+++ DISCLAIMER +++

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

  

Some background:

The Red Arrows, officially known as the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, is the aerobatics display team of the Royal Air Force based at RAF Scampton. The team was formed in late 1964 as an all-RAF team, replacing a number of unofficial teams that had been sponsored by RAF commands.

 

The Red Arrows have a prominent place in British popular culture, with their aerobatic displays a fixture of British summer events. The badge of the Red Arrows shows the aircraft in their trademark diamond nine formation, with the motto Éclat, a French word meaning "brilliance" or "excellence".

 

The Red Arrows were not the first RAF aerobatics team. An RAF pageant was held at Hendon in 1920 with teams from front-line biplane squadrons, and over the course of the years several display teams were formed from flying schools and active units. However, in 1964, all the RAF display teams were amalgamated, as it was feared pilots were spending too much time practising formation aerobatics rather than operational training.

The new team name "Red Arrows" took the word "red" from the fact that one of the former display team's planes, the Yellowjacks, had been painted red (for safety reasons, as it was a far clearer and more visible colour in the sky) and "arrows" after the Black Arrows, another team. The official version, however, is that the red was a tribute to the Red Pelicans, even another display team. Another reason for the change to red was that responsibility for the team moved from Fighter Command to the Central Flying School, whose main colour was red.

 

Consequently, the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, the formal name of the Red Arrows, began life at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, then a satellite of the Central Flying School. The Red Arrows moved to RAF Kemble, now Cotswold Airport, in 1966 after RAF Fairford became the place of choice for BAC to run test flights for Concorde.

When RAF Scampton became the CFS headquarters in 1983, the Red Arrows moved there. As an economy measure, Scampton closed in 1995, so the Red Arrows moved just 20 miles to RAF Cranwell; however, as they still used the air space above Scampton, the emergency facilities and runways had to be maintained. Since 21 December 2000, the Red Arrows have been based again at RAF Scampton, near Lincoln.

 

The first team had seven display pilots and flew the Folland Gnat T1 jet trainer. The first display in the UK was on 6 May 1965, at Little Rissington for a press day. At the subsequent National Air Day display, three days later, at Clermont Ferrand in France, one French journalist described the team as "Les Fleches Rouges", confirming the name "The Red Arrows". By the end of their first season, the Red Arrows had displayed 65 times in Britain, France, Italy, Holland, Germany, and Belgium and were awarded the Britannia Trophy by the Royal Aero Club for their contribution to aviation.

 

In 1968, the team was expanded from seven to nine jets, in order to expand the team's capabilities and the permutations of formation patterns. During this season, the 'Diamond Nine' pattern was formed and it has remained the team's trademark pattern ever since. After displaying 1,292 times in the Folland Gnat, the Red Arrows took delivery of the BAE Hawk in the winter of 1979.

It was at this time that the nine aircraft formation was also joined by a single Hawker Siddeley Harrier Jump Jet as a solo and demonstration aircraft for four air shows until late 1980.

 

The Hawker Siddeley Harrier, developed in the 1960s, was the first operational close-support and reconnaissance fighter aircraft with vertical/short takeoff and landing (V/STOL) capabilities and the only truly successful V/STOL design of the many that arose in that era. The Harrier was developed directly from the Hawker Siddeley Kestrel prototype aircraft, following the cancellation of a more advanced supersonic aircraft, the Hawker Siddeley P.1154. The British Royal Air Force (RAF) ordered the Harrier GR.1 and GR.3 variants in the late 1960s. It was exported to the United States as the AV-8A, for use by the US Marine Corps (USMC), in the 1970s.

 

The first RAF squadron to be equipped with the Harrier GR.1, No. 1 Squadron, started to convert to the aircraft at RAF Wittering in April 1969. An early demonstration of the Harrier's capabilities was the participation of two aircraft in the Daily Mail Transatlantic Air Race in May 1969, flying between St Pancras railway station, London, and downtown Manhattan with the use of aerial refueling.

 

Two Harrier squadrons were established in 1970 at the RAF's air base in Wildenrath to be part of its air force in Germany; another squadron was formed there two years later. In 1977, these three squadrons were moved forward to the air base at Gütersloh, closer to the prospective front line in the event of an outbreak of a European war. One of the squadrons was disbanded and its aircraft distributed between the other two, and two of these surplus machines were set apart for the participation in the RAF’s Red Arrows display team.

These two Harrier GR.1s, aircraft XV 764 and XV 811, retained their military equipment and capability (just like the Hawk trainers), but were outfitted to carry a smoke generator pod under the fuselage. They also received the Red Arrows’ trademark all-red livery, similar to the updated design of the new Hawk trainers.

 

The modernized and expanded team thrilled spectators with low-flying maneuvers performed in tight formations and by "keeping something in front of the crowds at all times". The Harrier solo aircraft provided the audience with low level flight interludes and hovering demonstrations while the rest of the team would re-group for new formations.

However, the Harrier's presence at Red Arrows displays was short since maintenance and fuel costs were high, and logistics for only two machines of the type within the Hawk team could not be justified, esp. outside of Western Europe. Consequently, after just a single season, the Harriers left the Red Arrows team again and the two aircraft were retired.

  

General characteristics:

Crew: One

Length: 46 ft 10 in (14.27 m)

Wingspan: 25 ft 3 in (7.70 m)

Height: 11 ft 11 in (3.63 m)

Wing area: 201.1 ft² (18.68 m²)

Empty weight: 13,535 lb (6,140 kg)

Max. takeoff weight: 25,200 lb (11,430 kg)

 

Powerplant:

1× Rolls-Royce Pegasus 103 turbofan with four swiveling nozzles, rated at 21,500 lbf (95.6 kN)

Four vertical flight puffer jets use engine bleed air, mounted in the nose, wingtips, and tail.

 

Performance:

Maximum speed: 730 mph (635 knots, 1,176 km/h) at sea level

Combat radius: 230 mi (200 nmi, 370 km) lo-lo-lo with 4,400 lb (2,000 kg) payload

Ferry range: 2,129 mi (1,850 nmi, 3,425 km)

Endurance: 1 hr 30 min (combat air patrol – 115 mi (185 km) from base)

Service ceiling: 51,200 ft (15,600 m)

Time to climb to 40,000 ft (12,200 m): 2 min 23 s

 

Armament (not carried by the display machines):

2× 30 mm (1.18 in) ADEN cannon pods under the fuselage

4× under-wing & 1× under-fuselage pylon stations with a capacity of 5,000 lb (2,268 kg)

and provisions to carry combinations of:

- 4× Matra rocket pods with 18× SNEB 68 mm rockets each

- 2× AIM-9 Sidewinders Air-to-air missiles

- A variety of unguided iron bombs, BL755 cluster bombs or laser-guided bombs

- A reconnaissance pod under the fuselage

- 2× drop tanks for extended range/loitering time

  

The kit and its assembly:

This is another submission to the “Cold War” Group Build 2018 at whatifmodelers.com, and the occasion was welcome to finally tackle the Red Arrows Harrier project which had been on my project list (together with kit and decals in stock) for some time. I found this model to be a very appropriate submission, since Cold War is/was more than just nuclear threat and NATO vs. Warsaw Pact.

 

The idea for this model had been around for some time, when I was searching for a use for a Fujimi Harrier GR.3 in my stash which had donated its laser rangefinder nose to a G.91Y. I found the idea of a Red Arrows machine quite charming, and in the meantime, I also got hands on a bulk of various 1:72 Red Arrows decals (all from Hawks, but from different periods) which eventually found their destination.

 

Well, the Fujimi Harrier turned out to be a disappointment. Fit is mediocre at best, and the nose section is IMHO rubbish. The mold designers obviously wanted to have the option to graft different nose sections (e. g. the Sea Harrier’s cockpit) onto the same basic fuselage. But, as a result and in combination with separate air intake sections and the lack of locator pins or any orientation help for the internal details, the whole nose section is a wobbly guess which results in gaps and misalignment. Massive PSR was necessary to blend the air intake/Cockpit section into each other (with the loss of most of the soft, engraved surface details), and even on the rest of the kit PSR was necessary almost everywhere. Not a pleasant build at all.

 

However, the kit was almost built OOB, just the flaps were lowered for a more lively appearance. No armament was fitted and the respective attachment points for the pylons under the wings and the fuselage disappeared under more PSR.

  

Painting and markings:

Well, with the Red Arrows theme there’s hardly a surprise. As a beneficial coincidence, Humbrol recently released an official “Red Arrows Red” tone (#238) which I used for this occasion, even though I found the tone to look rather disturbing: it’s a deep orange-ish pink (blood orange, maybe?), not a bright, pure red like RAL 3000, for instance, what I expected??? Well, I stuck with it, since Airfix recommends in its Red Arrows Hawk instructions Humbrol 174 for the tone, and this color comes close to the new 238, it is just slightly duller. Still, the tone looks weird?

 

The cockpit interior became dark grey while the air intakes and the landing gear were painted in a very light grey (I used RAL 7035 instead of the classic RAF Light Aircraft Grey).

 

The decals became a bit of a challenge, and I eventually was happy that I had so much Red Arrows material at hand. I used the Hawk’s initial livery as benchmark and puzzled the Harrier’s decoration together as good as possible – especially the long, white cheatline along the whole fuselage took material from three(!) Hawk sheets, and the Harrier’s fissured flanks did not make application easy, either.

Some warning stencils (e. g. the white frame around the dorsal jet engine bay opening) were improvised, and I think these additional markings make the Harrier more convincing.

 

Almost no weathering was done, just some panel lines were emphasized with black ink and a thin, soft pencil. And finally everything was sealed with semi-gloss acrylic varnish (Italeri).

  

Well, while not a spectacular build or whif, I think that the Red Arrows Harrier somewhat catches the "Cold War" theme. And I must say that the all-red Harrier does not look bad at all! :D

 

Replacing an earlier scanned slide with this one 09-Jan-16. This must have been either the beginning or the end of the film roll and, sadly, the slide has faded in the years since I did the first scan. I was trying to decide if I should leave the original scan or use this one... in the end I used this one!

 

Attn Group Moderators.. If you don't think that this photo reaches your group standards, please feel free to delete it from your group...

 

G-BIMB impounded at Manchester (MAN) after Laker ceased operations in Feb-82. A colleague I later worked with at Cal Air/Novair was Purser on the last flight. They were half way to Tenerife (TFS) when the Capt told them they were returning to Manchester.

 

First flown with the Airbus test registration F-WZEL, this aircraft was delivered to Laker Airways as G-BIMB in Jan-81. A year later, in Feb-82 Laker ceased trading and the aircraft was impounded at Manchester.

 

It was released to the lessor, GPA Group Ltd 2 weeks later and stored at Bournemouth, UK. It was leased to Air Jamaica in Feb-83 as 6Y-JMK. Returning to GPA Group in Oct-96, it was stored at the British Aerospace airfield at Bristol-Filton.

 

The aircraft was transferred to Airplanes Finance Ltd in Apr-98 and leased to TransAer International Airlines as EI-TLQ. As well as operating it's own services, TransAer was a major ACMI airline (Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance & Insurance) and the aircraft operated some short & long-term leases to other airlines including 'jmcAIR' between May/Oct-00.

 

The aircraft had to be returned to TransAer before the summer season was over when they suddenly ceased trading on 20-Oct-00 and the aircraft was repossessed and stored at Bordeaux, France.

 

In May-01 it was leased to HC Airlines (HeavyLift Cargo) as G-HLAD. It was to be sub-leased to their new passenger division, Breeze Airlines. However the name was changed to Prime Airlines before delivery.

 

Prime Airlines ceased trading in Sep-02 and the aircraft was repossessed, ferried to Marana, AZ, USA, and permanently retired. It was last noted at Marana in Oct-04 and was subsequently broken up.

 

There is also a photo in my database of this aircraft when it was with Prime Airlines. Just type G-HLAD into the 'Photos, people or groups' box at top right of this page and enter.

Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a better version 07-Jun-22 (DeNoise AI).

 

On a misty morning at Manchester...

 

This aircraft was originally destined for lease to Dan-Air Services (UK) but they were merged into British Airways in Nov-92 before the aircraft was built.

 

It was delivered to ILFC International Lease Finance Corporation and leased to British Airways as G-BUHK in Jun-93. It was wet-leased to Nigeria Airways for four weeks between Mar/Apr-98. The aircraft was returned to the lessor in Feb-03.

 

In Mar-03 the aircraft was leased to CSA Czech Airlines as OK-YGU and returned to the lessor in Oct-07 and leased to Pacific Airlines (Vietnam) as VN-A192 the following month. Pacific Airlines was renamed Jetstar Pacific in May-08.

 

It was returned to the lessor in Dec-12 and permanently retired at St. Athan, Wales, UK. It was sold to Capstar Aviation in Feb-13 as N262CS and broken up at St. Athan in mid 2015. Updated 07-Jun-22.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beamish_Museum

 

Beamish Museum is the first regional open-air museum, in England, located at Beamish, near the town of Stanley, in County Durham, England. Beamish pioneered the concept of a living museum. By displaying duplicates or replaceable items, it was also an early example of the now commonplace practice of museums allowing visitors to touch objects.

 

The museum's guiding principle is to preserve an example of everyday life in urban and rural North East England at the climax of industrialisation in the early 20th century. Much of the restoration and interpretation is specific to the late Victorian and Edwardian eras, together with portions of countryside under the influence of industrial revolution from 1825. On its 350 acres (140 ha) estate it uses a mixture of translocated, original and replica buildings, a large collection of artefacts, working vehicles and equipment, as well as livestock and costumed interpreters.

 

The museum has received a number of awards since it opened to visitors in 1972 and has influenced other living museums. It is an educational resource, and also helps to preserve some traditional and rare north-country livestock breeds.

 

History

Genesis

In 1958, days after starting as director of the Bowes Museum, inspired by Scandinavian folk museums, and realising the North East's traditional industries and communities were disappearing, Frank Atkinson presented a report to Durham County Council urging that a collection of items of everyday history on a large scale should begin as soon as possible, so that eventually an open air museum could be established. As well as objects, Atkinson was also aiming to preserve the region's customs and dialect. He stated the new museum should "attempt to make the history of the region live" and illustrate the way of life of ordinary people. He hoped the museum would be run by, be about and exist for the local populace, desiring them to see the museum as theirs, featuring items collected from them.

 

Fearing it was now almost too late, Atkinson adopted a policy of "unselective collecting" — "you offer it to us and we will collect it." Donations ranged in size from small items to locomotives and shops, and Atkinson initially took advantage of a surplus of space available in the 19th-century French chateau-style building housing the Bowes Museum to store items donated for the open air museum. With this space soon filled, a former British Army tank depot at Brancepeth was taken over, although in just a short time its entire complement of 22 huts and hangars had been filled, too.

 

In 1966, a working party was established to set up a museum "for the purpose of studying, collecting, preserving and exhibiting buildings, machinery, objects and information illustrating the development of industry and the way of life of the north of England", and it selected Beamish Hall, having been vacated by the National Coal Board, as a suitable location.

 

Establishment and expansion

In August 1970, with Atkinson appointed as its first full-time director together with three staff members, the museum was first established by moving some of the collections into the hall. In 1971, an introductory exhibition, "Museum in the Making" opened at the hall.

 

The museum was opened to visitors on its current site for the first time in 1972, with the first translocated buildings (the railway station and colliery winding engine) being erected the following year. The first trams began operating on a short demonstration line in 1973. The Town station was formally opened in 1976, the same year the reconstruction of the colliery winding engine house was completed, and the miners' cottages were relocated. Opening of the drift mine as an exhibit followed in 1979.

 

In 1975 the museum was visited by the Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and by Anne, Princess Royal, in 2002. In 2006, as the Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England, The Duke of Kent visited, to open the town masonic lodge.

