Boeing P-12E Biplane

Boeing P-12E Biplane

Pursuit aircraft of the 1930s

Collage of used postage stamps

by Kay Burrell USA 1/2023

Sent by Kate from Seattle in Washingtn, USA.

The Boeing P-12 or Boeing F4B is an American pursuit aircraft that was operated by the United States Army Air Corps, United States Marine Corps, and United States Navy. It was the chief fighter aircraft in American service during the early 1930s but also used internationally. By the late 1930s it was replaced in front-line duty by newer designs, but it was still used for training into the early 1940s. Many variants of the aircraft were developed. In the 21st century a handful of surviving air frames are on display in museums.

Developed as a private venture to replace the Boeing F2B and F3B with the United States Navy, the Boeing Model 99 first flew on 25 June 1928. The new aircraft was smaller, lighter and more agile than the ones it replaced but still used the Wasp engine of the F3B. This resulted in a higher top speed and overall better performance. As result of Navy evaluation 27 were ordered as the F4B-1; later evaluation by the United States Army Air Corps resulted in orders with the designation P-12. Boeing supplied the USAAC with 366 P-12s between 1929 and 1932. Production of all variants totaled 586 (read more).

Mercedes-Benz W123 200 Sedan

The W123 200 Sedan.

Sent by Thomas from Haltern am See, Germany.

The Mercedes-Benz W123 is a range of executive cars produced by German manufacturer Mercedes-Benz from November 1975 to January 1986. The W123 models surpassed their predecessor, the Mercedes-Benz W114, as the most successful Mercedes-Benz, selling 2.7 million units before production ended in the autumn of 1985 for the saloon/sedan versions and January 1986 for coupés and estates/station wagons.

Following a slow production build-up during the first year, customers who placed their orders faced a lengthy waiting period of nine to twelve months. A black market emerged for the customers who were willing to pay more for immediate delivery. The slightly used W123 commanded about 5,000 Deutsche Mark premium over its original sale price (read more).

Gorch Fock (1933)

Gorch Fock

Sent by Iris from Eutin, Germany.

Gorch Fock I (ex Tovarishch, ex Gorch Fock) is a German three-mast barque, the first of a series built as school ships for the German Reichsmarine in 1933.

After World War II she was taken as war reparations by the Soviet Union and renamed Tovarishch. In the 1990s she spent a short period under the Ukrainian flag and a prolonged stay in British ports due to lack of funds for necessary repairs.

After being acquired by sponsors, she sailed to her original home port of Stralsund where her original name of Gorch Fock was restored on 29 November 2003. She now serves as a museum ship, and extensive repairs were carried out in 2008.

In 1958 the Federal German government built a replacement training ship which is still in service, also named Gorch Fock (read more).

Cross Country Class 221 Voyager Train

Cross Country Class 221 Voyager Train.

Sent by Liesbeth from Groningen Netherlands.

The British Rail Class 221 Super Voyager is a class of tilting diesel-electric multiple unit express passenger trains built in Bruges, Belgium and Wakefield, by Bombardier Transportation in 2001–02.

The class is similar to the Class 220 Voyager, but was built with a tilting mechanism enabling up to six degrees of tilt to allow higher speeds on curved tracks. Additionally, most have five coaches, and they have a different bogie design. They have a maximum speed of 125 mph (200 km/h).

The trains are divided between two operators, CrossCountry (25 sets) and Grand Central (two sets). CrossCountry sets had their tilt function disabled in 2008 to improve reliability and reduce maintenance costs, and Grand Central sets do not use theirs, although they remain in place. There are also a number of additional sets in storage, having been stood down from Avanti West Coast in December 2024 (read more).

Elektro-Schnellzuglokomotive 103 101-2

Electric Express Locomotive 103 101-2 of the German Federal Railway, as LH 1025 (Stuttgart - Frankfurt/Main - Frankfurt Airport) on April 21, 1993 in Weinheim/Bergstrasse.

Route : Heidelberg - Darmstadt - Frankfurt/Main

Locomotive factory Krauss-Maffei/Munich 1970, works no 19461

Electrical equipment : Siemens/Erlangen

Sent by Matthias from Saxony, Germany.

The Baureihe 103 is a class of electric locomotives in Germany, originally operated by Deutsche Bundesbahn. For a long period, they were perceived as flagships of the DB rolling stock.

