Hail to the Studebaker

This week my travels bring me to Canton Ohio home of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. I've been in this town many times and only stopped at the HoF once, and that was to get something from the gift shop.

If I have free time here, I'd much rather go to a much smaller, less known museum: the Canton Classic Car Museum.



It's not a huge museum but it does have several very nice old cars, including most of the Marshall Belden collection.



One of the jewels of their collection is the 1937 Studebaker President. Now Canton can be a rough town, and that's been true for quite a while. Back in the 1930s the Canton police bought a riot car, which was designed to be bulletproof (or at least strong enough to withstand a shot from a .45) This car was used for over 50 years without a breakdown. It spent most of it's time transporting money, but it was occasionally used in more hostile situations where the armor plating was necessary.

It's been restored recently, complete with the extra thick windows and machine gun ports!



They don't build them like that any more!

The Tornado

Recently I entertained some coworkers who were visiting from across the pond in England. They were here for long enough that there were some good opportunities for dining, target shooting, and touring. During the course of our conversations I picked up an interesting fact. There is actually a brand new steam locomotive in Britain which has recently been completed. When I say new, I don't mean, completely rebuilt, I mean built from the ground up. The new locomotive was based upon existing plans, and locating these must have been an adventure in and of itself.



The end result is beautiful. When I first saw the pictures I could barely believe that it was real. The glossy paint and bright colors made it look more like a brand new model than the real thing. But it is indeed real, and it has recently completed testing so that it can be used on major railways in Britain. I hope that future generations get as much enjoyment from this locomotive as I have from the many antique steamers I have seen.

For more information check out these links.

www.a1steam.com
BBC News
Daily Mail
Wikipedia

Happy Thanksgiving!

In a few days I should emerge from the turkey induced coma and start posting again.

Pie Chart

Thank a Veteran Today

Photo courtesy of Shorpy.

Ninety years ago today the guns fell silent in Europe, signaling the end of 'The War to end all Wars.' In 1938, the US Congress proclaimed this an official holiday "dedicated to the cause of world peace" named Armistice Day. Sixteen years later we had seen a second world war and Korean conflict. Congress saw fit to make this day Veterans Day in honor of veterans of all wars.

Unlike Memorial day when we honor our fallen veterans, today is a day to recognize both the living and the dead who have answered their country's call. We owe these men and women a great debt of gratitude, so please thank a veteran today.

The Silver Medal Tape

It is with great pleasure and some amusement that I report, I am a recipient of the coveted "Duck Tape Award." I am flattered beyond words, so I will let 'Uncle Green' do the talking instead.

Farmers Fare

This summer I was taking some pictures of steam traction engines when I came across one with an open smokebox.


I had been contemplating writing a post on boiler design, so I figured this would make a great illustration. I rushed over and took this photo.


Of course you can see the arrangment of the flues which run from the smokebox to the firebox and up above the exhaust steam is directed up into the smokestack to create a draft to draw air from the firebox, and down below...

Wait, those shouldn't be there. Why are there metal grates and hooks in the smokebox?


Ah, smoked sausage. That makes sense. I'm not sure they would be up to Brigid's standards, but they sure look tasty!

One word of caution though, If anyone else feels the need to try this approach to feed your next threshing crew, just make sure you're burning wood that day and not coal!

Quote of the unspecified temporal interval

Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost.

John Quincy Adams

Election Day Special

Campaign season finally ends today! Perhaps I'll be able to take these off...

...or maybe I'll need them even more.

The problem with any election is that even when it ends, one of the politicians still sticks around for a few years. Oh well, or words to that effect.

LSMFT

Lucky Shots Mean Fine Targets!

The results from the October E-Postal results are up over at Traction Control. I actually made a decent showing this time (thanks in no small part to True Blue Sam's TC Contender.) Of course Mr. C still doubled my best score, but I have learned not to doubt his abilities with a pistol!

Better yet, I already shot next month's target and I think I actually got a perfect score on one sheet. We'll know for sure at the end of the month.