with hand drawings
An attempt to replace Power Points with hand drawings at work. Didn't quite work out, though.
Birmingham Oratory seen from Beaufort Road.
It's founder is now Saint John Henry Newman.
The Birmingham Oratory is an English Catholic religious community of the Congregation of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri, located in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham. The community was founded in 1849 by the Blessed John Henry Newman, Cong.Orat., the first house of that congregation in England.
Part of the complex of the Oratory is the Parish Church of the Immaculate Conception, commonly referred to as the Oratory Church. It now also serves as the national shrine to Newman.
The current church was constructed between 1907 and 1910 in the Baroque style to replace the original structure as a memorial to Newman. It was designed by the architect Edward Doran Webb. It is familiarly called the Little Rome in Birmingham.
Prior to a final determination regarding the beatification of Newman, the Holy See gave instructions that his remains were to be transferred from the Oratorian cemetery in the West Midlands to the Oratory Church. A marble tomb was built for this but not installed in the church. When church and civil authorities opened the grave in October 2008, however, they found no human remains from his grave.
The Grade II* listed church continues to serve the Congregation of the Oratory there. Elsewhere in England, there are also communities of the Congregation at the Brompton Oratory in London and the Oxford Oratory.
In February 2012, the church suffered the theft of a large metal cross from its roof. The loss was valued at £30,000.
Grade II* Listed Building
Summary
A Roman Catholic, Oratory church, designed by E Doran Webb and built between 1903-1909, incorporating earlier work by John Hungerford Pollen of 1858, Henry Clutton of 1872-3, and an addition by G B Cox in 1927, together with the accompanying presbytery building, designed by Terence Flanagan in 1851 and the former Oratory School buildings designed by Henry Clutton in 1861-2 and 1872-3.
Description
ORATORY CHURCH
A Roman Catholic, Oratory church, designed by E Doran Webb from 1903-1909 and incorporating earlier work by John Hungerford Pollen of 1858, Henry Clutton of 1872-3, and an addition by G B Cox in 1927.
MATERIALS: the building is of limestone ashlar with a lead roof and internally clad with a rich variety of marble veneers, inlays and mosaic work. The Tunnel vault over the nave is of chestnut which was painted in 1959.
PLAN: the building is oriented north-south, with the northern end representing the ritual eastern end. Ritual compass directions are used throughout this description. The basilican plan has a nave flanked by aisles. At either side of the nave alternating bays contain either a side chapel or a confessional, placed against the outer walls of the side aisles. The sanctuary has an apsidal end and there are transepts to each side whose outer walls are flush with those of the nave aisles. Above the crossing is a dome, and clerestory lighting is by large lights which pierce the sides of the tunnel vault. Further side chapels are placed at either side of the sanctuary. The organ gallery and loft are positioned in the south transept, above the altar of the Sacred Heart. The earlier St Philip’s Chapel (now dedicated to the Blessed John Newman) is attached to the south side of the south transept. The gallery at the western end of the nave is placed over bays of the earlier school cloister. The Oratory House lies to the south and is connected to the church through the Sacristy.
EXTERIOR: the west end of the church is fronted by the cloister garth of the former Oratory School. The façade is of three bays, divided by Composite pilasters with paired pilasters to the corners. At ground floor level it has three openings which front bays of the cloister. The central, taller, opening has a moulded, lugged surround above which is a pulvinated frieze and a broken, segmental pediment with figures of angels at either side, carved in relief and supporting an escutcheon with a coat of arms and a cardinal’s hat. At either side are portals with Gibbs surrounds and prominent triple keystones set against pulvinated friezes. At gallery level is a single, central light with segmental top, flanked by corbel brackets. The top of the wall has an entablature with pulvinated frieze and a triangular pediment.
The north flank of the nave has seven bays. The division of the bays is unmarked at ground-floor level, but buttresses with concave tops appear between the clerestory bays. At the top of the aisle walls is a balustrade with vase-shaped balusters and square piers. A similar balustrade is placed above the clerestory, along the skyline, and encircles the building above a full entablature with pulvinated frieze. The narrow nave windows which light the alternate bays housing confessionals have moulded surrounds and the larger clerestory windows have pilasters at either side and pedimental tops. The transept at left is blank, save for a niche with an arched head containing a statue of Philip Neri. The left corner has an octagonal staircase turret with a pepper-pot top. In the re-entrant angle between the eastern flank of the north transept and the chancel is the later Shrine of St Philip. This has walls clad with faience tiles, channelled rustication, canted corners and a stone surround to the half-glazed double doors at the centre of its north front. There is a dentilled cornice to the top of the wall. Above this is the drum of the dome, with pilasters placed between the segment-headed windows. Above the entablature the ribbed copper dome has a cross finial.
The chancel has a single window to the upper wall at left, but is otherwise blind, with square buttresses rising for the full height of the wall and continuing the cornice.
The south flank is largely masked by the Oratory House building, the Sacristy and Pollen’s Chapel of St Philip (now the Blessed John Newman), which are all characterised by red brick walling. The chapel has an apsidal end with three arched windows and above this the library has sash windows, all with stone surrounds. The eastern end of the south transept has an octagonal staircase turret, similar to that seen on the north side. In the re-entrant angle with the chancel is the lower Chapel of St Charles, which has three windows to its south flank. Above it both the transept and chancel have windows with moulded, pedimental surrounds.
The dome has four windows to its drum with moulded surrounds and floating pediments. Each window is flanked by three pairs of engaged Tuscan columns. There are four piers with arched niches, which were intended to be filled with carvings of the Evangelists, but this work was not carried out and the attached blocks project from the walls. Above the entablature is a parapet with balustrade panels and the ribbed dome, with its copper sheathing, rises above that to the stone lantern, which has arched lights and small, engaged columns. The domed top culminates in a ball and gilded cross.
INTERIOR: the nave has mosaic flooring laid in overlapping fan-shaped patterns. The aisle arcades have monolithic, unfluted columns of Breccia marble with bases of green Swedish marble and Composite capitals. These support a full entablature with plain frieze, from which springs the painted timber barrel vault.
The walls of the sanctuary are covered with panels of red African onyx with borders of yellow Siena marble. The altar stands forward from the rear wall on a stepped platform. It was designed by Dunstan Powell in 1899 for the old church. The tabernacle is circular with a domed roof which has enamel inlay. The frontal is of green Connemara marble with lapis lazuli plaques around the edges. Above the altar is a suspended baldacchino of gilded and painted wood. The ceiling of the apse has mosaic decoration representing the Coronation of the Virgin flanked by St John the Baptist and St John the Evangelist. Fixed to the side walls are choir stalls of Italian walnut, with tall backs, divided by panelled Corinthian pilasters and with a frieze of swags and ribbons to the top.
The pendentives at the crossing, below the dome, have mosaics representing the Prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel. Later decoration around the drum represents the Evangelists and major saints. The choir gallery is supported by a double colonnade supporting round arches. The grille to the front of the gallery is elaborately carved and gilded, as is the organ case above, both designed by Ernesto Sensi. At ground level, the altar of the Sacred Heart lies behind the double colonnade and was designed by John Pollen for the earlier church on this site. Against the northern wall of the north transept is Our Lady’s altar. The altar and altar rails were brought from the Church of S Andrea della Valle in Rome in 1911. The altar is flanked by columns of Siberian onyx, originally intended for Westminster Cathedral, which now support gilded statues of kneeling angels. The Shrine of St Philip Neri leads off from the east side of the transept. Its richly decorated interior has walls veneered in Siena marble and monolithic columns of red Languedoc marble to the corners. The Cosmatesque floor has a variety of inlayed patterns. The marble altar contains a wax effigy of the saint and the altar piece (after Guido Reni) has an elaborate gilded frame. To the south wall is a reliquary chest with relics and souvenirs of the saint given to Newman in Rome in 1846-7.
The series of side chapels off the nave all take the form of an apsidal niche with mosaic semi-dome and are richly decorated with panels of different marble veneers. Fixed altars have mosaic or marble fronts or, in the case of the chapel of St Athanasius, a glass panel revealing the decorated coffin of St Valentine. Confessionals are set in alternate bays which each have a stone screen, formed of a round arched central portal, flanked by two flat-headed entrances. Above this is a central stone sculpture niche, with carved consoles to its sides, flanked by a wrought metal screen. The wooden confessionals are set behind the stone screens, at the back of each side bay.
The baptistery is set in the western-most side bay of the north aisle. It was designed by Dunstan Powell and opened in 1912. It has a decorated metal barrier and richly-moulded plaster walls with swags and putti in high relief above ebony panelling. The bowl is of alabaster and the bronze cover (Hardman), which swings to one side, has a figure of St John the Baptist as finial.
The earlier side chapel, approached from the south transept and designed by JH Pollen in 1858, has an altarpiece of Chellaston alabaster designed by Giles Gilbert Scott in 1880.
ORATORY PRIESTS' HOUSE
A presbytery for Fathers of the Oratory, designed by Terence Flanagan in 1851 in an Italian Renaissance style.
MATERIALS & PLAN: the house is of red brick laid in Flemish bond, with ashlar dressings and a hipped, slate roof. It has three floors and a T-shaped arrangement of corridors on each floor, off which are individual rooms.
EXTERIOR: the southern front, facing Hagley Road, has five bays, symmetrically disposed. There are stone quoins at the corners and stone string courses between the floors, that between the ground and first floors having Vitruvian scroll ornament. A sill band also runs across the façade at first floor level. There are sash windows of twelve panes at ground and first floor levels, and six panes to the attic. Window surrounds are aedicular with lugs and panelled cornice heads at ground floor level. The central doorway has a similarly-moulded surround, above which is a square panel with a broken, segmental pediment, flanked by scrolls. The first floor windows are plainer with brackets below their sills, save for the central opening, which has a lugged surround with panelled cornice, as before, and scrolls to its side. The central, second-floor window has a lugged and shouldered surround. To the top of the wall is a dentilled cornice and the ridge carries four chimneys to full height.
The east front has two bays at left which continue the pattern of the street front. Recessed at right is a lower, two-storey range of four bays which have plainer window surrounds and a string course between the floors. At right again and projecting are five bays to the original height and pattern.