 

With the Co-op having opened in 1984, the town area was officially opened in 1985. The pub had opened in the same year, with Ravensworth Terrace having been reconstructed from 1980 to 1985. The newspaper branch office had also been built in the mid-1980s. Elsewhere, the farm on the west side of the site (which became Home Farm) opened in 1983. The present arrangement of visitors entering from the south was introduced in 1986.

 

At the beginning of the 1990s, further developments in the Pit Village were opened, the chapel in 1990, and the board school in 1992. The whole tram circle was in operation by 1993.[8] Further additions to the Town came in 1994 with the opening of the sweet shop and motor garage, followed by the bank in 1999. The first Georgian component of the museum arrived when Pockerley Old Hall opened in 1995, followed by the Pockerley Waggonway in 2001.

 

In the early 2000s two large modern buildings were added, to augment the museum's operations and storage capacity - the Regional Resource Centre on the west side opened in 2001, followed by the Regional Museums Store next to the railway station in 2002. Due to its proximity, the latter has been cosmetically presented as Beamish Waggon and Iron Works. Additions to display areas came in the form of the Masonic lodge (2006) and the Lamp Cabin in the Colliery (2009). In 2010, the entrance building and tea rooms were refurbished.

 

Into the 2010s, further buildings were added - the fish and chip shop (opened 2011)[28] band hall (opened 2013) and pit pony stables (built 2013/14) in the Pit Village, plus a bakery (opened 2013) and chemist and photographers (opened 2016) being added to the town. St Helen's Church, in the Georgian landscape, opened in November 2015.

 

Remaking Beamish

A major development, named 'Remaking Beamish', was approved by Durham County Council in April 2016, with £10.7m having been raised from the Heritage Lottery Fund and £3.3m from other sources.

 

As of September 2022, new exhibits as part of this project have included a quilter's cottage, a welfare hall, 1950s terrace, recreation park, bus depot, and 1950s farm (all discussed in the relevant sections of this article). The coming years will see replicas of aged miners' homes from South Shields, a cinema from Ryhope, and social housing will feature a block of four relocated Airey houses, prefabricated concrete homes originally designed by Sir Edwin Airey, which previously stood in Kibblesworth. Then-recently vacated and due for demolition, they were instead offered to the museum by The Gateshead Housing Company and accepted in 2012.

 

Museum site

The approximately 350-acre (1.4 km2) current site, once belonging to the Eden and Shafto families, is a basin-shaped steep-sided valley with woodland areas, a river, some level ground and a south-facing aspect.

 

Visitors enter the site through an entrance arch formed by a steam hammer, across a former opencast mining site and through a converted stable block (from Greencroft, near Lanchester, County Durham).

 

Visitors can navigate the site via assorted marked footpaths, including adjacent (or near to) the entire tramway oval. According to the museum, it takes 20 minutes to walk at a relaxed pace from the entrance to the town. The tramway oval serves as both an exhibit and as a free means of transport around the site for visitors, with stops at the entrance (south), Home Farm (west), Pockerley (east) and the Town (north). Visitors can also use the museum's buses as a free form of transport between various parts of the museum. Although visitors can also ride on the Town railway and Pockerley Waggonway, these do not form part of the site's transport system (as they start and finish from the same platforms).

 

Governance

Beamish was the first English museum to be financed and administered by a consortium of county councils (Cleveland, Durham, Northumberland and Tyne and Wear) The museum is now operated as a registered charity, but continues to receive support from local authorities - Durham County Council, Sunderland City Council, Gateshead Council, South Tyneside Council and North Tyneside Council. The supporting Friends of Beamish organisation was established in 1968. Frank Atkinson retired as director in 1987. The museum has been 96% self-funding for some years (mainly from admission charges).

 

Sections of the museum

1913

The town area, officially opened in 1985, depicts chiefly Victorian buildings in an evolved urban setting of 1913.

 

Tramway

The Beamish Tramway is 1.5 miles (2.4 km) long, with four passing loops. The line makes a circuit of the museum site forming an important element of the visitor transportation system.

 

The first trams began operating on a short demonstration line in 1973, with the whole circle in operation by 1993.[8] It represents the era of electric powered trams, which were being introduced to meet the needs of growing towns and cities across the North East from the late 1890s, replacing earlier horse drawn systems.

 

Bakery

Presented as Joseph Herron, Baker & Confectioner, the bakery was opened in 2013 and features working ovens which produce food for sale to visitors. A two-storey curved building, only the ground floor is used as the exhibit. A bakery has been included to represent the new businesses which sprang up to cater for the growing middle classes - the ovens being of the modern electric type which were growing in use. The building was sourced from Anfield Plain (which had a bakery trading as Joseph Herron), and was moved to Beamish in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The frontage features a stained glass from a baker's shop in South Shields. It also uses fittings from Stockton-on-Tees.

 

Motor garage

Presented as Beamish Motor & Cycle Works, the motor garage opened in 1994. Reflecting the custom nature of the early motor trade, where only one in 232 people owned a car in 1913, the shop features a showroom to the front (not accessible to visitors), with a garage area to the rear, accessed via the adjacent archway. The works is a replica of a typical garage of the era. Much of the museum's car, motorcycle and bicycle collection, both working and static, is stored in the garage. The frontage has two storeys, but the upper floor is only a small mezzanine and is not used as part of the display.

 

Department Store

Presented as the Annfield Plain Industrial Co-operative Society Ltd, (but more commonly referred to as the Anfield Plain Co-op Store) this department store opened in 1984, and was relocated to Beamish from Annfield Plain in County Durham. The Annfield Plain co-operative society was originally established in 1870, with the museum store stocking various products from the Co-operative Wholesale Society (CWS), established 1863. A two-storey building, the ground floor comprises the three departments - grocery, drapery and hardware; the upper floor is taken up by the tea rooms (accessed from Redman Park via a ramp to the rear). Most of the items are for display only, but a small amount of goods are sold to visitors. The store features an operational cash carrier system, of the Lamson Cash Ball design - common in many large stores of the era, but especially essential to Co-ops, where customer's dividends had to be logged.

 

Ravensworth Terrace

Ravensworth Terrace is a row of terraced houses, presented as the premises and living areas of various professionals. Representing the expanding housing stock of the era, it was relocated from its original site on Bensham Bank, having been built for professionals and tradesmen between 1830 and 1845. Original former residents included painter John Wilson Carmichael and Gateshead mayor Alexander Gillies. Originally featuring 25 homes, the terrace was to be demolished when the museum saved it in the 1970s, reconstructing six of them on the Town site between 1980 and 1985. They are two storey buildings, with most featuring display rooms on both floors - originally the houses would have also housed a servant in the attic. The front gardens are presented in a mix of the formal style, and the natural style that was becoming increasingly popular.

 

No. 2 is presented as the home of Miss Florence Smith, a music teacher, with old fashioned mid-Victorian furnishings as if inherited from her parents. No. 3 & 4 is presented as the practice and home respectively (with a knocked through door) of dentist J. Jones - the exterior nameplate having come from the surgery of Mr. J. Jones in Hartlepool. Representing the state of dental health at the time, it features both a check-up room and surgery for extraction, and a technicians room for creating dentures - a common practice at the time being the giving to daughters a set on their 21st birthday, to save any future husband the cost at a later date. His home is presented as more modern than No.2, furnished in the Edwardian style the modern day utilities of an enamelled bathroom with flushing toilet, a controllable heat kitchen range and gas cooker. No. 5 is presented as a solicitor's office, based on that of Robert Spence Watson, a Quaker from Newcastle. Reflecting the trade of the era, downstairs is laid out as the partner's or principal office, and the general or clerk's office in the rear. Included is a set of books sourced from ER Hanby Holmes, who practised in Barnard Castle.

 

Pub

Presented as The Sun Inn, the pub opened in the town in 1985. It had originally stood in Bondgate in Bishop Auckland, and was donated to the museum by its final owners, the Scottish and Newcastle Breweries. Originally a "one-up one down" cottage, the earliest ownership has been traced to James Thompson, on 21 January 1806. Known as The Tiger Inn until the 1850s, from 1857 to 1899 under the ownership of the Leng family, it flourished under the patronage of miners from Newton Cap and other collieries. Latterly run by Elsie Edes, it came under brewery ownership in the 20th Century when bought by S&N antecedent, James Deuchar Ltd. The pub is fully operational, and features both a front and back bar, the two stories above not being part of the exhibit. The interior decoration features the stuffed racing greyhound Jake's Bonny Mary, which won nine trophies before being put on display in The Gerry in White le Head near Tantobie.

 

Town stables

Reflecting the reliance on horses for a variety of transport needs in the era, the town features a centrally located stables, situated behind the sweet shop, with its courtyard being accessed from the archway next to the pub. It is presented as a typical jobmaster's yard, with stables and a tack room in the building on its north side. A small, brick built open air, carriage shed is sited on the back of the printworks building. On the east side of the courtyard is a much larger metal shed (utilising iron roof trusses from Fleetwood), arranged mainly as carriage storage, but with a blacksmith's shop in the corner. The building on the west side of the yard is not part of any display. The interior fittings for the harness room came from Callaly Caste. Many of the horses and horse-drawn vehicles used by the museum are housed in the stables and sheds.

 

Printer, stationer and newspaper branch office

Presented as the Beamish Branch Office of the Northern Daily Mail and the Sunderland Daily Echo, the two storey replica building was built in the mid-1980s and represents the trade practices of the era. Downstairs, on the right, is the branch office, where newspapers would be sold directly and distributed to local newsagents and street vendors, and where orders for advertising copy would be taken. Supplementing it is a stationer's shop on the left hand side, with both display items and a small number of gift items on public sale. Upstairs is a jobbing printers workshop, which would not produce the newspapers, but would instead print leaflets, posters and office stationery. Split into a composing area and a print shop, the shop itself has a number of presses - a Columbian built in 1837 by Clymer and Dixon, an Albion dating back to 1863, an Arab Platen of c. 1900, and a Wharfedale flat bed press, built by Dawson & Son in around 1870. Much of the machinery was sourced from the print works of Jack Ascough's of Barnard Castle. Many of the posters seen around the museum are printed in the works, with the operation of the machinery being part of the display.

 

Sweet shop

Presented as Jubilee Confectioners, the two storey sweet shop opened in 1994 and is meant to represent the typical family run shops of the era, with living quarters above the shop (the second storey not being part of the display). To the front of the ground floor is a shop, where traditional sweets and chocolate (which was still relatively expensive at the time) are sold to visitors, while in the rear of the ground floor is a manufacturing area where visitors can view the techniques of the time (accessed via the arched walkway on the side of the building). The sweet rollers were sourced from a variety of shops and factories.

 

Bank

Presented as a branch of Barclays Bank (Barclay & Company Ltd) using period currency, the bank opened in 1999. It represents the trend of the era when regional banks were being acquired and merged into national banks such as Barclays, formed in 1896. Built to a three-storey design typical of the era, and featuring bricks in the upper storeys sourced from Park House, Gateshead, the Swedish imperial red shade used on the ground floor frontage is intended to represent stability and security. On the ground floor are windows for bank tellers, plus the bank manager's office. Included in a basement level are two vaults. The upper two storeys are not part of the display. It features components sourced from Southport and Gateshead

 

Masonic Hall

The Masonic Hall opened in 2006, and features the frontage from a former masonic hall sited in Park Terrace, Sunderland. Reflecting the popularity of the masons in North East England, as well as the main hall, which takes up the full height of the structure, in a small two story arrangement to the front of the hall is also a Robing Room and the Tyler's Room on the ground floor, and a Museum Room upstairs, featuring display cabinets of masonic regalia donated from various lodges. Upstairs is also a class room, with large stained glass window.

 

Chemist and photographer

Presented as W Smith's Chemist and JR & D Edis Photographers, a two-storey building housing both a chemist and photographers shops under one roof opened on 7 May 2016 and represents the growing popularity of photography in the era, with shops often growing out of or alongside chemists, who had the necessary supplies for developing photographs. The chemist features a dispensary, and equipment from various shops including John Walker, inventor of the friction match. The photographers features a studio, where visitors can dress in period costume and have a photograph taken. The corner building is based on a real building on Elvet Bridge in Durham City, opposite the Durham Marriot Hotel (the Royal County), although the second storey is not part of the display. The chemist also sells aerated water (an early form of carbonated soft drinks) to visitors, sold in marble-stopper sealed Codd bottles (although made to a modern design to prevent the safety issue that saw the original bottles banned). Aerated waters grew in popularity in the era, due to the need for a safe alternative to water, and the temperance movement - being sold in chemists due to the perception they were healthy in the same way mineral waters were.

 

Costing around £600,000 and begun on 18 August 2014, the building's brickwork and timber was built by the museum's own staff and apprentices, using Georgian bricks salvaged from demolition works to widen the A1. Unlike previous buildings built on the site, the museum had to replicate rather than relocate this one due to the fact that fewer buildings are being demolished compared to the 1970s, and in any case it was deemed unlikely one could be found to fit the curved shape of the plot. The studio is named after a real business run by John Reed Edis and his daughter Daisy. Mr Edis, originally at 27 Sherburn Road, Durham, in 1895, then 52 Saddler Street from 1897. The museum collection features several photographs, signs and equipment from the Edis studio. The name for the chemist is a reference to the business run by William Smith, who relocated to Silver Street, near the original building, in 1902. According to records, the original Edis company had been supplied by chemicals from the original (and still extant) Smith business.

 

Redman Park

Redman Park is a small lawned space with flower borders, opposite Ravensworth Terrace. Its centrepiece is a Victorian bandstand sourced from Saltwell Park, where it stood on an island in the middle of a lake. It represents the recognised need of the time for areas where people could relax away from the growing industrial landscape.

 

Other

Included in the Town are drinking fountains and other period examples of street furniture. In between the bank and the sweet shop is a combined tram and bus waiting room and public convenience.

 

Unbuilt

When construction of the Town began, the projected town plan incorporated a market square and buildings including a gas works, fire station, ice cream parlour (originally the Central Cafe at Consett), a cast iron bus station from Durham City, school, public baths and a fish and chip shop.

 

Railway station

East of the Town is the Railway Station, depicting a typical small passenger and goods facility operated by the main railway company in the region at the time, the North Eastern Railway (NER). A short running line extends west in a cutting around the north side of the Town itself, with trains visible from the windows of the stables. It runs for a distance of 1⁄4 mile - the line used to connect to the colliery sidings until 1993 when it was lifted between the town and the colliery so that the tram line could be extended. During 2009 the running line was relaid so that passenger rides could recommence from the station during 2010.

 

Rowley station

Representing passenger services is Rowley Station, a station building on a single platform, opened in 1976, having been relocated to the museum from the village of Rowley near Consett, just a few miles from Beamish.

 

The original Rowley railway station was opened in 1845 (as Cold Rowley, renamed Rowley in 1868) by the NER antecedent, the Stockton and Darlington Railway, consisting of just a platform. Under NER ownership, as a result of increasing use, in 1873 the station building was added. As demand declined, passenger service was withdrawn in 1939, followed by the goods service in 1966. Trains continued to use the line for another three years before it closed, the track being lifted in 1970. Although in a state of disrepair, the museum acquired the building, dismantling it in 1972, being officially unveiled in its new location by railway campaigner and poet, Sir John Betjeman.

 

The station building is presented as an Edwardian station, lit by oil lamp, having never been connected to gas or electricity supplies in its lifetime. It features both an open waiting area and a visitor accessible waiting room (western half), and a booking and ticket office (eastern half), with the latter only visible from a small viewing entrance. Adorning the waiting room is a large tiled NER route map.

