Docklands Light Railway. Part-One.

DLR.

The development of the East-London (UK) Docklands light railway was to open up the old docks for new building regeneration and expansion. Light rail was chosen as a easier means than say an Underground extension or a tram way. The DLR was to be an automated train, no driver. but the guard could over ride the system in an emergency. 

Initially the train ran from a new station at Tower Gateway, near to the Tower of London castle to Island Gardens on the southern end of the Isle of Dogs. Not really an island, but becoming one because several of the older docks cut up the area.

Santas Sled.

Humans have followed Santa over the years and developed the sled for moving across ice, from dogs to reindeer. Meanwhile since the development of the petrol engine the sled is now motorized. The use of the sled is a daily means of transport mostly for the Eskimo and Evenki peoples living in the northern regions of Canada, Alaska, Russia, Norway, Greenland, and Iceland. But there are many aircraft and helicopters that have been adapted to take skis or sleds to work in this environment. 

I wonder were the legends of Santa with his sled come from, perhaps from a Lapp style people, who pull their houses by reindeer on sleds in N-Russia. Santa's sled is much different from anything that we could invent, his sled has to move, fly at hypersonic speeds to deliver presents to an estimated two billion children world-wide in 24 hours. I think if you do get to see him this Christmas, you must really be very privileged. ''HAPPY CHRISTMAS.''

Luxury Cars.

Is there any value in owning a luxury car?

What do we want in a car, speed, 0-60 in 3.9 seconds, comfort, style and taste are these the essential keys to owning any car.

If we own this type of car, is to impress others, to say who we are or is it just for our own pleasure, and to express our self-achievement? 

There are many models today on the market from stylish racey numbers to the more sublime and gentle, so what ever you can afford or want it is out there. Some cars are hand made, perhaps the personnel touch has more quality attached to it?

Porche, Lamborgene, BMW, Aston Martin, Mustang, Ferrari, Jaguar, Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Lotus, Morgan, are but a few of what is available.

Is speed essential?

The world seems to be getting faster by the day, with technology and travel. Is it time for us to continue in this way or should we just slow down with travelling from A to B? 

With the worlds economic crises and the desire by many for a more friendly environment, is it time to return to some of the slower modes of 19/20th Century travel. The days of steam trains, gondola's, airships, sail ships, even the horse and coach. Perhaps we could employ bio-fuels and more solar panelling to the machines that we already so rely upon?

Flying Boats. Part-Two.

The days of the flying boats are not over yet?

This is perhaps one of the greatest feats in the aviation world to take-off and land from water. Many early aircraft in the 1920/30's were adapted to have floats, but it was the Shorts Sunderland that became the flagship carrier of the British BOAC. 

World-war-II (1939-45) saw a increased demand on all sides for dedicated flying boats, such as the U.S. Catalina, and British Walrus, while several Italian and German types were also deployed. The flying boats were of great use at Sea to attack submarines and proved to be an invaluable tool. 

After the war several nations went on to develop their own types of boats. The U.S. the UH-1 Albatross, Japan, the Kawasaki PS-1 and Russia their Beriev family BE-12/15, 606.

Today Canada builds the CL-215/415, while the Russians have developed the first jet powered flying boat, the Beriev A-40 and a civil version the BE-200. Many nations continue to use their world war-II boats and 1950's developments are still flying, such as the Mongoose.

Enviromentally friendly.

Can we create viable environmentally friendly transport?

Are the days of the steam train over, just because they were driven by coal. Is there a future for them and the turf burners?

Or is the future to be gas. Many countries are considering hydrogen powered vehicles, but what we already have could be developed to be more cleaner and efficient?

Icebreakers.

The Ice breaking ship was and is very much associated with Russia, but many other nations have them too. the U.S.A, Canada, Japan and the U.K. To be enabled to break ice and allow shipping to access ports in winter is quite a feat and an essential. 

Many of the largest ships built by the Russians were used for exploration and spying of one kind or another. To have access to both poles was a breakthrough in engineering. 