The north front has two widely-spaced bays at left, of the established pattern, with a C20 addition at ground floor level housing the kitchen. To right of this is a projecting single bay with Venetian window to the ground floor and at right again is the curved wall which marks the apsidal end of the chapel of St Philip Neri at ground floor level (now dedicated to the Blessed John Newman), added to the earlier church by Pollen in 1858. This has three arched lights at lower level, above which is the library of the Oratory House, with two blind windows with rectangular heads. Above the parapet and recessed is the curved timber and glass lantern which lights the library.
Chimneys across the building are to their original height and take the form of two square stacks joined by an arch.
INTERIOR: the entrance lobby is flanked by parlours with cornices. A central corridor runs north-south on all floors and a stone staircase with rectangular well is placed at the southern end. This has two metal balusters per tread and a mahogany handrail. The recreation room has an ante-room, divided from the main room by an arch, cornicing and a black marble fire surround. The dining room has wooden panelling, divided by pilasters with applied paterae and plaster anthemia to the top. There is an arched stove recess in the centre of the northern wall and a revolving cupboard by which food could be served to the fathers. In the north-east corner is a pulpit with panelled sides, tester and steps. At first floor level is a Chapter room with fitted platform, benches, cupboards and desk. Individual rooms at first floor level have an outer baize door, to denote private study, as well as an inner door. The study of Blessed John Newman is preserved as it was at his death, with bookcases, an altar and suspended baldacchino. The House library is at second floor level and has fitted bookcases to the walls and a cast iron gallery approached by a spiral staircase. Its deeply coved ceiling rises to the central timber and glass lantern.
ORATORY SCHOOL
A range of former school buildings, now part of the Oratory complex. The School Hall range facing the street was designed by Henry Clutton in 1861-2 and the cloister range, to the north, was designed in 1872-3.
MATERIALS & PLAN: red brick walling laid in English bond, with ashlar dressings and a slate roof. The building has two storeys and is arranged around a rectangular cloister at the southern (ritual western) end of the Oratory church.
EXTERIOR: the southern front faces Hagley Road and abuts the earlier Oratory Priests' House to its right, which is slightly set back. The street frontage has blind brick walling at ground floor left, with a deep, flush stone band at the level of the springing of the round-arched portal at far right. This has a wrought-iron screen with a central gate and repoussé panels and leads through to the cloister behind this range. At first floor level are six windows with arched heads and pilasters at either side, supported by brackets. Flush stone bands run below the sills and at the level of the springing of the arches. The spandrel between the two central windows carries a circular, metal clock face. To the top of the wall is a cornice with brackets and above is a blocking course, sheathed with lead.
The short east flank is blind and abuts the Oratory Priests' House.
The west flank has two bays with first floor windows as before and two arched ground floor lights with prominent keystones. Projecting at left of this is a similar, single bay which appears to be part of an incomplete extension. A C20 extension in plum brick extends to the north of this.
The cloisters have brick vaults with stone dressings to the passage beneath the roadside range and to the northern side which abuts the ritual west front of the church. The east and west sides have beamed ceilings and the south side has deep stone brackets extending from square piers to support a first floor corridor. The east and west ranges and the northern range at either side of the church façade, which runs in front of part of the cloister, have short columns on high, tapered bases with Italian Romanesque capitals. First floor windows above the east and west cloister are arched lights or square-headed lancets.
INTERIOR: the ground floor former gymnasium (now the parish room) has transverse iron H-beams, from which hooks are suspended for gym equipment. A central row of iron columns supports the ceiling. A dog-leg staircase with stone treads leads to the generous first floor landing. The former school room has encased, transverse beams to the ceiling and arched sash windows to the north, south and west sides with a raised platform at the east end. The first floor Chapel has a canted north (ritual east) end, circular windows to the sides and a rectangular skylight.
Persuant to s1 (5) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (‘the Act’) it is declared that the angled lift extension to the west of the School buildings and the triangular, single-storey kitchen block to the north of the Oratory Priests' House are not of special architectural or historic interest.
History
The congregation of the Oratory was founded in Rome in around 1552 by Philip Neri. His system of devotion was dependant on private and public prayer and contemplation, mixed with practical acts of charity. He attracted a group of disciples and their meetings, which included music and sermons, were moved to an ‘oratory’ or place of prayer. His group continued to grow and was granted the Church of S Maria in Valicella, which it rebuilt as the ‘Chiesa Nuova’, in which St Philip Neri is buried. The order spread widely in the C17 and C18, but contracted following the French Revolution and during the Italian Risorgimento. It was revived, especially in England, by John Newman, who had been an Anglican clergyman, but converted to Catholicism in 1845 and was then ordained priest in Rome in 1847. He founded the first Oratorian congregation in Birmingham in 1848, followed the following year by a second house in London. The first Birmingham community was based at Maryvale and then moved to a former gin distillery in Digbeth, where the community worked with the poor. Pope Pius IX had charged Newman with converting the educated classes, as well as the poor, and for this reason he moved the community to Edgbaston in 1852. The present House was built in that year, together with a temporary church. In 1859 he founded the Oratory School, a boarding school which was intended to be run on different lines to the Benedictine abbey schools which had previously dominated Catholic education in England. The school hall, which fronts Hagley Road, was designed by Henry Clutton in 1861-2 with a cloister range behind of 1872-3. All three buildings exist on the same site and physically overlap. Newman continued to live in the Oratory House as one of the community, even after his appointment as Cardinal in 1879, up until his death in 1890. In September 2010 Newman was beatified.
The church that John Newman had built in 1853 was designed by Terence Flanagan, who had also built the Oratory Priests' House. Despite ambitious designs by Louis Joseph Duc, also of 1853, and H R Yeoville Thomason, of 1860 (both in a Lombard Romanesque style), the initial construction was architecturally modest, and the roof timbers were salvaged from an abandoned factory. To this John Hungerford Pollen added an aisle with a round-arched arcade and an apse and transepts in 1858, but the essential form of the Flanagan church survived until after Newman’s death. In the following years it was decided to build a new church as a fitting tribute to the Cardinal and his work. The foundation stone of the new church, designed by E Doran Webb, was laid in 1903 and it was officially opened six years later. At its southern (ritual west) end it incorporates cloister bays of the former Oratory School, designed by Henry Clutton, of 1872-3, as well as the chapel of St Philip Neri (now dedicated to Cardinal Newman) designed by Pollen and built in 1858. The Shrine of St Philip Neri was designed by G B Cox and added to the north-west corner of the church (ritual north-east) in 1927.
Following the removal of the Oratory School to a site in Berkshire the school at Edgbaston was renamed St Philip's Grammar School. This has closed on the present site and the C19 buildings are now used as parish rooms.
Cardinal John Newman was beatified in September 2010 by Pope Benedict XVI during his visit to Birmingham.
Reasons for Listing
The Church of the Immaculate Conception (Birmingham Oratory), The Oratory Priests' House and The Oratory School Buildings are listed at Grade II* for the following principal reasons:
* Architectural quality and fittings: the group of three, inter-related Oratory buildings – church, school and priests’ house – have considerable design quality and form a unified whole; the design and craftsmanship of the fittings of the church are of very high quality;
* Survival of the original plan: the church, priests’ house and school are all very largely as they were originally completed and although the function of the school buildings has changed, its appearance is little altered;
* Interrelated grouping: the three parts of the group show the religious mission of the Congregation of the Oratory as interpreted by John Newman with a central church, its attendant priesthood and school.
Replaced my M-stem with a H-stem, Aberhallo stem adapter and straight handle bars (58 cm)
It is about 2cm lower now. Brake/shifter cables are not modified.
Replaced some more old parts with fresh new parts. Replaced the old distributor cap, distributor rotor and the cabling with fresh new ones :)
Car is smooth again, as it showed some jerkiness onder WOT.
Blades on port engine replaced but engineers not happy with alignment/balancing issues.
© DM Parody 2016 (www.dotcom.gi/photos) These images are protected by copyright. You CANNOT copy or republish any of these photos without written consent of the photographer even if you retain the watermark (if present) and/or credit the photographer. You cannot use on any media including social media either. You CAN post a link to the page where the image appears without reference to the photographer. Copyright infringements will be followed up, legally if necessary. Thank you for your understanding.
Replacing Air France's 747-400 on their first flight in from CDG for the day... Soon there 747's will be gone from their fleet leaving the world with only a handful left flying around. Kinda sad buttwinjets are just so much more economical.
Replacing an earlier digital photo with a better version 10-Mar-24.
This aircraft was delivered to Thai Airways International as HS-TGG in Mar-81. It was sold to Atlas Air Inc as N527MC in Apr-97 and converted to a full freighter with a side cargo door (SCD) in Aug-97.
The aircraft was written off on departure from Lome, Togo on 02-Feb-08 after 27 years in service. A large mining drill bit, which was lashed down in the main cabin, broke loose on take-off and rolled backwards, piercing the rear pressure bulkhead. The aircraft returned to Lome safely but was damaged beyond economical repair. The registration was cancelled in Sep-08 and it was eventually broken up at Lome.
Brief note, November 2010: I have replaced the original shot with a reworked copy. This tries to remove some of the yellow spots, and various colour casts that were on the original. The new Photoshop Auto Align Layers works much better than previously, and seems to be able to conform the plates to one another much better, correcting for some of the distortion that can be introduced by the differential shrinkage of the emulsions. I've also done a slight bit of re-contrasting here and there, and changed the title to reflect Slava's comments (Tkx!).
There still is a town called Gunib in Dagestan, and interestingly, it is the place where Shamil (third imam of Dagestan and leader of a rebellion against the Russians) surrended to Russian forces, and was for a while imprisoned. SPG has several photographs depicting Shamil's place of imprisonment, and shows again his fondness for juxtaposition; Gunib is a part of the Russian Empire, but also a site commemorating rebellions against the autocracy.
What's interesting about the composition, for me, are the strong verticals of the poplar trees, clearly planted as windbreaks to shelter the houses, and the verticals of the deeply eroded gullies in the mountainous background, criss-crossed with many many terraced fields. For this is, in spite of what a cursory look might argue, a deeply socialized landscape, with the land back as far as one can see being worked, and clearly having been worked for a long time.
The light is afternoon, so we are likely facing south, and the (relatively) long shadows allow us to guess that it is getting on towards the later end of the day, closing in on suppertime. And in spite of much minute examination of the shot, I still can't see the Church which Slava says he can see.