 

Signal box

The signal box dates from 1896, and was relocated from Carr House East near Consett. It features assorted signalling equipment, basic furnishings for the signaller, and a lever frame, controlling the stations numerous points, interlocks and semaphore signals. The frame is not an operational part of the railway, the points being hand operated using track side levers. Visitors can only view the interior from a small area inside the door.

 

Goods shed

The goods shed is originally from Alnwick. The goods area represents how general cargo would have been moved on the railway, and for onward transport. The goods shed features a covered platform where road vehicles (wagons and carriages) can be loaded with the items unloaded from railway vans. The shed sits on a triangular platform serving two sidings, with a platform mounted hand-crane, which would have been used for transhipment activity (transfer of goods from one wagon to another, only being stored for a short time on the platform, if at all).

 

Coal yard

The coal yard represents how coal would have been distributed from incoming trains to local merchants - it features a coal drop which unloads railway wagons into road going wagons below. At the road entrance to the yard is a weighbridge (with office) and coal merchant's office - both being appropriately furnished with display items, but only viewable from outside.

 

The coal drop was sourced from West Boldon, and would have been a common sight on smaller stations. The weighbridge came from Glanton, while the coal office is from Hexham.

 

Bridges and level crossing

The station is equipped with two footbridges, a wrought iron example to the east having come from Howden-le-Wear, and a cast iron example to the west sourced from Dunston. Next to the western bridge, a roadway from the coal yard is presented as crossing the tracks via a gated level crossing (although in reality the road goes nowhere on the north side).

 

Waggon and Iron Works

Dominating the station is the large building externally presented as Beamish Waggon and Iron Works, estd 1857. In reality this is the Regional Museums Store (see below), although attached to the north side of the store are two covered sidings (not accessible to visitors), used to service and store the locomotives and stock used on the railway.

 

Other

A corrugated iron hut adjacent to the 'iron works' is presented as belonging to the local council, and houses associated road vehicles, wagons and other items.

 

Fairground

Adjacent to the station is an events field and fairground with a set of Frederick Savage built steam powered Gallopers dating from 1893.

 

Colliery

Presented as Beamish Colliery (owned by James Joicey & Co., and managed by William Severs), the colliery represents the coal mining industry which dominated the North East for generations - the museum site is in the former Durham coalfield, where 165,246 men and boys worked in 304 mines in 1913. By the time period represented by Beamish's 1900s era, the industry was booming - production in the Great Northern Coalfield had peaked in 1913, and miners were relatively well paid (double that of agriculture, the next largest employer), but the work was dangerous. Children could be employed from age 12 (the school leaving age), but could not go underground until 14.

 

Deep mine

Reconstructed pitworks buildings showing winding gear

Dominating the colliery site are the above ground structures of a deep (i.e. vertical shaft) mine - the brick built Winding Engine House, and the red painted wooden Heapstead. These were relocated to the museum (which never had its own vertical shaft), the winding house coming from Beamish Chophill Colliery, and the Heapstead from Ravensworth Park Mine in Gateshead. The winding engine and its enclosing house are both listed.

 

The winding engine was the source of power for hauling miners, equipment and coal up and down the shaft in a cage, the top of the shaft being in the adjacent heapstead, which encloses the frame holding the wheel around which the hoist cable travels. Inside the Heapstead, tubs of coal from the shaft were weighed on a weighbridge, then tipped onto jigging screens, which sifted the solid lumps from small particles and dust - these were then sent along the picking belt, where pickers, often women, elderly or disabled people or young boys (i.e. workers incapable of mining), would separate out unwanted stone, wood and rubbish. Finally, the coal was tipped onto waiting railway wagons below, while the unwanted waste sent to the adjacent heap by an external conveyor.

 

Chophill Colliery was closed by the National Coal Board in 1962, but the winding engine and tower were left in place. When the site was later leased, Beamish founder Frank Atkinson intervened to have both spot listed to prevent their demolition. After a protracted and difficult process to gain the necessary permissions to move a listed structure, the tower and engine were eventually relocated to the museum, work being completed in 1976. The winding engine itself is the only surviving example of the type which was once common, and was still in use at Chophill upon its closure. It was built in 1855 by J&G Joicey of Newcastle, to an 1800 design by Phineas Crowther.

 

Inside the winding engine house, supplementing the winding engine is a smaller jack engine, housed in the rear. These were used to lift heavy equipment, and in deep mines, act as a relief winding engine.

 

Outdoors, next to the Heapstead, is a sinking engine, mounted on red bricks. Brought to the museum from Silksworth Colliery in 1971, it was built by Burlington's of Sunderland in 1868 and is the sole surviving example of its kind. Sinking engines were used for the construction of shafts, after which the winding engine would become the source of hoist power. It is believed the Silksworth engine was retained because it was powerful enough to serve as a backup winding engine, and could be used to lift heavy equipment (i.e. the same role as the jack engine inside the winding house).

 

Drift mine

The Mahogany Drift Mine is original to Beamish, having opened in 1855 and after closing, was brought back into use in 1921 to transport coal from Beamish Park Drift to Beamish Cophill Colliery. It opened as a museum display in 1979. Included in the display is the winding engine and a short section of trackway used to transport tubs of coal to the surface, and a mine office. Visitor access into the mine shaft is by guided tour.

 

Lamp cabin

The Lamp Cabin opened in 2009, and is a recreation of a typical design used in collieries to house safety lamps, a necessary piece of equipment for miners although were not required in the Mahogany Drift Mine, due to it being gas-free. The building is split into two main rooms; in one half, the lamp cabin interior is recreated, with a collection of lamps on shelves, and the system of safety tokens used to track which miners were underground. Included in the display is a 1927 Hailwood and Ackroyd lamp-cleaning machine sourced from Morrison Busty Colliery in Annfield Plain. In the second room is an educational display, i.e., not a period interior.

 

Colliery railways

The colliery features both a standard gauge railway, representing how coal was transported to its onward destination, and narrow-gauge typically used by Edwardian collieries for internal purposes. The standard gauge railway is laid out to serve the deep mine - wagons being loaded by dropping coal from the heapstead - and runs out of the yard to sidings laid out along the northern-edge of the Pit Village.

 

The standard gauge railway has two engine sheds in the colliery yard, the smaller brick, wood and metal structure being an operational building; the larger brick-built structure is presented as Beamish Engine Works, a reconstruction of an engine shed formerly at Beamish 2nd Pit. Used for locomotive and stock storage, it is a long, single track shed featuring a servicing pit for part of its length. Visitors can walk along the full length in a segregated corridor. A third engine shed in brick (lower half) and corrugated iron has been constructed at the southern end of the yard, on the other side of the heapstead to the other two sheds, and is used for both narrow and standard gauge vehicles (on one road), although it is not connected to either system - instead being fed by low-loaders and used for long-term storage only.

 

The narrow gauge railway is serviced by a corrugate iron engine shed, and is being expanded to eventually encompass several sidings.

 

There are a number of industrial steam locomotives (including rare examples by Stephen Lewin from Seaham and Black, Hawthorn & Co) and many chaldron wagons, the region's traditional type of colliery railway rolling stock, which became a symbol of Beamish Museum. The locomotive Coffee Pot No 1 is often in steam during the summer.

 

Other

On the south eastern corner of the colliery site is the Power House, brought to the museum from Houghton Colliery. These were used to store explosives.

 

Pit Village

Alongside the colliery is the pit village, representing life in the mining communities that grew alongside coal production sites in the North East, many having come into existence solely because of the industry, such as Seaham Harbour, West Hartlepool, Esh Winning and Bedlington.

 

Miner's Cottages

The row of six miner's cottages in Francis Street represent the tied-housing provided by colliery owners to mine workers. Relocated to the museum in 1976, they were originally built in the 1860s in Hetton-le-Hole by Hetton Coal Company. They feature the common layout of a single-storey with a kitchen to the rear, the main room of the house, and parlour to the front, rarely used (although it was common for both rooms to be used for sleeping, with disguised folding "dess" beds common), and with children sleeping in attic spaces upstairs. In front are long gardens, used for food production, with associated sheds. An outdoor toilet and coal bunker were in the rear yards, and beyond the cobbled back lane to their rear are assorted sheds used for cultivation, repairs and hobbies. Chalkboard slates attached to the rear wall were used by the occupier to tell the mine's "knocker up" when they wished to be woken for their next shift.

 

No.2 is presented as a Methodist family's home, featuring good quality "Pitman's mahogany" furniture; No.3 is presented as occupied by a second generation well off Irish Catholic immigrant family featuring many items of value (so they could be readily sold off in times of need) and an early 1890s range; No.3 is presented as more impoverished than the others with just a simple convector style Newcastle oven, being inhabited by a miner's widow allowed to remain as her son is also a miner, and supplementing her income doing laundry and making/mending for other families. All the cottages feature examples of the folk art objects typical of mining communities. Also included in the row is an office for the miner's paymaster.[11] In the rear alleyway of the cottages is a communal bread oven, which were commonplace until miner's cottages gradually obtained their own kitchen ranges. They were used to bake traditional breads such as the Stottie, as well as sweet items, such as tea cakes. With no extant examples, the museum's oven had to be created from photographs and oral history.

 

School

The school opened in 1992, and represents the typical board school in the educational system of the era (the stone built single storey structure being inscribed with the foundation date of 1891, Beamish School Board), by which time attendance at a state approved school was compulsory, but the leaving age was 12, and lessons featured learning by rote and corporal punishment. The building originally stood in East Stanley, having been set up by the local school board, and would have numbered around 150 pupils. Having been donated by Durham County Council, the museum now has a special relationship with the primary school that replaced it. With separate entrances and cloakrooms for boys and girls at either end, the main building is split into three class rooms (all accessible to visitors), connected by a corridor along the rear. To the rear is a red brick bike shed, and in the playground visitors can play traditional games of the era.

 

Chapel

Pit Hill Chapel opened in 1990, and represents the Wesleyan Methodist tradition which was growing in North East England, with the chapels used for both religious worship and as community venues, which continue in its role in the museum display. Opened in the 1850s, it originally stood not far from its present site, having been built in what would eventually become Beamish village, near the museum entrance. A stained glass window of The Light of The World by William Holman Hunt came from a chapel in Bedlington. A two handled Love Feast Mug dates from 1868, and came from a chapel in Shildon Colliery. On the eastern wall, above the elevated altar area, is an angled plain white surface used for magic lantern shows, generated using a replica of the double-lensed acetylene gas powered lanterns of the period, mounted in the aisle of the main seating area. Off the western end of the hall is the vestry, featuring a small library and communion sets from Trimdon Colliery and Catchgate.

 

Fish bar

Presented as Davey's Fried Fish & Chip Potato Restaurant, the fish and chip shop opened in 2011, and represents the typical style of shop found in the era as they were becoming rapidly popular in the region - the brick built Victorian style fryery would most often have previously been used for another trade, and the attached corrugated iron hut serves as a saloon with tables and benches, where customers would eat and socialise. Featuring coal fired ranges using beef-dripping, the shop is named in honour of the last coal fired shop in Tyneside, in Winlaton Mill, and which closed in 2007. Latterly run by brothers Brian and Ramsay Davy, it had been established by their grandfather in 1937. The serving counter and one of the shop's three fryers, a 1934 Nuttal, came from the original Davy shop. The other two fryers are a 1920s Mabbott used near Chester until the 1960s, and a GW Atkinson New Castle Range, donated from a shop in Prudhoe in 1973. The latter is one of only two known late Victorian examples to survive. The decorative wall tiles in the fryery came to the museum in 1979 from Cowes Fish and Game Shop in Berwick upon Tweed. The shop also features both an early electric and hand-powered potato rumblers (cleaners), and a gas powered chip chopper built around 1900. Built behind the chapel, the fryery is arranged so the counter faces the rear, stretching the full length of the building. Outside is a brick built row of outdoor toilets. Supplementing the fish bar is the restored Berriman's mobile chip van, used in Spennymoor until the early 1970s.

 

Band hall

The Hetton Silver Band Hall opened in 2013, and features displays reflecting the role colliery bands played in mining life. Built in 1912, it was relocated from its original location in South Market Street, Hetton-le-Hole, where it was used by the Hetton Silver Band, founded in 1887. They built the hall using prize money from a music competition, and the band decided to donate the hall to the museum after they merged with Broughtons Brass Band of South Hetton (to form the Durham Miners' Association Brass Band). It is believed to be the only purpose built band hall in the region. The structure consists of the main hall, plus a small kitchen to the rear; as part of the museum it is still used for performances.

 

Pit pony stables

The Pit Pony Stables were built in 2013/14, and house the museum's pit ponies. They replace a wooden stable a few metres away in the field opposite the school (the wooden structure remaining). It represents the sort of stables that were used in drift mines (ponies in deep mines living their whole lives underground), pit ponies having been in use in the north east as late as 1994, in Ellington Colliery. The structure is a recreation of an original building that stood at Rickless Drift Mine, between High Spen and Greenside; it was built using a yellow brick that was common across the Durham coalfield.

 

Other

Doubling as one of the museum's refreshment buildings, Sinker's Bait Cabin represents the temporary structures that would have served as living quarters, canteens and drying areas for sinkers, the itinerant workforce that would dig new vertical mine shafts.

 

Representing other traditional past-times, the village fields include a quoits pitch, with another refreshment hut alongside it, resembling a wooden clubhouse.

 

In one of the fields in the village stands the Cupola, a small round flat topped brick built tower; such structures were commonly placed on top of disused or ventilation shafts, also used as an emergency exit from the upper seams.

 

The Georgian North (1825)

A late Georgian landscape based around the original Pockerley farm represents the period of change in the region as transport links were improved and as agriculture changed as machinery and field management developed, and breeding stock was improved. It became part of the museum in 1990, having latterly been occupied by a tenant farmer, and was opened as an exhibit in 1995. The hill top position suggests the site was the location of an Iron Age fort - the first recorded mention of a dwelling is in the 1183 Buke of Boldon (the region's equivalent of the Domesday Book). The name Pockerley has Saxon origins - "Pock" or "Pokor" meaning "pimple of bag-like" hill, and "Ley" meaning woodland clearing.

 

The surrounding farmlands have been returned to a post-enclosure landscape with ridge and furrow topography, divided into smaller fields by traditional riven oak fencing. The land is worked and grazed by traditional methods and breeds.

 

Pockerley Old Hall

The estate of Pockerley Old Hall is presented as that of a well off tenant farmer, in a position to take advantage of the agricultural advances of the era. The hall itself consists of the Old House, which is adjoined (but not connected to) the New House, both south facing two storey sandstone built buildings, the Old House also having a small north–south aligned extension. Roof timbers in the sandstone built Old House have been dated to the 1440s, but the lower storey (the undercroft) may be from even earlier. The New House dates to the late 1700s, and replaced a medieval manor house to the east of the Old House as the main farm house - once replaced itself, the Old House is believed to have been let to the farm manager. Visitors can access all rooms in the New and Old House, except the north–south extension which is now a toilet block. Displays include traditional cooking, such as the drying of oatcakes over a wooden rack (flake) over the fireplace in the Old House.

 

Inside the New House the downstairs consists of a main kitchen and a secondary kitchen (scullery) with pantry. It also includes a living room, although as the main room of the house, most meals would have been eaten in the main kitchen, equipped with an early range, boiler and hot air oven. Upstairs is a main bedroom and a second bedroom for children; to the rear (i.e. the colder, north side), are bedrooms for a servant and the servant lad respectively. Above the kitchen (for transferred warmth) is a grain and fleece store, with attached bacon loft, a narrow space behind the wall where bacon or hams, usually salted first, would be hung to be smoked by the kitchen fire (entering through a small door in the chimney).