These type of ships will probably remain being built and improved in their capabilities for the years to come. Man has leaned much about the polar regions on the planet, but there is still so much more.

Town Planning. Part-Two.

In the planning of new towns or multiple population centres, most are laid out for the automobile and buses. The problems with cars is that you also need to plan for parking and you do not want the centres to be conjested.

Towns are usually built or expanded near to an existing freeway/motorway and or railroad/metro. But which of these is the best and what modern additions or re-introductions could be added? 

The tram, sometimes now known as a metro link is a viable asset combing the bus and the rail feature. Big cities go for underground/subway extension's or complete new lines.

Really what you need to do is move loads of people from A to B in a fast, clean, efficient and safe way.

Town Planning. Part-One.

If you had the chance to plan out a new town and had to decide on the best transportation system for it, what would you go for? 

In the light of hurricane Sandy and its effects on the NE region of America, the Subway/Metro has ended up being flooded along with road tunnels. Meanwhile many trees and power lines were overturned blocking roads and highways. 

There is much to consider in the planning of any town or city.

Asimo

The rise of the Robots.

We have had robotic automation now for some time in aircraft, train, metro piloting systems, examples being auto-pilot and the London Docklands light rail system (DLR). This could be described as the first generation, along with military drones etc. 

Now that the Honda Asimo and other similar humanoid robots have been created, we are perhaps moving into the second generation.  

Has sci-fi becoming a reality? 

These robots will help greatly in the care of older folks and the disabled in the ability to lift them. Currently the U.S. army has announced its first successful mechanical horse. This horse will move much faster than any natural animal, but also do the job of the mule or donkey in mountainous regions like Afghanistan/Pakistan. But what will the third generation of robots bring to humanity? Will there ever be a day when the machines take over, such as in the Terminator scenario of films?

The APC.

Armoured personnel Carriers.

Every army needs to have APC's to mover their troops around in battlefield conditions. The APC's were originally nothing more than an armoured truck or small car, but it was during the second world war that the demand for such vehicles came into their own right. The APC can be both tracked or wheeled, some were developed as half-tracks. It was during the Soviet era that we became familiarised with the BTR family, while the U.S. developed the M113 and a series of LVTP vehicles. Other countries over the years have each developed their own versions. Today examples like LAV and the Bradley can now be armed with a huge variety of guns and missile launchers..

Gliders..

Today gliding is a popular hobby for many people, but 70 years ago gliders were used as a cheap way of transporting cargo and troops to the European battle fields. 

All of the powers involved in World War-II built their own versions. Horsa, Gotha. The idea was to use an aircraft without engines to replace engined aircraft desperately needed for bombing missions.

Meanwhile it perhaps was not a wise move, since many lives were lost in the mass crash landings of these aircraft.

Star Ships.

Space the final frontier.

When are we going to build a real space ship? It is unlikely to be in the near future, but plans are underway to send a mission to Mars and the Asteroid belt within the next fifty-years. The development of some form of long-range endurance ship will have to be designed and constructed probably in space near to the ISS. 

This space ship will not be as dramatic or spectacular as the ships of popular science-fiction, such as the Enterprise or Destiny in Star gate universe.

Drill Rigs.

The oil and gas rigs at sea are perhaps some of most impressive structures that the human mind has conceived. Many rigs are towed from construction/ship building yards to the point of drill work. But now dedicated ships have been built to perform this type of work off the coast of South-America (Brazil).

The future looks more interesting, if this type of vessel could replace the standard platforms. Meaning that during severe weather it could be moved?

Electric Trains.

Where are we going in the future?

What does the future hold for the electric train? Is it here to stay and will it just get faster and faster? France has its TVG, while Germany has ICE and the rest of Europe has a mixture of other high-speed stock. Today these trains are very comfortable to travel in, that is because of improved track work and the hydraulic systems employed.

But were do we go from know? Will these fast trains be replaced by the mono-rail of science-fiction or levitation trains, that do not even need rails to run on. 

The environmental issues will probably dictate the future use over long distances?

Gyro-Planes. Part-Two.

