Saturday, February 15, 2025

Unreal, nothing else is online about this to corroborate the story in this cartoon, it might be real, or made up for humorous effect



FAMOUS railroad train artist Howard Fogg, who I just learned was a graduate of the Chicago Art Institute, and then was a long range fighter escort pilot with the 359th Fighter Group between October 1943 and September 1944 based at Station 133 northeast of London prior to his distinguished career of 6 decades as the world’s foremost railroad artist of some 1,200 paintings, and often saw him referred to as the dean of American railroad artists.

Fogg flew a total of 76 missions in both bomber escort and ground attack roles. 



While he flew several P-47 Thunderbolts and P-51 Mustangs, his last P-51, “Moose Nose” was his favorite, as expressed in the book Fogg in the Cockpit: “Test hopped Moose Nose… she is the best 51 I’ve flown. Terrific smooth power, 55”, 2800 RPM, 340 IAS at 2,000 feet. Really swell”.




In addition to his primary role of flying bomber protection and engaging in ground attacks, which included the strafing of many German locomotives and trains, he served for a period of time plotting missions while on Detached Service to Group, often going straight from the plotting room to the cockpit. After leading a spotter flight on June 10, 1944, Captain Fogg suggested an improved procedure that was quickly adopted by Wing Intelligence and became part of the 8th Fighter Command Field Orders.




After escorting B-17s flying down a valley in the snow capped French Alps as they dropped supplies to French freedom fighters in the war, he met Lawrence Olivier and Vivien Leigh backstage in a London theater. He kept a dairy that his kids made into a book "Fogg in the Cockpit, the Wartime Diary of Captain Howard Fogg"


Helen Moore, the Tea Wagon's effervescent, cheerful, kind and always pleasant operator at Station F-133


She wrote an article about her experience distributing from 30 to 40 gallons of tea daily https://fogginthecockpit.blogspot.com/2011/09/no-wonder-english-drink-tea.html  with the van donated to the British War Relief Fund by Mr. and Mrs. Walter A. Haas from San Francisco

The Depot Hotel in Reno, Nevada (railway station for the Central Pacific Railroad and the Virginia and Truckee Railroad)


The Great Fire of 1879 obliterated the building, but a grander, three-story hotel with 47 rooms, a bar, and railroad offices rose in its place. Tragically, the Depot Hotel met its final demise in 1889, with the CPRR opting to replace it with a modest single-story brick station instead.

The “Inyo”, #22, then owned by Paramount, and the #25, then owned by R-K-O




 https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=4028682230787280&set=pcb.9094904330547142

If there ever was an image that shows just how gorgeous engines of the 1870s were, it's this.

 https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=122159687792308066&set=pcb.122159687864308066

Denver and Rio Grande Western 168

 https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=592011033692703&set=a.113759544851190

Lighthouse design for a gas station in 1928. Invented by Robert E. Smith.

 https://patentroom.com/architecture/patents/lighthousefillingstation.html

In the 1940s and 1950s, Marx became the greatest toy manufacturer in the world, the most innovative and influential toy makers of the 20th century, but this is the first I've learned of the roller skates they patented

 

for the post about the toyshttps://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2023/11/the-louis-marx-company-of-new-york-city.html 

https://patentroom.com/node/643

In 1986, the Demou father and son duo bought an abandoned Sterling Streamliner (In 1978, it was the first ever diner to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places.) and moved it to its current location on East Avenue in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. (thank you JS for tipping me to the Stickney streamlined design of diners!)


It is believed that 16 of the the famous Sterling Streamliner diners were produced by J. B. Judkins Co. of Merrimac, MA. (1857-1942) between 1939 and 1942. Sterling bought the design from Roland L. Stickney in 1939.

 Stickney was a REALLY good illustrator that I posted about, and showed a lot of his car catalog art in Mar 2023 https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2023/03/roland-stickney-was-premier-illustrator.html

The first produced was a prototype and did not have a name fired into the porcelain enamel panel on either side of the front door, as was the standard. The shortest ever produced was 41.5 ft. long, and the longest 54.5 ft. long. 