 

Presented as having sparse and more old fashioned furnishings, the Old House is presented as being occupied in the upper story only, consisting of a main room used as the kitchen, bedroom and for washing, with the only other rooms being an adjoining second bedroom and an overhanging toilet. The main bed is an oak box bed dating to 1712, obtained from Star House in Baldersdale in 1962. Originally a defensive house in its own right, the lower level of the Old House is an undercroft, or vaulted basement chamber, with 1.5 metre thick walls - in times of attack the original tenant family would have retreated here with their valuables, although in its later use as the farm managers house, it is now presented as a storage and work room, housing a large wooden cheese press.[68] More children would have slept in the attic of the Old House (not accessible as a display).

 

To the front of the hall is a terraced garden featuring an ornamental garden with herbs and flowers, a vegetable garden, and an orchard, all laid out and planted according to the designs of William Falla of Gateshead, who had the largest nursery in Britain from 1804 to 1830.

 

The buildings to the east of the hall, across a north–south track, are the original farmstead buildings dating from around 1800. These include stables and a cart shed arranged around a fold yard. The horses and carts on display are typical of North Eastern farms of the era, Fells or Dales ponies and Cleveland Bay horses, and two wheeled long carts for hilly terrain (as opposed to four wheel carts).

 

Pockerley Waggonway

The Pockerley Waggonway opened in 2001, and represents the year 1825, as the year the Stockton and Darlington Railway opened. Waggonways had appeared around 1600, and by the 1800s were common in mining areas - prior to 1800 they had been either horse or gravity powered, before the invention of steam engines (initially used as static winding engines), and later mobile steam locomotives.

 

Housing the locomotives and rolling stock is the Great Shed, which opened in 2001 and is based on Timothy Hackworth's erecting shop, Shildon railway works, and incorporating some material from Robert Stephenson and Company's Newcastle works. Visitors can walk around the locomotives in the shed, and when in steam, can take rides to the end of the track and back in the line's assorted rolling stock - situated next to the Great Shed is a single platform for passenger use. In the corner of the main shed is a corner office, presented as a locomotive designer's office (only visible to visitors through windows). Off the pedestrian entrance in the southern side is a room presented as the engine crew's break room. Atop the Great Shed is a weather vane depicting a waggonway train approaching a cow, a reference to a famous quote by George Stephenson when asked by parliament in 1825 what would happen in such an eventuality - "very awkward indeed - for the coo!".

 

At the far end of the waggonway is the (fictional) coal mine Pockerley Gin Pit, which the waggonway notionally exists to serve. The pit head features a horse powered wooden whim gin, which was the method used before steam engines for hauling men and material up and down mineshafts - coal was carried in corves (wicker baskets), while miners held onto the rope with their foot in an attached loop.

 

Wooden waggonway

Following creation of the Pockerley Waggonway, the museum went back a chapter in railway history to create a horse-worked wooden waggonway.

 

St Helen's Church

St Helen's Church represents a typical type of country church found in North Yorkshire, and was relocated from its original site in Eston, North Yorkshire. It is the oldest and most complex building moved to the museum. It opened in November 2015, but will not be consecrated as this would place restrictions on what could be done with the building under church law.

 

The church had existed on its original site since around 1100. As the congregation grew, it was replaced by two nearby churches, and latterly became a cemetery chapel. After closing in 1985, it fell into disrepair and by 1996 was burnt out and vandalised leading to the decision by the local authority in 1998 to demolish it. Working to a deadline of a threatened demolition within six months, the building was deconstructed and moved to Beamish, reconstruction being authorised in 2011, with the exterior build completed by 2012.

 

While the structure was found to contain some stones from the 1100 era, the building itself however dates from three distinct building phases - the chancel on the east end dates from around 1450, while the nave, which was built at the same time, was modernised in 1822 in the Churchwarden style, adding a vestry. The bell tower dates from the late 1600s - one of the two bells is a rare dated Tudor example. Gargoyles, originally hidden in the walls and believed to have been pranks by the original builders, have been made visible in the reconstruction.

 

Restored to its 1822 condition, the interior has been furnished with Georgian box pews sourced from a church in Somerset. Visitors can access all parts except the bell tower. The nave includes a small gallery level, at the tower end, while the chancel includes a church office.

 

Joe the Quilter's Cottage

The most recent addition to the area opened to the public in 2018 is a recreation of a heather-thatched cottage which features stones from the Georgian quilter Joseph Hedley's original home in Northumberland. It was uncovered during an archaeological dig by Beamish. His original cottage was demolished in 1872 and has been carefully recreated with the help of a drawing on a postcard. The exhibit tells the story of quilting and the growth of cottage industries in the early 1800s. Within there is often a volunteer or member of staff not only telling the story of how Joe was murdered in 1826, a crime that remains unsolved to this day, but also giving visitors the opportunity to learn more and even have a go at quilting.

 

Other

A pack pony track passes through the scene - pack horses having been the mode of transport for all manner of heavy goods where no waggonway exists, being also able to reach places where carriages and wagons could not access. Beside the waggonway is a gibbet.

 

Farm (1940s)

Presented as Home Farm, this represents the role of North East farms as part of the British Home Front during World War II, depicting life indoors, and outside on the land. Much of the farmstead is original, and opened as a museum display in 1983. The farm is laid out across a north–south public road; to the west is the farmhouse and most of the farm buildings, while on the east side are a pair of cottages, the British Kitchen, an outdoor toilet ("netty"), a bull field, duck pond and large shed.

 

The farm complex was rebuilt in the mid-19th century as a model farm incorporating a horse mill and a steam-powered threshing mill. It was not presented as a 1940s farm until early 2014.

 

The farmhouse is presented as having been modernised, following the installation of electric power and an Aga cooker in the scullery, although the main kitchen still has the typical coal-fired black range. Lino flooring allowed quicker cleaning times, while a radio set allowed the family to keep up to date with wartime news. An office next to the kitchen would have served both as the administration centre for the wartime farm, and as a local Home Guard office. Outside the farmhouse is an improvised Home Guard pillbox fashioned from half an egg-ended steam boiler, relocated from its original position near Durham.

 

The farm is equipped with three tractors which would have all seen service during the war: a Case, a Fordson N and a 1924 Fordson F. The farm also features horse-drawn traps, reflecting the effect wartime rationing of petrol would have had on car use. The farming equipment in the cart and machinery sheds reflects the transition of the time from horse-drawn to tractor-pulled implements, with some older equipment put back into use due to the war, as well as a large Foster thresher, vital for cereal crops, and built specifically for the war effort, sold at the Newcastle Show. Although the wartime focus was on crops, the farm also features breeds of sheep, cattle, pigs and poultry that would have been typical for the time. The farm also has a portable steam engine, not in use, but presented as having been left out for collection as part of a wartime scrap metal drive.

 

The cottages would have housed farm labourers, but are presented as having new uses for the war: Orchard Cottage housing a family of evacuees, and Garden Cottage serving as a billet for members of the Women's Land Army (Land Girls). Orchard Cottage is named for an orchard next to it, which also contains an Anderson shelter, reconstructed from partial pieces of ones recovered from around the region. Orchard Cottage, which has both front and back kitchens, is presented as having an up to date blue enameled kitchen range, with hot water supplied from a coke stove, as well as a modern accessible bathroom. Orchard Cottage is also used to stage recreations of wartime activities for schools, elderly groups and those living with dementia. Garden Cottage is sparsely furnished with a mix of items, reflecting the few possessions Land Girls were able to take with them, although unusually the cottage is depicted with a bathroom, and electricity (due to proximity to a colliery).

 

The British Kitchen is both a display and one of the museum's catering facilities; it represents an installation of one of the wartime British Restaurants, complete with propaganda posters and a suitably patriotic menu.

 

Town (1950s)

As part of the Remaking Beamish project, with significant funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the museum is creating a 1950s town. Opened in July 2019, the Welfare Hall is an exact replica of the Leasingthorne Colliery Welfare Hall and Community Centre which was built in 1957 near Bishop Auckland. Visitors can 'take part in activities including dancing, crafts, Meccano, beetle drive, keep fit and amateur dramatics' while also taking a look at the National Health Service exhibition on display, recreating the environment of an NHS clinic. A recreation and play park, named Coronation Park was opened in May 2022 to coincide with the celebrations around the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II.

 

The museum's first 1950s terrace opened in February 2022. This included a fish and chip shop from Middleton St George, a cafe, a replica of Norman Cornish's home, and a hairdressers. Future developments opposite the existing 1950s terrace will see a recreation of The Grand Cinema, from Ryhope, in Sunderland, and toy and electricians shops. Also underdevelopment are a 1950s bowling green and pavilion, police houses and aged miner's cottages. Also under construction are semi-detached houses; for this exhibit, a competition was held to recreate a particular home at Beamish, which was won by a family from Sunderland.

 

As well as the town, a 1950s Northern bus depot has been opened on the western side of the museum – the purpose of this is to provide additional capacity for bus, trolleybus and tram storage once the planned trolleybus extension and the new area are completed, providing extra capacity and meeting the need for modified routing.

 

Spain's Field Farm

In March 2022, the museum opened Spain's Field Farm. It had stood for centuries at Eastgate in Weardale, and was moved to Beamish stone-by-stone. It is exhibited as it would have been in the 1950s.

 

1820s Expansion

In the area surrounding the current Pockerley Old Hall and Steam Wagon Way more development is on the way. The first of these was planned to be a Georgian Coaching Inn that would be the museum's first venture into overnight accommodation. However following the COVID-19 pandemic this was abandoned, in favour of self-catering accommodation in existing cottages.

 

There are also plans for 1820s industries including a blacksmith's forge and a pottery.

 

Museum stores

There are two stores on the museum site, used to house donated objects. In contrast to the traditional rotation practice used in museums where items are exchanged regularly between store and display, it is Beamish policy that most of their exhibits are to be in use and on display - those items that must be stored are to be used in the museum's future developments.

 

Open Store

Housed in the Regional Resource Centre, the Open Store is accessible to visitors. Objects are housed on racks along one wall, while the bulk of items are in a rolling archive, with one set of shelves opened, with perspex across their fronts to permit viewing without touching.

 

Regional Museums Store

The real purposes of the building presented as Beamish Waggon and Iron Works next to Rowley Station is as the Regional Museums Store, completed in 2002, which Beamish shares with Tyne and Wear Museums. This houses, amongst other things, a large marine diesel engine by William Doxford & Sons of Pallion, Sunderland (1977); and several boats including the Tyne wherry (a traditional local type of lighter) Elswick No. 2 (1930). The store is only open at selected times, and for special tours which can be arranged through the museum; however, a number of viewing windows have been provided for use at other times.

 

Transport collection

Main article: Beamish Museum transport collection

The museum contains much of transport interest, and the size of its site makes good internal transportation for visitors and staff purposes a necessity.

 

The collection contains a variety of historical vehicles for road, rail and tramways. In addition there are some modern working replicas to enhance the various scenes in the museum.

 

Agriculture

The museum's two farms help to preserve traditional northcountry and in some cases rare livestock breeds such as Durham Shorthorn Cattle; Clydesdale and Cleveland Bay working horses; Dales ponies; Teeswater sheep; Saddleback pigs; and poultry.

 

Regional heritage

Other large exhibits collected by the museum include a tracked steam shovel, and a coal drop from Seaham Harbour.

 

In 2001 a new-build Regional Resource Centre (accessible to visitors by appointment) opened on the site to provide accommodation for the museum's core collections of smaller items. These include over 300,000 historic photographs, printed books and ephemera, and oral history recordings. The object collections cover the museum's specialities. These include quilts; "clippy mats" (rag rugs); Trade union banners; floor cloth; advertising (including archives from United Biscuits and Rowntree's); locally made pottery; folk art; and occupational costume. Much of the collection is viewable online and the arts of quilting, rug making and cookery in the local traditions are demonstrated at the museum.

 

Filming location

The site has been used as the backdrop for many film and television productions, particularly Catherine Cookson dramas, produced by Tyne Tees Television, and the final episode and the feature film version of Downton Abbey. Some of the children's television series Supergran was shot here.

 

Visitor numbers

On its opening day the museum set a record by attracting a two-hour queue. Visitor numbers rose rapidly to around 450,000 p.a. during the first decade of opening to the public, with the millionth visitor arriving in 1978.

 

Awards

Museum of the Year1986

European Museum of the Year Award1987

Living Museum of the Year2002

Large Visitor Attraction of the YearNorth East England Tourism awards2014 & 2015

Large Visitor Attraction of the Year (bronze)VisitEngland awards2016

It was designated by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council in 1997 as a museum with outstanding collections.

 

Critical responses

In responding to criticism that it trades on nostalgia the museum is unapologetic. A former director has written: "As individuals and communities we have a deep need and desire to understand ourselves in time."

 

According to the BBC writing in its 40th anniversary year, Beamish was a mould-breaking museum that became a great success due to its collection policy, and what sets it apart from other museums is the use of costumed people to impart knowledge to visitors, rather than labels or interpretive panels (although some such panels do exist on the site), which means it "engages the visitor with history in a unique way".

 

Legacy

Beamish was influential on the Black Country Living Museum, Blists Hill Victorian Town and, in the view of museologist Kenneth Hudson, more widely in the museum community and is a significant educational resource locally. It can also demonstrate its benefit to the contemporary local economy.

 

The unselective collecting policy has created a lasting bond between museum and community.

Replacing an earlier digital photo with a better version 29-Apr-20.

 

Taken just a few months before the BKK airport code was transferred from Don Muang to the new Bangkok airport at Suvarnabhumi. Don Muang was re-coded DMK.

 

Operating for Siem Reap Air in this special 'Angkor Wat' livery.

 

Named: "Apsara".

 

First flown with the ATR test registration F-WWEV, this aircraft was delivered to Bangkok Airways as HS-PGK in Nov-01. It was wet-leased to Siem Rep Air on delivery in a special 'Angkor Wat' livery. The aircraft was returned to Bangkok Air in early 2010 and continued in service until it was stored at Bangkok-DMK in Sep-18. It was returned to ATR and stored at Toulouse-Francazal as F-WKVD in Dec-18. It remained in storage until it was leased to Sunlight Express Airways (Philippines) as RP-C6638. Current, updated (Apr-20).

Very small snowflakes produce a haze as ATSF GP60M 157 leads QNYLA1-23 through Galesburg Illinois, February of 1993. Rumor was that conventional A-B-B-A setups left no cabs to lead if the lead unit had to be replaced in route, so it was ordered all trains have at least two units facing forward. Copyright © Revenge Photography. All Rights Reserved.

Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a better version 06-Feb-22 (DeNoise AI).

 

Named: "Ahmose",

 

First flown in Nov-90 with the Airbus test registration F-WWAL, this aircraft was stored at Toulouse, France. It was delivered to Airbus Industries Asset Management and leased to EgyptAir as SU-GOW in Jul-91.

 

The aircraft was returned to AIAM in Sep-05 and sold to FedEx Federal Express as N728FD the same month. It was stored at Dresden, Germany awaiting cargo conversion.

 

It was converted to full freighter configuration with a main deck cargo door in Mar-06, The aircraft was withdrawn from service and stored at Victorville, CA, USA in Feb-20 and was thought to be permanently retired. However, it returned to service in Oct-20. Current, updated 19-Dec-24.

Howland Local Schools 28 - 2000 Thomas Saf-T-Liner MVP EF - Retired; Myers Equipment Corp. - Canfield, Ohio. Bus replaced a 1982 Wayne Chevrolet. One of originally three 2000 Thomas front-engines once in the fleet. All three hvae been retired. Bus has since been replaced with a used 2010 Blue Bird Vision. At the time of photography in 2002, bus was in for service.

Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a better version 02-Nov-18, plus Topaz DeNoise AI 27-Jan-25.

 

There were two B707 aircraft registered HS-TFS with Thai Flying Services which appear to overlap slightly. c/n 19519 was also registerd HS-TFS between Apr/Oct-99 (the above was c/n 19373).