One of the first gyro-plane designs was the German Focke-Achgelis Fa 330 (water wagtail). It looked more like a helicopter kite, than a gyro. but it did the same job. A modern version of this is the micro-light Brock KB-2 operating in the U.S. for a $1000 dollars. 

The gyro platform is one of the cheapest ways of enjoying both hover and movement in an aircraft. Police and survey work of several kinds can be achieved. But to go beyond, one needs the Beagle-Wallis, which can be armed with a light machine gun and rockets pods.

Gyro-Planes. Part-One.

The Gyro-plane is one of the most interesting type of aircraft ever invented in the aviation world. It was the Beagle-Wallis WA-116 type that featured in one of the 007 James Bond movies (written by Ian Fleming).

Around the late 1950's and into the early 60's these aircraft were popular and several designs were flying such as the U.S. Umbagh H-18, 2-seater, the Canadian Avian 2/180, 2/3-seat, the Benson copter and the largest being the British Westland Rotodyne V/STOL 40-seater.

These aircraft combine a helicopter rotor and a rear propeller, giving them speed and manoeuvrability on the slower level that a conventional helicopter or aircraft. 

Varied uses can be found for them, both civil and military.

Road-Rail Vehicles.

Today the most famous road-rail vehicle is the German Mercedes-Benz Unimog truck. It is capable of several great feats, one it has a 70% gradient ability and the other on the rails it can pull or shunt up to 1300 tones.

Other vehicles that can do similar feats are the Atlas road-rail truck. Many vehicles have been adapted to do this type of work and the history of them, began with the advent of the invention of the petrol engined car. It was first the military who devised in Germany, Austria, Poland and Russia the need to build armoured trains. Some parts of these trains had armoured cars and even for a time tanks/MBT were facilitated to be used in the same manner.

Russian phased out its last armoured trains in 1992, but the use of road-rail vehicles remains.

UAV...

Unmanned Ariel Vehicle.

The history of this type of aircraft, began in World-War-II (1939-45) when Nazi-Germany under the Dictatorship of Adolf Hitler demanded a series of vengeance weapons to be designed and built in secret if all else failed in his Axis conflict. It was the Von Braun (designer of the U.S. Saturn rocket and the Space shuttle) team who initially came up with the V-1 flying bomb (known in the UK as the doodle bug). 

After the war in 1945 both Russia and the U.S. made a mad race to capture as much German technology, and so work started on the modern family of unmanned aircraft we today see being deployed in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan to take out militant and terrorist strongholds.

Israel over the years has built up its series of unmanned aircraft in it Scout and rangers, which much smaller than the U.S. counterparts but do the same jobs. This technology in combination with satellite guidance, saves troops on the ground, but it also has been adopted into civil aircraft flight systems, the various space programmes, Mar's lander's and the ISS.

Fishing Boats.

There are three kinds of fishing trawlers/boats, inshore, deep water and production vessels or factory ships.

Today many people are describing the fisherman as the reaper of the sea. But we are also being told by the medical world that fish is a good food for fighting many illnesses, such as coronary heart disease and diabetes, because it contains large amounts of Omega-3 oils. 

Fishing has been one of the oldest professions in the world, and for may so called third world nations it is their only source of revenue.

But admittedly the introduction of certain type of nets, factory ships has resulted in over fishing and the decline of certain breed, disease of various kinds, because of the breakdown of the food chain in the oceans.

Fishing boats are built with massive hulls below the water line to be able to deal with difficult sea conditions. The crews who work these boats do take great risks going to sea in all weathers. But basically all the vessels have similar equipment, just on different scales.

Cessna 0-2 and Dornier Do-335A

Both of these aircraft are unique in the aviation world for having both a rear and forward propeller. The Cessna 0-2 was developed for psychological warfare in the Vietnam wars and is powered by two engines. It also belongs to the twin boom family. Meanwhile the Nazi-German Luftwaffe Dornier DO-335A has both a similar engine layout, except the rear propeller is engine less. 