I have to feather back the paint edges, apply some primer , then color and blend in the clear coats. There will be some baking and sanding mixed in there also.
Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a better version 20-Oct-16, plus Topaz DeNoise AI 05-Jun-25
With additional 'Continental Connection' sticker by the passenger door.
The Buick Super is a full-sized automobile produced from the 1940 through the 1958 model years (excluding WW II); it was built on Buick's larger body shared with the Roadmaster. It was replaced by the Riviera in 1964.
In 2008, Super returned as a performance trim level on V8-powered LaCrosse and Lucerne sedans until 2011.
SERIES 50 (1930–1935)
Originally the Series 50 had a 331.4 cu in (5,431 cc) six cylinder engine developing 99 bhp of power at 2,800 rpm, and Buick manufactured 28,204 cars. In 1931 the model remained almost unchanged, aside from minor appearance changes. Optionally, the model was equipped with a new 220.7 cu in (3,617 cc) straight eight-cylinder and 77 hp. With the temporary disappearance of the Series 40, Series 50 became the entry level model for Buick.
In 1932 the engine displacement increased to 230.4 cu in (3,776 cc), producing 82.5 bhp. In 1933, the aesthetics of the car was completely redesigned. The power delivered by the engine was increased again and now it was up to 86 bhp, and in 1934, the model power increased to 88 hp. Buick re-introduced the Series 40, which once again became the entry level model. In 1935 the Series 50 remained unchanged and the following year went out of production, having produced 127,416 examples. The model was reintroduced in 1940 under the name "Super".
1940–1941
When introduced in 1940 the new Series 50 Super featured the cutting-edge "torpedo" C-body. The new C-body that the 1940 Buick Super shared with the Series 70 Roadmaster, the Cadillac Series 62, the Oldsmobile Series 90, and the Pontiac Torpedo featured shoulder and hip room that was over 5" wider, the elimination of running boards and exterior styling that was streamlined and 2-3" lower. When combined with a column mounted shift lever the cars offered true six passenger comfort, changes that had clearly been influenced by the Cadillac Sixty Special.
The basic formula for the 1940 to 1952 Super was established by mating the Roadmaster's longer behind the engine cowl body to the Series 40 Special's smaller straight-eight engine (and consequently shorter engine compartment). This led to an economical combination of voluminous passenger room and relatively good fuel economy. (In contrast the Series 60 Century combined the smaller Special body with the larger Roadmaster engine.)
The new Super temporarily shared its 121.0 in (3,073 mm) wheelbase dimension with the 40 Special. Initially four body styles were offered: a 2-door coupe, a 2-door convertible, a 4-door sedan and a 4-door convertible. In the middle of the model year a 4-door Estate wagon was added which was exclusive to the Super. Interiors of Bedford cloth (either tan or gray) were offered. The engine was the same 248 cu in (4.1 L) 107 hp Fireball I8 as used on the Special which was equipped with an oil filter. The Super was equipped with sealed beam headlights and with Fore-N-Aft Flash-Way directionals. 1940 was the only year the Super could be equipped with sidemounts. A total of 128,736 units were sold in its first year.
The styling changes for 1941 were modest, but the changes under the hood were major. The compression ratio was raised from 6.15:1 to 7.0:1, the "turbulator" pistons were redesigned, smaller spark plugs were substituted for the previous type and “Compound Carburetion” was introduced, as it was on all Buicks except for the Special. Compound Carburetion was the forerunner of the modern four-barrel carburetor, and consisted of twin two-barrel carburetors. One unit operated all of the time, while the other operated only under hard acceleration. The new engine delivered 125 horsepower. All cars available with a choice of axle ratios and with two-tone color combinations with 19 selections at no extra charge. A new feature was a two-way hood that could be opened from either side. The 4-door convertible and the Estate wagon were gone but a new one year only body style was a 3-passenger 2-door Business Coupe which sold 2449 units. Overall sales fell to 92,067.
1942–1948
The 1942 Super coupes adopted the appealing Sedanet fastback style that had been the sensation of 1941 on Century and Special. New wider and lower bodies were offered and "Airfoil" front fenders that flowed into the lines of the rear fenders were introduced on convertibles and sedanet models. The Super had new front fender trim featuring parallel chrome strips. Also featured for 1942 was a handsome new grille with a lower outline and thin vertical strips. A feature shared with other Buicks was a new interior air intake positioned near the front center grille that eliminated the old cowl-level ventilator. The number of body styles was reduced to three with the elimination of the one year only Business coupe.
After the government prohibited the use of chrome on January 1, 1942 a number of body styles were dropped and most trim was now painted. Cast iron pistons were used in the 248 cu in (4.1 L) Fireball I8 engine. The last of the 1942 Buicks were completed on February 4, 1942. Only 33,034 Supers were built in the abbreviated model year.
In 1946 Buick once again combined the large Series 70 Roadmaster body with the economical Series 40 Special powerplant to create the Series 50 Super line. Basic styling was continued from 1942 now sedans had the front fender sweep across the doors to the rear fenders as did the Sedanet and convertible styles. A stamped grille with vertical bars dominated the frontal ensemble. Single stainless body trim lines began on the front fenders and ended at the rear edge of the standard rear wheelhouse shields. Standard equipment included an automatic choke, clock, ash receiver, turn signals and woodgrained instrument panels. Exterior series identification was found on the crossbar between the bumper guards front and rear. Cloisonne emblems carried the Super emblem. Compound Carburetion was eliminated and the compression ratio was reduced to 6.30:1. As a consequence the 1946 Super's horsepower fell from 125 to 110. Torque on the other hand was hardly affected. The number of body styles increased to four with the return of the Estate wagon after a six year absence. A total of 119,334 units were sold. The front suspension was independent with coil springs. 76.98% of Buick sales this year were Supers.
Combining big Roadmaster room with an economical Special engine continued to make the Super an American favorite in 1947. The Super was little changed from its 1946 counterpart, except for new stamped grille that had separate upper bar and new emblem. Stainless lower body moldings made a single line along the body and continued onto the standard wheelhouse shields. A white Tenite steering wheel was standard while the instruments were round and set into a two-toned dash panel. Exterior series identification was found on the crossbars between the standard bumper guards. A chrome emblem was used with the series script embossed and filled with red. Sales reached a record 159,588. The height was 64.9 inches. Brakes were 12 inch drums.
The main external change to the 1948 Super from its 1947 counterpart was the Super script on each front fender. Other series identification continued to be earned on the bumper guard crossbar. The car was a bit lower than in 1947 rolling on new 7.60 x 15 tires mounted on wheels with trim rings and small hubcaps. Super script was also found on the center crest of a new black Tenite steering wheel. New cloth interiors featured leatherette scuff pads and trim risers. The instrument panel was redone, using silver-tone instruments on a two-tone gray panel. The sedan was carpeted in the rear with a carpet insert also found in the front rubber mat. The convertible also featured cloth and leather interior trim with power top, seat and windows standard. Total sales were 108,521.
1949–1953
The Super shared a new General Motors C-body with the Roadmaster but on a shorter wheelbase. It featured three chrome VentiPorts on each front fender to denote its smaller straight-eight engine and shorter engine compartment when compared with the Roadmaster. The sales brochure noted that VentiPorts helped ventilate the engine compartment, and possibly that was true in early 1949, but sometime during the model year they became plugged. The idea for VentiPorts grew out of a modification Buick styling chief Ned Nickles had added to his own 1948 Roadmaster. He had installed four amber lights on each side of his car’s hood wired to the distributor so as to flash on and off as each piston fired simulating the flames from the exhaust stack of a fighter airplane. Combined with the bombsight mascot, VentiPorts put the driver at the controls of an imaginary fighter airplane. Upon seeing this, Buick chief Harlow Curtice was so delighted that he ordered that (non-lighting) VentiPorts be installed on all 1949 Buicks.
Super script was found just above the full length body fender molding on the front fenders. New fender edge taillamps were featured while rear fender skins remained a Buick standard. New fender top parking lamps, harkening back to 1941 styling appeared. Full wheel trim discs were standard along with such features as a cigar lighter, ashtray, and automatic choke. Cloth interiors were standard, except on the convertible which was trimmed in leather and leatherette and had a power top, seat and windows as standard equipment.
Dynaflow automatic transmission was now optional equipment on Supers in 1949. Cars so equipped had 6.9:1 compression ratio and 120 horsepower. Total sales set a record at 190,514 for the first time since the Super's introductory year. The instrument panel was new.
The 1950 Supers shared with all the other series totally new all bumper guard grille and more rounded styling. Super script appeared on front fenders just above the full length lower bodyside moldings. A new body style was a 2-door Riviera hardtop. Another new bodystyle was a long wheelbase sedan which was stretched an extra four inches (102 mm) and featured plusher interior than most Supers, which normally had cloth interiors of finer material than the Special. Supers had three VentiPorts on each hoodside. The convertible had leather power seats plus power windows and top.
The 1950 Super came with a single two-barrel carburetor on a new higher displacement 263 cu in (4.3 L) Fireball I8 which produced 112 hp (84 kW). It was able to achieve speeds over 90 miles per hour (140 km/h) with an optional Dynaflow automatic transmission which, rather than changing through gears, used the torque converter to couple the motor to a single gear ratio. The car had 2 splits in the back glass although the windshield was now curved one-piece glass. Models also could be equipped with an AM radio and an antenna that could be adjusted via a knob in the front center above the windshield. In the June 1953 Popular Mechanics, acceleration was rated at 0-60 mph in 14.5 seconds. The Super set an all time record of 251,883 sold.
In 1951 Supers had larger bodies than Specials but looked similar with three rounded VentiPorts per fender, broad bright fender shields and a full length "Sweepspear" chrome body side molding. This chrome-plated strip started above the front wheel, after which it gently curved down nearly to the rocker panel just before the rear wheel, and then curved around the rear wheel in a quarter of a circle to go straight back to the taillight. Series script was found on the deck lid and within the steering wheel center. The long wheelbase sedan was named the Riviera sedan although it was not a hardtop. Supers were trimmed with materials similar to Special Deluxes except for in the plush Super Riviera sedan. Front turn signals were within the bumper guard "bombs," while rear signals shared the stop lamps' housing on the rear fender edges. The convertibles and Estate wagon were trimmed in leather. 169,226 Supers were sold.