 At least one is known to have been in production around the time of the bombing of Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. 


Production of diners ceased immediately after the US declaration of war. The Judkins company closed its shops in 1942 and all buildings (offices and manufacturing) were sold and later demolished. The last Streamliner diner was never completed but sat outside the Judkins factory for years. Aside from the Modern Diner, and Salem Diner, four (4) others still survive in one form or another in storage. In order of production these are: Hesperus (406) Streamliner (4011), Jimmy Evan's Flyer (4012), and Lindholm's (4017) Note that all 4 of these were produced in 1940.

The combination of PA Bluestone & Rosendale Cement is a real winning combination. The Brooklyn Bridge piers and Statue of Liberty base attest to their longevity, as does this, the Starrucca Viaduct.





 Located in Lanesboro, N.E. PA 
Constructed of locally sourced Pennsylvania Bluestone, the viaduct is 178 years old
 built in 1847-1848 by the Erie RR. 

in 1990 I was stationed at Subbase Groton Ct, for sub schools, and went to tour the nearby tourist attraction, Gilette's Castle. I had not heard that Gilette had a couple small locomotives for rides around his estate until now

 https://www.gillettecastle.info/castle-history



https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=9159771500756849&set=a.794102257323857

at least one railroad company had a gunfight in a shareholder meetings


The Nevada & Oregon Railroad (later, the Nevada-California-Oregon Railway) was organized in 1880, and was envisioned to be built both north and south from Reno, Nevada. Some members of the board of directors favored building the northern line, and others the southern line. Disagreements, settled with bullets, erupted at the shareholders’ meeting of September 27, 1880, which killed Squire C. Scoville, the corporate secretary, and wounded Daniel Balch, who became the railroad’s president.

the northern line was built from Reno 238 miles through California into Oregon – a long way for a narrow-gauge railroad. In 1917, the southern portion was sold to the Western Pacific, and in 1926, the Southern Pacific acquired control of the remainder. Both portions were converted to standard gauge. The Southern California Railway Museum has a Nevada-California-Oregon Railway narrow-gauge stock car (later SP #65) in its collection.

The Rainhill trials were a competition run in October 1829, to test George Stephenson's argument that locomotives would have the best motive power for the then nearly-completed Liverpool and Manchester Railway


Ten locomotives were entered, of which five were able to compete, running along a 1 mile length of level track at Rainhill, in Lancashire (now Merseyside). 

 Stephenson's Rocket was the only locomotive to complete the trials

To see what they looked like, check out a fan's CGI video of the event, https://www.facebook.com/groups/1886828738255343/user/100015398208426/


An 1885 view on the Minnesota Eastern, wonderful high res high def photo with cool details if you look at the full size photos, and zoom in (click on the images to get your computer to make them full screen) to see the caboose, and guy sitting on top of the water tank





 https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=9151458611574291&set=pcb.4040612149543647

M & S T. P. R. Y. business car was a compact looking personal luxury train

 https://www.facebook.com/groups/1886828738255343/

Friday, February 14, 2025

I think this would look cooler without the Dagmars

 

https://dailytimewaster.blogspot.com/2025/02/unique.html

1986 IROC Z commercial

 

a remarkably well-preserved Roman chariot has been uncovered in Pompeii, offering a rare glimpse into the luxurious lifestyle of ancient Romans. Buried under volcanic ash from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius over 2,000 years ago, the chariot remained almost untouched

 https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=578585375170305&set=a.504274252601418

Remnants of the century-old rail line are visible along the Delaware Bay at Higbee Beach, a remote stretch north of Sunset Beach the home of the S.S. Atlantus sunken ship wreck and World War II bunker.


the Ford Mustang GTD recently became the very 1st vehicle from an American brand to complete a lap at the Nurburgring in under 7 minutes, posting a 6:57:685 – the 5th-fastest of any stock production sports car at the track.

https://fordauthority.com/2025/02/ford-mustang-gtd-buyers-must-maintain-ownership-for-two-years-exclusive/


So, for 3 times the cost of a Corvette, you can get a Ford that only slightly outperforms the Vette

Thursday, February 13, 2025

well done

 