 

Quite a long history, it didn't stay anywhere for very long!!! This aircraft was delivered to Pan American World Airways as N462PA in Dec-67. It was sold to ATASCO Leasing in Dec-76 and leased to Korean Air Lines as HL7427 in Feb-77.

 

Korean Air Lines was renamed Korean Air in Jun-84. It was sold to Tempair International Airlines in Oct-87 and sold on to Fast Cargo Airways (Iceland) as TF-IUE the following month. They didn't keep it long either as it was sold to GAS Air Nigeria as 5N-AWO in Dec-87.

 

The aircraft was sold to Regaline Jersey Ltd as 9G-ESI (Ghana) and leased to REAL Aviation in Jan-93. It returned to Regaline Jersey in May-93 and was sold to Imperial Cargo Airlines as 9G-EBK the following month.

 

It was sold to Summit Aviation in Oct-94 and sold to Trans Saharan Airlines in Oct-96. In Sep-97 it was sold to Al-Waha Aviation as 9G-SGF and leased to Sky Power Express Airways the following month.

 

The aircraft was returned to Al-Waha in Dec-98. It was sold to Thai Flying Services at the end of Sep-99 as HS-TFS and withdrawn from service in Apr-01 when it was stored at Southend, UK.

 

It was sold to Johnsons Air as 9G-JET (Ghana) in Dec-01 and leased to Tobruk Air (Libya ?) in Sep-02. The aircraft was returned to Johnsons Air in 2004 and was 'permanently retired' at Sharjah, UAE in 2005.

 

However, it was 'resurrected' in 2009 and registered J5-CGU (Guinea Bissau !) although, as far as I'm aware, it never left Sharjah.

Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a better version 20-Mar-22 (DeNoise AI).

 

First flown with the British Aerospace test registration G-6-197, this aircraft was delivered to East-West Airlines (Australia) as VH-EWS in Jun-91. It was transferred to Ansett Airlines in May-93.

 

Ansett suffered a financial crisis in Sep-01 and the aircraft was withdrawn from service and stored at Brisbane, QLD, Australia. Ansett Airlines continued a limited timetable using just A320's but ceased operations in Mar-02.

 

The aircraft was sold to Hemus Air (Bulgaria) and immediately leased to Albanian Airlines as ZA-MEV in Feb-03. Albanian Airlines ceased operations on 11-Nov-11 when the Albanian Civil Aviation Authority withdrew it's operating certificate. The aircraft was stored at Tirana, Albania in Nov-11 and eventually broken up.

replaced my clutch liner

The 502 re-designated as a Sandite unit is seen alongside the units that replaced the 502s themselves. it is now fast approaching the time that the 507s are to be replaced, and 2019 will see the gradual withdrawal of them after 40 years service.

Hall Road depot has long since been demolished.

 

A re-scanned image.

Replaced with full size image on 15 October 2006

Hotel Yalta

Yalta, Crimea

IMG_1051-03 (replaced 2023)

Replacing the usual Boeing 787-9.

Replacing an earlier digital photo with a better version 19-Jul-17.

 

Pulling off Runway 05L after an aborted takeoff , causing an aircraft on approach to 'go around' (I have no idea why!). It then rejoined the departure queue and eventually departed

 

This aircraft was delivered to American Airlines as N384AA in Aug-93. It was fitted with Blended Winglets at Tulsa, OK, USA in Feb-14. After 26 years in service with American the aircraft was withdrawn and stored at Roswell, NM, USA in Nov-19.

 

It was sold to CAM Cargo Aircraft Management Inc in Jan-20 and ferried to Tel Aviv, Israel in Feb-20 for cargo conversion. It was converted to freighter configuration with a main deck cargo door in Jul-20 and returned CAM in early Aug-20 when it was re-registered N.3.4.9.C.M.

 

It was due to be leased to ATI Air Transport International as N.4.7.9.A.Z and operated for Amazon Prime Air. However, the lease didn't happen and the aircraft was leased to AmeriJet International Airlines in late Sep-20. Current, updated 18-Jul-21.

Basement window replaced with plywood in downtown Poughkeepsie, New York.

 

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Replacing an earlier digital photo with a better version 09-Jan-22, plus DeNoise AI 18-Jan-22.

 

Diversion due to fog at London-Heathrow.

 

Named: "City of Chittagong".

 

First flown in May-96 with the Airbus test registration F-WWCB, this aircraft was delivered to Biman Bangladesh Airlines as S2-ADF in Aug-96.

 

The aircraft was damaged at Dhaka, Bangladesh on 22-Apr-04 during a severe storm when a Biman Fokker F.28-4000 (S2-ACV), parked next to the A310, was lifted 6 ft into the air and embedded it's nose in the lower forward fuselage of the A310. Both aircraft were repaired and returned to service.

 

The aircraft was permanently retired at Dhaka in Sep-16. It was broken up there in Nov-19.

Replaced the trans-dark blue facade from my original model with the trans-light blue found in the LEGO Architecture set.

Replacing an earlier digital photo with a better version 27-Oct-22.

 

First flown with the Airbus test registration D-AVZG, this aircraft was delivered to SABENA Belgian World Airlines as OO-SUB in Apr-99. SABENA ceased trading in Nov-01 and the aircraft was stored at Brussels, Belgium.

 

It was stored at Brussels for more than 4 years until it was sold to Nouvelair Tunisie as TS-IQB in Mar-05. In Apr-14 the aircraft was sold to a lessor and was originally due to be leased to Onur Air as TC-OEB, however the lease wasn't taken up and it was leased to Germania as D-ASTV later that month.

 

It was painted in an Alltours (German Tour Operator) logojet livery in May-14 and repainted into Germania's standard livery in Mar-15. Germania ceased operations in Feb-19, the aircraft was returned to the lessor and initially stored at Dusseldorf before being flown to Castellon de la Plana - Costa Azahar, Spain in Mar-19 for further storage.

 

It was re-registered OE-IDK in May-19 and permanently retired. It was broken up at Castellon de la Plana in Jan-20

Built on Ireland Street in the Victorian Alpine town of Bright, this red-brick 1884 Wesleyan Methodist church replaced an earlier 1860s Wesleyan Methodist church. Designed in Victorian Gothic style, the church is not unlike an English country church. Small, the church has an imposing bell tower, and steep spire at its eastern end, with four smaller spires on the corners of the tower. There are the typical pointed arch windows with small amounts of brightly painted stained glass around its edges and entry door, with brick flying buttresses. The foundation stone was laid on the 10th of March by Mrs. Worth.

 

Bright, a town in north-east Victoria, is situated in the Ovens Valley and is part of the Alpine Region of Victoria. 210 kilometres from Melbourne, Bright was one of the towns in the Ovens Valley where gold was discovered. Gold was found near the junction of Morses Creek and the Ovens River in the 1850s. Established in 1862 and named Bright, most likely after John Bright (1811 - 1889) an English publicist, reformer and parliamentarian the township thrived. With the Gold Rush in full swing, Bright soon had Catholic, Wesleyan and Presbyterian churches, schools, three hotels, three quartz mills and two bank branches. As the yield of gold declined in the 1870s, so too did Bright’s population, yet by the 1880s, it became an alpine tourism town. The Bright Alpine club was formed in 1887 and a community library was started there in 1889. In the following year Bright was connected by railway to Myrtleford and Wangaratta, bringing with it much needed tourists from Melbourne. In 1910 a grand chalet was opened at Mount Buffalo and Bright ran a hire car service for visitors, who often stayed there overnight at a hotel or guesthouse. In 1919 a secondary school was opened in Bright. It also had a tourist progress association and local angling, bowling, racing, tennis and golf clubs amongst its many attractions. By the mid 1920s the people of Bright began planting exotic trees partly for landscape improvement and partly to lay the summer dust. The street tree plantings produced extraordinary autumn colours. By 1933, Bright was described as the “Tourism Capital of the Ovens Valley”. Bright’s train line continued until 1983 when it was finally discontinued and replaced with coaches. By that time, it was a well established tourism town with people flocking there all throughout the year for different reasons. Bright is a base for exploring the peaks of Mount Buffalo National Park and Alpine National Park as well as Mount Hotham, a popular ski resort. Bright is a starting point for the Murray to Mountains Rail Trail, a hiking and cycling path. Bright Museum, in the town’s former train station, documents rail and gold rush history. The region is also known for wineries and of course its amazing display of autumnal foliage.

Some background:

The idea for a heavy infantry support vehicle capable of demolishing heavily defended buildings or fortified areas with a single shot came out of the experiences of the heavy urban fighting in the Battle of Stalingrad in 1942. At the time, the Wehrmacht had only the Sturm-Infanteriegeschütz 33B available for destroying buildings, a Sturmgeschütz III variant armed with a 15 cm sIG 33 heavy infantry gun. Twelve of them were lost in the fighting at Stalingrad. Its successor, the Sturmpanzer IV, also known by Allies as Brummbär, was in production from early 1943. This was essentially an improved version of the earlier design, mounting the same gun on the Panzer IV chassis with greatly improved armour protection.

 

While greatly improved compared to the earlier models, by this time infantry anti-tank weapons were improving dramatically, too, and the Wehrmacht still saw a need for a similar, but more heavily armoured and armed vehicle. Therefore, a decision was made to create a new vehicle based on the Tiger tank and arm it with a 210 mm howitzer. However, this weapon turned out not to be available at the time and was therefore replaced by a 380 mm rocket launcher, which was adapted from a Kriegsmarine depth charge launcher.

 

The 380 mm Raketen-Werfer 61 L/5.4 was a breech-loading barrel, which fired a short-range, rocket-propelled projectile roughly 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) long. The gun itself existed in two iterations at the time. One, the RaG 43 (Raketenabschuss-Gerät 43), was a ship-mounted anti-aircraft weapon used for firing a cable-spooled parachute-anchor creating a hazard for aircraft. The second, the RTG 38 (Raketen Tauch-Geschoss 38), was a land-based system, originally planned for use in coastal installations by the Kriegsmarine firing depth-charges against submarines with a range of about 3.000 m. For use in a vehicle, the RTG 38 was to find use as a demolition gun and had to be modified for that role. This modification work was carried out by Rheinmetall at their Sommerda works.

 

The design of the rocket system caused some problems. Modified for use in a vehicle, the recoil from the modified rocket-mortar was enormous, about 40-tonnes, and this meant that only a heavy chassis could be used to mount the gun. The hot rocket exhaust could not be vented into the fighting compartment nor could the barrel withstand the pressure if the gasses were not vented. Therefore, a ring of ventilation shafts was put around the barrel which channeled the exhaust and gave the weapon something of a pepperbox appearance.

 

The shells for the weapon were extremely heavy, far too heavy for a man to load manually. As a result, each of them had to be carried by means of a ceiling-mounted trolley from their rack to a roller-mounted tray at the breech. Once on the tray, four soldiers could then push it into the breech to load it. The whole process took 10 minutes per shot from loading, aiming, elevating and, finally, to firing.

There were a variety of rocket-assisted round types with a weight of up to 376 kg (829 lb), and a maximum range of up to 6,000 m (20,000 ft), which either contained a high explosive charge of 125 kg (276 lb) or a shaped charge for use against fortifications, which could penetrate up to 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) of reinforced concrete. The stated range of the former was 5,650 m (6,180 yd). A normal charge first accelerated the projectile to 45 m/s (150 ft/s) to leave the short, rifled barrel, the 40 kg (88 lb) rocket charge then boosted this to about 250 m/s (820 ft/s).

 

In September 1943 plans were made for Krupp to fabricate new Tiger I armored hulls for the Sturmtiger. The Tiger I hulls were to be sent to Henschel for chassis assembly and then to Alkett, where the superstructures would be mounted. The first prototype was ready and presented in October 1943. By May 1944, the Sturmtiger prototype had been kept busy with trials and firing tests for the development of range tables, but production had still not started yet and the concept was likely to be scrapped. Rather than ditch the idea though, orders were given that, instead of interrupting the production of the Tiger I, the Sturmtigers would be built on the chassis of Tiger I tanks which had already been in action and suffered serious damage. Twelve superstructures and RW 61 weapons were prepared and mounted on rebuilt Tiger I chassis. However, by August 1944 the dire need for this kind of vehicle led to the adaptation of another chassis to the 380 mm Sturmmörser: the SdKfz. 184, better known as “Ferdinand” (after its designer’s forename) and later, in an upgraded version, “Elefant”.

 

The Elefant (German for "elephant") was actually a heavy tank destroyer and the result of mismanagement and poor planning: Porsche GmbH had manufactured about 100 chassis for their unsuccessful proposal for the Tiger I tank, the so-called "Porsche Tiger". Both the successful Henschel proposal and the Porsche design used the same Krupp-designed turret—the Henschel design had its turret more-or-less centrally located on its hull, while the Porsche design placed the turret much closer to the front of the superstructure. Since the competing Henschel Tiger design was chosen for production, the Porsche chassis were no longer required for the Tiger tank project, and Porsche was left with 100 unfinished heavy tank hulls.

It was therefore decided that the Porsche chassis were to be used as the basis of a new heavy tank hunter, the Ferdinand, mounting Krupp's newly developed 88 mm (3.5 in) Panzerjägerkanone 43/2 (PaK 43) anti-tank gun with a new, long L71 barrel. This precise long-range weapon was intended to destroy enemy tanks before they came within their own range of effective fire, but in order to mount the very long and heavy weapon on the Porsche hull, its layout had to be completely redesigned.

 

Porsche’s SdKfz. 184’s unusual petrol-electric transmission made it much easier to relocate the engines than would be the case on a mechanical-transmission vehicle, since the engines could be mounted anywhere, and only the length of the power cables needed to be altered, as opposed to re-designing the driveshafts and locating the engines for the easiest routing of power shafts to the gearbox. Without the forward-mounted turret of the Porsche Tiger prototype, the twin engines were relocated to the front, where the turret had been, leaving room ahead of them for the driver and radio operator. As the engines were placed in the middle, the driver and the radio operator were isolated from the rest of the crew and could be addressed only by intercom. The now empty rear half of the hull was covered with a heavily armored, full five-sided casemate with slightly sloped upper faces and armored solid roof, and turned into a crew compartment, mounting a single 8.8 cm Pak 43 cannon in the forward face of the casemate.

 

From this readily available basis, the SdKfz. 184/1 was hurriedly developed. It differed from the tank hunter primarily through its new casemate that held the 380 mm Raketenwerfer. Since the SdKfz. 184/1 was intended for use in urban areas in close range street fighting, it needed to be heavily armoured to survive. Its front plate had a greater slope than the Ferdinand while the sides were more vertical and the roof was flat. Its sloped (at 47° from vertical) frontal casemate armor was 150 mm (5.9 in) thick, while its superstructure side and rear plates had a strength of 82 mm (3.2 in). The SdKfz.184/1 also received add-on armor of 100 mm thickness, bolted to the hull’s original vertical front plates, increasing the thickness to 200 mm but adding 5 tons of weight. All these measures pushed the weight of the vehicle up from the Ferdinand’s already bulky 65 t to 75 t, limiting the vehicle’s manoeuvrability even further. Located at the rear of the loading hatch was a Nahverteidigungswaffe launcher which was used for close defense against infantry with SMi 35 anti-personnel mines, even though smoke grenades or signal flares could be fired with the device in all directions, too. For close-range defense, a 7.92 mm MG 34 machine gun was carried in a ball mount in the front plate, an addition that was introduced to the Elefant tank hunters, too, after the SdKfz. 184 had during its initial deployments turned out to be very vulnerable to infantry attacks.

