BAGDContext CSM

The brakeman is the guy who rides the train and warns the driver of any problems by hanging out the train and waving….because of his visible role on the train, he is seen as photogenic…

Here is an old picture of Belleville station, Canada. I love the way there’s a crowd for the arrival of the train…like in Once upon a Time in the West.

And the timber station buildings are lovely too.

A lot of films are made on trains…the schedule and the timetable have to match, and the scenery is inexpensive and keeps changing…like a road movie but with more space and a nicer decor…this is Bardot.

Profile…sharp

Just like a Charles Sheeer painting…but real. Perfect.

Here’s a lovely old photo of a US steamtrain…I like the slightly out-of-focus roughness of the engine. And the trackside shack. That’s a beauty.

Marvellous

K just found this lovely old scarf with trains on it…

I love the precise engineering drawing of these trains in elevation…they’re really flat looking; but also full of drama, life and elegance. Perfect.

Here’s a lovely picture by my friend and local artist, Duncan Weston.

Terrific.

Godiva Chocolates have made a celebratory choco-loco to co-incide with the opening of  Murder on the Orient Express. The original story is by Agatha Christie (1934). The story was made into an all-star film in 1974…and just now, in 2017.

The film has just opened to mixed reviews; but the model is pretty good. The model is an interpretation of the French SBCF class 241P.

This loco was a post-ww2 (1944) bigger and better development of the famous 231 engines that were perfected by the French mechanical engineer, Andre Chapelon, during the 1920s and 1930s.

These powerful engines pulled passenger expresses across France, and to theMediterranean coast. The power and speed of these engines was expressed through Arthur Honneger’s eponymous musical composition and in the film by Jean Mitry (1947)…

These powerful engines pulled passenger expresses across France, and to the Mediterranean coast. The power and speed of these engines was expressed through Arthur Honneger’s eponymous musical composition and in the film by Jean Mitry (1947)…

Image et Son (Mitry Honneger)

The film by Mitry is terrific…especially the first part of slow and careful make-ready with industrial noises…