In 1952 Buick's mid-priced line resembled the Series 40 with three VentiPorts per fender and Sweepspear rocker panel trim. Super script appeared on the rear fenders aided identification. The Super was built with the larger C-body, however. The full flowing fenderline dipped deeper on this body and rear fenders had a rear crest line absent on the B-body Specials. A new deck lid gave a more squared off appearance. Like other Buick series it was a near copy year for 1952. Chromed rear fender fins gave distinction to 1952 Supers. Interiors were cloth except on convertibles and Estate wagons which were trimmed with leather. The Super used a different instrument panel than the Special. It was distinguished by a large center speedometer housing flanked by smaller gauge housings. Series identification was found within the steering wheel center. The Sedanet and the regular wheelbase sedan were cancelled. Sales fell to 135,332.
In 1953 Buick's middle priced line shared the Roadmaster's new V8 and, for this year the Roadmaster shared the Super and Special's 121.5 in (3,086 mm) wheelbase. The Super earned a horizontal trim bar on its rear fenders which distinguished it from the Series 70 Roadmasters. Otherwise its side trim bar on its rear fenders was identical although the Super was had only three VentiPorts on each front fender. Series identification was found on the deck emblem. Full wheelcovers were now standard. The vee in the bombsight ornament signified the V8 power under the hood. Interiors in most models were nylon and silky broadcloth. The convertible had power windows, seat and top as standard equipment. Dynaflow was now standard equipment. Air conditioning was a new option. A total of 190,514 Supers were sold.
1954–1956
Using the new larger General Motors C-body, with vertical windshield pillars and the new Panoramic windshield, the Super for 1954 was a big Buick for the budget minded buyer. Identified by its three VentiPorts per fender, the Super script on the quarters and the series designation within the deck ornament, the Super shared other brightwork with the Roadmaster. Interiors were nylon and were plainer than in the Roadmaster. The Super did have the more expensive car's horizontal speedometer instrument panel. The convertible was upholstered in leather and had power-operated windows, seat and top, along with an outside rearview mirror on the left, as standard equipment. The Estate wagon was discontinued. Total sales fell to 118,630.
In 1955 Buick's popular Super continued to combine the large C-body interior expanse with medium bracket interiors and performance. Supers had four of the new round VentiPorts per fender this year, with additional series script found on rear quarters and within the deck emblem. The side Sweepspear was unchanged from 1954. The larger bodied Buicks were readily identified by their more rounded contours, straight up windshield pillars and sedan rear quarter windows. Series 50 Super and 70 Roadmaster headlamp bezels also housed parking lights. Inside, a new Red Liner speedometer lay horizontally across the instrument panel. Interiors were trimmed in nylon/Cordaveen combinations, except for the convertible which featured leather seats. Standard Super equipment included trip mileage indicator, electric clock and, on convertibles, a power horizontal seat adjuster. Super sales rose to 132,463.
In 1956 although the Super was larger Buick, with vertical windshield posts and four VentiPorts per fender, it had a deep Sweepspear similar to the smaller Series 40 Special and Series 60 Century cars. Series script was found on rear quarters and within the deck and grille emblems. Interiors were Cordaveen and patterned nylon, except for convertibles which were all-Cordaveen trimmed and had power windows, horizontal seat adjustment, and a power top in its standard form. Dynaflow was now standard on all Supers, along with foam seat cushions, a trunk light, electric clock, directional signals, front and rear armrests, sliding sunshades, cigarette lighter, glove compartment light, map light, dual horns, Step-On parking brake, Red Liner speedometer and trip mileage indicator. A new body style was the 4-door Riviera hardtop. Sales of the Super fell to 80,998.
1957–1958
The Super used the new General Motors C-body for 1957. Larger than the Series 40 Special and Series 60 Century B-body, the Riviera body styles had different roof treatments as well. Supers had a group of three Chevrons on each rear quarter or door for series identification, in addition to the normal wording within the grille and deck emblems. Four VentiPorts were used on each front fender. Closed models were upholstered in Nylon/Cordaveen combinations while the convertible had an all-Cordaveen interior and featured power windows and seat controls as part of its equipment. Standard Super equipment included foam rubber seat cushions, automatic trunk lamp, Red Liner speedometer, glovebox lamp, dual horns, trip mileage indicator, directional signals, dual sunshades, color coordinated dash panel, and on the convertible, outside left-hand rearview mirror. The 4-door pillared sedan body style was gone. Engine displacement was increased to 364 cu in (6.0 L) on the Nailhead V8. Nevertheless, sales fell to 70,250, the lowest level with the exception of the abbreviated 1942 model year.
The once most popular Buick line was reduced to two body styles for 1958 with the elimination of the convertible. Side trim was similar to lesser series, except for the Super lettering on the rear fender flashes, but Supers were longer than the Series 40 Specials and Series 60 Centurys. The Super name was also lettered across the deck lid. Standard equipment included Variable-Pitch Dynaflow, power steering, power brakes, a safety-cushion instrument panel, fully carpeted floor, courtesy lights, full wheelcovers, foam rubber cushions, electric clocks, dual horns, ignition key light, glovebox, cigar lighter, trip mileage indicator, geared vent panes, bumper guards, variable speed wipers, Step-On parking brakes, and, on convertibles, an outside rearview mirror. Interiors were trimmed with gray cloth and vinyl or Cordaveen and vinyl. A plusher Custom interior was available at extra cost. Sales fell further to 42,388, the lowest with the exception of the wartime 1942 model year.
2008–2011
The Super name was resurrected after a 50 year absence as a new performance trim level on LaCrosse (2008-2009) and Lucerne (2008-2011) models.
The LaCrosse Super was powered by a 300 horsepower 5.3 L small-block V8 engine while the Lucerne Super had a 292 horsepower 4.6 L Northstar V8 engine. Both came with high levels of standard equipment.
WIKIPEDIA
Native copper-replaced cross-bedded sedimentary rocks from the Precambrian of Michigan, USA. (CMNH 20309, Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Cleveland, Ohio, USA)
A mineral is a naturally-occurring, solid, inorganic, crystalline substance having a fairly definite chemical composition and having fairly definite physical properties. At its simplest, a mineral is a naturally-occurring solid chemical. Currently, there are over 5500 named and described minerals - about 200 of them are common and about 20 of them are very common. Mineral classification is based on anion chemistry. Major categories of minerals are: elements, sulfides, oxides, halides, carbonates, sulfates, phosphates, and silicates.
Elements are fundamental substances of matter - matter that is composed of the same types of atoms. At present, 118 elements are known. Of these, 98 occur naturally on Earth (hydrogen to californium). Most of these occur in rocks & minerals, although some occur in very small, trace amounts. Only some elements occur in their native elemental state as minerals.
To find a native element in nature, it must be relatively non-reactive and there must be some concentration process. Metallic, semimetallic (metalloid), and nonmetallic elements are known in their native state as minerals.
Copper is the only metallic element that has a "reddish" color - it’s actually a metallic orange color. Most metallic elements, apart from gold & copper, are silvery-gray colored. Copper tends to form sharp-edged, irregular, twisted masses of moderately high density. It is moderately soft, but is extremely difficult to break. It has no cleavage and has a distinctive hackly fracture.
The unbelievable copper specimen shown above comes from northern Michigan's White Pine Mine, which is developed in the Precambrian-aged Nonesuch Shale (~1.07 to 1.08 Ga). At this mine, native copper is usually encountered filling fractures (joints). This large, 70-pound specimen represents actual sedimentary rock that has been replaced by native copper. The irregular layers are crossbeds, which formed as the original sediments were deposited by a one-directional current. The small black-colored patches are bits of the unaltered sedimentary host rock. White Pine Mine copper mineralization occurred at 1.05 to 1.06 billion years ago.
Stratigraphy: lower Nonesuch Shale (near the contact with the Copper Harbor Conglomerate), late Mesoproterozoic, ~1.07-1.08 Ga
Locality: near the southwestern shaft at the 2500 foot level, White Pine Mine, Upper Peninsula of Michigan, USA
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Photo gallery of copper:
"Notre-Dame de Reims" replaced an older church, burnt down in 1211. That church had been built on the site of the basilica where Clovis was baptized by Saint Remi, bishop of Reims, in 496. The erection of the the large Gotihc cathedral, the place,where the kings of France were crowned, started before 1220. In 1233 a dispute between the cathedral´s chapter and the population regarding taxation and jurisdication ended in a revolt. After several clerics were killed during the uproar, the chapter fled the town and work on the new cathedral was suspended for three years. By 1241 the choir was already used, the nave got roofed in 1299.
Work on the western facade was slow. It was completed within the 14th century, a hundred years after the work started.
During the Hundred Years' War the English held Reims after a long siege, but it got reconquered by Jeanne d'Arc´s army in 1429, so that Charles VII of France (aka "le Bien-Servi") was crowned here on 17 July 1429.
In the first weeks of WWI German shellfire burned, damaged and destroyed important parts of the cathedral. Restoration work began in 1919 - and is been steadily going on since.
Standing near the choir´s altar, facing west. The distance from the choir to large rose window is more than 130m.
Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a better version 14-Sep-22 (DeNoise AI).
I'm no longer doing histories of the 'small stuff', they are much too complicated!
The F-105 Thunderchief, which would become a legend in the history of the Vietnam War, started out very modestly as a proposal for a large, supersonic replacement for the RF-84F Thunderflash tactical reconnaissance fighter in 1951. Later this was expanded by Republic’s famous chief designer, Alexander Kartveli, to a nuclear-capable, high-speed, low-altitude penetration tactical fighter-bomber which could also replace the F-84 Thunderstreak.
The USAF liked the idea, as the F-84 had shown itself to be at a disadvantage against Chinese and Soviet-flown MiG-15s over Korea, and ordered 200 of the new design before it was even finalized. This order was reduced to only 37 aircraft with the end of the Korean War, but nonetheless the first YF-105A Thunderchief flew in October 1955. Although it was equipped with an interim J57 engine and had drag problems, it still achieved supersonic speed. When the design was further refined as the YF-105B, with the J75 engine and area ruling, it went over Mach 2. This was in spite of the fact that the design had mushroomed in size from Kartveli’s initial idea to one of the largest and heaviest fighter ever to serve with the USAF: fully loaded, the F-105 was heavier than a B-17 bomber. The USAF ordered 1800 F-105s, though this would be reduced to 830 examples.