 

Due to the size of the RW 61 and the bulkiness of the ammunition, only fourteen rounds could be carried internally, of which one was already loaded, with another stored in the loading tray, and the rest were carried in two storage racks, leaving only little space for the crew of four in the rear compartment. To help with the loading of ammunition into the vehicle, a loading crane was fitted at the rear of the superstructure next to the loading hatch on the roof.

Due to the internal limits and the tactical nature of the vehicle, it was intended that each SdKfz. 184/1 (as well as each Sturmtiger) would be accompanied by an ammunition carrier, typically based on the Panzer IV chassis, but the lack of resources did not make this possible. There were even plans to build a dedicated, heavily armored ammunition carrier on the Tiger I chassis, but only one such carrier was completed and tested, it never reached production status.

 

By the time the first RW 61 carriers had become available, Germany had lost the initiative, with the Wehrmacht being almost exclusively on the defensive rather than the offensive, and this new tactical situation significantly weakened the value of both Sturmtiger and Sturmelefant, how the SdKfz 184/1 was semi-officially baptized. Nevertheless, three new Panzer companies were raised to operate the Sturmpanzer types: Panzer Sturmmörser Kompanien (PzStuMrKp) ("Armored Assault Mortar Company") 1000, 1001 and 1002. These originally were supposed to be equipped with fourteen vehicles each, but this figure was later reduced to four each, divided into two platoons, consisting of mixed vehicle types – whatever was available and operational.

 

PzStuMrKp 1000 was raised on 13 August 1944 and fought during the Warsaw Uprising with two vehicles, as did the prototype in a separate action, which may have been the only time the Sturmtiger was used in its intended role. PzStuMrKp 1001 and 1002 followed in September and October. Both PzStuMrKp 1000 and 1001 served during the Ardennes Offensive, with a total of four Sturmtiger and three Sturmelefanten.

After this offensive, the Sturmpanzer were used in the defence of Germany, mainly on the Western Front. During the battle for the bridge at Remagen, German forces mobilized Sturmmörserkompanie 1000 and 1001 (with a total of 7 vehicles, five Sturmtiger and two Sturmelefanten) to take part in the battle. The tanks were originally tasked with using their mortars against the bridge itself, though it was discovered that they lacked the accuracy needed to hit the bridge and cause significant damage with precise hits to vital structures. During this action, one of the Sturmtigers in Sturmmörserkompanie 1001 near Düren and Euskirchen allegedly hit a group of stationary Shermans tanks in a village with a 380mm round, resulting in nearly all the Shermans being put out of action and their crews killed or wounded - the only recorded tank-on-tank combat a Sturmtiger was ever engaged in. After the bridge fell to the Allies, Sturmmörserkompanie 1000 and 1001 were tasked with bombardment of Allied forces to cover the German retreat, as opposed to the bunker busting for which they had originally been designed for. None was actually destroyed through enemy fire, but many vehicles had to be given up due to mechanical failures or the lack of fuel. Most were blown up by their crews, but a few fell into allied hands in an operational state.

 

Total production numbers of the SdKfz. 184/1 are uncertain but, being an emergency product and based on a limited chassis supply, the number of vehicles that left the Nibelungenwerke in Austria was no more than ten – also because the tank hunter conversion had top priority and the exotic RW 61 launcher was in very limited supply. As a consequence, only a total of 18 Sturmtiger had been finished by December 1945 and put into service, too. However, the 380 mm Raketen-Werfer 61 remained in production and was in early 1946 adapted to the new Einheitspanzer E-50/75 chassis.

  

Specifications:

Crew: Six (driver, radio operator/machine gunner in the front cabin,

commander, gunner, 2× loader in the casemate section)

Weight: 75 tons

Length: 7,05 m (23 ft 1½ in)

Width: 3,38 m (11 ft 1 in)

Height w/o crane: 3,02 m (9 ft 10¾ in)

Ground clearance: 1ft 6¾ in (48 cm)

Climbing: 2 ft 6½ in (78 cm)

Fording depth: 3 ft 3¼ (1m)

Trench crossing: 8 ft 7 ¾ in (2,64 m)

Suspension: Longitudinal torsion-bar

Fuel capacity: 1.050 liters

 

Armour:

62 to 200 mm (2.44 to 7.87 in)

 

Performance:

30 km/h (19 mph) on road

15 km/h (10 miles per hour () off road

Operational range: 150 km (93 mi) on road

90 km (56 mi) cross-country

Power/weight: 8 hp/ton

 

Engine:

2× Maybach HL120 TRM petrol engines with 300 PS (246 hp, 221 kW) each, powering…

2× Siemens-Schuckert D1495a 500 Volt electric engines with 320 PS (316 hp, 230 kW) each

 

Transmission:

Electric

 

Armament:

1x 380 mm RW 61 rocket launcher L/5.4 with 14 rounds

1x 7.92 mm (0.312 in) MG 34 machine gun with 600 rounds

1x 100 mm grenade launcher (firing anti-personnel mines, smoke grenades or signal flares)

  

The kit and its assembly:.

This fictional tank model is not my own idea, it is rather based on a picture of a similar kitbashing of an Elefant with a Sturmtiger casemate and its massive missile launcher – even though it was a rather crude model, with a casemate created from cardboard. However, I found the idea charming, even more so because the Ferdinand/Elefant was rather a rolling bunker than an agile tank hunter, despite its powerful weapon. Why not use the same chassis as a carrier for the Sturmtiger’s huge mortar as an assault SPG?

 

The resulting Sturmelefant was created as a kitbashing: the chassis is an early boxing of the Trumpeter Elefant, which comes not only with IP track segments but also alternative vinyl tracks (later boxing do not feature them), and casemate parts come from a Trumpeter Sturmtiger.

While one would think that switching the casemate would be straightforward affair, the conversion turned out to be more complex than expected. Both Elefant and Sturmtiger come with separate casemate pieces, but they are not compatible. The Sturmtiger casemate is 2mm wider than the Elefant’s hull, and its glacis plate is deeper than the Elefant’s, leaving 4mm wide gaps at the sides and the rear. One option could have been to trim down the glacis plate, but I found the roofline to become much too low – and the casemate’s length would have been reduced.

 

So, I used the Sturmtiger casemate “as is” and filled the gaps with styrene sheet strips. This worked, but the casemate’s width created now inward-bent sections that looked unplausible. Nobody, even grazed German engineers, would not have neglected the laws of structural integrity. What to do? Tailoring the casemate’s sides down would have been one route, but this would have had created a strange shape. The alternative I chose was to widen the flanks of the Elefant’s hull underneath the casemate, which was achieved with tailored 0.5 mm styrene sheet panels and some PSR – possible through the Elefant’s simple shape and the mudguards that run along the vehicle’s flanks.

Some more PSR was necessary to blend the rear into a coherent shape and to fill a small gap at the glacis plate’s base. Putty was also used to fill/hide almost all openings on the glacis plate, since no driver sight or ball mount for a machine gun was necessary anymore. New bolts between hull and casemate were created with small drops of white glue. The rest of the surface details were taken from the respective donor kits.

  

Painting and markings:

This was not an easy choice. A classic Hinterhalt scheme would have been a natural choice, but since the Sturmelefant would have been converted from existing hulls with new parts, I decided to emphasize this heritage through a simple, uniform livery: all Ferdinand elements would be painted/left in a uniform Dunkelgelb (RAL, 7028, Humbrol 83), while the new casemate as well as the bolted-on front armor were left in a red primer livery, in two different shades (Humbrol 70 and 113). This looked a little too simple for my taste, so that I eventually added snaky lines in Dunkelgelb onto the primer-painted sections, blurring the contrast between the two tones.

 

Markings remained minimal, just three German crosses on the flanks and at the rear and a tactical code on the casemate – the latter in black and in a hand-written style, as if the vehicle had been rushed into frontline service.

 

After the decals had been secured under sone varnish the model received an overall washing with dark brown, highly thinned acrylic paint, some dry-brushing with light grey and some rust traces, before it was sealed overall with matt acrylic varnish and received some dirt stains with mixed watercolors and finally, after the tracks had been mounted, some artist pigments as physical dust on the lower areas.

  

Again a project that appeared simple but turned out to be more demanding because the parts would not fit as well as expected. The resulting bunker breaker looks plausible, less massive than the real Sturmtiger but still a menacing sight.

 

Hablingbo Church (Swedish: Hablingbo kyrka) is a medieval Lutheran church in Hablingbo on the Swedish island of Gotland, in the Diocese of Visby.

 

The earliest church at the site was a stave church, built in the early 12th century at the latest. It was later replaced by a Romanesque stone church, the tower of which still survives in the present building. The nave and choir were completely rebuilt during the 14th century to their present Gothic look. Few alterations have been made since. Several of the medieval furnishings have been removed and placed in museums, however. The altarpiece is Baroque in style and dates from the 1600s, and the pews are neo-Gothic, dating from the 1890s.

 

The church is one of the largest on Gotland. The nave has broad bays and high vaults and is unusually monumental. Typically for churches on the island, the choir lacks an apse.

 

The church has three richly carved portals set in the facade. The oldest is on the northern side and is probably a remnant of the older, Romanesque church. The sculpted decor dates from the 12th century and is a work by the anonymous artist Majestatis. It includes, among other things, one of the first known depictions of the Devil in Scandinavian art. The sculpted portal is considered one of the most interesting pieces of Romanesque art in present-day Sweden. The other portals are located on the south facade, and are later, Gothic pieces of sculpture. Especially the main portal displays a rich décor. The sculptures depict Christian themes, such as the life of Mary. The portals were probably made in the medieval workshop which is sometimes referred to as Egypticus.

 

Inside, there are remains of frescos from the 15th century in the choir. On a wall in the tower, there is also a painted Troy Town; here is also a gravestone located which probably predates the stone church. It is a Christian gravestone, carved with runes.

 

Sourcce: Wikipedia

________________________________________

Hablingbo kyrka är en kyrkobyggnad som tillhör Havdhems församling i Visby stift. Kyrkan som ligger på Sudret är en av Gotlands största kyrkor.

 

Kyrkan, som är uppförd av tuktad sandsten, består av ett tvåskeppigt långhus, smalare rakt avslutat kor i öster, kyrktorn i väster, samt en sakristia på korets nordsida. Ingångar finns på tornets västsida, långhusets nord- respektive sydsida samt på korets södra sida. Tornet från omkring 1200 är äldst och kvarstår efter en romansk kärnkyrka. Vid 1300-talets mitt byggdes det gotiska långhuset och koret. Sakristian uppfördes 1730. Koret är vitputsat, medan långhus och torn har frilagda murytor. Tornet kröns av en enkel pyramidformig huv, sannolikt lik den ursprungliga romanska, och har kolonnettförsedda ljudgluggar, en på varje sida. Långhuset och det lägre koret täcks av sadeltak. Långhuset har två spetsbågiga fönsteröppningar i söder, koret har ett spetsbågigt sydfönster och ett trekopplat fönster i öster. Vid långhusets uppförande återanvändes material från den romanska kyrkan bland annat reliefer från en rundbågsfris, vilka återfinns i sydmuren. Den norra portalen härstammar från den ursprungliga kyrkan och anses vara ett av landets märkligaste monument från romansk tid. Portalen har en reliefframställning av berättelsen om Kain och Abel och är utförd av den anonyme mästaren Majestatis under senare hälften av 1100-talet. Sydportalernas huggna omfattningar är troligen verk av "Egypticus"-verkstaden från 1300-talet; av särskilt intresse är långhusportalen med sina groteska ansiktsmasker. Långhuset täcks invändigt av sex kryssvalv, vilka uppbärs av två kraftiga kolonner med skulpterade kapitäl (stiliserade ansiktsmasker), också verk av "Egypticus"-verkstaden. Ringkammaren i väster har ett lågt romanskt kryssvalv. En vid, svagt spetsbågig muröppning leder till det kryssvälvda koret; här finns fragment av kalkmålningar troligen tillkomna vid 1400-talets mitt. Kyrkan har restaurerats 1891 samt 1956. Västläktaren uppfördes 1869 efter ritningar av A.W. Lundberg.

 

I ringkammaren står en bildsten med runinskrift från 1000-talet.

 

Dopfunten är från 1600-talet och ersatte en medeltida dopfunt vars svårt skadade fot finns kvar i kyrkan.

 

Altaruppsatsen av sandsten är utförd av bildhuggaren Peter van Eghen och hans son Gert van Eghen 1643.

 

Predikstolen från 1600-talets slut är möjligen tillverkad av Visbysnickaren Jochim Sterling.

 

Bänkinredningen är från 1891.

 

Orgeln är byggd 1866 av Per Larsson Åkerman i Stockholm, och är mekanisk.

 

Källa: Wikipedia

Sold for £ 1.600

 

The Jaguar Land-Rover Collection

Brightwells Auctions

Bicester Heritage

Buckingham Road

Bicester

Oxfordshire

England

March 2018

 

In late 1966, Ford unveiled the MkII Cortina, just four years after the original and highly successful MkI with a fresh squared-off look courtesy of Ford UK’s chief stylist Roy Haynes. A fraction wider and shorter than the MkI it replaced, it incorporated numerous improvements such as a tighter turning circle, more compliant suspension and most importantly, a lot more interior space.

 

A new five-bearing 1.300 cc engine and carry-over 1.500 cc unit were offered, capacity increasing further to 1.599 cc on the larger unit in August ’67 along with new crossflow heads for both. New models were badged 1300 or 1600 and were available as two- and four-door saloons in base, Deluxe and Super trim levels and not long much later, the roomy estate version joined the price list.

 

Produced in 1970, this MkII 1300 base spec estate is now a rare sight and will no doubt draw admiration and intrigue in equal dose wherever its taken. This four-owner car has formed part of a large private collection for many years and retains its delightfully original and simple interior featuring black leatherette seats. The history file contains nine old Mot certificates and a tax disc from 2013.

 

We are led to believe that it this one has been fitted with the more powerful 1.600 cc unit at some time in the past, although we ask that you make your own mind up as to what capacity engine is actually fitted.

 

It was last MOT’d in June 2012, at which time the recorded mileage was 7.652 miles which we can only assume to be 107.652. Judging by the Mot history the car was in regular, albeit limited use until its last Mot. Given that it has not been used for at least five or six years, we have not attempted to start it and would advise a service and thorough check-over before enjoying this classic estate life through the summer show season.

 

Enthusiasts from other countries never fully understand why we Brits get so excited about old Fords from this era, but they are economical, cheap to run and pleasant to drive, this lovely original Cortina just needs some regular exercise to keep it fit and healthy – don’t we all.

Boardman Local Schools 58 - 2020 Thomas Saf-T-Liner EFX; Myers Equipment Corp. - Canfield, Ohio. One of four new buses I ordered for the 2019-2020 school year. This is one of the four first new buses for Ohio purchased new with Alcoa rims from Myers. Bus replaced a 2005 Thomas Saf-T-Liner EF. Bus was washed at the time of photography.

***Replaced photo 12/30/2012***

 

"Finished" M78 by adding some subs yesterday. We'll call this V2.0. I was just happy to image again. The handbox is back from repair and the guiding worked ok. Soon I should receive a new filterwheel and I won't have to combat reflections and halos anymore. Also since I dismantled all the imaging gear the images were rotated 90 degrees and created havok with stacking & processing, resulting in a massive crop.

Added luminance and green subs. I don't think I will bin the subs anymore if possible

With the excuses out of the way..........

 

Images taken Nov 10,2012 & Dec 12,2012

 

Camera QHY9M

Telescope: Orion ED102CF

L-3x900 sec 2x2 bin

R- 3x900 sec 2x2 bin

G-3x900 sec 2x2 bin

B- 5x900 sec 2x2 bin

Acquired with Nebulosity 2. Dark frames subtracted and DDP applied to each channel

Post-Processed in Photoshop CS6

 

astrochuck.blogspot.com/

I had one SL1200Mk II lied in the storage.