The Germans required a new fighter and despite plans laid down in 1942, it was not produced until late1944. At end end of World-War-II only about 30 aircraft had been built and 80 remained unfinished.

The Cessna O-2 Sky master has been built in the thousands and under licence in France as the FR-337. 

Performance wise, the Dornier was much faster. But by 1944 it was being superseded by the early jets. 

The O-2 could operated high-low and had a good range. 

Recently it has been discovered that this type of layout is much more economical on fuel consumption and a whole plethora of new types are being experimented with in the U.S. One of them being the Adam A500.

Aircraft Carriers. Part-Two.

Many of the worlds developing navies have sought over the years to top off their fleets with an aircraft carrier. They believe that it is an essential part of any advanced navy to have such a vessel in service. The aircraft carrier could then be described as a sea naval air power system, giving that nation an great advantage over the lesser. But is that really true? 

Israel has one of the most sophisticated and advanced navies in the world, yet it has no need of a sitting duck.

Many nations have sought to build dedicated carriers just for V/STOL aircraft and helicopters, even now the U.S. Navy is starting to think on those lines, with its Wasp class. 

The development of the Boeing-Bell OV-22 Osprey has lead to a much improved delivery system?

Aircraft Carriers. Part-One.

Today there are a number of countries who still use these types of vessels, the U.S.A, UK, France, Brazil, Spain, India, Australia and they seem to be an effective platform for military and humanitarian operations. 

But are they still really viable with the development of more sophisticated kinds of warfare?

It was the British who developed the first carriers, basically ships with a flight deck and a control tower built around the funnel. Today it is the U.S. that leads the world with these powerful islands at sea.

V/STOL Jets.

The history of the V/STOL (Vertical take-off and short take-off landing) Jets began in the 1950's in the UK, with the secret Pegasus project. By the 1960's British aviation company Hawker-Siddley had developed the engine and were working on an aircraft, which would later be known as the Harrier jump jet.

The British developed two versions of the Harrier, a ground attack and a navel version, known as the Sea Harrier. These top gun aircraft were exported to Italy, Spain and India, while the U.S. were permitted to build their own versions initially under license. AV-I/II Advanced Harriers.

Many new techniques were developed for the naval versions, first by the British and then the Americans. One being a ramp, which was fitted on to aircraft carriers and allowed the jets to produce a rolled take-off, cheaper on fuel. Spain and Italy built smaller pocket sized carriers dedicated to V/STOL jets and helicopters, such as the Spanish Matador class ships.

Soviet Russia had to get in on the act too and they developed the Yakolev Yak-36, which was more of a rolling take-off, rather than vertical type (R/STOL). This aircraft was believed not as stable as the Harriers, but the Russians developed it into the Yak-38 and later on to the perhaps still secret Yak-41/141 supersonic jet. Soviet aircraft were naval deployed and the Soviets had to then dedicate themselves to building their first aircraft carrier.

Soviet Russia is believed to have exported a small number to India, India is the only nation to have both western and Russian types in service.

The British Harriers saw their first combat experience in the Falklands war of 1981 with Argentina, over the (Malvina's islands). Since then the U.S. have developed super versions of their AV-series, the F-35 and F-22.

Mobile homes.

Also known as camper vans. 

There are two roads to how these vehicles came about.

1. Travelling communities across the world, Circus's, Showmen, (Fun Fairs/Fairground attractions), moved from their horse drawn waggon's and houses to the steam engines and then on to the motorised versions.

2. The 1920's saw the rise in Caravaning craze in the UK and after World-War-II (1939-45), the Camper van came in to an easy tourer. 

In the 1960's the German Volks Wagen VW camper was associated with the 'Hippie movement and Woodstock'.

It became the iconic vehicle of young people travelling around and it remains so to this day in Europe anyway.

 

Today there are quite a varied selection of vehicles on the market. In the U.S. the Winnebago is probably the largest mobile home. Many people have over the years converted trucks and buses, coaches to live in.

ISS.

(International Space Station).

