Class 43 British Locomotives.
Please do not get upset, when I refer to these engines by that class. Because with the reclassification we tend to associate 43 as the old Warship engines.
The HST (High speed train) came out of the experimental class of advanced tilt technology and the 125 intercity was Britain's first high speed diesel a successful leap into the future.These were the first steps into the concept of the Channel tunnel trains or Eurostar.
These HST were built by BREL/PAXMAN at Crew works between 1975 to 1982, they are powered by MTU engine of 1565kW, 2250hp at 1500 rpm. Weight was 70.25 ton, with a top speed of 125mph. Continuous traction speed is just over 64 mph.
Since then they have been rebuilt to give them at least another forty years running life and in that process were re-numbered. Officially they are now Class 43/2.
They are much liked and remain a quality high speed train. They also carry many famous name plates and several have been fitted with cameras for work as departmental measuring train.
Tuesday 29 April 2014
Tuesday 22 April 2014
Embraer.
A success Story.
Today we associate Embraer with their quality ERJ family of commercial aircraft, which are employed across the globe and many airlines. There are also various private versions of these jets, which have become a stop gap in larger fleets.
This is all down to good Brazillian business marketing sense, allowing Embraer to take away business from the big boys Airbus, Boeing and the Russians. this was first achieved with the introduction of a small business jet. Now the Brazillians could show off at Internatioal airshows in Europe.
On the other hand Embraer started with propeller driven aircraft and made a major breakthrough with its EMB series, the EBM-111 Survielance/Maritime Reconnassaince and the EMB-312 Tucano counter-insurgency/Trainer.
Israel and Britain being respective buyers of the types, probably boosted ideas, design and so it goes on. Brazil has had an aviation industry since the 1920's and was enabled to maintain various types that were purchased since, so they had gained much experience.
Today we associate Embraer with their quality ERJ family of commercial aircraft, which are employed across the globe and many airlines. There are also various private versions of these jets, which have become a stop gap in larger fleets.
This is all down to good Brazillian business marketing sense, allowing Embraer to take away business from the big boys Airbus, Boeing and the Russians. this was first achieved with the introduction of a small business jet. Now the Brazillians could show off at Internatioal airshows in Europe.
On the other hand Embraer started with propeller driven aircraft and made a major breakthrough with its EMB series, the EBM-111 Survielance/Maritime Reconnassaince and the EMB-312 Tucano counter-insurgency/Trainer.
Israel and Britain being respective buyers of the types, probably boosted ideas, design and so it goes on. Brazil has had an aviation industry since the 1920's and was enabled to maintain various types that were purchased since, so they had gained much experience.
Tuesday 15 April 2014
Telescopic Cranes.
Construction to Recovery.
The building industry and the recovery business needs these monster cranes to fit into awkward places to work. In all the big cities around the world you will find these telescopic cranes at work, from loading or unloading construction materials to lifting segments of other cranes, wall section, glass and so it goes on.
Meanwhile in recovery they can deal with de-railed trains, tankers and other stock and there are various other uses for them too. The crane is one thing and it is quite simple in its development and use, but it has to be the trucks used to carry the equipment that are an awesome sight.
It was the design of military heavy transporters that has lead to the 8X8 and even bigger vehicles being used. For now we will just touch upon an few models, but in the future i hope to have a more lengthy or detailed look.
The Czech Tatra T816-6, American HEMTT, German Faun Fs 42.75/42, Mercedes-Benz 4850A, Russian MAZ-537.
The building industry and the recovery business needs these monster cranes to fit into awkward places to work. In all the big cities around the world you will find these telescopic cranes at work, from loading or unloading construction materials to lifting segments of other cranes, wall section, glass and so it goes on.
Meanwhile in recovery they can deal with de-railed trains, tankers and other stock and there are various other uses for them too. The crane is one thing and it is quite simple in its development and use, but it has to be the trucks used to carry the equipment that are an awesome sight.