 

The restoration involved a lot of job in changing power supply, replacing some electronics and cables, looking for some plastic spare parts and enclosure in ebay and most of all the major job repainting the body with toyota black mica.

 

The table is equipped with shure 97 needle.

Replacing an earlier scanned slide with a better version 30-Dec-15, plus Topaz DeNoise AI 25-Aug-25.

 

Named: "Srisubhan"

 

Originally built as an A300B4-2C and first flown in Jun-79 with the temporary French registration F-WZET. This aircraft was delivered to Thai International Airways as a standard A300B4-103 in Aug-79 as HS-TGP. It was sold to the Japan Leasing Corporation, re-registered HS-THP and leased back to Thai International in Feb-90.

 

It continued in service until it was returned to Japan Leasing in Dec-99 after 20 years in service. Japan Leasing sold it the same month to Avsa Sarl (Airbus). It was immediately sold on to DHL Airways as N362DH and stored at the British Aircraft Corporation airfield at Bristol-Filton, UK.

 

It was converted to freight configuration(A300B4-103(F)) at Bristol with a main-deck cargo door by Oct-00 and entered service with DHL Worldwide Express. DHL USA were renamed Astar Air Cargo in Jul-03. The aircraft was retired at Kingman, AZ, USA, in Jul-09. It was last noted still at Kingman in Oct-15!

 

However, the story doesn't end there. After a massive 13 years in storage at Kingman it was sold to TVPX Trust Services in Jul-22. It was another eight months before it got airborne and ferried to San Bernardino, CA, USA in Mar-23. A few days later the aircraft was sold to Aerostan, Kyrgyzstan as EX-30005.

 

It was ferried to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan on delivery in early Apr-23 and then to Jakarta-CGK, Indonesia for extended maintenance. It returned to Bishkek in Aug-23. The aircraft doesn't appear to have flown very often and according to Flightradar24 it last flew in Nov-24. It's now 46 years old and has risen from the dead once, I wonder if it'll return to service again? Miracles can happen!

 

The registration HS-TGP was re-used on a Thai International B747-4D7 in 1994.

Replacing an earlier digital photo with a better version 14-Feb-22.

 

This aircraft was delivered to TACA International Airlines (El Salvador) as N371TA in Jul-90. It was wet-leased to Freedom Air International (New Zealand) between Apr-96/Apr-97.

 

It was leased to VARIG Brasil as PP-VPF in Aug-97. TACA sold it to a lessor in Dec-99 while the lease to VARIG continued. It was returned to the lessor in Apr-06 and re-registered N371TA again in May-06.

 

The aircraft was leased to Hemus Air (Bulgaria) as LZ-HVB in Jun-06 and wet-leased to Bulgaria Air in May-07. It was returned to the lessor in Nov-10 and sold to Aurora Leasing as N919GF in Dec-10 and ferried to Miami, FL, USA.

 

By Apr-11 it had been converted to freighter configuration with a main deck cargo door and was leased to Airwork Flight Operations (New Zealand) as ZK-TLE later the same month. It was wet-leased to, and operated for, Toll Priority Freight in May-11.

 

The aircraft was returned to Airwork Flight Operations in Sep-20 and was stored at Brisbane, Australia. It was transferred to to Airwork Ireland as OE-IFE in Jan-21 and stored at Bucharest-Baneasa, Romania.

 

Now 32 years old the aircraft was due to be leased to Olympus Airways (Greece) in early 2021, however the lease was cancelled and the aircraft remained stored at Bucharest. It was returned to Airwork New Zealand as ZK-TLE in Mar-22 and returned to service.

 

It was withdrawn from use at Auckland, New Zealand in Jun-24 and ferried to Hamilton, NI, New Zealand in Jul-24 where it was permanently retired. Updated 14-Feb-26.

Replacing an earlier scanned slide with a better version 09-May-15, plus Topaz DeNoise AI 30-Jun-23.

 

Sneaky photo taken at Tripoli in 1969.

 

Built as a C-54A, this aircraft was delivered to the USAAF in Jun-44 as 42-72230. After the war, it was bought back by the Douglas Aircraft Company in Jun-46 and converted to civilian DC-4 standard (conversion No:23).

 

It was bought by Pan-Am in Mar-47 as N88922 'Clipper Radiant'. It was operated in Europe on Pan-Am's West German network connecting West Berlin to the rest of West Germany in the late 1940's and through the 1950's, being renamed 'Clipper Nurnberg' and later 'Clipper Dusseldorf'.

 

In Jun-60 it was sold to Balair, Switzerland, as HB-ILC. In Mar-63 it moved to the UK when it was sold to Air Ferry Ltd as G-ASFY. The aircraft served with Air Ferry until Nov-68 when it was bought by International Aviation Development as N3454 and sold on to LAVCO in Feb-69.

 

It was withdrawn from use at the old Hal Far Airport on Malta in 1979 and broken up soon after.

 

I also have a photo of this as G-ASFY with Air Ferry, taken at Liverpool UK in 1965. It's at www.flickr.com/photos/kenfielding/16627488625

I can remember the constructor when it was introduced replacing the Octopus ,Routeman, Bison super mastiff and Reiver a real exciting time in my young life at the time, then I found out about women and drink and I must admit I strayed a bit! he he. Well here I am 30 yrs later and I find My interest in constructors returning they are less trouble than women and much more reliable, allthough I havent completely given up on the drink, lol.

Setting sun going behind the trees

Original replaced 29 September 2024.

Replacing 11kV light section angle pole

Originally built as Penn Central 7868, then transitioned to Conrail 7868, now we're seeing this Geep as Norfolk Southern 2923. Since retired form the NS active roster, the GP38-2 worked for three railroads, and never missed a step.

Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a better version 10-Apr-14.

 

The Dassault Mercure was an oddball aircraft, similar to the B737-200 but bigger and heavier and a bit under powered. Only 12 were built for the French domestic market with a very short range, about 1,000miles/1,700km. Consequently it didn't sell outside France, everyone else went for the B737-200.

 

This particular aircraft was delivered to Air Inter as F-BTTC in Jul-74 and was permanently retired 20 years later at Paris-Orly, in late 1994.

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

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

  

The A-14 program originally started in 2005 as a private venture, initiated by Northrop-Grumman together with the Elbit Group as a joint venture through Elbit’s Texas-based aircraft division M7 Aerosystems, an approved supplier to major aerospace clients. The aircraft was intended to replace the USAF’s A-10 attack aircraft as well as early F-16s in the strike role from 2010 onwards. The time slot for the project turned out to be advantageous, because at that time the USAF was contemplating to replace the simple and sturdy A-10 with the much more complex F-35, eventually even with its VTOL variant, and the highly specialized F-117 was retired, too.

The A-14 revived conceptual elements of Grumman’s stillborn A-12 stealth program for the US Navy, which had also been part of the USAF’s plans to replace the supersonic F-111 tactical bomber, but on a less ambitious and expensive level concerning technology, aiming for a more effective compromise between complexity, survivability and costs. The basic idea was an updated LTV A-7D (the A-10’s predecessor from the Vietnam War era), which had far more sophisticated sensor and navigation equipment than the rather simple but sturdy A-10, but with pragmatic stealth features and a high level of survivability in a modern frontline theatre or operations.

 

M7 Aerosystems started on a blank sheet, even though Northrop-Grumman’s A-12 influence was clearly visible, and to a certain degree the aircraft shared the basic layout with the F-117A. The A-14 was tailored from the start to the ground attack role, and therefore a subsonic design. Measures to reduce radar cross-section included airframe shaping such as alignment of edges, fixed-geometry serpentine inlets that prevented line-of-sight of the engine faces from any exterior view, use of radar-absorbent material (RAM), and attention to detail such as hinges and maintenance covers that could provide a radar return. The A-14 was furthermore designed to have decreased radio emissions, infrared signature and acoustic signature as well as reduced visibility to the naked eye.

 

The resulting airframe was surprisingly large for an attack aircraft – in fact, it rather reminded of a tactical bomber in the F-111/Su-24 class than an alternative to the A-10. The A-14 consisted of a rhomboid-shaped BWB (blended-wing-and-body) with extended wing tips and only a moderate (35°) wing sweep, cambered leading edges, a jagged trailing edge and a protruding cockpit section which extended forward of the main body.

The majority of the A-14’s structure and surface were made out of a carbon-graphite composite material that is stronger than steel, lighter than aluminum, and absorbs a significant amount of radar energy. The central fuselage bulge ended in a short tail stinger with a pair of swept, canted fins as a butterfly tail, which also shrouded the engine’s hot efflux. The fins could have been omitted, thanks to the aerodynamically unstable aircraft’s fly-by-wire steering system, and they effectively increased the A-14’s radar signature as well as its visual profile, but the gain in safety in case of FBW failure or physical damage was regarded as a worthwhile trade-off. Due to its distinctive shape and profile, the A-14 quickly received the unofficial nickname “Squatina”, after the angel shark family.

 

The spacious and armored cockpit offered room for the crew of two (pilot and WSO or observer for FAC duties), seated side-by-side under a generous glazing, with a very good field of view forward and to the sides. The fuselage structure was constructed around a powerful cannon, the five-barrel GAU-12/U 25 mm ‘Equalizer’ gun, which was, compared with the A-10’s large GAU-8/A, overall much lighter and more compact, but with only little less firepower. It fired a new NATO series of 25 mm ammunition at up to 4.200 RPM. The gun itself was located under the cockpit tub, slightly set off to port side, and the front wheel well was offset to starboard to compensate, similar in arrangement to the A-10 or Su-25. The gun’s ammunition drum and a closed feeding belt system were located behind the cockpit in the aircraft’s center of gravity. An in-flight refueling receptor (for the USAF’s boom system) was located in the aircraft’s spine behind the cockpit, normally hidden under a flush cover.

 

Due to the gun installation in the fuselage, however, no single large weapon bay to minimize radar cross section and drag through external ordnance was incorporated, since this feature would have increased airframe size and overall weight. Instead, the A-14 received four, fully enclosed compartments between the wide main landing gear wells and legs. The bays could hold single iron bombs of up to 2.000 lb caliber each, up to four 500 lb bombs or CBUs, single laser-guided GBU-14 glide bombs, AGM-154 JSOW or GBU-31/38 JDAM glide bombs, AGM-65 Maverick guided missiles or B61 Mod 11 tactical nuclear weapons, as well as the B61 Mod 12 standoff variant, under development at that time). Retractable launch racks for defensive AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles were available, too, and additional external pylons could be added, e.g. for oversize ordnance like AGM-158C Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) or AGM-158 Joint Air to Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM), or drop tanks for ferry flights. The total in- and external ordnance load was 15,000 lb (6,800 kg).

 

The A-14 was designed with superior maneuverability at low speeds and altitude in mind and therefore featured a large wing area, with high wing aspect ratio on the outer wing sections, and large ailerons areas. The ailerons were placed at the far ends of the wings for greater rolling moment and were split, making them decelerons, so that they could also be used as air brakes in flight and upon landing.

This wing configuration promoted short takeoffs and landings, permitting operations from primitive forward airfields near front lines. The sturdy landing gear with low-pressure tires supported these tactics, and a retractable arrester hook, hidden by a flush cover under the tail sting, made it possible to use mobile arrested-recovery systems.

The leading edge of the wing had a honeycomb structure panel construction, providing strength with minimal weight; similar panels covered the flap shrouds, elevators, rudders and sections of the fins. The skin panels were integral with the stringers and were fabricated using computer-controlled machining, reducing production time and cost, and this construction made the panels more resistant to damage. The skin was not load-bearing, so damaged skin sections could be easily replaced in the field, with makeshift materials if necessary.

 

Power came from a pair of F412-GE-114 non-afterburning turbofans, engines that were originally developed for the A-12, but de-navalized and lightened for the A-14. These new engines had an output of 12,000 lbf (53 kN) each and were buried in blended fairings above the wing roots, with jagged intakes and hidden ducts. Flat exhausts on the wings’ upper surface minimized both radar and IR signatures.

 

Thanks to the generous internal fuel capacity in the wings and the fuselage, the A-14 was able to loiter and operate under 1,000 ft (300 m) ceilings for extended periods. It typically flew at a relatively low speed of 300 knots (350 mph; 560 km/h), which made it a better platform for the ground-attack role than fast fighter-bombers, which often have difficulty targeting small, slow-moving targets or executing more than just a single attack run on a selected target.

 

A mock-up was presented and tested in the wind tunnel and for radar cross-section in late 2008. The A-14’s exact radar cross-section (RCS) remained classified, but in 2009 M7 Aerosystems released information indicating it had an RCS (from certain angles) of −40 dBsm, equivalent to the radar reflection of a "steel marble". With this positive outcome and the effective design, M7 Aerosystems eventually received federal funding for the production of prototypes for an official DT&E (Demonstration Testing and Evaluation) program.

 

Three prototypes/pre-production aircraft were built in the course of 2010 and 2011, and the first YA-14 made its maiden flight on 10 May 2011. The DT&E started immediately, and the machines (a total of three flying prototypes were completed, plus two additional airframes for static tests) were gradually outfitted with mission avionics and other equipment. This included GPS positioning, an inertial navigation system, passive sensors to detect radar usage, a small, gyroscopically stabilized turret, mounted under the nose of the aircraft, containing a FLIR boresighted with a laser spot-tracker/designator, and an experimental 3-D laser scanning LIDAR in the nose as a radiation-less alternative to a navigation and tracking radar.

 

Soon after the DT&E program gained momentum in 2012, the situation changed for M7 Aerosystems when the US Air Force considered the F-35B STOVL variant as its favored replacement CAS aircraft, but concluded that the aircraft could not generate a sufficient number of sorties. However, the F-35 was established as the A-14’s primary rival and remained on the USAF’s agenda. For instance, at that time the USAF proposed disbanding five A-10 squadrons in its budget request to cut its fleet of 348 A-10s by 102 to lessen cuts to multi-mission aircraft in service that could replace the specialized attack aircraft.

In August 2013, Congress and the Air Force examined various proposals for an A-10 replacement, including the A-14, F-35 and the MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle, and, despite the A-14’s better qualities in the ground attack role, the F-35 came out as the overall winner, since it was the USAF’s favorite. Despite its complexity, the F-35 was – intended as a multi-role tri-service aircraft and also with the perspective of bigger international sales than the more specialized A-14 – regarded as the more versatile and, in the long run, more cost-efficient procurement option. This sealed the A-14’s fate and the F-35A entered service with U.S. Air Force F-35A in August 2016 (after the F-35B was introduced to the U.S. Marine Corps in July 2015). At that time, the U.S. planned to buy 2,456 F-35s through 2044, which would represent the bulk of the crewed tactical airpower of the U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps for several decades.

 

Since the A-14’s technology was considered to be too critical to be marketed to export customers (Israel showed early interest in the aircraft, as well as South Korea), the program was cancelled in 2016.

