A YOU TUBE RUN WITH THE MERDDIN EMRYS (Ffestiniog Ry)

By the Mighty Mumford

On “Timsvideochannel1”

On the driver’s side filming was done…

Filming seemed a breeze

On the MERDDIN EMRYS,

The camera looked firmly hung!

–

The last train to Porthmadog,

Which turned out quite a log jog…

Narrow gauge rails

Running through Wales,

Even a chasing white dog!

–

Walls sprung on one or both sides

Of the narrow strip where the train rides…

Many private crossing paths,

The more frequent  used have

A whistle post warning trains fly!

–

Sidings both old and well-used,

Giving riders good views…

Of the slate-hauling days

And narrow byways,

That the train softly chuffs through.

–

–Jonathan Caswell

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Intermission Story (7) – Submarines of the Pacific War

Pacific Paratrooper

USS Tang (SS-563) -Balao-class; sank 33 ships. Was sunk in Oct.’44, 9 survived using momsen lung, 78 lost

During the war, submarines of the United States Navy were responsible for 55% of Japan’s merchant marine losses; other Allied navies added to the toll.  The war against shipping was the single most decisive factor in the collapse of the Japanese economy. Allied submarines also sank a large number of IJA troop transports, killing many thousands of Japanese soldiers and hampering the deployment of IJA reinforcements during the battles on the Pacific islands.

USS Barb – Gato-class, sank 17 enemy vessels.

They also conducted reconnaissance patrols, landed special forces and guerrilla troops and performed search and rescue tasks, especially in the Philippines.  The majority of the submarines involved were from the U.S. Navy, with the British Royal Navy committing the second largest amount of boats and the Royal Netherlands Navy contributing smaller…

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Call it Metro schadenfreude: As New York’s subway woes worsen, Washingtonians offer sympathy

PenneyVanderbilt

From WASHINGTON POST

Transit advocates hold a rush-hour rally outside New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office in June to protest train delays and MTA shutdowns. Now that New York’s subway system is having major problems, commuters in Washington feel their pain after experiencing SafeTrack. (Kathy Willens/AP)

When Washington Metro Board Chairman Jack Evans arrived at the panel’s general meeting last month, he carried a copy of the New York Post featuring a characteristically provocative front page recounting the latest troubles of that city’s subway.

“For F’s sake,” read the headline, with a clever insertion of the orange symbol for New York’s “F” train. “Fix the subways!”

Evans used the headline as an opportunity for reflection on his own troubled transit system.

“Not that misery loves company . . . but I think this is another indicator that every one of the six subway systems throughout America is struggling with the same issues,”…

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Largest ship to call US East Coast passes under Bayonne Bridge

A 13,200-TEU vessel that is the largest ever to enter the Port of New York and the US East Coast passed under the newly-elevated Bayonne Bridge Mondayafternoon.