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HISTORY - SPIRIT OF PROGRESS the Australian luxury day express train

The Australian luxury day express train SPIRIT OF PROGRESS was the most important express train of VICTORIAN RAILWAYS , a state corporation of Victoria , and one of the most important trains in Down Under. The train is a masterpiece of ART DÉCO design from Down Under. The widely unknown train was in service from 1937 till 1986. First the SPIRIT OF PROGRESS did run from Melbourne to Albury , because of the broad gauge of VICTORIA RAILWAYS (1,600 mm). At the boarder between Victoria and New South Wales the passengers had to leave the SPIRIT OF PROGRESS and go on with their trip to Sidney on the standard gauged (1, 435 mm) train of the New South Wales Railway system. In 1962 the SPIRIT OF PROGRESS could run straight to Sydney. But was withdrawn in 1986, caused by the lack of paying passengers. by Earl of Cruise VICTORIAN RAILWAYS S Class steam locomotive 302 EDWARD HENTY trajecting the SPIRIT OF PROGRESS - courtesy © Weston Langford The late 1930's saw a new era in ...

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HISTORY - HAMBURG-SÜD and the CAP express liner

The CAP express liners of HAMBURG-SÜD, CAP FINISTERRE, CAP TRAFALGAR, CAP POLONIO and CAP ARCONA, are known worldwide for their luxury, renowned service on board and grandeur. Their successors of the 60s, the CAP SAN vessels, have not been that elegant, but truly first class and were known as the "White Swans" of the Atlantic. by Earl of Cruise HAMBURG-SÜD´s SANTA TERESA in Santos - courtesy HAMBURG-SÜD Since its formation in 1871, HAMBURG-SÜDAMERIKANISCHE DAMPFSCHIFFFAHRTS-GESELLSCHAFT ( HSDG or HAMBURG-SÜD ) has evolved from a conventional freight and passenger shipping company into a global operating transport logistics organisation. Today, it ranks among the world's ten largest container shipping lines and is one of the leading providers in the North-South trades. T ill recently it was a member of the successful Oetker Group, one of the largest and best-known family enterprises in Germany. The heirs and owners sold HAMBURG-SÜD to the Danish MAERSK Group ...

Ocean Liners in Movies or Films at Sea (updated Nov 2017)

For liners and the shipping companies movies and films had been a top marketing tool Movies or Films and liners at sea, had been intriguing me since I have read about in my youth in LUXUSLINER - BILDER EINER GROSSEN ZEIT by Lee Server ( THE GOLDEN AGE OF OCEAN LINERS ). But earlier, mot only since my first crossing, I was keen watching movies with liners in it, and disapointed, which was an understatement, when I realized the films have been made in a set ashore in some movie "factory". That was after my first crossing.   by Earl of Cruise an essay in progress `Sabrina´, Humphrey Bogart in the office, while LIBERTÉ is sailing out of New York harbor - screenshot Ocean liners, especially those of the luxury category, had been the location of dramas, love stories, thrillers, suspense and catastrophies sinde film was born, or nearly. In this list, the most descriptions are taken from Wikipedia, as I guess no one can expect having seen all these films ... otherwise I w...

HISTORY - Traveling with airliner LZ 129 HINDENBURG was the most luxurious airtravel

The real airliner LZ 129 HINDENBURG enabled the most luxurious airtravel for decades. Imagine, gliding through the air while the landscape or the sea below can be seen ... LZ 129 HINDENBURG marks the climax of airship construction. On May 6, 1937, the story of civilian airship ended in a tragedy. In Lakehurst, New Jersey, the largest flying object and has been with the similar sized LZ 130 GRAF ZEPPELIN II the most luxurious of all time. How this came about can be reconstructed logically, a series of fatal physics concatenations . The airship LZ 129 HINDENBURG marks the climax of airship construction. It was in its time the fastest and most exclusive traveling object between Europe and America. The challenges of the construction of the giant of the heaven were immense. by Earl of Cruise LZ 129 HINDENBURG, 1936, in Lakehurst - digital copy of a coloured cover photo, originally by Bill Schneider, published in Dan Grossman´s book ` ZEPPELIN HINDENBURG: AN ILLUSTRATED HI...

HISTORY - ss LA BOURGOGNE - Women and Children last

What had happend on sinking LA BOURGOGNE? Why had been so few women and children been rescued ? by João Martins , editing by Earl of Cruise ss LA BOURGOGNE - editors collection From our viewpoint of today we see this disaster of ss LA BOURGOGNE as one of egoism and the right of the stronger, with no "heroism", or stepping back for the weak to be saved. And we blame the crew for not doing their duty ... Are we allowed to judge? Are we allowed to chide? Are we alowed to claime it as typical ... for the seamanship of France - I have heard and read so! - ?  No, we have not been on board.  This tragedy is not the place to be chauvinistic! And looking in todays world we see a lot of chauvinism again and egoism! The ss LA BOURGOGNE was a 7,395 GRT French ocean liner built by the FCM in Toulon for the Transatlatic mail and passenger service of Cie. Gle. TRANSATLANTIQUE and completed in 1886. She was an iron and steel construction, 150 metres long, had two funnels an...

ss NORMANDIE 1935 - 1942 IX

s s / te NORMANDIE starting from cold Owners: COMPAGNIE GÉNÉRALE TRANSATLANTIQUE BUILDERS: PENH Ö ET, St. Nazaire, France   by Stephen Carey © , editing by Earl of Cruise   This document is almost exclusively about the engineering aspects of NORMANDIE , mainly on how to start her up from cold. If you are looking for photos of the passenger spaces, there is a plethora of them on the web, in Facebook groups - Admirers of the ss Normandie , ss Normandie photographic file , The French Ocean Liners / Les Paquebots Fran ç ais , ss Normandie , GREAT LINERS OF THE PAST & PRESENT , and others, Pinterest and in articles about NORMANDIE here in the blog, please see at the end of the article. Using "ss" for NORMANDIE is quite incorrect, as NORMANDIE was a Turbo Electric vessel and not a steamship, therefore NORMANDIE should be adressed as "te".   by Earl of Cruise te / ss NORMANDIE berthed in Le Havre, Gare Maritime May 29th, 1935 - colouring courtesy ...

