Alpina vs Sherpa T: By the parts book.

When the Alpina was introduced in 1971 as a playbike version of Bultaco's championship trials bike the Sherpa T, it was described as a trials bike with different geometry. The changes made it less focused with more range (bigger tank), a comfortable seat and higher gearing. The higher gearing came from the Matador, the tank got wider and more rounded as the capacity went from 1 gallon to 2 gallons....but what were the geometry changes?
The recent acquision of an early seventies Bultaco parts manual provided the answers. Turns out both bikes shared the Alpina frame with 27.5 degrees rake.

The swingarm was also used on both bikes...

A different offset in the triple clamps would provide a different amount of trail but once again, shared components.

A different length fork would change the rake but once again...the fork is shared and from an earlier Sherpa T.

So it appears that an early Alpina is really a Sherpa T in different clothes. 

CB750 Dirt tracker in action

 Must have been a heavy machine to wrestle around like that.
http://progress-is-fine.blogspot.ca/2012/10/cb750-flattracker.html?q=cb750

Dublin, Ireland a century ago

Ontario Public School Geography.  Toronto:  W.J. Gage & Co., Limited, c. 1920.

 Turns out it was renamed O'Connell Street in 1924, after the old book I took the photograph from was published.
The O'Connell Monument is shown in the old photo. Note that whatever the tall spire in the background was in 1920, it's gone now. Below, a screen shot from google maps.

Sugar plantation in the days of slavery

Inside the boiling house

Inside the distillery

From The World of People.  The Western Hemisphere.  (McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd., 1976).

The Locomotive Derwent

The Derwent of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, built in 1845. The locomotive has been preserved and is now part of the British National Railway Collection. It has been restored several times and last ran in 1925 as part of the Railway Centenary Procession. 

The Luftwaffe 1945

Ritter von Greim inherited command of the Luftwaffe from Herman Goering a few days before the end of the war. He committed suicide shortly after the surrender.  His last words were, "I am the head of the Luftwaffe, but I have no Luftwaffe."

Sidecar Sunday

Actor Keenan Wynn was a sidecar fan.

1954 Canadian Pontiac

Policing in Newfoundland in the Sixties

Canada 1964.  The Official Handbook of Present Conditions and Recent Progress.
Ottawa:  Information Services Division, Dominion Bureau of Statistics, 1962.

Canada 1962.  The official handbook of present conditions and recent progress.
Ottawa:  Information Services Division, Dominion Bureau of Statistics, 1962.

In 1979, Queen Elizabeth II conferred the title "Royal" on the Constabulary.

J. Laidlaw & Son Limited, Kingston, Ontario

This old receipt was inside of an old book I bought.  In 1930-something, you could buy a pair of blankets for $1.79!

Located at 170-172 Princess St. in Kingston, John Laidlaw & Son was established in 1884 as a "high class" staple and fancy goods store.  "The very latest caprice of fashion and the newest and daintiest novelties in ladies wear are found here as soon as they are evolved by the originators of the fashions." The store was the sole agent for Butterick patterns in Kingston for 20 years.  Its location is now a cafe.