AndrewGrantham.co.uk

Visting the French city of Grenoble back in May 2005, I was impressed to discover that the ticket machines on the tram stops offer an English language option. As I don’t speak French, this was rather useful.

Unfortunately, after buying a ticket in English, the display says that Croydon Tramlink wishes you a good journey!

The the unofficial Croydon Tramlink website has oodles of information about Croydon Tramlink, and its ticketing systems - presumably Grenoble used the same software!

tram snow 69a

Originally uploaded by Andrew Grantham

Croydon looking - almost - pretty in the snow.

I’ve acquired a copy of the newly-published book Pillboxes in Britain & Ireland, by Mike Osbourne. While it doesn’t cover sound mirrors, it is an excellent and comprehensive book on pillbox design and development, with typologies, plans, photographs and details of the theory and use of pillboxen. It is well worth any connoisseur of concrete defensive structures getting hold of a copy.

While we’re at it, I’ll also mention another good recent read, the new Osprey book on Armored Trains. I would review it, but this review says it all pretty well.

Unfortunately the book doesn’t mention the armoured train in Sarajevo.

The reason I’d been looking at an old map of the North York Moors was to identify an odd bunker my parents had come across in the middle of nowhere on Kildale Moor (grid reference NZ6012). It turns out to be a Starfish bombing decoy, but I much prefer the idea of it being a troll’s house.

Lurking behind an ugly, box-like and sadly war-damaged museum building in Sarajevo is this armoured railway vehicle, and a big rail-mounted hook for ripping up tracks. They are built for narrow gauge track, presumably 2ft 6in/760 mm gauge as Yugoslavia had an extensive network to that gauge, but I don’t know anything more about them.

There is also a little tank, a big gun and a helicopter, all of which have seen better days, plus an abandoned statue of someone who has presumably fallen from favour and been hidden away behind the museum.

The distinctive historical museum buidling is fairly easy to find, close to the national museum. Trams stop nearby, and though the museum is adandoned the outdor exhibts are freely accessible round the back of the building.

Photos taken July 2007.

Hook

Called a Schienenwolf in German, used for ripping up tracks.

Tank

Comparing it with various other pictures of tanks online, it might be a WWII “Stuart” tank, a type which some Googling suggests the Yugoslav partisans used in the Second World War. On the other hand, it might not be.

Helicopter

This helicopter has seen better days. According to airliners.net, it is Bosnia-Herzegovina Air Force Mil Mi-8T number VF-3801.

I’ve recently moved house again, in a slightly complicated way. If anyone who knows me hasn’t got my updated address, and happens to need it, they could drop me an e-mail.

To recover from the stress of moving house, I went on holiday to Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Hercegovina and back into the other end of Croatia. This Republika Srpska Railways electric locomotive was stood in an unbearably hot Doboj station in Bosnia-Hercegovina.

The website returns (after a fashion) after my ISP wiped it. Hopefully I can now make some updates.

I must also apologise to anyone who has e-mailed me since about September, and hasn’t had a reply yet. I was out of the country for a while, then my PC gave up the ghost taking with it a whole load of e-mails. I’ll rescue the hard drive Real Soon Now…

I’ve noticed that the old news stories aren’t easy to find. I must sort out the website sometime soon, it’s a bit of a mess. Anyway, here is the old news and even older news