Almost immediately, the F-105 began to be plagued with problems. Some of the trouble could be traced to the normal teething problems of any new aircraft, but for awhile it seemed the Thunderchief was too hot to handle, with a catastrophically high accident rate. This led to the aircraft getting the nickname of “Thud,” supposedly for the sound it made when hitting the ground, along with other not-so-affectionate monikers such as “Ultra Hog” and “Squat Bomber.” Despite its immense size and bad reputation, however, the F-105 was superb at high speeds, especially at low level, was difficult to stall, and its cockpit was commended for its ergonomic layout. Earlier “narrow-nose” F-105Bs were replaced by wider-nosed, radar-equipped F-105Ds, the mainline version of the Thunderchief, while two-seat F-105Fs were built as conversion trainers.
Had it not been for the Vietnam War, however, the F-105 might have gone down in history as simply another mildly successful 1950s era design. Deployed to Vietnam at the beginning of the American involvement there in 1964, the Thunderchief was soon heading to North Vietnam to attack targets there in the opening rounds of Operation Rolling Thunder; this was in spite of the fact that the F-105 was designed primarily as a low-level (and, as its pilots insisted, one-way) tactical nuclear bomber. Instead, F-105s were heading north festooned with conventional bombs.
As Rolling Thunder gradually expanded to all of North Vietnam, now-camouflaged Thuds “going Downtown” became iconic, fighting their way through the densest concentration of antiaircraft fire in history, along with SAMs and MiG fighters. The F-105 now gained a reputation for something else: toughness, a Republic hallmark. Nor were they defenseless: unlike the USAF’s primary fighter, the F-4 Phantom II, the F-105 retained an internal 20mm gatling cannon, and MiG-17s which engaged F-105s was far from a foregone conclusion, as 27 MiGs were shot down by F-105s for the loss of about 20. If nothing else, Thud pilots no longer burdened with bombs could simply elect to head home at Mach 2 and two thousand feet, outdistancing any MiG defenders.
If the Thud had any weakness, it was its hydraulic system, which was found to be extremely vulnerable to damage. However, it was likely more due to poor tactics and the restrictive Rules of Engagement, which sent F-105s into battle on predictable routes, unable to return fire on SAM sites until missiles were launched at them, and their F-4 escorts hamstrung by being forced to wait until MiGs were on attack runs before the MiGs could be engaged. The tropical climate also took a toll on man and machine, with the end result that 382 F-105s were lost over Vietnam, nearly half of all Thuds ever produced and the highest loss rate of any USAF aircraft.
The combination of a high loss rate and the fact that the F-105 really was not designed to be used in the fashion it was over Vietnam led to the type’s gradual withdrawal after 1968 in favor of more F-4s and a USAF version of the USN’s A-7 Corsair II. An improved all-weather bombing system, Thunderstick II, was given to a few of the F-105D survivors, but this was not used operationally.
The Thud soldiered on another decade in Air National Guard and Reserve units until February 1984, when the type was finally retired in favor of the F-16, and its spiritual successor, the A-10 Thunderbolt II.
59-1743 went through many names in its USAF service. Delivered in 1960 to the 4520th Combat Crew Training Wing at Nellis AFB, Nevada, it trained new F-105 pilots. With the attrition of single-seat Thuds in Vietnam, 1743 was transferred to the 388th Tactical Fighter Wing at Korat RTAFB, Thailand. Several pilots flew 1743, but the most famous was Colonel Paul Douglas, who commanded the 388th TFW in 1968. Though 1743 had carried the name "Darn Dago," Douglas renamed it "Arkansas Traveler" after the P-47 Thunderbolt he had flown during World War II. Since Douglas had scored eight aerial victories during the war, he applied those to his F-105 and flew with them in combat over North Vietnam.
Later, after a stint with the Takhli-based 355th TFW (during which 1743 was renamed "Lead Zeppelin"), the aircraft returned home. It was passed to the 192nd TFG (Virginia ANG) at Richmond, where it was renamed for the fourth and last time, as "Hanoi Express." Because of its history, 1743 was spared from the scrapyard when it was retired in 1981, and donated to the Hill AFB Museum in Utah. It was restored back to its Vietnam appearance and went on display in 1987.
When I saw "Arkansas Traveler" in 1996, it was starting to look a bit faded after a decade outdoors in Utah. Still, it showed off the majesty of the F-105 design, and the friend I was traveling with said seeing it was the highlight of the trip. Though the picture quality is poor (it was taken with a disposable camera and the original photo sat in a box for years), it shows the standard USAF Southeast Asia camouflage 59-1743 wore in combat, as well as Douglas' eight World War II kills below the cockpit, represented by German swastikas. 1743 has since been moved inside.
SCL MOW crew is replacing ties & rails at the Main Street Station in downtown Richmond, Virginia, during July 1976. The track near the edge of the bridge work is one of the North-South mainline tracks that pass through this station. At the time this photo was taken, the station was not being used for passenger services, however, the mainline tracks that passed through the station were used by many freight & Amtrak trains daily. This staion was originally built by the SAL & C&O back in 1901. A few years back the station was renovated and is now used by Amtrak for it's regional commuter service trains.
The replacement gearbox came from a vehicle which was previously fitted with a Gardner engine. Therefore, it was necessary to split the fluid flywheel to allow the driveplate to be changed over to suit the TL11.
Our rear living room window, now repainted, from the inside. The only true single-pane window left in the house; this one would be over $1000 to replace thanks to government building codes requiring much more expensive tempered glass to be used, because this window is over stairs and could hurt someone on the stairs when it breaks. So government safety regulations actually made it so expensive to replace that we changed our mind and didn't -- actually making things less safe and less energy efficient. This is how government regulation often has the opposite effect, and are not a magic silver bullet that solves all societal problems. A non-tempered $500 would be safer than these loose panes! But no! Big Brother won't let me get that. So instead it's technically way more dangerous, as any pane could fall out once the glazing compound dries out.
Oops, painted this window shut too.
Sacrificial boards are used a lot in my house. I guess it's an "old wood window thing". I paid a good $5+ for another piece of crown moulding to put over the sill. The idea is that the sacrificial wood rots before the actual sill, much like sacrificial anodes on boats. In this window's case, the old sacrificial board was so rotten you could rip it off the nails and into pieces with your pinky finger. The sill itself was rotted out too. I spent a week or two building it up with successive layers of Elmer's wood filler. It kept raining on my wood filler and I'd have to start over! Eventually, though, it was built up enough to be flat enough to nail a NEW sacrificial board to. Hopefully this is the last paint job this sill will ever need. At some point in the future when we have more disposable income, we'll replace this window. (We need about $5,000 in new windows, so it's going to be awhile...)
And no, we didn't use edgers. We just got paint on the glass. BFD. I'm not focused on the window when I'm looking out of it. That stuff could be razor-bladed off if we cared enough. But what's the point? This window will likely be replaced someday. If we really wanted to, we could fix this with a scraper and a ladder. It would take at least 30 minutes (20 scraping, 10 ladder setup), and require 2 people (Carolyn as the ladder stabilizer, me as the elbow grease). Don't care enough to do that.
house maintenance, kudzu, living room window, sacrificial board.
upstairs, Clint and Carolyn's house, Alexandria, Virginia.
October 14, 2011.
... Read my blog at ClintJCL.wordpress.com
... Read Carolyn's blog at CarolynCASL.wordpress.com
BACKSTORY: So our homeowners insurance (Farmers) got dropped due to having peeling paint on our window sills (among other things). Weak. It was a LOT of work AND money for us to repaint all our sills. Wood windows SUCK!! Modern vinyl windows are MAINTANENCE-FREE!! Wood windows... You gotta re-glaze the panes when they fall out, and then the wood itself is always going to slowly rot away. We already had our cats knock a pane out, so we already had glazing compound for pane repairs. This came in handy when we painted our various window sills, as some also needed glazing compound.
It was quite a pain because it cost so much money and had our living room in disarray for so many months, and the whole insurance basis for the situation was pretty bullshitty in the first place. We're not going to make a property damage claim due to moisture that occurs because our windows let in moisture because their paint was peeling! Ridiculous... Is paint really all that's holding us back from having property damage through our windows? I DON'T THINK SO, as no moisture was getting in prior to repainting. Just total hassling from Farmers *AND* Progressive Insurance. NationWide, however, appears to finally be on my side.
Including warning: The batteries are next to the 200V capacitor for the flash.
I've not got new batteries yet, but they are only 3V litium ones so should be dead easy to replace.
We're going to try and save the rest of the paint on the frame, which was just repainted this spring...damn.
Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a better version, plus Topaz DeNoise AI 28-Mar-24.
Now with full tail colours but no 'cheatline'.
First flown with the Airbus test registration F-WWII, this aircraft was delivered to the GATX Capital Corporation and leased to Onur Air (Turkiye) as TC-ONB in Jul-92.
It was returned to the lessor and leased to Ansett Australia as VH-HYY in Jun-96. It was returned to the lessor in Sep-01 and stored at Melbourne.
The aircraft was ferried to Toulouse in Feb-02. GATX were due to re-register it PH-DOE but that wasn't taken up and it was leased to Air Malta as 9H-ADZ in Mar-02. It was returned to the lessor in Oct-04.
In Nov-04 the aircraft was leased to AZAL Azerbaijan Airlines as 4K-AZ54. They bought it in Jul-10. It was permanently retired at Baku, Azerbaijan in Nov-14. Updated 02-Apr-24.
Note: Air Malta was closed down by the Maltese Government on 31-Mar-24, basically because the European Commission wouldn't let them throw any more money at it in subsidies. They must have been reading the Greek Government playbook on airline closures because on 01-Apr-24 a new slimmed down Maltese national carrier started operating, called 'KM Malta Airlines'...
Bad weather is here again and the car has been sitting since just before Christmas. So I figured it to be as good a time as any to fix something that was really irking the crap out of me…the sun visors.
All of the 79-85 Eldorado’s with light up mirrors (which most had) unfortunately have a problem with visorus saginitus. The visor is held up by a small winged plastic bushing-it wraps around the chrome visor arm, and locks into the plastic visor body with the winged part. This little plastic thing gets brittle over time and starts to crack, losing its grip on the stationary rod. This starts as an issue where they droop a little bit when the car has been sitting in the sun on a summers day but eventually gets bad enough that it happens at all temperatures and will just flop down with bumps in the road.
