Saturday, August 11, 2012

SHOCKING SECURITY STATS


Homeland Security:
These guys are good

A Department of Homeland Security official
explains how dangerous shirts and hats are detected
  

January Statistics On Airport Screening From The Department Of Homeland Security:
Terrorists Discovered
0
Transvestites
133
Hernias
1,485
Hemorrhoid Cases
3,172
Enlarged Prostates
8,249
Breast Implants
59,350
Natural Blondes
3
It was also discovered that 535 congressional representatives had no balls.


Chart from Allan Gejdos, retired Air Canada pilot, BC


WARNING!
If you are traveling with any of the books below,
don't let Homeland Security see them. 
They will take them away from you, so they can read them too.

Books for e-readers: https://www.smashwords.com/books/


Friday, August 10, 2012

GETTING AROUND AMERICA


From Lonely Planet
On the road in America:
travelling without a car

Brendan Sainsbury  
Lonely Planet Author
Relaxing travel
Travelling in the US without your own wheels doesn’t have to be a form of purgatory. Beat writer, Jack Kerouac, unwitting inventor of the modern American road trip, never owned a car or a driver’s license. Aside from the odd brief (and presumably illegal) turn behind the wheel of someone else’s vehicle, the author of On the Road relied on carpooling, hitchhiking and good old public transport to get around. Maybe that’s what made his rambling yet insightful observations of 1950s American life so illuminating.
Emulating Kerouac today isn’t the conundrum many believe. As a writer living close to the US-Canadian border, I regularly make car-less forays into Washington State in the Pacific Northwest, a region surprisingly well-served by public transport if you have the time and tenacity to ferret it out. Beautifully scenic ferry rides connect the scattered islands around Seattle, a positively sublime Amtrak train service stops in all the crucial coastal and inland cities, and buses fill most of the gaps in between.


You'll need good books to read while 

you wait for the bus or train




Granted, quality is sometimes an issue, especially on the buses. I’ve ridden on far better coaches in Peru and Mexico than in the US where the well-used Greyhound fleet seems to have lost a little of its lustre since Simon and Garfunkel ‘went off to look for America’ in the 1960s (the ‘man in the gabardine suit’ is more likely to be wearing a greasy denim jacket these days). But despite the lack of luxury touches, American buses are usually functional, uncrowded and – most importantly – on time. And they’re not always Greyhounds either. I’ve taken the zippy Quickshuttle (with free wifi) between Vancouver and Seattle, Breeze Bus in northern Oregon, and Rimrock Trailways in remote parts of Western Montana where, more than once, I have been the only passenger.
Buses can be innovative too. The Bus-Up 90 shuttles cyclists to the top of Snoqualmie Pass east of Seattle enabling adventurous bikers to pedal back down on the John Wayne Pioneer Trail to Cedar Falls and a bus ride back to the Emerald City. Then there’s the free shuttle service that traverses Glacier National Park in Montana on what is perhaps the most jaw-droppingly spectacular stretch of asphalt in the US, the Going-to-the-Sun Road.
It’s not the only freebie. Public transport in the US can be ridiculously easy on the wallet for visitors, especially if you’re accustomed to forking out £30 for a weekly London Tube pass. Whidbey Island, the largest island on the US’s west coast, has a completely free bus service that runs every day except Sunday, while, on the opposite shores of Puget Sound, the green wilderness of the Olympic Peninsula can be completely circumnavigated for a little over $5 if you’re willing to decipher a handful of bus timetables (all available online). The same 400-mile journey in a car costs a minimum of $35 in gas.
The biggest savings, however, belong to the trains. As recently as 2011, I rode Amtrak’s Empire Builder in a comfy business class-sized seat from Seattle to Chicago – a spectacular 2206-mile journey – for $140. In England the same amount of money would get me from London to Birmingham – a mere 119 miles – in a less comfortable, more crowded train. Furthermore, the Empire Builder is a veritable holiday-on-wheels, a classic example of the journey usurping the destination.
US cities have a sketchy record when it comes to public transport, but things are changing in many metro areas. Portland, Oregon is famous for its European-sized stash of trams, light-rail, buses and bike lanes. Up the coast, Seattle, an early innovator in urban mass transit during the 1962 World’s Fair, has recently invested in a new tram and airport rail link. Some US cities like Austin, Boulder and Missoula, do have plentiful public transport, while Parisian-style bike-sharing schemes are now the norm in cities such as Washington DC and Minneapolis.
But, in a country where the motor car has long been the default method of transportation, Kerouac-style innovation is still sometimes necessary. Planning a cross-country skiing trip in Washington’s North Cascade Mountains last year, my meticulously-planned bus-train-shuttle itinerary came to an abrupt halt in a middle-of-nowhere town called Pateros, 50 miles from my destination, Winthrop. On a whim, I phoned up my hotel, put on my poshest Hugh Grant accent and explained my dilemma. ‘No problem’ replied the hotel receptionist, ‘I’ll send someone to pick you up’. Sure enough, when my bus arrived in Pateros, a silver Toyota Prius was sitting in the parking lot with a driver holding up my name on a piece of paper. It was a fitting irony in a country where traveling car-less is usually regarded as an unsolvable equation. Kerouac, who worked near Winthrop as a fire lookout in the 1950s and logged his local hitchhiking experiences in the book The Dharma Bums, would have, no doubt, been smiling.


