Engines. Part-One.

The heart of every Machine.

If one visits the Science Museum in London, U.K. or nearly every country in the world, you are confronted by the engines of all the great machines that have ever been built. For mechanics this is a day out, for others perhaps after looking at a couple one can get bored easily?

But it is the engine from the petrol to the hydro-electric fusion that has been the heart of motive power this last 125 years. Engines have helped in the development of getting into space, going to the depths of our oceans, building all forms of structures and tunnels.

 Ford T-Model car, Mark 1 tank, Holland Submarine, Sputnik, Ferrari, Porche,Apollo Rockets, Queen Mary, Spitfire, Volkswagen Beetle, Drones, Hydro Power, Trains, Mustang P-51, Rolls-Royce, MiG-15, SR-71, Bullet train, Antonov 225 Mirya, X-Planes, Mars Rovers,

Steam was one thing, Diesel another, fusion is something else and nuclear elctro fusion will take us out of our solar system?

London Overground. Part-One.

'A Vision fulfilled.

Now that London Underground has expanded with its new Overground service it has just been able to cope, but despite the success with the new types of trains both third rail and overhead electrics it has to expand to succeed.

A surface EMU (Electrical multiple units) Class 378 Capital Star, built by Bombardier Derby was a wise choice for the stock fleet. Fifty-seven trains were purchased bran new, between 2009-10. They are designated /1 and /2, The first batch of /1 are 750V Dc third rail only and the second batch are /2 25kV AC overhead and some are 750 Dc third rail. North of the river Thames is mostly overhead, while south is third rail, there are a few exceptions in west-London. 

But more trains and link lines will need to be added to cope with the capacity that London demands. Many new projects are under construction for London. But despite all of them the Underground really needs some serious financial investments, as it once had in the past.

The Concorde story . Part-One.

Four Nations.

Only four nations used two types of supersonic civil aircraft, Britain, France and Singapore used Concorde and the former Soviet Union the Tupolev Tu-144. The Russian version was faster and a better aircraft, but all this came a heavey cost to design and the testing programme.

Meanwhile the joint British-French aircraft was more versitile and had a very long service with three long-haul airlines. Concorde was the aircraft of the rich, filmstars and the real jet-set. Both types of supersonic aicraft were the fist of their kind, and despite pleas by Virgin airlines boss Sir Richard Branson, it does not seem that they will be returning in a newer form just yet.

As a boy I remember seeing all three of them during my summer holidays, make their final approaches to London Heathrow International airport. In recent weeks I seem to have the same dream of seeing the BA Concorde against a blue sky. 

These aicraft were grounded since the trajic crash in Paris France. Russia had retired theirs much earlier, due to cracks and financial constraints.