To my knowledge there’s no replacements for this winged bushing and even if there were I don’t know how you would go about replacing it with the way it’s installed on the visor arm. GM evidently saw the problem as the arm and bushing were revised in 1984 to be bigger but evidently to no avail-the passenger visor on my car sagged from the time I had bought the car and I had held it in place with a nail wedged into the metal trim surrounding the window that had to be removed when you wanted to use it…this didn’t compute with the fairer sex, so it’s safe to say eventually I’m going to find all of those finishing nails that have gone missing over the past couple of years the hard way…
My driver’s side visor was free of this problem but I just didn’t use it as I was afraid it would start doing the same thing. So I set to work finding a real fix
These popped up for sale on ebay, red visors from an ’87 DeVille. They looked like a winner, same general shape, same color and in good condition. After a couple of messages to get an idea on size, I ordered them. However, when they arrived, they were neither the bright red shown in the pictures, nor in as good of repair. They definitely needed to be reupholstered to be used. I gave them a dry run before wasting any more money, and they had a couple of other issues. The first was a different electrical connector which was no biggie. The second was much bigger, that they could only be used to block sun going forward. Trying to move it to the side caused them to either drop or raise at a 45 degree angle.
I figured this was caused by the design of the mount which is heavily angled. So there wasn’t much I could do about it. Until my ebay suggestions came up with visors from a Buick Reatta for sale-the same general style as the DeVille, but with a flat type of mount similar to the OEM Eldorado!
Now the guy wanted over 100 dollars for these and after my blunder with the DeVille visors I wasn’t about to sink that type of change in a maybe. So I headed over to the Reatta AACA message board to see if anyone had a dogged set of visors with good mounts that they wanted to sell, and the first post in the for sale section happened to be by a fella who was parting out a complete Reatta! Score!
I emailed the guy and he explained that the car was in a junkyard local to his house. A real gentleman, he was able to get the visor arms for free and didn’t even charge me the ride up from Florida. Thanks Mike! The car in question had a burgundy interior so the arms would need to be sprayed dark carmine to work for me. After cleaning and priming, SEM aerosol made quick work of that.
Unfortunately when they were removed from the Reatta, this condom thing that wraps around a metal bushing shredded, but I was able to basically replicate it with heat shrink tubing
The arms are easily removed from the visors when uninstalled from the car. Simply rotate the arm into the mirror side of the visor (as if you were pushing the visor back up into the roof) until it clicks and then yank it out. Install it into the new visor in the same position. I did some tests for proof of concept and when it seemed like I was on the right track, I got to work. Or at least to spending money. I ordered carmine foam-backed headliner material (Sunbrite 1872 for those interested, it was a great match) and headliner adhesive (which I ended up not needing for this job)
The visors themselves are like a clamshell and probably harder to crack open than a turnip. After enough brute force, a hammer, and a screwdriver, I was able to get them open (see the color difference as compared to the ebay picture above)
The material around the visor ended up not being glued to the face of it, only tucked tight and hot glued from the factory. I decided to do the same thing (So I have to write off the spray adhesive until I do a new headliner). I carefully removed the old fabric and made a template out of the new material
(should anyone do this in the future, it’s much more simple and less risky to only cut the general shape of the template out, you can cut the hole for the mirror and sun shade later)
The visors themselves also needed some help. The “ears” at the ends were super fatigued and loose, so I mixed up some resin and fiberglass to shore them up.
Once the visor bodies were sound, I had to come up with a way of re-joining the clamshell. I have no idea how GM did this in the first place but super glue doesn’t work. After a lot of searching I found out that these are likely made of Polyethylene. I bought this 3M DP8005 adhesive which claimed to bond it and tested it on a junk visor-seemed to do the trick. You need a special mixing tip in addition to this and I also had to get a gun that it fits into.
With that solved, I started hot gluing the material onto the visors. I had never done anything with headliner material before aside from stapling them up when they started sagging and I was really surprised with how compliant it was. In that, it basically looked factory with no runs or wrinkles despite not having a clue what I was doing.
Then, I bonded the two halves back together. Each one had to sit like this for a day, and early signs seem like it worked. Hopefully the adhesive will hold, time and temperature will tell.
Here’s a comparison of the original visors with the DeVille replacements. Mirrors swapped without issue. I also had to swap the power connector, meaning I had to cut the crimped on connector at the mirror end from the old visors and install in the new ones. Delphi 12020347 is the connector part, there’s no room inside the assembly for a butt connector (and I hate using them unless I have to)
And here they are installed!
The only complication on the install is that the plastic visor arms bolt in a slightly smaller bolt pattern than the originals. You can take any 2 of the 3 holes but not all 3 at once. Fortunately there’s plenty of meat to drill into to make another hole.
I’m sure a lot of people are reading this right now and saying I should have just stuck with the nail but in reality it wasn’t that bad. It might seem like a mess but everything above is a “worse possible scenario” in that I got fleeced on the visors I bought and had to change color, structurally repair them, rehab the Reatta visor arms, then bond them back together. If you’re fortunate enough to have a 79-85 E body with an interior color the same as an 85-88 Deville, and can get the visors from it, the only thing you need do is get a set of Reatta visor arms and swap them out (and obviously your electrical connector from your 79-85). They’re really close in size as far as fit, and look factory with the exception of the sunshade. You could delete that when reupholstering, but I always liked them.
It seems like GM changed all their lighted visor designs to basically the same thing in the late 80’s downsized cars. So there might very well be more vehicles than just Reattas that have the flat plastic visor arm. As far as longevity, I’ll definitely keep everyone posted but I will say that I’ve never really seen any of the “newer” Cadillacs or Buicks experiencing visor problems. The whole metal bushing with condom setup also feels much more sturdy then the OEM 79-85 stuff.
Oh, and on the bright side, I’ll only have to wear these puppies at night now.
Bad weather is here again and the car has been sitting since just before Christmas. So I figured it to be as good a time as any to fix something that was really irking the crap out of me…the sun visors.
All of the 79-85 Eldorado’s with light up mirrors (which most had) unfortunately have a problem with visorus saginitus. The visor is held up by a small winged plastic bushing-it wraps around the chrome visor arm, and locks into the plastic visor body with the winged part. This little plastic thing gets brittle over time and starts to crack, losing its grip on the stationary rod. This starts as an issue where they droop a little bit when the car has been sitting in the sun on a summers day but eventually gets bad enough that it happens at all temperatures and will just flop down with bumps in the road.
To my knowledge there’s no replacements for this winged bushing and even if there were I don’t know how you would go about replacing it with the way it’s installed on the visor arm. GM evidently saw the problem as the arm and bushing were revised in 1984 to be bigger but evidently to no avail-the passenger visor on my car sagged from the time I had bought the car and I had held it in place with a nail wedged into the metal trim surrounding the window that had to be removed when you wanted to use it…this didn’t compute with the fairer sex, so it’s safe to say eventually I’m going to find all of those finishing nails that have gone missing over the past couple of years the hard way…
My driver’s side visor was free of this problem but I just didn’t use it as I was afraid it would start doing the same thing. So I set to work finding a real fix
These popped up for sale on ebay, red visors from an ’87 DeVille. They looked like a winner, same general shape, same color and in good condition. After a couple of messages to get an idea on size, I ordered them. However, when they arrived, they were neither the bright red shown in the pictures, nor in as good of repair. They definitely needed to be reupholstered to be used. I gave them a dry run before wasting any more money, and they had a couple of other issues. The first was a different electrical connector which was no biggie. The second was much bigger, that they could only be used to block sun going forward. Trying to move it to the side caused them to either drop or raise at a 45 degree angle.
I figured this was caused by the design of the mount which is heavily angled. So there wasn’t much I could do about it. Until my ebay suggestions came up with visors from a Buick Reatta for sale-the same general style as the DeVille, but with a flat type of mount similar to the OEM Eldorado!
Now the guy wanted over 100 dollars for these and after my blunder with the DeVille visors I wasn’t about to sink that type of change in a maybe. So I headed over to the Reatta AACA message board to see if anyone had a dogged set of visors with good mounts that they wanted to sell, and the first post in the for sale section happened to be by a fella who was parting out a complete Reatta! Score!
I emailed the guy and he explained that the car was in a junkyard local to his house. A real gentleman, he was able to get the visor arms for free and didn’t even charge me the ride up from Florida. Thanks Mike! The car in question had a burgundy interior so the arms would need to be sprayed dark carmine to work for me. After cleaning and priming, SEM aerosol made quick work of that.
Unfortunately when they were removed from the Reatta, this condom thing that wraps around a metal bushing shredded, but I was able to basically replicate it with heat shrink tubing
The arms are easily removed from the visors when uninstalled from the car. Simply rotate the arm into the mirror side of the visor (as if you were pushing the visor back up into the roof) until it clicks and then yank it out. Install it into the new visor in the same position. I did some tests for proof of concept and when it seemed like I was on the right track, I got to work. Or at least to spending money. I ordered carmine foam-backed headliner material (Sunbrite 1872 for those interested, it was a great match) and headliner adhesive (which I ended up not needing for this job)
The visors themselves are like a clamshell and probably harder to crack open than a turnip. After enough brute force, a hammer, and a screwdriver, I was able to get them open (see the color difference as compared to the ebay picture above)
The material around the visor ended up not being glued to the face of it, only tucked tight and hot glued from the factory. I decided to do the same thing (So I have to write off the spray adhesive until I do a new headliner). I carefully removed the old fabric and made a template out of the new material
(should anyone do this in the future, it’s much more simple and less risky to only cut the general shape of the template out, you can cut the hole for the mirror and sun shade later)
The visors themselves also needed some help. The “ears” at the ends were super fatigued and loose, so I mixed up some resin and fiberglass to shore them up.
Once the visor bodies were sound, I had to come up with a way of re-joining the clamshell. I have no idea how GM did this in the first place but super glue doesn’t work. After a lot of searching I found out that these are likely made of Polyethylene. I bought this 3M DP8005 adhesive which claimed to bond it and tested it on a junk visor-seemed to do the trick. You need a special mixing tip in addition to this and I also had to get a gun that it fits into.
With that solved, I started hot gluing the material onto the visors. I had never done anything with headliner material before aside from stapling them up when they started sagging and I was really surprised with how compliant it was. In that, it basically looked factory with no runs or wrinkles despite not having a clue what I was doing.