DEPARTING AIRVENTURE OSHKOSH


Flying Oshkosh to San Diego in a
Dassault Falcon 10
My return flight from AirVenture was a terrific learning experience. 
By Pia Bergqvist / Published: Aug 02, 2012

Wittman Field, Oshkosh, Wisconsin

Last week’s AirVenture air show in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, was a big treat. As I’ve come to expect after years of attending, the show was filled with new exciting aviation products and every imaginable airplane type. And there was plenty of opportunity to learn new things at the forums and seminars. As I’ve also come to expect, the week presented the usual range of weather conditions, from extreme heat to a pretty intense thunderstorm that flipped at least one airplane and damaged several signs and tents. I had the pleasure of being stuck in a Port-O-Let – a sizable restroom trailer - for about 15 minutes while the storm raged outside.
It was a great week, and while I was sad to leave I was excited about the mode of transportation for my return. I was flying back with John and Martha King in their Dassault Falcon 10. Our Saturday morning departure out of Appleton’s Outagamie County Regional Airport presented deep blue, mostly clear skies.
We were a total of six people in the airplane that day, and having spent the better part of the week at Oshkosh, we all had heavy bags. Yet even with full fuel, we apparently had the capability of adding an additional 2,740 lbs of people and stuff to the airplane. This is one of those rare airplane types that allow you to fill the seats and cargo areas without being maxed out on weight.
Martha and John King with
Pia Bergqvist in the Falcon
As John walked me around the airplane, he explained that, at Mach 0.87, the Falcon 10 is the second fastest business jet after the Cessna Citation X (once it achieves full certification, the Gulfstream 650 will be even faster than the X). In addition to the powerful Garret turbo-fan engines, the severe sweep of the wings and vertical stabilizer of the Falcon 10 help with its high-speed capability. Another factor that aids the speed is that the wings are very thin, but with the leading-edge slats and up to 52 degrees of flaps deployed, the resulting curve of the wing enable benign approach speeds, John explained.
With the airplane’s range capability, we could have made it from Appleton to San Diego in one leg, but the Kings decided to split up the legs to give their senior vice president of marketing and technology Barry Knutilla, who is also typed in the airplane, a leg as well.
I was in the side-facing seat right behind the cockpit to get a good look view during the departure. I was impressed with the professional communications between Martha and John in the cockpit as they briefed the departure and made sure the airplane was configured properly. As we taxied near the approach end of the runway, Fifi (the B-29 Super Fortress bomber) came in for a perfect three-point landing – a last indication that we were leaving the Mecca of aviation.
We were cleared for takeoff and Martha pushed the throttles forward to spool up the Garrett engines. The power was impressive and I had to hang on to my seat during the ground roll so that I wouldn’t slide too far aft against the seatbelt.