In addition to the usual Sifa and PZB, Class 103 was also equipped with the LZB as an additional train safety system for speed in excess of 160 km/h (99 mph). The so-called Automatische Fahr- und Bremssteuerung (AFB) (automatic speed and brake control) automatically kept the train's speed constant at any chosen speed (read more).

China - Liaoning/Jilin/Heilongjiang - Harbin–Suifenhe Railway

The international train from Grodekovo to Suifenhe which serviced by Russian Railway is running in the border section in Harbin-Suifenhe Railway. Because of the different railway gauge between China and Russia, four rails constitute a special sight.

Sent by Weining from Shanghai, China.

The Trans-Siberian Harbin–Suifenhe railway, named the Binsui Railway (simplified Chinese: 滨绥铁路; traditional Chinese: 濱綏鐵路; pinyin: bīnsuí tiělù), is a double-track electrified trunk railway in Northeast China between Harbin and Suifenhe on the Russian border. The line was originally built by Russia as the eastern branch of the Chinese Eastern Railway, which linked Chita with Vladivostok. Today, the 548 km (341 mi) railway is administered by Harbin Railway Bureau.

Initial construction of the Binsui Railway as a Russian gauge line of the Sino-Russian Chinese Eastern Railway started on 9 June 1898 at the two termini of the line, Harbin in China and Ussuriysk in Russia. The partially built line was destroyed during the Boxer Rebellion between March and July 1900, causing the project to be suspended. Construction resumed in October, and on 14 November 1901 operation on a temporary basis was started. Official opening of the line took place on 14 July 1903 (read more).

M/S Amorella

M/S AMORELLA

Built : 1988 Split, Croatia

Length : 169.4 m

Passengers : 2,480

Kobba Klintar Pilot Station 

Åland Islands, Finland

60°01'46" N / 19°52'57" E

Sent by Anne from Ylivieska, Finland.

MS Mega Victoria is a cruiseferry owned by Corsica Ferries. She was formerly owned by Viking Line as MS Amorella and operated on the route Turku–Mariehamn–Stockholm and from 2022 Helsinki–Mariehamn–Stockholm. She was built in 1988 by Brodosplit in Croatia, then Yugoslavia.

Amorella has three sister ships: Gabriella in the Viking Line fleet, Isabelle operated by Tallink and Crown Seaways, operated by DFDS Seaways.

Amorella was ordered in 1986 by SF Line, one of the partners in Viking Line consortium. Although Brodosplit outbid other shipyards, the Finnish State offered to subsidise construction of the ship if she was built at a Finnish shipyard. This was a common practice in the 1980s to bring more jobs to Finland, but this time SF Line declined and had the ship built in Yugoslavia. The original planned delivery date for Amorella was in March 1988, but due to delays in construction she was not completed until September, which meant SF Line was forced to operate the lucrative summer season with old tonnage.

Except for short periods of time in 1997, 1998 and 2002, Amorella has always served on the Turku–Mariehamn/Långnäs–Stockholm route, making her the longest-lasting ship on that route. Originally she only called in Mariehamn during day crossing, but in July 1999 she had to start calling at the Åland Islands in both directions to maintain tax free sales on board, and as a result a call at Långnäs was added to the night crossing (read more).

LZ 129 Hindenburg

A moment featuring the German commercial passenger-carrying rigid airship, the LZ 129 Hindenburg, during its operational period in the mid-1930s.

Sent by Kerstin from Bavaria, Germany.

LZ 129 Hindenburg (Luftschiff Zeppelin #129; registration: D-LZ 129) was a German commercial passenger-carrying rigid airship, the lead ship of its class, the longest class of flying machine and the largest airship by envelope volume. It was designed and built by the Zeppelin Company (Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH) on the shores of Lake Constance in Friedrichshafen, Germany, and was operated by the German Zeppelin Airline Company (Deutsche Zeppelin-Reederei). It was named after Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg, who was President of Germany from 1925 until his death in 1934.

The airship first flew from March 1936 as a Nazi propaganda vessel until it burst into flames 14 months later on May 6, 1937, while attempting to land at Lakehurst Naval Air Station in Manchester Township, New Jersey, at the end of the first North American transatlantic journey of its second season of service. This was the last of the great airship disasters; it was preceded by the crashes of the British R38, the US airship Roma, the French Dixmude, the USS Shenandoah, the British R101, and the USS Akron (read more).