Then, I bonded the two halves back together. Each one had to sit like this for a day, and early signs seem like it worked. Hopefully the adhesive will hold, time and temperature will tell.
Here’s a comparison of the original visors with the DeVille replacements. Mirrors swapped without issue. I also had to swap the power connector, meaning I had to cut the crimped on connector at the mirror end from the old visors and install in the new ones. Delphi 12020347 is the connector part, there’s no room inside the assembly for a butt connector (and I hate using them unless I have to)
And here they are installed!
The only complication on the install is that the plastic visor arms bolt in a slightly smaller bolt pattern than the originals. You can take any 2 of the 3 holes but not all 3 at once. Fortunately there’s plenty of meat to drill into to make another hole.
I’m sure a lot of people are reading this right now and saying I should have just stuck with the nail but in reality it wasn’t that bad. It might seem like a mess but everything above is a “worse possible scenario” in that I got fleeced on the visors I bought and had to change color, structurally repair them, rehab the Reatta visor arms, then bond them back together. If you’re fortunate enough to have a 79-85 E body with an interior color the same as an 85-88 Deville, and can get the visors from it, the only thing you need do is get a set of Reatta visor arms and swap them out (and obviously your electrical connector from your 79-85). They’re really close in size as far as fit, and look factory with the exception of the sunshade. You could delete that when reupholstering, but I always liked them.
It seems like GM changed all their lighted visor designs to basically the same thing in the late 80’s downsized cars. So there might very well be more vehicles than just Reattas that have the flat plastic visor arm. As far as longevity, I’ll definitely keep everyone posted but I will say that I’ve never really seen any of the “newer” Cadillacs or Buicks experiencing visor problems. The whole metal bushing with condom setup also feels much more sturdy then the OEM 79-85 stuff.
Oh, and on the bright side, I’ll only have to wear these puppies at night now.
replaced a 1933 Leyland Metz in 1962. Joined Hampshire 1974 and then out of service quickly 1975. Probably replaced by HOT100L.
Courtesy Geoff Pritchard collection acquired via the Fire Brigade Society. Copyright Andy Ballisat.
Contractors replace the old set of FAA aviation lights atop Healy Clock Tower at Georgetown University on August 17, 2011. The light replacement is part of a multi-day repair project on the clock tower. The project also includes: replacing the tower maintenance cleats, repainting the clock faces and interior work to aid in future maintenance.
Map Number 2020-024; Replaces Map Number 2014-151
***
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Liverpool Castle was a castle which was situated in Liverpool, England It stood from the early 13th century to the early 18th century.I AM STOOD ON THE SITE OF THE CASTLE
It was probably erected in the 1230s, between 1232 and 1235 under the orders of William de Ferrers, 4th Earl of Derby. No record of the castle construction survive. Nearby in West Derby, there had long been a castle, which was taken by the Ferrerses in 1232, but by 1296 it lay in ruins. The castle was built to protect King John's new port of Liverpool and was sited at the top of modern day Lord Street, the highest point in the city and overlooking the Pool. This corresponds to present day Derby Square (Queen Victoria Monument) near the city centre.
LIVERPOOL JUNE 2012
Yippie!!! My Matchbox pinhole camera
Inspired by Neelabh’s matchbox pinhole camera, thank you Neelabh bhai for the help too in making one :)
Followed the steps as said in www.matchboxpinhole.com , except that the spiral coil is replaced with comb teeth :)
Map Number 2017-234; Replaces Map Number 2016-198
***
To view a larger version of the map, click on the Download this photo button on lower right corner and choose a different size from the "View All Sizes" links. For directions on how to download a map, our contact information, and answers to other questions, please click here.
Antwerpen - Bahnhof Antwerpen-Centraal
Antwerpen-Centraal railway station (Dutch: Station Antwerpen-Centraal; French: Gare d'Anvers-Central)[a] is the main railway station in Antwerp, Belgium. It is one of the most important hubs in the country and is one of the four Belgian stations on the high-speed rail network. From 1873 to early 2007, it was a terminal station. The current building, designed by the architect Louis Delacenserie, was constructed between 1895 and 1905. On 23 March 2007, a tunnel with two continuous tracks was opened under part of the city and under the station. The train services are operated by the National Railway Company of Belgium (NMBS/SNCB).
History
Early history
Antwerp's first station was the terminus of the Brussels–Mechelen–Antwerp railway line, which opened on 3 June 1836. The original station building was made of wood and was replaced by a new and larger building on the occasion of the opening of the new international connection to the Netherlands in 1854–55.
The current terminal station building was constructed between 1895 and 1905 as a replacement for the first station. The stone-clad building was designed by the architect Louis Delacenserie. The viaduct into the station is also a notable structure designed by local architect Jan Van Asperen. A plaque on the north wall bears the name Middenstatie ("Middle Station"), an expression now antiquated in Dutch. To the north of the station a large public square, known as the Statieplein ("Station Square"), was created, acting as an entry to the city for its many commuters. In 1935, the square's name was changed to the Koningin Astridplein, in honour of the recently deceased Queen Astrid.
World War II damage and restoration
During World War II, severe damage was inflicted to the train hall by the impact of V-2 rockets, though the structural stability of the building remained intact, according to the National Railway Company of Belgium. Nevertheless, it has been claimed that the warping of the substructure due to a V-2 impact had caused constructional stresses. The impact remains visible due to a lasting wave-distortion in the roofing of the hall.
In the mid-20th century, the building's condition had deteriorated to the point that its demolition was being considered. The station was closed on 31 January 1986 for safety reasons, after which restoration work to the roof (starting at the end of March 1986 and finishing in September 1986) and façades was performed. The stress problems due to the impact of bombs during the war were reportedly solved by the use of polycarbonate sheets instead of glass, due to its elasticity and its relatively low weight (40% less than glass), which avoided the need for extra supporting pillars. After replacing or repairing steel elements, they were painted burgundy. Copper was also used in the renovation process of the roof.
Expansion for high-speed trains
In 1998, large-scale reconstruction work began to convert the station from a terminus to a through station. A tunnel was excavated between Antwerpen-Berchem railway station in the south of the city and Antwerpen-Dam railway station in the north, passing under the Central Station, with platforms on two underground levels. This allows Thalys, HSL 4 and HSL-Zuid high-speed trains to travel through Antwerpen-Centraal without the need to turn around (the previous layout obliged Amsterdam–Brussels trains to call only at Antwerpen-Berchem or reverse at Central).
The major elements of the construction project were completed in 2007, and the first through trains ran on 25 March 2007. The station was awarded a Grand Prix at the European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards in 2011. These works, including the connecting tunnels, cost €765 million
Architecture
The station is widely regarded as the finest example of railway architecture in Belgium, although the extraordinary eclecticism of the influences on Delacenserie's design had led to a difficulty in assigning it to a particular architectural style. In W. G. Sebald's novel Austerlitz an ability to appreciate the full range of the styles that might have influenced Delacenserie is used to illustrate the brilliance of the fictional architectural historian who is the novel's protagonist. Owing to the vast dome above the waiting room hall, the building became colloquially known as the spoorwegkathedraal ("railroad cathedral").
The originally iron and glass train hall (185 metres long and 44 metres or 43 metres high) was designed by Clément Van Bogaert,[9] an engineer, and covers an area of 12,000 square metres. The height of the station was necessary for dissipating the smoke of steam locomotives. The roof of the train hall was originally made of steel.
In 2009, the American magazine Newsweek judged Antwerpen-Centraal the world's fourth greatest train station. In 2014, the British-American magazine Mashable awarded Antwerpen-Centraal the first place for the most beautiful railway station in the world.
Station layout
The station has four levels and 14 tracks arranged as follows:
Level +1: The original station, six terminating tracks, arranged as two groups of three and separated by a central opening allowing views of the lower levels
Level 0: Houses ticketing facilities and commercial space
Level −1: 7 m below street level, four terminating tracks, arranged in two pairs separated by the central opening.
Level −2: 18 m below street level, four through tracks, leading to the two tracks of the tunnel under the city (used by high-speed trains and domestic services towards the north).
In popular culture
A staged "flash mob"-like event at the station in early 2009, featuring the song "Do-Re-Mi" from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music, became a viral video. It was performed by 200 dancers of various ages, along with several dozen waiting passengers who just jumped in and joined the dance themselves. The video was produced to publicize Op zoek naar Maria, the Belgian TV version of the BBC talent competition programme How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?, about the search for an actress to play the lead role in a stage revival of The Sound of Music.
The station is used in Agatha Christie's Poirot episode "The Chocolate Box" to represent a station in Brussels.
The beginning of Austerlitz, the final novel of the German writer W. G. Sebald is set in the station.
(Wikipedia)
Der Bahnhof Antwerpen-Centraal (niederländisch Antwerpen-Centraal, französisch Anvers-Central) ist ein Bahnhof der NMBS/SNCB in Antwerpen (Belgien). Der ehemalige Kopfbahnhof wird täglich von etwa 540 Zügen befahren. Die Verbindungen gehen u. a. bis nach Rotterdam (– Amsterdam), Gent (– Kortrijk), Brügge (– Ostende), Brüssel, Lüttich, Neerpelt und Puurs. Der Bahnhof liegt am Koningin Astridplein östlich der Antwerpener Altstadt, unmittelbar neben dem Zoo.
Geschichte
Der erste Bahnhof Borgerhout war die Endstation der am 3. Juni 1836 eröffneten Bahnlinie Mechelen–Antwerpen. 1843 wurde die Strecke zum Bahnhof Antwerpen-Dokken en Stapelplaatsen am Hafen verlängert, wo auch die Bahnstrecke Richtung Deutschland (Eiserner Rhein) begann. 1854 ersetzte ein neues Gebäude das hölzerne Empfangsgebäude, und der Bahnhof Borgerhout erhielt die Bezeichnung Antwerpen-Oost.
1873 wurde der Bahnhof wieder zum Kopfbahnhof zurückgebaut, weil der zunehmende Verkehr in Richtung Niederlande nicht länger ebenerdig durch die belebte Stadt geführt werden konnte. Im Osten wurde eine Umfahrung auf einem Damm gebaut.