Generally below 10,000 feet the airspeed is kept at 250 knots indicated in the climb, but with all the AirVenture traffic in the area the Kings wanted to get high as fast as possible, so Martha initially targeted 200 knots and the Falcon responded by climbing at nearly 6,000 fpm. Above 10,000 feet, we were at 300 knots indicated. At 20,000 feet we were still climbing at 2,500 fpm with a true airspeed of 430 knots, and this was a warm summer morning with ISA+15!
Our final altitude was FL340. We were cruising at 505 knots (or 0.86 Mach) and made it to Wichita in 1.5 hours. The second leg ended up being 2.5 hours. The same trip took me two long but enjoyable days in the Cessna 170 a few years ago.
The high-speed capability of the Falcon 10 was truly impressive, but I was shocked to learn that the approach speed is about on par with many piston twins. Martha’s targeted speed for the approach was 106 knots and this slow speed capability enables the Kings to land their Falcon at Montgomery Field (KMYF), which has an available landing distance of about 3,400 feet with the displaced threshold on Runway 28R.
Flying back from Oshkosh with the Kings was a treat, not only because the flight was efficient and comfortable, but also because I was flying with people who are friends and kindred spirits. And, as would be expected while flying with a couple of legendary pilot educators, I learned a ton from the flight.
More in Flying at: http://www.flyingmag.com/blogs

PROGRESS BATTLE LINES DRAWN


Unesco watches Fiordland
tunnel project in New Zealand
By Tracey Roxburgh
6:26 AM Friday Aug 10, 2012
Milford Sound

Unesco is keeping a close eye on the Fiordland and Mt Aspiring National Parks and their status as a World Heritage site may be under threat from two controversial commercial proposals.
If the Dart Passage Tunnel, proposed by Milford Dart Ltd, or the Fiordland Link Experience, proposed by Riverstone Holdings Ltd, gain approval, Unesco may send a monitoring group to New Zealand to assess the impacts of the developments.
This could lead to the Te Wahipounamu heritage site being deleted from the World Heritage list. It could be added to the List of World Heritage in Danger.
Unesco public relations division media relations chief Sue Williams said yesterday the organization became involved after receiving "a number of reports by third parties" earlier this year.
It contacted the New Zealand authorities, requesting information on both proposals, "including their legal status and stage of implementation", Ms Williams said when contacted at her base in France.
Doc confirmed the two proposals had been "approved in principle" and provided Unesco with copies of impact studies and proposed mitigation measures.
Milford Sound Airport
Unesco's World Heritage Centre and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, an international environmental group, were assessing the information.
The next step could be the preparation of a report to be considered at the next World Heritage Committee session, in June or July next year.
From that meeting, officials could be asked to visit the area to assess the impact of the proposals.
"The World Heritage Centre has requested the New Zealand authorities keep it informed of any development, including the outcome of the public hearings," Ms Williams said.
Late last year, Conservation Minister Kate Wilkinson announced her intention to grant concession applications to both companies. Submissions were then called for and were heard over several weeks this year by a Doc hearings panel in Queenstown and Te Anau.
Doc media adviser Reuben Williams said yesterday Unesco had no legal jurisdiction over the concession applications process.
Unesco was interested in world heritage but "they won't be in a position to be involved ... in the decision making".
Doc was still preparing reports on the applications to be forwarded to the delegated decision-maker, Doc operations deputy director Sue Cosford, he said.
"No formal decisions have been made ... it could be some time off."
Milford Dart Ltd director Michael Sleigh said he "just can't see how" the 11.3km tunnel could jeopardize the World Heritage Status. It would have a "minimal impact" compared with other developments at Milford Sound.
"If they [Unesco] were coming, they should be having a very close look at what the various Te Anau-based stakeholder groups [in] the Milford village [have done] in terms of the 6ha of native forest they removed to allow for commercial expansion.
"It's far more dramatic than anything we're proposing.
"They should also be talking to the people at Gunn's Camp and the mayor about recent support for the Haast-Hollyford highway and what impact that will have on the World Heritage status."
Riverstone Holdings Ltd director John Beattie said Unesco would be "absolutely satisfied" with his company's project, which would be an "exemplar for future activities inside the Department of Conservation estate in New Zealand".
He likened the project to the 7.4km Kuranda Scenic Railway which traversed native rain forest in Cairns.
"I'm advised by the operators ... that the benefit, they believe, of the infrastructure to the World Heritage status position - the knowledge and understanding of the rain forest - has been considerably improved ... as a result of the infrastructure being in place.
"We expect the monorail will be no different in that regard and we'd expect, having been through a detailed eight-year process, which has been extremely robust, with Doc ... that Unesco will respect the integrity of the Doc process and this will cease to be an issue."
Unesco World Heritage sites:
*962 sites worldwide, including three in New Zealand.
*Te Wahipounamu ("Place of Greenstone") covers the Aoraki/Mt Cook, Fiordland, Mt Aspiring and Westland National Parks; included in 1990.
*Tongariro National Park included in 1990, New Zealand Subantarctic Islands in 1998.
*To be included, sites must be of "outstanding universal value".
The proposals:
*Dart Passage Tunnel: An 11.6km, commercial bus tunnel from the Routeburn road in the Mt Aspiring National Park to the Hollyford road in the Fiordland National Park. Cost: $150m.
*Fiordland Link Experience: A catamaran trip across Lake Wakatipu to Mt Nicholas, an all terrain vehicle trip to the Kiwi Burn, then a 43km monorail journey to Te Anau Downs, on Lake Te Anau. Cost: $175m.
By Tracey Roxburgh

