Tag Archives: vehicle

Cutting Open a Tank

When Paul Allen died, there was some debate about the future of the Flying Heritage and Combat Armor Museum at Paine Field.  The onset of the pandemic meant it closed down and most of us assumed it would never reopen.  With everything sold to one of the Walton family, a move across country was then seen as the likely next step but it turns out, for now at least, that the museum is back open and running.  Consequently, I stopped in to have a look at what has changed.

In previous visits I have checked out their main battle tank that is cut in half.  Apparently this was a gift from Jordan.  The vehicle has been cut lengthways giving a detailed view of the interior layout of the vehicle.  You can walk through the middle to check things out.  On this visit, I was playing with some wider lens shots and, while I have taken images of this exhibit before, I paid it more attention this time.

Even with it cut in half, some of the exposed spaces that the crew inhabits seem ridiculously small.  I can’t imagine how cramped they are in real life.  Being stuck in such a small space when in genuine peril and with limited options for escape should something go wrong must be quite focusing for the mind.  Not hard to see how I didn’t end up as a tank crew member.

Amazon’s Rivian Delivery Trucks

Amazon became an investor in Rivian, the electric vehicle manufacturer.  Part of this investment resulted in Rivian creating a new delivery vehicle for Amazon that is electric.  I first became aware of it when watching a Doug DeMuro video but it wasn’t long before they started showing up around here.  We do have Amazon’s headquarters here so it shouldn’t be a surprise.  I have seen them on the roads a lot but have not been able to get a shot of one because I was driving.  Then one showed up at work, so I took a few pictures from my window before it headed off.  It took me back to the unusual FedEx delivery vehicles I saw when we lived in Chicago but, of which, I have seen nothing since.

Well This is Saving the Planet!

In the outer area of Exotics@RTC I saw this EV Hummer.  The move towards electric vehicles is a positive step to reducing our emissions and trying to address the climate change challenges we have but there was something about this behemoth that made me feel that we are missing the point.  Sure, an EV Hummer is less polluting than the original Hummer, but this thing is huge and is surely not a good idea.  Finding a way to have the most inefficient EV you can is kind of missing the point.

Automated Chevy Bolt

The Chevy Bolt is not the sort of car that would normally grab my attention.  This one did though.  It was at The Henry Ford (even if it is a Chevy) and it is tricked out with all sorts of sensors.  I assume it was some sort of development tested for automated vehicles.  I could have made the effort to go and read whatever was written next to it but that seemed far to much like hard work.  I guess I am the sort of person an automated vehicle is designed for if I can’t be bothered to even do that!

Snowcoach Adventures

For my birthday, Nancy took me on a trip to Jackson Hole.  Part of the trip was a journey in to Yellowstone National park in a snowcoach.  The snowcoaches are modified vehicles to handle to snowy terrain.  They come in two main forms.  One is the tracked vehicle and the other is based on monster truck tires.  The one we took was tracked.  It was a pretty standard van design with four wheel drive but the wheels had been removed and replaced with triangular track arrangements called Mattracks.  These can deal with pretty much any snow.  The only downside is that they are a bit noisy, not too fast and boy do they guzzle fuel.  One our trip we stopped for fuel twice and were pretty low by the time we got back.

We also saw some of the other vehicles out and about.  The monster truck tired vehicles can attain better speeds and efficiency (plus the maintenance is so much lower) but they are not as reliable in dealing with the worst of the conditions.  However, they do seem to be the way that everyone is going.  Our guide told us the tracked vehicles are gradually being replaced.  It should be noted that, after the winter, the tracks are taken off and they revert to normal road use.

Electric Vehicles

America’s Car Museum in Tacoma is a tribute to automobiles of all sorts.  While the internal combustion engine is dominant throughout the museum, they do have a section that is focused on electric vehicles.  This includes the sort of car you might expect to see and some that are a touch more exotic.  The research/competition cars are strange looking things.  Aerodynamics dominate in vehicles that are clearly aimed at maximizing efficiency while not worrying about things like handling or utility.  Having a whole roof section of solar panels is impressive.

Not all of the vehicles are that extreme though.  Others are the sort of thing you are used to seeing on the road.  Some of the original electric road cars (including those from the Victorian era) are there and also some concept demonstration vehicles that are likely to lead to something in production before too long.  These already look just like any other car on the road today.

Car Restorations

C59F8100.jpgThe number of cars on display at Dream Machines was amazing. Vehicles of all sorts were there. Some were in immaculate condition and other looked like they probably hadn’t had any work done on them since they were built other than what was necessary to keep them running. The variety was what was cool. There were old police vehicles, sports cars, luxury cars, off roaders, heavily modified vehicles and even a jet powered truck. Vintage racing cars were alongside old Fiats and VW camper vans. They were all there it seemed. I am not going to pick out any special ones for mention. Instead, here are a load of pictures of what was there.

Oakland Airport BART Connector

wpid11984-AU0E3142.jpgUntil this weekend, the connection between BART’s Coliseum Station and Oakland Airport was a bus service called AirBART.  It was $3 and was reasonably frequent and didn’t take too long provided you times it well.  However, it wasn’t the easiest connection.  Consequently, a rail connection has been built.  I won’t get into the doubling of price for the ride.  That can wait to another day.  However, Friday 21st was the day in which the commissioning ended and the first public access was given.  There were free rides for the public before formal service opened on the following day.

wpid11990-AU0E3196.jpgI went along to check out the system.  It is a cable operated vehicle which runs automatically.  There is a station connected by escalators to the existing BART station at one end and the other end is in the parking lot at the airport.  Halfway along the track (which is elevated for a large portion of the journey and at ground level or underground for a section) is the maintenance facility and power source.  Here the train briefly stops as it changes from the cable for one half to the cable for the other.  The stop is quite brief.

wpid11982-AU0E3093.jpgI filmed the operation during the demonstration runs and you can see how the system looks below.  Now we shall see how much use it gets!