Große Eingangshalle
Die heutige Anlage aus den Jahren 1899 und 1905 erhielt eine 186 m lange und 66 m breite Bahnhofshalle aus Stahl nach einem Entwurf des Ingenieurs Clement Van Bogaert. Die Höhe von 43 m berücksichtigte die Abgase der Dampflokomotiven. Das steinerne Empfangsgebäude in eklektizistischem Stil stammt von Louis de la Censerie. Er ließ sich vom Bahnhof Luzern und dem Pantheon in Rom inspirieren. Wegen der dominierenden Kuppel (75 m hoch) wird das Gebäude im Volksmund Spoorwegkathedraal (= Eisenbahnkathedrale) genannt. Eröffnet wurde der Bahnhof am 11. August 1905 unter dem Namen Antwerpen-Centraal. Den freiwerdenden Namen Antwerpen-Oost erhielt nun ein Haltepunkt an der Ostumfahrung.
Mitte des 20. Jahrhunderts war der Bahnhof baulich in einem sehr schlechten Zustand. Der kalkhaltige Vinalmontstein, aus dem die Kuppel errichtet ist, begann sich zu zersetzen. 1953 lösten sich erste Steine, 1957 wurde sogar ein Fahrgast von einem herabfallenden Stein getroffen. Der Abriss des Gebäudes wurde in den 1960er Jahren erwogen, es erhielt aber Denkmalschutz und wurde ab 1993 grundlegend renoviert.
Nord-Süd-Verbindung
Der historische Kopfbahnhof mit zehn Gleisen stieß um die Jahrtausendwende an seine Kapazitätsgrenzen. Es gab zu wenige Gleise und die Bahnsteige waren zu kurz. Auch das Kopfmachen der Züge senkte die Kapazität.
Nachdem das Zugangebot mit der Verkehrsnachfrage aufgrund der Kapazitätsprobleme nicht hatte Schritt halten können, wurden Pläne für einen Umbau des Bahnhofs entwickelt. Der Bahnhof wurde bei dem Umbau umfassend umgestaltet, der Bahnbetrieb wird nun auf drei Ebenen abgewickelt: Von den zehn Kopfgleisen im Obergeschoss (Ebene +1) blieben je drei an beiden Seiten erhalten. Neu sind zwei Untergeschosse; das erste Untergeschoss (Ebene −1) erhält vier Kopfgleise, das zweite Untergeschoss (Ebene −2) vier Durchfahrtsgleise. Ab Mai 1998 wurde an der Nord-Süd-Verbindung gearbeitet, die die Stadt und den Bahnhof unterquert. Der zweiröhrige Tunnel ist mit 90 km/h befahrbar und erspart internationalen Zügen von Brüssel nach Amsterdam, auch den Hochgeschwindigkeitszügen auf den Schnellfahrstrecken HSL 4 und HSL-Zuid (Schnellfahrstrecke Schiphol–Antwerpen), ein Kopfmachen in Antwerpen-Centraal. Der unterirdische Bahnhofsteil wurde am 23. März 2007 eröffnet. Die vier Ebenen des Bahnhofs werden mit 40 Aufzügen und 48 Rolltreppen verbunden. Das imposante Empfangsgebäude blieb in Form und Funktion unverändert erhalten.
Sonstiges
Der Bahnhof ist eine beliebte Kulisse für eine Vielzahl von Spielfilmen geworden. Ein bekanntes Beispiel ist die Anfangsszene von De zaak Alzheimer mit der Ankunft des Serienmörders Ledda aus Frankreich.
2009 entstand bei einem inszenierten Flashmob ein Musikvideo mit dem Lied „Do-Re-Mi“ aus dem Rodgers- und Hammerstein-Musical The Sound of Music, das schnell zu einem sogenannten „viralen“ Video im Internet wurde. Teile des Videos tauchen auch im Flashmob-Video E.L.O. (Electric Light Orchestra) All Over The World auf.
Als König Leopold II. 1905 bei der Eröffnung den Bahnhof das erste Mal sah, fiel ihm dessen offensichtliche Größe auf. Seine Reaktion darauf war: C’est une petite belle gare („Das ist ein netter, kleiner Bahnhof“).
Nach einer Untersuchung von Newsweek ist es der viertschönste Bahnhof der Welt.
(Wikipedia)
Whiteford Lighthouse is an unusual cast-iron lighthouse built in 1865 to a design by John Bowen (1825-1873) of Llanelli, by the Llanelli Harbour and Burry Navigation Commissioners to mark the shoals of Whiteford Point, replacing an earlier piled structure of 1854, of which nothing remains. It is the only wave-swept cast-iron tower of this size in Britain. The tower is 44 feet (13 m) high and stands just above low-water level. The base is about 24 feet (7.3 m) in diameter and rises gracefully to a diameter of 11 feet 6 inches (3.51 m) at lantern level. A pitched stone apron surrounds the base of the lighthouse.
Construction and maintenance
The lighthouse sits on 88 wooden piles driven into glacial moraine which is any glacially formed accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris (soil and rock) that occurs in currently glaciated and formerly glaciated regions on Earth these are linked horizontally by walling pieces, using 500 cast-iron plants and bolts. These would have formed a box, probably square or octagonal, which would have been excavated and partially filled with concrete. The materials were delivered by boat and work undertaken during low tide. The structure of the shell is formed from 105 bent and tapered cast-iron plates, each about 32 millimetres (1.3 in) thick, with an upstand flange on each side, and bolted with cast-iron bolts, each weighing 2 pounds (0.91 kg). There are eight levels of panel tapering to the sixth 'course'. The first three horizontal joints are covered by iron bands supported on brackets and topped with fillets of concrete. During the 1870s vertical cracks developed in the plates of the lowest three rings. A local blacksmith called Powell made wrought-iron straps which were bolted to the flanges on each side of the cracked plates. At the time, the cracks were put down to lateral pressures arising from the settlement of the inner masonry, being composed of rough beach stones and 'bad' mortar. By 1884, 150 straps had been fitted. The compaction of the fill may have been compounded by movement (swaying) of the tower, reported in 1884 by the lighthouse keeper to have been 'several inches'. In 1885, the ground around the tower was strengthened with the addition of a concrete skirt 18 inches (46 cm) deep, bound by a 2-inch (5.1 cm) wide iron band, effectively anchoring the skirt to the base of the tower. The equipment for the lighthouse is listed in an inventory of 1888 and indicates that provision was made for two lighthouse keepers, although each of the census returns of 1871, 1881, 1891, and 1901 names one keeper. The working pattern was two weeks at Whitford Lighthouse alternating with two weeks at Llanelli Harbour Lighthouse.
The lamp
Three Argand lamps and reflectors were fitted, one towards the Lynch Pool or south channel, one towards Burry Port, and one towards Llanelli. In 1876, the Harbour Master set a fourth lamp to shine west along the north channel. The Admiralty chart of 1887 shows the "Arc of Visibility" of the lights from slightly west of south, through north, to slightly south of east. The lighthouse was discontinued in 1920, when responsibility for the light was transferred to Trinity House, who decided to establish a new beacon at Burry Holms. However, after pleas from local yachtsmen, the light was relit in the 1980s. This gave an additional point of reference when navigating the waters between the Gower Peninsula and Burry Port: on dark nights, boat crews often found themselves on top of Whiteford Point before realizing the fact. The cost was £1,300, with £1,000 being funded by the Harbour Commissioners and the balance by Burry Port Yacht Club. The new light was fully automatic and switched on when daylight faded to a pre-determined level. Two nautical almanacs published in 1987, Reeds, and Macmillan and Silk Cut, listed Whiteford Lighthouse as flashing every five seconds. After a failure of the solar unit, the light was removed and not replaced. However, the lighthouse still has navigational value in daylight. It is now owned by Carmarthenshire County Council.
Hornfels with pinite (= muscovite mica replacing intergrown cordierite-indialite; “cherry blossom stones”), Tamba Group, Mesozoic (Triassic to lowermost Cretaceous), ~98 m.y. contact metamorphic date.
Locality: at or near Ashio, Tochigi Prefecture, Honshu Island, central Japan
(Limper Geology Museum specimen, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, USA)
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One of the most famous & visually intriguing geologic materials collected in Japan is the cherry blossom stone. These interesting structures have a complex geologic history.
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What are they now?
Cherry blossom stones are relatively small, subhexagonal-shaped masses of fine-grained muscovite mica that show a flower-like pattern in transverse cross-section.
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What did they used to be?
The muscovite mica is not the original material making up these structures. Before the growth of muscovite mica, these were complex intergrowths of six cordierite crystals and one indialite crystal. So, cherry blossom stones represent muscovite mica replacing cordierite-indialite (muscovite pseudomorphs after cordierite-indialite). Such complex pseudomorphs have been referred to as pinite.
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What is the host rock?
Cherry blossom stones are hosted in a matrix of hornfels, a fine-grained, contact metamorphic rock. Hornfels form by intense alteration (heating & chemical alteration) of shales by nearby lava or magma.
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How did they form?
The hornfels host rocks were originally fine-grained siliciclastic sedimentary rocks (shales) of the Tamba Group (Triassic-Jurassic-lowermost Cretaceous). In the mid-Cretaceous (early Cenomanian Stage, ~98 m.y.), underground igneous activity resulted in granites and granodiorite intrusions altering the shales into hornfels by contact metamorphism. These hornfels had decent-sized masses of intergrown cordierite-indialite.
Indialite is a magnesium aluminosilicate mineral (Mg2Al4Si5O18). Cordierite is an iron magnesium aluminosilicate mineral ((Fe,Mg)2Al4Si5O18). The subhexagonal-shaped masses of cordierite-indialite in the hornfels consist of seven individual crystals. At the center of each mass is a dumbbell-shaped indialite crystal - very narrow at the center, and relatively wide at the ends (look at the varying sizes of the center hexagon in the cherry blossom stones in this photo album). Surrounding the indialite crystal are six prism-shaped cordierite crystals. They are widest at the center of each cherry blossom stone and narrowest at the ends.
A second metamorphic event altered the cordierite-indialite masses. Hydrothermal metamorphism resulted in fine-grained muscovite mica replacing the original minerals.
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Much info. from:
Rakovan et al. (2006) - Sakura Ishi (cherry blossom stones): mica pseudomorphs of complex cordierite-indialite intergrowths from Kameoka, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. in Minerals from Japan. Rocks & Minerals Reprint 2006: 31-39.