Debate: Fighting over Fiordland2

By Dianne Blumhardt and Bob Robertson
Tourism developers want to put a monorail into Fiordland, shortening the journey from Queenstown. Bob Robertson defends his scheme, and Dianne Blumhardt urges the Government to turn it down.
Bob Robertson: FOR
In a few weeks the Minister of Conservation, through his department's general manager of operations, will decide whether to grant a concession for the "Fiordland Link Experience", a privately funded, $170 million eco-tourism proposal of national significance.
The decision comes as the head of the Tourism Industry Association, Martin Snedden, is calling for the industry to adapt its offerings to what visitors want. Though the project ticks all the boxes, a collection of small special interest groups is working to kill it off.
This raises a question: if even green projects like this run into this kind of opposition, what is the future for investment and development throughout New Zealand?
Visitor numbers to Milford Sound have decreased every year since 2006. The project would reverse this by replacing the 580km round trip from Queenstown to Milford Sound with a combination of catamaran, all-terrain vehicle and monorail travel, and shave hours off the trip.
The monorail would be the longest in the world and powered entirely by renewable energy. The monorail track would be carefully laid to avoid significant beech trees and stay outside the boundaries of the Fiordland National Park.
Only 22ha of the 46,750ha Snowdon Forest would be affected - less than 0.05 per cent.
The investors have spent $3.5 million consulting the Department of Conservation. At a time of strained government budgets, the project would be entirely funded by local developers. It is expected to create at least 40 engineering and construction jobs and around 65 permanent jobs once the project is operational.
Concessions paid to DoC would contribute to its work and extensive overseas advertising by the investors would help the wider tourism sector.
Despite all this, a small number of people want to stop the project. They can be divided into three groups: those who want to keep the area for themselves, those with competing business interests, and those who oppose any development.
The first group comprises existing recreational users of the Fiordland area. They are concerned that the footprint of the monorail will disrupt their use of the land. As this is a matter of perception, we have to take their word for it. However, the area in question is vast and multiple uses can easily co-exist.
The second group run existing businesses that would compete with the Fiordland link. The degree to which they will be affected depends on the choices of visitors to the region.
The overriding point, however, is that commercially self-interested parties should react to competition by improving their visitor offering, not by knee-capping potential competitors with cynical objections at the consenting phase.
The third group has parachuted in from out of town. It appears opposed to development for ideological reasons and advocates encouraging people to stay longer and walk more. That is easier said than done for those who are time constrained or who lack the physical strength to go on walks. They include many elderly visitors.
The decision each of us now faces is whether we get behind projects like this or bow to pressure from a few special interest groups.
Do we want to create jobs and enable more people to see more of our beautiful country, or keep the environment the preserve of a select few?
Bob Robertson is managing director of the Infinity Investment Group.
Dianne Blumhardt: AGAINST
The fate of parts of pristine Fiordland hangs in the balance. Proposals by two different development companies to shortcut the road journey from Queenstown to Milford Sound are being considered by the Department of Conservation.