Transatlantic - OCEAN STEAM NAVIGATION COMPANY, New York, 1846-1857

The OCEANSTEAM NAVIGATION COMPANY was the first United States flag Transatlantic steamship company to offer regularly scheduled transatlantic service to continental Europe. The company was founded in response to a U.S. government decision to subsidize a steamship operation by means of mail contracts in an attempt to compete with British government subsidies to British CUNARD LINE. The mail line should serve the ports of Le Havre and Bremen . In 1783 Bremen was amoung the first states to acknowledge diplomatic the new formed United States of America.   by Earl of Cruise WASHINGTON of OCEAN STEAM NAVIGATION COMPANY - own collection Bevor the advent of usable steam engines, sailing packets dominated the Northatlantic, e.g. BLACK BALL LINE . This line and other sailing packets from the USA dominated the market with their more or less frequent crossings depending on the winds - sometimes up to 10 weeks westbound. BLACK BALL LINE was a freight, mail and passe...

F&B, Style - A Beautiful Jug, a Cup and a Bucket

About a jug, a cup, a champagne bucket. by Richard Arebalo for the Texas Wine and Food Foundation editing by Earl of Cruise I’ve collected antique silver for many years, but lately the pace has accelerated and the size of the collection has grown the more I am inspired by the beautiful scenes in Downton Abbey. While watching my guilty pleasure, I am particularly drawn to the details of preparing, presenting and serving the food and wine. In every kitchen scene depicting frantic food preparation, there is always a gallery of beautiful copper pots and dessert molds in the background. In the dining room, be it breakfast or dinner, table settings and service pieces are stunning and, thanks to the show’s historical advisor, Alastair Bruce, meticulously accurate for the period. top and below, Tastevin - courtesy TEXAS WINE & FOOD I can definitely imagine seeing Mr. Carson, the butler, using a couple of my recent wine-related purchases--an Edwardian wine ewer fr...

HISTORY - The CUNARD - WHITE STAR Liner rms QUEEN ELIZABETH (1938-1972)

Over years, in my early youth, the QUEEN ELIZABETH was shaping my mind for the perfect ocean liner, despite having made my first experiences with a liner onboard the HANSEATIC (1), ex EMPRESS OF SCOTLAND, ex EMPRESS OF JAPAN. When leaning at the rail of HANSEATIC entering the port, my eyes where every where and I wished to by a camera, I took all in. And when seeing the QUEEN ELIZABETH with my own eyes, the nice behaving young boy turned into a tomboy, that my grandmére was no longer able to tame ... I did draw quite a lot of looks, back then. I found, while on research, this article and thought it interesting publishing in my blog: written and published by John Sheperd at liverpoolships.org editing and comments by Earl of Cruise I ( John Shepard ) joined the CUNARD LINE in March 1962 as an Assistant Purser and sailed the QUEEN ELIZABETH throughout that year, before transferring to the Liverpool-based CARINTHIA in November, where I remained as Crew Purser for the next five...

HISTORY - AUSTRO AMERICANA the Austro-Hungary shipping line into the new world

Not many know about the Austro-Hungary shipping line, AUSTRO AMERICANA , which sailed out of Trieste to the Americas. Austro-Hungary and shipping? You may ask ... you may have heard about Vienna Walz, coffe house culture, Hotel Sacher and its famous chocolate cake, the Prater, chateau Schönbrunn, the Fiakers - the famous horse carriages and such things. But passenger shipping lines? There has been AUSTRO AMERICANA and ÖSTERREICHISCHER LLOYD , renamed in LLOYD TRIESTINO after 1918 and after purchased by EVERGREEN renamed in Italia Marittima. The actual company ÖSTERREICHISCHER LLOYD is a new formed management company situated in Austria.   by Earl of Cruise KAISER FRANZ JOSEH I. the biggest liner of AUSTRO AMERICANA - own collextion Parts of my family lived for a long time in the Austro-Hungary empire, which can be qualified as a "United Nations of the Balkan". Having traces into Austria-Hungay, the realm of Hungary in special, it is a pleasure for me making thes...

HISTORY - Italian TITANIC - The sinking of ss PRINCIPESSA MAFALDA

Despite rms TITANIC , ss PRINCIPESSA MAFALDA somehow has disappeared into the mists of time. Except for a small group of followers. This is mostly a reflection of the fact, that it was an Italian ship, carrying a complement that was almost exclusively Latino. The disaster of the MORRO CASTLE was a less significant event, and yet the amount of information and coverage, even today, is exponentially greater. Earl of Cruise by João Martins , editing by Earl of Cruise The Italian "rms TITANIC", ss PRINCIPESSA MAFALDA - Source: Wikipedia D espite the sinking of the ss ANDREADORIA 30 years later being much better known, the greatest tragedy in Italian shipping and largest ever in the Southern Hemisphere in peacetime was the sinking of the ss PRINCIPESSA MAFALDA in 1927.  Builder Cantiere Riva Trigoso, Riva Trigoso No. 42 Launching 22. Oktober 1908 Commissioning 30. März 1909 25. Oktober 1927 su...