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=509110702227073&set=a.324332494038229

that's a really fast take off! And reeeeeeaaalllly skinny front tires

 

https://ogdaa.blogspot.com/2025/02/thursdays-gifs_0593986055.html

wrecked by hurricane Ian in 2022



quite the collection of socket wrenches


 https://dailytimewaster.blogspot.com/2025/02/tool-treasure.html

a Chicago woman was killed by a driver being chased by Chicago police, a pursuit that violated several department policies

 a police officer "believed" an SUV had been stolen and pursued the vehicle when it failed to stop, regardless of the Chicago Police Department policy that prohibits officers from initiating a pursuit when the most serious suspected offense was possession of a stolen motor vehicle.

Officer Ricardo Teneyuque did not activate his unmarked police vehicle’s lights and sirens, nor did he notify dispatchers that he was in pursuit of a vehicle, as required by CPD policy, according to the lawsuit.

It is not clear whether Teneyuque was disciplined in connection with the pursuit that gravely injured Parks and ultimately caused her death. He is now a detective earning $127,620 annually

Luxembourg authorities seized almost a ton of cocaine hidden in a stone crusher "of Colombian origin", worth about $165 million


It took forensics police almost a week to extract all the packages stashed inside the crusher's three rollers, after the apparatus was taken to a safe location for dismantling, officials said.


Last month, a study found that cocaine use in France has nearly doubled, with 1.1 million people having taken the illicit drug at least once in 2023. France now ranks 7th in Europe in terms of cocaine consumption.

Columbia makes about 2600 tons of cocaine a year. It's like that country doesn't mind cocaine production to boost the national economy

A white F-150 was cloned/customized to match a federal K-9 unit down to the license plate number was used to pick up illegal aliens at the border wall on Jan. 8 and transport them to Yuma Az


https://www.borderreport.com/immigration/border-crime/cloned-border-patrol-k-9-truck-used-to-smuggle-migrants/

Reminds me of a Border Patrol truck that was cloned, and used to transport illegal aliens 2 years ago https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2023/07/this-is-hilarious-now-illegals-are.html

a cat was hiding in an airplane's wiring, forcing the flight to be canceled after 2 days of delays while maintenance workers tried to evict it

 

https://nypost.com/2025/02/11/lifestyle/flight-canceled-after-cat-hijacks-planes-electrical-bay/

1 of 2 Air Force Silver Bullet Command and Control Modules, converted Airstream trailers deployed to give senior leaders, like the Secretary of Defense, a secure, quiet place to conduct business in the middle of a noisy, often-crowded cargo aircraft.

 


Not that this clear waste of money is something no one in the government is embarrassed about, as the rich and powerful aren't aware of the existence of mere peons that are worth less than a million dollars. Hell, they probably aren't aware of anyone that isn't on the Forbes list of billionaires

This version of the Silver Bullet Command and Control Modules are near the end of their 20 year lifespan of use, and about 10 months from now a big ol waste of money will result in them being retired and replaced by the newer, safer ROCCs.

 In 2019, the Air Force awarded an $8.5 million contract to SelectTech Services Corp. of Centerville, Ohio, for the design, development, integration, test and delivery of two ROCCs to replace the aging Airstream units.

Why am I convinced that it's a waste of money to fly all these beauracrats around the world for meetings? A thing you might have heard of, teleconferencing. Zoom calls. Facetime. Skype. There are several inexpensive ways to have meetings, without leaving the office. 


Then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in an Airstream trailer aboard an Air Force C-17 as he heads to Iraq, Dec. 8, 2006.

The Silver Bullets have a storied past, hosting U.S. cabinet members, service secretaries, other military leaders, vice presidents, and even celebrities like Robin Williams and Drew Carey. 

train driver Han Junjia, and the trains he's run over 26 years. A world of difference

https://www.facebook.com/officialroenetwork/posts/transformation-of-chinese-trainsthe-same-person-train-driver-han-junjiathis-happ/1033149310566934/

2007 Dodge Demon concept car, the possible new Mopar sports car for under 30k (if Stellantis has any clue on what to sell to get back into making a profit)