One of them proposes a tunnel in Mt Aspiring National Park, beyond Glenorchy where the stunning Routeburn wilderness walk begins. It would take private buses underground to the Hollyford Rd in Fiordland National Park, then on to Milford Sound. The other proposal is a monorail that would cut a swathe through DoC's Snowdon Forest, also aiming to condense the journey through to Milford.
DoC, established in the 1980s to protect the diminishing natural assets of New Zealand, is being lured by the dollar to grant concessions to these two invasive private enterprises.
Already the conservation estate is peppered with businesses that operate fairly unobtrusively, generating income through a strictly monitored relationship. So why the fuss over the proposed monorail and tunnel?
Look at the jobs they will create felling trees, bulldozing roads and in their main construction. Think of the revenue pouring into the local economy and Government coffers.
Yes, big companies will benefit, as will huge hotel consortiums (New Zealand-owned?) to accommodate targeted Asian tourists who will come to see as much as possible in as short a time as possible.
But what about small businesses throughout New Zealand?
With the loss of integrity, yet again, for our "100% Pure NZ" image, real travelers, prepared for real journeys seeing, and experiencing the raw natural beauty of real New Zealand, will recoil from travelling here. Such travelers embrace our perceived respect for the grandeur we guard.
The real loss is beyond monetary consideration. It reaches into the heart and conscience of anyone with enough humility to see beyond self-gratification. To allow all senses the chance to absorb the aura of this untouched world is a humbling experience indeed.
What arrogance would even consider meddling here? But DoC needs money, and conservation and tourism are strongly linked, so let's look for solutions within tourism.
Tourism ranges from the high-end, top lodge, private jet set through the organized hotel-staying bus tours to self-drive retirees who stay in small motels or bed & breakfasts, campervan users and backpackers.
All enjoy our conservation estate to a greater or lesser degree but how many contribute directly to DoC?
As a retiring bed & breakfast operator, a hiker and a caring citizen, I have sought an answer to this problem. Through discussion with the thousands of tourists over the past 20 years, I have discovered that not one of them would be averse to paying a small levy going directly to DoC.
Obviously charging to enter a National Park is not worth consideration, whereas a small levy (say $20) charged at our border to anyone travelling on a foreign passport, should provide revenue. We don't need to sell our soul.
Regardless of where we live in New Zealand we all have a duty to defend what is left of its natural assets. Kiwis who leave city comforts, and visit our wilderness areas, will understand this plea: Don't stuff up any more of Real New Zealand, this is our heritage.
Dianne Blumhardt of Thames is a retired school teacher and bed and breakfast operator. The real loss is beyond monetary consideration.

Peter’s Comment

First, let’s look at UNESCO. Here in part is what Wikipedia has to say about UNESCO:

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (French L'Organisation des Nations unies pour l’éducation, la science et la culture: UNESCO; Description: play/juːˈnɛsk/) is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN). Its purpose is to contribute to peace and security by promoting international collaboration through education, science, and culture in order to further universal respect for justice, the rule of law, and human rights along with fundamental freedoms proclaimed in the UN Charter.

Listed among the agency’s wide ranging activities is also the responsibility for registration of World Heritage Sites. The aims of UNESCO would appear to support the projects as aids to international collaboration and understanding through education, science and culture. Isn't that what tourism is all about?