Today the world has the ISS a space station with many space partners. Predominately the U.S., Europe (ESA), Russia, Japan. We can observe this object very easily from earth and millions of people look at it each night as it flies over some part of our planet.

The craft is the largest object yet put into space by humanity, but its roots came out of the cold war period space race between the former Soviet Union and the United states of America. Leaving aside that race we just want to concentrate on the history of space stations and it was the Russians who first launched a series of Soyuz ships. They were small and cramped, but the Russians started to build up manned flight hours from them. Even after they did not achieve the moon landings, they continued on with this plan.

The U.S. launched their Space Lab, but the U.S. did not seem to move on from there for some time. Eventually they had a link up between a Soyuz and the Skylab. The Russians moved on to develop a much bigger Soyuz, known as the Mir. This was technically the end for the Russians in space station building.

The ISS now replaces both previous systems, which were probably used for spying on each other. This new platform has improved on both countries technologies and has become a laboratory for various scientific experimentation and discovery.

The Tractor.

The tractor was probably the first replacement for the horse, oxen drawn plow (plough) on the farm. Before that man had to open the earth literally by hand, but now there was a machine that could do it without him having to push. 

The threshing of cerials was already established through the use of the steam engine, but those heavy engines were not able to go over heavy soils.

Massey Ferguson reveloutionised farming with his tractor machines and nothing much has change since in the design shape. 

In Russia and the United states, the tractor machines are a different in shape and tracked versions have been produced.They of course are also much larger. 

Modern machines meanwhile have all the latest comforts from heating to swivel chairs and double driving cabs, lighting inside and out. Meaning that the machines can work day and night.

But it was the Chinese who came up with the mechanicle plough. In a basic 3-wheel design based on the movement of artillery pieces in Vietnam in the 1970's and since then this simple machine has been mass produced.

Super Tankers.

Today the world needs energy and when it cannot be piped, it has to be shipped. So how big can we get with those ships? 

I suppose what limits size is the ability to be able to pass through, the Suez (Egypt) and Panama (Panama) canals. 

But the deep oceans still have many possibilities for ship sizes. Other factors to the size of ships are docking,and manoeuvrability.  

While all shipping is vulnerable to disasters through human failure or computer error. Spilt crude oil is not nice as was experienced in Alaska, U.S.A. The Shetland islands, N-Scotland, UK and off S-Wales. (UK).

Half-Tracks.

The development and deployment of the half-track vehicle came to ahead during World-War-II (1939-45). This vehicle was rear end tracked and forward wheeled. 

We will look at three models, the German/Czech Skoda Sdfkz, which was developed into different roles from APC (armoured personnel carrier) to anti-aircraft gunnery. The U.S. M-42 and the Russian BTR-152. all of these vehicles were well suited to their uses on the battle-field, particularly off-road. Since 1945 it has been the Soviet BTR-152 which has seen the most extensive production and export world-wide.

All of these vehicles had a similar design and shape. The Czechs had the most protective body, similar in shape to the soviet T-34 tanks. This prevented the type from being destroyed by projectiles, but if a grenade was lobbed into the open top. Boom.

But is this form of vehicle still viable today? And what other ingenious forms of joint traction vehicles will be developed this century or not?

A380 V B747-8.

Today the U.S. Boeing 747-8i and European Airbus A380 are two largest civilian passenger carrying aircraft in the world. 


But which one is better than the other? 


These super large aircraft were developed to carry large numbers of people over the huge distances and to have less refueling stops or as in the case today none. I suppose it is the preference for the operators in choosing which aircraft that suites or can meet their needs of comfort and facilities.


It looks like that both types have further potential if needs do demand and will they both will be developed and improved with time. 


But it is the A350 and B-777 that looks more promising and competitive in the near future.

MBT (Main battle tank).

Since the development of the tank in the first world war (1914-18) the British female Mk-1, great strides have been made to reach the level of today's machines. It was during world-war-II (1939-46) that the tank really came into its own. Nazi-Germany built just over 400 Tigers and believed that was a sufficient number to decimate any opposition. At first this seemed to be proved right, opposing the Germans were light machines, such as the British Matilda's and Crusaders, the Polish had ex-British Mark-ones, while Russia still were developing its T-34 in secret and the U.S. had not yet got involved in the war.