MS "Moby Dick"

"Moby Dick", a passenger or tour boat operating in Berlin, Germany. It has a distinctive checkered pattern on its side.

Sent by Carola from Berlin, Germany.

The shiny fish skin with black scales and the large silver caudal fin – even from a distance you can recognize our Moby Dick! Named after one of the most famous aquatic animals in the world, our MS “Moby Dick” attracts everyone’s attention. The unusual adventure ship invites you to one boat trip after another (read more).

China - Speed Train "Harmony"

A high-speed train from China's railway system, specifically a CRH (China Railway High-speed) train, also known as a "Harmony" (和谐号) train.

Sent by Fei Mo from Beijing, China.

Hexie (Chinese: 和谐号; pinyin: Héxié hào; lit. 'Harmony'), also known as the CRH series EMU, is an umbrella term for the multiple unit high-speed and higher-speed trains operated by China Railway under the China Railway High-speed brand. All series of Hexie are based on foreign-developed technology and later manufactured locally in China through technology transfer licenses, with the ultimate goal of China acquiring the know-how and capability to produce high-speed rail trains.

The Harmony series does not belong to any single platform, instead encompassing all high-speed trains in China with roots in foreign technology, specifically CRH1, CRH2, CRH3 and CRH5. Although later variants of Hexie such as CRH380A were designed by Chinese companies, they are still classified as CRH due to incorporation of foreign technology.

In 2007, China's Ministry of Railways drafted a plan for China's future high-speed network. Bombardier Transportation, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Alstom and later Siemens joined the high-speed train manufacturing project that later became known as Harmony. Forming joint-ventures with Chinese company CNR and CSR, these four foreign companies signed agreements with China to manufacture high-speed trains for China as well as provide assistance for Chinese companies to manufacture train cars locally in the future (read more).

Peterbilt 379

PETERBILT 379 positioned in front of the iconis Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California.

Sent by Anna from Nebraska, USA.

The Peterbilt 379 is a model line of Class 8 trucks that was produced by the Peterbilt division of PACCAR from 1987 to 2007. Serving as the successor to the 359, the 379 was a conventional-cab truck configured primarily for highway use, serving as the flagship of the Peterbilt model line. During much of its production, the 379 was popular among owner-operator drivers. In line with the Kenworth W900, the 379 serves as a popular basis for truck customization.

Following its 2007 discontinuation, the 379 was replaced by the Peterbilt 389, distinguished by oval headlamp clusters and a longer hood. To commemorate the end of production, the final 1000 examples of the 379 were designated as Legacy Class 379.

The largest highway truck sold by Peterbilt at its launch, the 379 was produced in two configurations, a 119-inch BBC (bumper to back of cab length) and an extended-length hood, for a 127-inch BBC. The 379 is externally distinguished from the 359 from the use of an enlarged windshield (allowing for horizontally mounted windshield wipers); the 379 also introduced headlamp-mounted turn signals (relocated from the fender), making rectangular headlamps standard (read more).

The Pinta, The Nina, and The Santa Maria

SPANISH SCHOOL (19 Jh.) : The Pinta, the Nina, and the Santa Maria sailing towards the West Indies in 1492, from The Discovery of America (1878).

Sent by Eric from Saarland, Germany.

A ship built in medieval Spain in c. 1441, known as La Pinta (Spanish for The Painted One, The Look, or The Spotted One) was the fastest of the three Spanish ships used by Christopher Columbus in his first transatlantic voyage in 1492. The New World was first sighted by Rodrigo de Triana aboard La Pinta on 12 October 1492. The owner of La Pinta was Cristóbal Quintero. The Quintero brothers were ship owners from Palos. The owner of the ship allowed Martín Alonso Pinzón to take over the ship so he could keep an eye on her.

La Pinta was a caravel-type vessel. By tradition, Spanish ships were named after saints and usually given nicknames. Thus, La Pinta, like La Niña, was not the ship's actual name; La Niña's actual name was the Santa Clara. The Santa María's original nickname was La Gallega. The actual original name of La Pinta is unknown. The origin of the ship is disputed but is believed to have been built in Spain in 1441. She was later rebuilt for use by Christopher Columbus (read more).