The article above by Bob Robertson is the view of a business investor and one would expect him to come out on the side of the developers. But he argues with logic that is hard to dispute.

Dianne Blumhardt on the other hand argues with the logic of someone who wants to save the whole world from itself. She seems to be a believer in the theory that everything should be turned back to the first ten seconds of evolution so that the world would be a perfect place for right thinking people like her.

I think the reality of the two new Milford Sound access routes is that both will do more to preserve this world heritage area than the existing means of getting to this remote location.

It is well known in the tourism industry that attractions at the end of a no-exit road never attract as many visitors as attractions that have more than one route in and out.

In addition, there is the time problem. It’s all very well to say that tourists should be encouraged to walk everywhere, but they don’t have the time. Most visitors to Milford Sound go there and back in a day from Queenstown. That’s a 680 kilometer round trip on a road that is one of the most dangerous that we have. Few people have time for an extra night in Te Anau to break the journey.

More people need to realize that we can’t stop the clock ten seconds after the start of evolution. We can’t stop the clock at any point in history and we can’t stop it to take effect at midnight tonight. We live in a world that is still evolving and man and his creations are part of the evolution.

Both projects will be good for New Zealand and good for our World Heritage sites.

WEIRD HEADLINES








Thursday, August 9, 2012

HIGHWAY HANK GOOD


The frustrations
of interstate trucking

Highway Hank Good's HG 2

“Here I sit for another night, in the back of the Petro shop, waiting for a new turbo, oh and now it looks like the APU has totally quit too. It won't stay running, just like the alternator. It went out also,” says Highway Hank Good on Facebook from somewhere in Pennsylvania.

Hank is a popular and well-known veteran of US trucking who takes great pride in his rigs. But as any old hand will tell you it doesn’t matter how thorough the maintenance is, you can still get caught out and sometimes it’s just a pile of things one on top of another.

Cheers, Hank. Before you know it you’ll be cruising the interstates again and doing what you love.


I hope Hank has some good reading material to help pass the time


BEAUTIFUL SWITZERLAND


Why Swiss steam is back 
on the rails 
By Anthony Lambert
5:00 PM Tuesday Jul 24, 2012 New Zealand Herald
Anthony Lambert takes a trip on a lovingly-restored cogwheel steam locomotive route through the Swiss Alps.