But both the U.S. and Russia came up with lighter vehicles such as the Sherman and T-34, which were more manoeuvrable and fast.


After 1945 both super powers entered into supporting other conflicts and an arms race ensued with many improvement being introduced. Today there are a number of what could be described as great machines. The U.S. Abraham's, Israeli Merkava, German Leopard, Russian T-74/82 family, British Chieftain and challenger.


But what does the future hold? Perhaps computer controlled unmanned vehicles will prove better?

Glorified Tri-jets?

There are many new types of commercial aircraft now coming out of China and Russia, like the C919, MC-21 and Sukhoi Su-100. But are they what they seem or just clever copies of the DC-9, Boeing 717-100/100?


And the question that could be asked are they as good as western designs from Europe and Embraer in Brazil.


What markets are the Chinese and Russians after, when most countries are drawn to Brazil, Airbus and the extensive U.S. Boeing families of aircraft.

Helicopters...

Since the first flight of the helicopter in 1946/7 by Sikorsky in the U.S. This machine has now become the prolific aviation invention so far. It was during the Vietnam war that the helicopter came into its own right, despite being limited in types available for military warfare and medical evacuation as we have to day. These machines made a serious impact on the psyche of all around them.


The Russian Mil Mi-1/2 must be the most commonly built, very basic and slow compared to today, it did allow many countries around the world to get a foot hold in to military aviation.


Today the U.S. AH-60 blackhawk is the symbol of multi-role type, but there are larger machines such as the CH-47, twin rotor, CH-53 Super stallion heavy lift. Meanwhile the Russians have their multirole Mil Mi-24/35, combining both troop transport and gunship. Russia also has the largest helicopter ever built the Mil Mi-26, with eight rotor blades and the capacity to carry at least 100 troops. 


Both Russia and the U.S. learned from Afghanistan and Vietnam the need for helicopters.


Later in the year I hope to return to the subject in more detail.

Motorbikes...

Cycles. 


When we put the engine on the bicycle man invented the motor bike and with it came the horse on two wheels.


This form of transport came into its own right from the day it was conceived, as a messenger service vehicle. But today it is used by courier services, the police and paramedics. 


In the so-called third world the Rickshaw has been motorised to great effect as a little road vehicle. Many businesses have stemmed from this conversion.


There have been additions apart from the trike, there is also the fitted side cars, which I am now told are luxury compared to the old days. 


Sport has seen these machines improve into super everything and why not.


Triumph, Honda, Suzuki, BMW, Harley-Davidson, Kawasaki, Laverda,  Neval, Yamaha, Piaggio, Norton.

Rocket Man.

I wonder will it be viable for each of us one day to have our own rocket packs? 


The current rocket man operates out of Switzerland and has broken several world records with his feats. Science fiction comic book strips have now become a reality. But our visions of the future are usually way off. Could we see congested skies, I doubt it. At the moment our skies are full of aircraft, but they are all on a controlled path, civilian and military. 

Would we really want the sky to be filled with machines, since we have to many of them on the surface already?

Irish trains.

Ireland has turned a corner over the last few years with the introduction of some top quality new rolling stock, such as the Class 22000/29000 Trains built in South-Korea/Japan. Millions has been spent on line, station, signalling improvements and extended electrification, bring the whole system in the Dublin area up to modern standards.


It is interesting to see the split between the passenger and freight locomotives, while the Class 201's remain on the very long distance Dublin-cork services and Belfast Dublin. 


Everything looks for a bright future, with plans to reopen lines and add a few new ones too?

'On My Bicycle.'

The bicycle is probably the most basic and commonest form of transport, that the human mind has ever conceived. 

There are millions of them out there and they can be found everywhere in every type of environment. Obviously snow and sand may be not. From the Penny Farthing and early French developments, which had no pedals. The bike is now light weight and a racing machine in its own right.

