Restrictions on domestic coal burning proposed in the UK Government’s consultation on Clean Air Strategy published in January this year, pose a problem for heritage railways. Everybody* recognises the urgent need to reduce our use of fossil fuels, but, as the Heritage Railway Association (HRA) Board Member, Chris...
I came across this statue of French aviator, Hubert Latham, a couple of days ago on the French coast just outside Sangatte. He’s an interesting guy and so nearly was the first pilot to fly across the English Channel. He was certainly the first to try! Latham...
We think of the Hawker Hurricane as the workhorse of the Battle of Britain and, while generally acknowledged to be not as fast or glamourous as the Spitfire, most pilots found it to be a highly efficient gun platform that could take a lot of punishment. Most,...
The North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR) will be running a magical illuminated steam train in the build up to Christmas. Not only will the Northern Lights Express be lit up, but so too will be parts of the forest that it runs through. https://mechtraveller.com/Extracurricular/Northern_Lights_Express.mp4 The spectacular...
The Juno Beach Centre is different to many of the other museums & memorials on the Normandy coast in that its focus is not so much on ‘what happened here?’, as ‘how and why were the Canadians here?’. “The goal is not to be too technical,” says...
This was one of the 26 sections destined to be part of Saddam Hussein’s ‘Project Babylon’ Iraqi supergun project started in the late 80s. The project was the brainchild of Dr Gerald Bull, a Canadian artillery expert who had been involved in the US-Canadian HARP project (High...
A visit to the the historic Geevor Tin Mine in Cornwall includes a chance to walk down into part of the tin mine itself, if you can do it under your own steam, but not everybody can – until now. A new 360-degree virtual reality tour launched...
The Biber (“Beaver”) midget submarine was not Germany’s most successful weapon in WW2. Designed hastily in Feb 1944 in a bid to compensate for the horrendous losses in the U-boat fleet, and in anticipation of an imminent Allied invasion, the Biber was a cheap, one-man submarine, capable...
The Naval and Maritime Museum at Patriots Point is pretty spectacular and definitely worth a visit if you are in the neighbourhood. By ‘neighbourhood’ I mean pretty much anywhere on the central east coast of the continent! The largest exhibit by far is the aircraft carrier, USS...
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) opened its new ‘behind the scenes’ visitor centre last week in northern France. Most people are aware of the CWGC, particularly when they visit a CWGC cemetery or memorial, but they are perhaps not aware of what the CWGC does or...
Space Center Houston¹ re-opened the Apollo Mission Control Center to the public yesterday, after a two-year restoration programme. The mission control room, which was used during the Gemini, Apollo and Shuttle eras and became a National Historic Landmark in 1985, has been returned to the state it...
I’ve saved the best for last, in the Portsmouth/Gosport museum reviews. The Explosion! Museum of Naval Firepower may be the least well-known of the National Museum of the Royal Navy sites, but I think it’s the most interesting. Or, put another way, it’s the one I would...
The Airborne Museum at Sainte-Mère-Eglise is a ‘must see’ for those touring Normandy, and it’s usually one of the first or last stops on a tour of the Normandy beaches because it’s out there on the western flank, which is exactly why the US airborne forces set...
Heathrow’s expansion plan forms the basis for a 12-week statutory consultation starting today on the airport’s proposed expansion, including the new runway and other airport infrastructure such as a new Terminal 6, and road access. The public will also be able to have their say on plans...
This is a niche blog about technically-minded travel. It reflects my own interests in the mechanical, technical, historical, engineering, transport and military world.
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