Scarborough's historic Miniature Railway and Medieval Castle built in 1150

The Railway – This historic miniature railway in Yorkshire is celebrating its 84^th year of operation.

Nelson (1931)

The North Bay Railway has been carrying passengers on a 7/8 mile journey (1.4 km) since 1931. The track runs along the seafront from Peasholm Park to Scalby Mills station on the coast of North Yorkshire. 

I have fond memories of travelling on it as a child and when I revisited Scarborough a couple of weeks ago, my (adult) son and I went for a ride.

The locomotives – Neptune, Triton and Poseidon have a 4.6.2 wheel arrangement while Robin Hood (Number 570) has a 4-6-4T configuration.

Robin Hood (570)

All four engines were built by Hudswell Clarke of Leeds between 1931 and 1933. The track has a gauge of 20" (508 mm).

Nelson on the turntable for the return journey

When travelling south from Scalby, the ruins of Scarborough’s old castle keep and curtain wall can be seen on the headland.

Built in 1150 - Scarborough Castle stands on the headland

Scarborough Castle – Whilst the present stone fortifications date back to the 1150s, archaeological evidence shows that the Scarborough headland has been defended from as early as 900-500 BC (late Bronze Age/early Iron Age).
“Among finds dating back about 3,000 years, a Bronze Age sword, thought to have been a ritual offering, is on display in the castle exhibition.”
* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scarborough_Castle
For more railway info and picture go to : www.nbr.org.uk/

The Royal Galley of Don John of Austria – Barcelona Maritime Museum - revisited

I first visited the Royal Galley in 2013 and posted about it at the time (see below). 

The galley was the flag ship of the fleet of the Holy League (Spain, Venetian Republic, Holy See and Malta) which confronted the Turkish fleet at Lepanto in 1571.

 

Recently, I received a request from a historical researcher regarding the placement of the galley’s guns and I was more than happy to revisit the museum in the hope of being able to discover where the guns were located.

While at first, it appeared to me that there were no mounted guns on the galley, the small model housed in a glass case beneath the ram displayed an assortment of guns in the bow section facing forward. This model was built by Jose Carreras in 1970 following 10 years of study by the Museum and prior to the construction the full size replica. 

I suggest the gun placements in the small model indicate the appropriate gun positions. Because of the number and position of the oars and oarsmen, I thought it would be impossible to have port or starboard facing guns.

However, on closer examination of my pics, there is the muzzle of a gun just visible between the rowlocks and a swivel gun fitted on the cap rail.

Any comments or advice about the guns would be appreciated. The stern castle does not appear to allow for gun placements.

I have included in this post a couple of additional shots of the galley that did not appear in my 2013 post.

(http://margaretmuirauthor.blogspot.com.au/2013/12/royal-galley-spectacular-exhibit-in.html).

The galley really is a magnificent replica – it amazes me that so few people visit the Museum for which the entrance fee is only 5 euro.

Ictíneo 1 - a wooden submarine - Barcelona, Spain

The modern replica of the submarine Ictíneo 1 can be found near the entrance to the Maritime Museum in Barcelona.

(Pic - 2015)

From the two similar pictures I have taken (2012 and 2015), it would appear that the submarine has undergone an exterior facelift during the past three years.

According to the plaque - this replica of Ictíneo 1 designed by Narcis Monturiol was built by Drassanes Dalmau.

(Pic - 2012)

Facts: “Monturiol named his vessel Ictíneo, from the ancient Greek icthus (fish) and naus (boat). As he put it, the Ictíneo’s form is that of a fish, and like a fish it has its motor in the tail, fins to control its direction, and swimming bladders and ballast to maintain an equilibrium with the water from the moment it submerges".

Propulsion and rudder

Following construction in 1859, Monturiol and two crew performed more than 20 test dives in Ictíneo 1 reaching 20 meters (66ft) in depth. He was able to maintain the dives for about 2 hours breathing only the air sealed within the hull but was able to double this time by using compressed oxygen. Monturiol invented a chemical means of removing carbon dioxide from the interior. 

“For interior illumination he used a simple candle, which had the advantage of turning red when oxygen was beginning to run low.” His only source of power was hand-cranked propellers.

Sadly, Ictíneo 1 was destroyed when hit by a ship while at its berth.

You can read more about Monturiol’s remarkable machine on the web page from which much of this information was sourced.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ictineo_I

Lisbon - Record making bi-plane – Santa Cruz – on the bank of the Tagus River

An exact replica of the Santa Cruz, the third of three Fairey 111 bi-planes, used to make the first ever aerial crossing of the South Atlantic in 1922, stands next to the Belem Tower on the banks of the Tagus River in Lisbon, close to the spot where the flight took off from.

The Portuguese pilots Gago Coutinho along with Sacadura Cabral, were the first to fly across the South Atlantic Ocean a distance of 8,383km (5,209 mi). They took off from Lisbon on the 24 March 1922 and arrived in Rio de Janeiro 79 days later on the 6th June 1922 – although the actual flight time was only 62 hours and 26 minutes.

Because the sea-plane was not capable of carrying sufficient fuel for the long journey, it had to stop and refuel several times along the way. One purpose of the flight was to test some new aerial technology – the artificial horizon device.

When the pilots reached the coast of Brazil they were twice forced down by bad weather and had to ditch in the ocean. When rescue arrived, word went out for a replacement plane. With a similar aircraft (named the Santa Cruz) the aviators were able to continue their flight to Rio de Janeiro where they ditched in Guanabara Bay.

...

Pic of plane and Tower taken during my recent visit to Lisbon. 

Pic of Rio de Janeiro (2013)

Pics of Gago Coutinho e Sacadura Cabral is a public domain image