A steam locomotive negotiates the Steinstafelviadukt on the picturesque Dampfbahn Furka-Bergstrecke in Switzerland. Photo / Creative Commons image by Wikimedia user David Gubler
Tran Dinh Hung travelled 8850 kilometres because of his childhood dream. He came to Switzerland from his native Vietnam to work on the steam locomotives his father drove before the Vietnam War.
"Every day I saw him on a steam locomotive and heard the beautiful sound from the locomotive. So I wanted to follow him when I grew up."
But, after the war, the railway into the mountains at Da Lat remained closed and the Swiss-built engines languished in a jungle embrace.
Then in 1990 Hung was given the job by Vietnam Railways of helping a dozen Swiss volunteers move the derelict locos 120km to Ho Chi Minh City for shipment to Hamburg and, finally, Switzerland, as part of the revival of a remarkable line between Realp and Oberwald. Now retired, he was on his third visit to work on the railway when I met him last August.
Until 1982, this section of line was one of the highlights - and highest point - of the Glacier Express line between St Moritz and Zermatt. Then a 14.5km "base tunnel", cut through the foot of the mountain, opened which permits year-round operation.
Previously, the threat of avalanches forced closure from October to late May. Indeed, one bridge had to be dismantled every autumn to prevent it being swept away.
Ordinarily, once the new, faster, year-round route opened, the old line would have been forgotten. But a group of Swiss railway buffs thought this section was too impressive to lose.
It offered the experience of climbing to the Furka Tunnel at 2160 metres and seeing the Rhone Glacier across the valley. So they set up a body in 1983 to save it.
The practical and financial challenges were so great most dismissed the idea but, section by section, the Dampfbahn Furka-Bergstrecke (DFB) was rebuilt.
The DFB reopened last month for its short season, with daily trains until mid-August followed by Friday and weekend services into October.
The Rhone Glacier itself has been admired since the start of Swiss tourism. In 1836, the poet Henry Longfellow described the great tongue of ice that spawned the Rhone River as "lying like a glove with its palm downwards, and the fingers crooked and closed - a gauntlet of ice which centuries ago winter threw down in defiance of the Sun".
Visitors back then came by horse-drawn postbus to the hamlet of Gletsch, lost among the mountains, to walk to the glacier.
Later in the 19th century, two hotels were built overlooking the glacier; the now-closed Belvedere which featured in the 1964 James Bond filmGoldfinger, and the huge Glacier du Rhone Hotel of 1860, which the 1895 Baedeker travel guide book described as "first class but not quite satisfactory in some respects".
Some might say the same today, chiefly because there are no en-suite bathrooms - but I found it a delightful step back in time.
The hotel's livelihood was threatened when the railway arrived in 1914, but the savvy owner insisted that in return for giving his land for the railway, midday trains would stop for lunch and evening trains would stay the night. So, a cavernous dining hall with brass chandeliers was built to augment the more intimate dining-room. It still fills up with the cyclists, bikers and motorists who converge on Gletsch from the Goms Valley and the Furka and Grimsel passes, as well as the DFB's passengers.
The DFB stations at Realp and Oberwald are a few steps from the stations of the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn, which operates trains over the western part of the Glacier Express route between Zermatt and Disentis.
A converted coach forms the cafe at Realp where most passengers take a coffee or hot chocolate before boarding the period-style carriages. First-class passengers sink into upholstered seats while, in traditional manner, second-class passengers sit on wooden slatted seats, but they are perfectly contoured for comfort.
The journey begins with a blast on a pea whistle from Gerhard Bissinger, who had come from Hamburg to act as a volunteer guard for a fortnight. The climb up the Furkareuss Valley resembles a Scottish glen in its heather-clad slopes. Waterfalls and occasional cows crop the hardy grasses. Huge boulders in the river hint of the perils of spring melt and a rock the size of a tipper truck forms one wall of a cow barn.
Such gradients can be climbed only with the help of a central rack rail, engaged by a cog on the engine which lets it claw its way up the mountain. Having to maintain the rack rail to a tolerance of one-12th of an inch is just one of the many complications facing the DFB. Another is the 1.6km-long summit tunnel and the expense of repairing the effect of freeze and thaw on the tunnel lining.
The western exit from the tunnel is breathtaking, with roads that zig-zag up the mountain slopes to the Furka and Grimsel passes, the distant buildings of Gletsch in the valley and the lip of the Rhone Glacier. The pause at Gletsch is a chance to admire the immaculate locomotive. Nearly all of them are centenarians, painted in blue or black livery with plenty of brightly burnished steel and brass.
The final descent from Gletsch to Oberwald begins in a spiral tunnel to allow the railway to corkscrew down the mountain. It emerges to cross the Rhone and edge along the valley slope in a forest of larch and firs, with campanula and saxifrage among them.
The risk of sparks igniting the undergrowth prompted the DFB to install 84 trackside sprinklers which are automatically set spinning by ascending trains.
As the train approaches Oberwald, a view opens up along the broad Goms Valley, birthplace of the "king of hoteliers", César Ritz.
The steam loco whispers to a halt at Oberwald station where trains head west to Brig or east through the Base Tunnel to Realp and on to Andermatt, taking just 21 minutes rather than the 130 minutes of the old route.
Slow travel - but Tran Dinh Hung and thousands every year savour every minute.


For the pleasure of great reading


PO Box 110, Ngatea 3541, New Zealand

A TRUCK THAT RUNS ON SMOKE



Guess 
what the 
driver
is having
for 
lunch




BEYOND THE SEAS

This is my latest historical novel  Beyond the Seas When twelve-year-old orphan Nathaniel Asker is shipped from the back alleys of London to...