Author: nikkiquam

  • The Puffing Billy Railway

    The words thrilling and carefree come to mind when I look at this picture of Australia’s well preserved Puffing Billy Railway. The dangling feet and curious smiling faces oblivious to any danger,  makes me long for worry free younger days, but that is another story. Puffing Billy had its start in the 1900’s as Australia made attempts to develop several of its…

  • San Francisco Cable Car at Powell and Market Street

    Ahh!! The world’s last manually operated cable car- a staple in the city of San Francisco. This dying breed had its genesis in 1873 after Andrew Smith Hallidie witnessed a terrible accident involving San Francisco’s notoriously steep hills, horse drawn carriages and too much weight. Hallidie was a failed gold miner who cheated death on more…

  • The Venice Simplon Orient Express

      The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express (VSOE) is the privately owned luxury rail liner that runs between London, Paris and Venice. It is famed as a descendent of the fabled Orient Express and each year it makes the long trek to Istanbul (Constantinople) following a similar path to that of its quasi parent launch in 1883. But…