Battleship Cove : Hiddensee

Hiddensee is a Russian-built missile corvette that was deployed by the East German Navy during the mid-to-late 1980s. Shortly after the reunification of Germany, she was transferred to the US Navy, where she served as a test platform for five years. She arrived at Battleship Cove in Fall River, MA in 1997 and exhibits a fascinating collection of Cold War technology.

Sent by Iryna from Connecticutt, USA.

Hiddensee was a Tarantul-class corvette. Originally a Soviet naval warship, the corvette was transferred first to the East German navy, then to the new unified German Navy, and ended her career in the United States as a non-commissioned naval ship. After decommissioning, she was later part of the Battleship Cove site at Fall River, Massachusetts as a museum ship, before being scrapped in 2023.

The Tarantul I-class missile corvette was launched in 1984 at the Petrovsky Shipyard of Almaz Shipbuilding Company in Leningrad, Russian SFSR. She was commissioned in 1985 by the East German Volksmarine as Rudolf Egelhofer, but after the reunification of Germany in 1990, she was transferred to the German Navy and renamed Hiddensee (read more).

'Mallard', London & North Eastern Railway Locomotive no 4468

'Mallard', London & North Eastern Railway Locomotive no 4468, 1938

The A4 Pacific class 'Mallard' was designed by Sir Nigel Gresley (1876-1941). On Sunday 3 July 1938, the 4-6-2 locomotive reached a speed of 126 mph, achieving a new world speed record for steam locomotives which remains unbroken to this day.

Sent by Hannah from Yorkshire, England.

LNER Class A4 4468 Mallard is a 4-6-2 ("Pacific") steam locomotive built in 1938 for operation on the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) at Doncaster Works to a design of Nigel Gresley. Its streamlined, wind tunnel tested design allowed it to haul long-distance express passenger services at high speeds. On 3 July 1938, Mallard broke the world speed record for steam locomotives at 126 mph (203 km/h), which still stands today.

While in British Railways days regular steam-hauled rail services in the UK were officially limited to a 90 mph (140 km/h) 'line speed', before the war, the A4s had to run significantly above 90 mph (140 km/h) just to keep schedule on trains such as the Silver Jubilee and The Coronation, with the engines reaching 100 mph on many occasions. Mallard covered almost one and a half million miles (2.4 million km) before it was retired in 1963.

The locomotive is 70 ft (21 m) long and weighs 165 long tons (168 tonnes, 369,600 lbs), including the tender. It is painted in LNER garter blue with red wheels and steel rims.

Mallard is now part of the National Collection and preserved at the National Railway Museum in York (read more).

Canada - Ontario - Toronto Street Car

Based on the original painted artwork "Evolution of the Toronto Streetcar".

Sent by Shelley from Toronto, Canada.

The Toronto streetcar system is a network of eleven streetcar routes in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, operated by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). It is the third busiest light-rail system in North America. The network is concentrated primarily in Downtown Toronto and in proximity to the city's waterfront. Much of the streetcar route network dates from the second half of the 19th century. Three streetcar routes operate in their own right-of-way, one in a partial right-of-way, and six operate on street trackage shared with vehicular traffic with streetcars stopping on demand at frequent stops like buses. Since 2019, the network has used low-floor streetcars, making it fully accessible.

Toronto's streetcars provide most of the downtown core's surface transit service. Four of the TTC's five most heavily used surface routes are streetcar routes. In 2024, the system had a ridership of 79,295,000, or about 248,300 per weekday as of the first quarter of 2025 (read more).

Russia - VAZ-2101 or Lada 2101 or "Zhiguli"

VAZ-2101 or Lada 2101 or "Zhiguli"

Sent by Tiina from Seindjoki, Finland.

The VAZ-2101 "Zhiguli", commonly nicknamed "Kopeyka" (for the smallest Soviet coin, 1/100 of the Russian ruble), is a compact 4-door sedan or wagon, called small class, passenger car, model 1 in Soviet classification, and produced by the Soviet manufacturer AvtoVAZ, introduced in 1970 as the company's first product.

The car is a licence-built version of the Fiat 124, that was heavily modified and tailored for the rough climate and road conditions across the Soviet Union and much of the Eastern Bloc countries. Subsequently, it was widely, and successfully exported to the West under the Lada brand, for over two decades. The station wagon version (correspondingly based on the Fiat 124 Familiare) was known as the VAZ-2102 (read more).