  

General characteristics:

Crew: 2 (pilot, WSO)

Length: 54 ft 11 1/2 in (16.78 m)

Wingspan: 62 ft 11 1/2 in (19.22 m)

Height: 11 ft 3 3/4 in (3.45 m)

Wing area: 374.9 ft² (117.5 m²)

Empty weight: 24,959 lb (11,321 kg)

Loaded weight: 30,384 lb (13,782 kg)

Max. takeoff weight: 50,000 lb (22,700 kg)

Internal fuel capacity: 11,000 lb (4,990 kg)

 

Powerplant:

2× General Electric Whitney F412-GE-114 non-afterburning turbofans

with 12,000 lbf (53 kN) thrust each

 

Performance:

Maximum speed: 630 mph (1,010 km/h, 550 kn) at 40,000 ft altitude /

Mach 0.95 at sea level

Cruise speed: 560 mph (900 km/h, 487 kn) at 40,000 ft altitude

Range: 1,089 nmi (1,253 mi, 2,017 km)

Ferry range: 1,800 nmi (2,100 mi, 3,300 km)

Service ceiling: 50,000 ft (15,200 m)

Rate of climb: 50,000 ft/min (250 m/s)

Wing loading: 133 lb/ft² (193 kg/m²)

Thrust/weight: 0.48 (full internal fuel, no stores)

Take-off run: 1,200 m (3,930 ft) at 42,000 lb (19,000 kg) over a 15 m (30 ft) obstacle

 

Armament:

1× General Dynamics GAU-12/U Equalizer 25 mm (0.984 in) 5-barreled rotary cannon

with 1,200 rounds (max. capacity 1,350 rounds)

4x internal weapon bays plus 4x external optional hardpoints with a total capacity of

15,000 lb (6,800 kg) and provisions to carry/deploy a wide range of ordnance

  

The kit and its assembly:

A major kitbashing project which I had on my idea list for a long time and its main ingredients/body donors already stashed away – but, as with many rather intimidating builds, it takes some external motivation to finally tackle the idea and bring it into hardware form. This came in August 2020 with the “Prototypes” group build at whatifmodellers.com, even though is still took some time to find the courage and mojo to start.

 

The original inspiration was the idea of a stealthy successor for the A-10, or a kind of more modern A-7 as an alternative to the omnipresent (and rather boring, IMHO) F-35. An early “ingredient” became the fuselage of a Zvezda Ka-58 stealth helicopter kit – I liked the edgy shape, the crocodile-like silhouette and the spacious side-by-side cockpit. Adding wings, however, was more challenging, and I remembered a 1:200 B-2A which I had turned into a light Swedish 1:72 attack stealth aircraft. Why not use another B-2 for the wings and the engines, but this time a bigger 1:144 model that would better match the quite bulbous Ka-58 fuselage? This donor became an Italeri kit.

 

Work started with the fuselage: the Ka-58’s engine and gearbox hump had to go first and a generous, new dorsal section had to be scratched with 1mm styrene sheet and some PSR. The cockpit and its glazing could be retained and were taken OOB. Under the nose, the Ka-58’s gun turret was omitted and a scratched front landing gear well was implanted instead.

 

The wings consist of the B-2 model; the lower “fuselage half” had its front end cut away, then the upper fuselage half of the Ka-58 was used as benchmark to cut the B-2’s upper wing/body part in two outer wing panels. Once these elements had been glued together, the Ka-58’s lower nose and tail section were tailored to match the B-2 parts. The B-2 engine bays were taken OOB and mounted next, so that the A-14’s basic hull was complete and the first major PSR session could start. Blending the parts into each other turned out to be a tedious process, since some 2-3 mm wide gaps had to be filled.

 

Once the basic BWP pack had been finished, I added the fins. These were taken from an 1:72 F-117 kit (IIRC from Italeri), which I had bought in a lot many moons ago. The fins were just adapted at their base to match the tail sting slope, and they were mounted in a 45° angle. This looks very F-117ish but was IMHO the most plausible solution.

 

Now that the overall length of the aircraft was defined, I could work on the final major assembly part: the wing tips. The 1:144 B-2 came with separate wing tip sections, but they proved to be much too long for the Squatina. After some trials I reduced their length by more than half, so that the B-2’s jagged wing trailing edge was kept. The result looks quite natural, even though blending the cut wing tips to the BWB turned out to be a PSR nightmare because their thickness reduces gently towards the tip – since I took out a good part of the inner section, the resulting step had to be sanded away and hidden with more PSR.

 

Detail work started next, including the cockpit glazing, the bomb bay (the B-2 kit comes with one of its bays open, and I kept this detail and modified the interior) and the landing gear, the latter was taken from the F-117 donor bank and fitted surprisingly well.

Some sensors were added, too, including a flat glass panel on the nose tip and a triangular IRST fairing under the nose, next to the landing gear well.

  

Painting and markings:

For a stealth aircraft and a prototype I wanted something subdued or murky, but not an all-black or -grey livery. I eventually settled for the rather dark paint scheme that the USAF applied to its late B-52Gs and the B-1Bs, which consists of two tones from above, FS 36081 (Dark Grey, a.k.a. Dark Gunship Grey) and 34086 (Green Drab), and underneath (FS 36081 and 36118 (Gunship Grey). The irregular pattern was adapted (in a rather liberal fashion) from the USAF’s early B-1Bs, using Humbrol 32, 108 and 125 as basic colors. The 108 turned out to be too bright, so I toned it down with an additional coat of thinned Humbrol 66. While this considerably reduced the contrast between the green and the grey, the combination looks much better and B-1B-esque.

 

The wings’ leading edges were painted for more contrast with a greyish black (Tar Black, Revell 09), while the landing gear, the interior of the air intakes and the open bomb bay became glossy white. The cockpit was painted in medium grey (Humbrol 140) and the clear parts received a thinned inner coating with a mix of transparent yellow and brown, simulating an anti-radar coating – even though the effect turned out to be minimal, now it looks as of the plastic parts had just yellowed from age…

 

After the initial livery had been finished the model received a black ink washing and some post-panel shading with slightly brightened variations of the basic tones (using Humbrol 79, 144 and 224). Decals were added next, an individual mix from various sources. The “Stars-and-Bars” come from a PrintScale A-7 sheet, most stencils come from an F-16 sheet.

After some more detail painting and a treatment with graphite on the metal areas (exhausts, gun port), the model was sealed with matt acrylic varnish (Italeri).

  

Batman’s next Batwing? Maybe, there’s certainly something fictional about this creation. But the “Squatina” turned out much more conclusive (and even pretty!) than I expected, even though it became a bigger aircraft than intended. And I am positively surprised how good the bodywork became – after all, lots of putty had to be used to fill all the gaps between parts that no one ever expected to be grafted together.

Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a (slightly) better version 18-May-16, plus Topaz DeNoise AI 18-Mar-24

 

Another photo taken from the International Office Centre at the end of Ringway Road (where the Emirates UK North offices were located). My longest lens at the time was a 200mm and this is a 'blow up' from a small image at maximum focal length. The only one I have of this aircraft in the full Airtours livery.

 

First flown with the Airbus test registration F-WWDU, this aircraft was delivered to Conair of Scandinavia as OY-CND in Sep-91. In Jan-94 Conair merged with Scanair to form Premiair.

 

In Feb-97 the aircraft was returned to the lessor and leased to Airtours International Airways as G-RDVE. Airtours was renamed MyTravel Airways in May-02.

 

In Dec-03 it was returned to the lessor and leased to WindJet (Italy) as I-LINH. It was due to return to the lessor in Jun-09 for lease to XL Airways France as F-GTHL but the lease was cancelled and the aircraft remained with WindJet.

 

It was returned to the lessor in Mar-10 and permanently retired at Chateauroux, France. It was broken up at Chateauroux in Sep/Oct-11.

Service 47 and 48 are to be withdrawn 01/11/15 with last day of operation being on 31/10/15 just as many other services will be the same day and be replaced with the new routes due to the New Bus Parntership.

Routes 47 48 from Herdings will be replaced with Route 56 Wybourn and 1A High Green, 75 and 76 will replace the Shiregreen end of the routes

Replacing an earlier digital photo with a better version 12-Jun-20.

 

First flown with the Boeing test registration N1786B, this aircraft was delivered to Boullioun Aviation Services and leased to Midway Airlines (USA) as N314ML in Jan-01. Midway ceased operations on '9/11', 11-Sep-01.

 

The aircraft was returned to the lessor and stored at Goodyear, AZ, USA later the same month. It was leased to the resurrected Midway Airlines in Dec-01 and repossessed by the lessor in Jul-02.

 

The aircraft was leased to Rio-Sul Servicios Linhas Aereas (Brasil) as PR-SAH in Aug-02 and returned to the lessor as N271CH in Mar-03. It was leased to Air-Berlin as D-ABAA in May-03 and returned to the lessor in May-11.

 

It was fitted with blended winglets in May-11 before being leased to Yakutia Airlines (Russia) as VQ-BLT in Jun-11. The aircraft returned to the lessor as N271AG in Jan-15 and was stored at Victorville, CA, USA.

 

It was sold to Southwest Airlines in Feb-16 and after maintenance, cabin refit and painting at Seattle-Everett it was re-registered N7882B in May-16 prior to service entry.

 

The aircraft was temporarily stored at Seattle-Everett in late Mar-20, due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. It returned to service in Mar-22. The aircraft was permanently retired at Coolidge, AZ, USA in Jan-25

Winter is coming - dark weather is replaced by frosty days and nights - frost bright days

Replacing a digital photo with a better version 29-Dec-22.

 

'Real Norwegian Edvard Munch' tail livery.

 

This aircraft was delivered to a leasing company and leased to Air Caledonie International (Aircalin) as F-ODGX in Jun-89. It was returned to the lessor in May-04.

 

It was immediately sold to Airwork (New Zealand) Ltd as ZK-PLU and leased to Palau Micronesia Air in Jul-04. Unfortunately it didn't stay long and was returned to Airwork (NZ) Ltd at the end of Dec-04 and stored at Christchurch, New Zealand in Jan-05.

 

The aircraft was leased to Norwegian Air Shuttle as LN-KKS in Apr-05. It returned to the lessor in May-12 and was permanently retired at Stuttgart, AR, USA. The registration was cancelled the same month.

 

I also have a shot of this with Aircalin at ...

www.flickr.com/photos/kenfielding/6237485227

In 1894 a competition was held for the 1900 Exhibition area. The Palais de l'Industrie from the 1855 World’s Fair was considered unfitting and was to be replaced by something new for the 1900 Exhibition. Architects had the option to do what they pleased (alter, destroy, or keep) with the Palais de l’Industrie. In the end, Charles Girault won the competition and built the Petit Palais as one of the buildings that replaced the Palais de l’Industrie.

The construction of the Petit Palais began on October 10, 1897 and was completed in April 1900. The total cost of the Petit Palais at the time of the construction was 400,000 pounds.

Inspiration:

Charles Girault largely draws on the late seventeenth and early eighteenth century French style for the Petit Palais. Additionally his work, such as the domed central porch and the triple arcade, has many references to the stables at Chantilly.

Plan of the Building:

View from the Eiffel Tower

Girault’s plan for the Petit Palais had minimal alterations from the design to the execution. The plan was original and fit perfectly in its given location. The Petit Palais is a trapezoid shape with its larger side as the main façade facing the Grand Palais. The building’s shape makes a semi-circular courtyard at the center.

 

HERE

THE GARDEN

The trapezoid shape of the Petit Palace forms an open area at the center of the building. This enclosed area creates a semicircular, peristyle courtyard. The architecture of the courtyard incorporated many different architectural elements.

The elegant courtyard is considered Beaux Arts style because of the “symmetrical composition” and “rich decoration in high relief”. Coupled columns made of pink Vosges granite and gilt-bronze encircle the courtyard and bordering covered gallery.

Although the courtyard is in the central part of the Petit Palais, one of the main structures of the Exhibition, its purpose was to provide visitors with a relaxing space apart from the busy Exposition.

 

For more informations:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petit_Palais

 

for the place:

wikimapia.org/#lang=en&lat=48.866207&lon=2.313749...

*******************************************************************************

“It is an illusion that photos are made with the camera…

they are made with the eye, heart and head.”

[Henry Cartier Bresson]

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Please don't use any of my images on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit written permission.

© All rights reserved

Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a better version 03-Feb-17.

 

Fleet No: "934".

 

First flown with the Airbus test registration F-WWYC, this aircraft was delivered to Air Canada as C-GFUR in Jun-00. Current, updated Feb-21.

Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a better version, plus Topaz DeNoise AI 19-Jan-24. The negative was very badly 'yellowed', sadly I haven't been able to remove it all.

 

This aircraft was delivered to the GPA Group Ltd (later to become GECAS) and leased to Cayman Airways as VR-CAB in Oct-89. It was returned to the lessor in Feb-92 and leased to Istanbul Airlines as TC-ACA the following month.

 

Istanbul Airlines ceased operations in Aug-00 and the aircraft was repossessed by the lessor, re-registered N519AP and stored at Fayetteville, AR, USA in Sep-00.

 

It was due to be leased to Royal Airlines, (Canada) in Mar-01 but the lease wasn't taken up. It was leased to Skynet Airlines (skynet,aero) as EI-CZK in Jan-03. Skynet ceased operations in May-04 and the aircraft was returned to the lessor and stored.

 

In Jul-04 it was leased to Transaero Airlines (Russia). Transaero ceased operations in Oct-15 and the aircraft returned to the lessor and was stored at Moscow-Vnukovo. It was sold to LG Aviation Inc as N826LG in Feb-17 and remained in storage at Vnukovo.

 

The aircraft was ferried to Greenville-Donaldson Centre, SC, USA for further storage in Oct-17. It was sold to FX Aviation Capital in Apr-18, then sold to CF Aviation Trust in Jul-18 and re-registered N422CF in Aug-18. it remains stored at Greenville-Donaldson, SC, USA.

 

It was sold to TVPX Trust Services in Nov-19. Now over 34 years old, the aircraft has been stored for more than 8 years and I don't think it will be flying again. Permanently retired? Updated 19-Jan-24.

Replaces an earlier photo; cropped out the extraneous cosmetic infrastructure to generate a bigger photo with better detail.

 

I replaced it . This is after my new edit. On the old one I uploaded earlier today, the quality sucked ass on the left side, so I spent like 20 minutes or so on the retouching part on iPhoto...it took to effing long...but it's worth it :) I know it's not perfect...'cause I don't wanna spend like an hour on it...but it's way better :)

 

Enjoy :)

   

On black

 

Twitter | Formspring

Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a better version 10-May-20, plus Topaz DeNoise AI 17-Feb-22

 

'Commuter' titles replaced with the web address with a large red 'dot'.

 

Named: "Cormac / St. Cormac".

 

First flown with the British Aerospace test registration G-6-169 in May-90, this aircraft was due for lease to Discovery Airways (USA) as N887DV but the lease was cancelled and it was registered to B.Ae in Jul-90 as G-BSNS instead.

 

It was transferred to British Aerospace Inc as N887DV in Dec-90 but reverted to G-BSNS with Trident Aviation Leasing in Jun-91.

 

The aircraft was leased to Meridiana Air (Spain) in Aug-91 with the temporary Spanish registration EC-839, becoming EC-FHU in Jan-92. It returned to Trident Aviation Leasing as G-BSNS in Sep-92 and was stored at East Midlands, UK.

 

It remained stored until it was leased to Air UK in Oct-94. Air UK was renamed KLM UK in Apr-99. The aircraft was leased to KLM 'low-cost' subsidiary 'Buzz' (UK) in Jan-00 and returned to KLM UK and the lessor the following month.

 

In Jul-00 the aircraft was leased to Aer Lingus as EI-CTN in Jul-00 and carried additional 'Commuter' titles until it was replaced by the big red 'dot' in their 'aerlingus 'dot' com' sales campaign to get passengers to book online.

 

It returned to the lessor in Oct-03 and was stored at Southend, UK. The aircraft was re-registered G-BSNS again in Jan-04 prior to lease to Flightline (UK) in Aug-04.

 

It returned to the lessor in Mar-05 and was leased to Air Dolomiti (Italy) as I-ADJG in May-05 until it returned to the lessor as G-BSNS in Aug-09.

 

In Oct-09 it was sold to Fair Aviation (South Africa) as ZS-SMO. It was wet-leased to Intair Iles (Comores) between Jan/May-12 and then to Starbow Airlines between May/Aug-12.

 

The B.Ae 146 is no longer in operation but I have no date when it was retired. No further info. Updated 21-Jul-24.