It is also good for exercise and in extremely environmentally friendly. But withing the environs of the large cities, it can be a death trap to the automobiles.

But as a tricycle it is transport for millions in the third-world. The Rickshaw can be used to transport people and goods and it is a clever adaption. 

But what does the future hold for this wonderful mode of simple transport?

Trucks....

They come in all shapes and sizes and we can't really do without them?


The truck, Juggernaut, lorry is truly a most invaluable machine for the movement of all types of goods, from small loads in a local vicinity to big loads across vast distances. No matter where in the world you go, you will find them at work. 


Monster carriers are used in modern quarrying and in similar heavy construction sites. In Australia cattle, sheep are moved across distances in road trains. But it is probably ore that is one of the commonest uses found for trucks. 


Shipping and trains also play their part for the very vast distances, but otherwise it will be a truck of some description in the local area. With the development of newer types, new engines and better cab design, trucks have come a long way. 


But the future for them will be the development of improved fuel, re-performance and new sources of power, instead of diesel, petrol?

Submarines.

This is perhaps the least most exploited technology for civil use re-cargo and passenger travel. Yes I recognise that there are various mini submersibles for deep sea research and exploration, but why are their no cargo vessels or commercial liners for under the sea? Is it to dangerous or to expensive, or is there no real interest?

Hovercraft.

The exciting days of the Dover to Calais hovercraft have now gone, replaced they say by the Channel tunnel rail link to France. But I think that this form of transport would still be viable. The hovercraft was much faster than the conventional ferry, because it skimmed over the Calais sands. 


Today we see that the RNLI have found value in smaller machines for rescue work on the sands off Avon and Somerset, while others work the Dee estuary between NE-Wales and the Whirral. 


Many military versions of the hovercraft were built in the former Soviet union. But alas another British invention seems to be put to the side lines, because of politics?

Trains. EMU/DMU.

Is this now the future for all passenger travels, or will the classic locomotive hauled trains continue?


There seems to be a varied selection of new and improved electrical and Diesel multiple unit models coming out year by year across many of the developed countries, but with each new type of rolling stock the ticket prices also continue to rise. 


I suppose also now with further tensions in the Middle-East and the Gulf (Iran) fuel prices will rocket. What will people do?

Buses, Coaches.

Even in the light of the recent coach crash in a Swiss road tunnel, very sad as it is. This is probably one of the most successful of human inventions. Buses are used world-wide and are to be found in all sorts of places cold and hot, wet and dry. Despite the many accidents that occur on mountain roads, they are still the best and cheapest way to travel from A to B. One of the latest inventions for the bus is the sliding side way Volvo coach. Much easier to park in urban environs, but still too expensive for many.  We today still have double decker's and now the bendy bus, love or hate it. but in eastern Europe there remains the trolley buses. What is the future I wonder in this century for the coach, bus?

Flying Boats. Part-One.

It does not look like our love of the flying boat is quite over yet. 

Russian Beriev Be-200, and Canadian Canadair CL-215/415 families and many other aircraft are capable of being fitted out with floats. These machines will continue to provide a good service in far flung places. The Be-200 is reported to be a good fire fighting machine and the Irkutsk factory has been able to offer several variants of this modern jet powered vehicle. 

But what new developments and concepts are for the future and what have we learned from what we have to what we can do.

Trams.

Are they worth their claims of improving metro systems or would buses just be good at doing the same job? 

Nearly every city and major town in the UK has a tram network of some kind. The question, should we have more of them or less? Is there the possibility of London having them again in the city center and what about trolley-buses and other forms of super metro/rail?

Costa Allegro.

In light of the sinking of one vessel, with the loss of 25 lives, another ship the Costa Allegro has had a fire and power failure in the Indian Ocean. 

What's wrong? This boat was not as big as the Concordia, but it broke down near to pirate waters north of the Seychelles. Perhaps the motto for cruises with this company should be 'adventures that could be fatal'. 

Blimps and Airships.

Blimps and Airships.

Will the days of the airships such as the British R101 and the German Zeppelins return again? 

