Grand Canyon by airship

A lovely illustration of a fanciful future concept, a lighter-than-air craft of that size wouldn't encounter the slightest bit of turbulence in close quarters like that, right?  More here.

Kindertown Railroad #777

 

Another wooden toy from an unknown maker.

Suzuki TM line 1974

 Good looking motorcycles, particularly the TM100 and 125. Though they resembled the works bikes, they definitely were not.

Sidecar Sunday

1 1/2 ounces cognac

3/4 ounce orange liqueur (such as Cointreau)

3/4 ounce lemon juice, freshly squeezed

Garnish: orange twist

Garnish: sugar rim (optional)

Apparently the Sidecar was invented about WW1 or slightly later, there are two stories, one- taking place in either London or Paris, it was the favored drink of a visiting American general who habitually arrived in a motorcycle sidecar piloted by his chauffeur. The other story starts at the Ritz in Paris; Horace Chase, son of Miani architect was becoming a regular, showing up in his tiny two-seat Amilcar, parking it with the huge Hispano Suizas etc. Frank, the famous bartender, jokingly referred to the car as a child’s toy, or more like a motorcycle sidecar. One day in answer to Frank’s “What will it be?” Horace decided to have something special. “Back home, I used to drink Bacardi and lemon juice with a little Cointreau. Mix that, but use brandy in place of the Bacardi.” Horace thought the result was quite good, as did others who tried it. Frank was also pleased and quickly named it a sidecar, after Horace’s little car. 

I have more detail for the second story so we'll say that's the real story.

Anyways, although I enjoyed the field research for this post, I'll apologize for the quality of the photography, the camera had been drinking... (as Tom Waits might have said...)

 Thanks for the silly idea, Glen! 

Alberta oil

 The oil boom in Alberta started on May 14, 1914 when the Dingman #1 well in Turner Valley south of Calgary started producing naphtha at a depth of 1,158 meters.  Drilling had started in 1912, when gas was reported to be bubbling up in a large slough (wetland).

Mont-de-Huisnes German war cemetery

During a visit to Normandy a few years ago, we had visited the beaches, museums and Allied cemeteries. I wondered what had become the German casualties, and returning from Mont St Michel we learned. Turning at a small sign we followed a road to the Mont-de-Huisnes German war cemetery, the resting place of 12,000 soldiers. The rules for constructing a German cemetery were different than for the Allied, of course, and the space was restricted, light colours were not allowed and what is resulted is an unobtrusive circular mausoleum of dark stone set on a small hill. There is a small lobby in the admin building, passing through that brought another climb to the small door in the wall, beyond that was a plain circular grassy space surrounded by two storeys of crypts, each of which houses about 200 burials. Each burial has a brass plaque with name (if known), rank, date of birth and death- many very young people. 

A plaque inside the entry room states that there almost a million dead German soldiers buried in France, the result of two world wars.

 

Despatch Riders

 

DRs on Norton 16Hs, doing convoy duty on more 16Hs. Actually this is a training run in England before the riders were sent out on actual service. Note the detail differences among the machines and the riders attire.

Winther Fire Truck

Antique Automobile, Mar-Apr 1992 issue

 A 1922 Winther pumper fire engine being tested in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The photo was sent to the customer to verify that the truck was built and was working. The truck was then painted and sent to the town of Logan in West Virginia.

The company had been founded by the Winther brothers in 1916, and supplied trucks to the US Navy during WW1. Winther built different styles of trucks in the 1 ton to 7 ton range that were used for a variety of purposes, till the business was sold in 1923.

Remembrance Day

Canadian cemetery at Bény-sur-Mer

 

Normandy American Cemetery

Designing in CAD, 1935

 I graduated in Industrial Design in 1990, just late enough to catch the tail end of rooms filled with orderly rows of drafting tables and the pencil-wielding designers and engineers. I started with the brand new technology of 3D modelling with Pro Engineer and later Solidworks. I don't miss the ties and jackets...