It was the design of military heavy transporters that has lead to the 8X8 and even bigger vehicles being used. For now we will just touch upon an few models, but in the future i hope to have a more lengthy or detailed look.
The Czech Tatra T816-6, American HEMTT, German Faun Fs 42.75/42, Mercedes-Benz 4850A, Russian MAZ-537.
Tuesday 8 April 2014
Hovercraft. Part-One.
A British Invention.
Sadly the 'Hoverspeed hovercraft Saunders-Roe SR.N4 Mk3 Mountbatten Class came to a demise with the completion of the Channel Tunnel. This vessel weighed 200 tons, travelled at 70 knots and carried 20,450 litres of fuel. She was powered by four Rolls-Royce Marine Proteus gas turbines and carried 282 passengers and 37 cars.
As a child it was always my ambition to travel on that particular craft to Calais and back, just for the experience.
The Hovercraft began with Sir. Christopher Cockerill in the 1950's and by 1956 aircushon sea vehicles were in commercial service.
Twenty five years ago I got the opportunity to travel to the isle of Wight and then enjoyed travelling on a much smaller craft. It was a bumpy ride across the Solent, but nice to be flying so low to the sea.
That is what the hovercraft does and they are still popular today around the world as they ever were. The RNLI have a few employed in large sandy areas of Britain to rescue those who get stuck in quicksand.
Sadly the 'Hoverspeed hovercraft Saunders-Roe SR.N4 Mk3 Mountbatten Class came to a demise with the completion of the Channel Tunnel. This vessel weighed 200 tons, travelled at 70 knots and carried 20,450 litres of fuel. She was powered by four Rolls-Royce Marine Proteus gas turbines and carried 282 passengers and 37 cars.
As a child it was always my ambition to travel on that particular craft to Calais and back, just for the experience.
The Hovercraft began with Sir. Christopher Cockerill in the 1950's and by 1956 aircushon sea vehicles were in commercial service.
Twenty five years ago I got the opportunity to travel to the isle of Wight and then enjoyed travelling on a much smaller craft. It was a bumpy ride across the Solent, but nice to be flying so low to the sea.
That is what the hovercraft does and they are still popular today around the world as they ever were. The RNLI have a few employed in large sandy areas of Britain to rescue those who get stuck in quicksand.
Tuesday 1 April 2014
Time Machines.
Travelling into the Future.
The Science-fiction writer H.G. Wells was the first to propose the idea of 'a time machine' and since then the idea has spread into many other sci-fi books and films. Wells machine went forward to see a bleak future for humanity, with machines taking over from man.
Meanwhile in the Star Trek series time is played with to a point where it becomes ridiculous. Back to the Future, is more of a comedy and several other film concepts have off-shot from this one.
In the Stargate SG-1 world we are dealing with dimensional universes and ancient technologies and again there has been various off-shoots, such as the short lived Atlantis. These are then part of the perhaps best known.
But is it possible in reality, the answer in current science is No. Time is continuous and we only can see the past events in our universe, because of the time it has taken light to travel to us.
Perhaps one day in say' 500 years from now, if we are still here and can go faster than light we might find a planet, where we could observe light coming from our own sun???
The Science-fiction writer H.G. Wells was the first to propose the idea of 'a time machine' and since then the idea has spread into many other sci-fi books and films. Wells machine went forward to see a bleak future for humanity, with machines taking over from man.
Meanwhile in the Star Trek series time is played with to a point where it becomes ridiculous. Back to the Future, is more of a comedy and several other film concepts have off-shot from this one.
In the Stargate SG-1 world we are dealing with dimensional universes and ancient technologies and again there has been various off-shoots, such as the short lived Atlantis. These are then part of the perhaps best known.
But is it possible in reality, the answer in current science is No. Time is continuous and we only can see the past events in our universe, because of the time it has taken light to travel to us.
Perhaps one day in say' 500 years from now, if we are still here and can go faster than light we might find a planet, where we could observe light coming from our own sun???
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