Airships are still used today, predominantly by the U.S. navy, but other civilian craft are used for advertising. 

It is still probable, despite being slow that they could be used commercially for long distance travel. But I suppose they probably would be easy to attack with portable surface to air-missiles. What a view they could provide for the paying public, as well as being covered with solar panels?

Karz's.

The automobile.

The car has know been with us for well over one-hundred years. The first vehicles were steam powered, slow and dirty. But with the introduction of the petrol engine and the Ford mass-produced production lines, cars have become available to nearly everyone. 

What does the future hold for vehicles such as these, with the rising prices of fuel and the problems of pollution? 

Will the introduction of a hydrogen-Cell powered car be mass produced or limited perhaps initially just to police, military and emergency services and/or the wealthy. 

Will steam return in a new form, that is cleaner, will solar power vehicles as seen in science ficition come to the fore?

What is the future to be of the electric car?

Bi-Planes.

Is the day of the Bi-Plane over?

The Soviet Russian built Antonov An-2/3 still remains in active operation across the world, in it various guises. 

This 12/13 seat utility-transport is now some 75 years old and is still being found difficult to replace. Russian design teams have come up with improved engine performance, various types and payloads etc. But so far none fit the same category of the An-2 exactly. One or the other of the new designs lacks something that encompasses the original. 

Meanwhile in the rest of the world, this type of aircraft has been restricted to either sports or agricultural uses. There are also now many restored historical types flying again.

It would seem that the An-2/3 perhaps will soldier on in remote places for another 75 years?

IOW Railways.

Isle of wight railways.

Over the years the Isle of Wight  has become the retirement home for London Underground (LUL) ex-tube cars, as they are re-classified. 

Currently they have had a repaint job to fit the Jurassic Park theme, but are they really pulling in the tourist crowds? 

Many people believe that perhaps the re-introduction of steam trains would be a big money spinner, as they are on the Isle of Man, Welsh Mountain's and many other places across the UK. 

Or is it a fitting re-use for these underground cars to be kept going here as they are?

Cracks...

A380 Wing Cracks.

It is now reported that all 29 European Airbus A380's have been grounded, after hairline cracks were found in their wings. 

We have been reassured that its not serious. But I think it is very serious, because it is usually those small things that lead to big disasters. 

Does the problem lie in the design or the workforce at the Flintshire factory in Wales? 

Another question is do we today still need such giant passenger aircraft, such as the A380 and the Boeing 747-8?

Costa Concordia.

In the light of the Costa Concordia.

What should be the future of the cruise liner industry? 

It is ironic that 101 years ago, after the sinking of the Titanic and its fatal collision with an iceberg in the N-Atlantic Ocean with the loss of 1800 lives. 

The problems then were that the vessel did not have enough life boats. This time possibly 30-40 people have died, because of a mistake?

Why has no one learned from the past, ship builders and shipping lines seem to be greedy and believe their ships will never come to serious harm. 

What a fallacy for any man made object.

Bio-Fuels.

Bio-Fuels.

With the ever increasing tension's across the globe and the uncertainty to the constant flow of cheap energy, will this effect the use of machines? 

There does need to be a call for more investment into the development of bio-fuels and the use of other forms of energy such as hydrogen cell technology to drive aircraft, trains, and all other vehicles. 

The question is will it happen globally or will it be limited, because of the final call by the energy producing giants and the costs or profits for them?

Irelands Railways.

New Railway stock.

Has the modernization of the railway network and rolling stock, north and south in Ireland taken away the charm, that it once had? 

Or has the newness of it all improved everything, speed, cleanness and comfort? 

Ireland has that unique limited gauge of track found on the massive railway networks of Brazil, India and Australia

The Coras Impoar Eireann colour scheme of orange, black and white, latterly yellow on those predominantly American 121/141/181/071/111 and the Canadian 201 stock locomotives had seemed to mark out a difference. 

Perhaps I'm getting old and have to many reminiscences that cover the sleekness and modern look of the new?

Am I right or am I wrong?