San Antonio traffic – the new close shave
A new, easily observable – and highly dangerous – phenomenon is occurring with increasing frequency in San Antonio traffic, on the highways and possibly lesser roads. I call it the new close shave. It has now been visited upon me four times in the last week and yet I had never noticed it before. When I merge onto the freeway, a person already speeding in the right hand lane, where newcomers must, by design, make their appearance, will not only fail to move into the next lane over but speed right up to my rear bumper before only moving halfway into the next lane, try to graze my external rear mirror if at all possible and then move back into the right hand lane as sharply as possible, often with just enough space for maybe a sheet or two of paper between our vehicles. more »
Road trip to Midland and Odessa, Texas
Polikarpov I-16 at the CAF museum, Midland, Texas
Rolling forward on my 2010 resolution to get out of San Antonio more, I took a three day trip to Midland and Odessa, two cities, indeed a region of Texas, I had not visited before in the nineteen years I have called the Lone State home. I set out on the last Thursday in July, which proved to be a very good time to go. more »
Wanna fly in a C-47?
I had arranged to take a 30 minute flight on the “Bluebonnet Belle,” a Douglas C-47 Dakota Skytrain airplane this Saturdayy, August 7, at 11:00 AM. The aircraft, built in 1944, flies as part of the Highland Lakes Squadron of the Commemorative Air Force, which is based right on HWY 281 in Burnet, Texas. There are two remaining seats available out of a total of seven on the plane the way it is currently configured. Frankly, I am staggered that out of all the transportation enthusiasts I know I can only find five people but I guess everyone needs to be surprised once in a while. more »
Commuting Parking Passenger rail Railroads Transit Travel
by Hugh
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Passenger rail in Asutin and San Antonio
Larry Walsh and the Austin MetroRail
My friend, Larry Walsh, and I finally found the time last Tuesday, July 27, to make a visit to Austin’s new commuter rail line, Capital MetroRail. This is what is hoped to be the first thirty miles of a city wide system. This first section runs from the city center at 4th and Trinity to Leander, a commuter colony way to the north of Austin itself. more »
Del Rio, Uvalde, Crystal City and Carrizo Springs
Circumstances, I am happy to say, are obliging me to enlarge my somewhat parochial transportation history research endeavors. Until recently, the furthest I had researched in depth along the old Southern Pacific railroad heading west was Uvalde. I have taken AMTRAK as far as Alpine before and made a couple of trips to Del Rio when I worked for the Union Pacific, but such visits did not involve peeling beneath the surface in any appreciable way. more »
Bicycling to downtown San Antonio on a summer day
Augusta Street bridge, San Antonio
My wife and I spent some five hours out and about on our bikes yesterday, heading downtown from our house near Red McCombs Ford outside Loop 410 to the King William district. Altogether it came to a trip of 22.35 miles, mostly along San Antonio’s old main thoroughfares, San Pedro Avenue and Fredericksburg Road. We set of around 8:00 AM, when it was only 80 degrees and got back just before 1:00 PM, when it was well over 90. more »
History Passenger rail Railroads Uncategorized
by Hugh
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Good things from the Union Pacific in San Antonio
UP at TTM
I am delighted to be able to be able to share a positive story about the Union Pacific railroad, an organization which rarely gets much in the way of good press in these parts. Today the UP came to the rescue at the Texas Transportation Museum here in San Antonio like knights in shining armor. more »
Automobiles History Passenger rail Railroads Roads Travel: Corpus Christi
by Hugh
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Going to Corpus Christi, then and now
The main road to Corpus Christi, circa 1910
A wee trip to the coast, a fine way to spend a hot and hazy Sunday. While I’m still stuck in bachelor mode – decide to go, jump in the car and away – my wife needs, shall, we say, a little more, um, preparation. Providing my ipod is loaded and charged, I am sorted. She, on the other hand, loaded our vehicle like the old days when we were carrying a baby. Blankets, pillows, books, a lap top for heaven’s sake, towels, changes of clothes, the works. more »
Automobiles History Travel Uncategorized
by Hugh
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Actually, they are all divas
I had small, jolly close to subtle, magnetic signs made for the Texas Transportation Museum’s 1924 Model T truck that simply say, “The Diva.” This is because while the old girl runs pretty well on our unimproved roads and neighboring streets, it acts out badly during show time. Oh well!
Here is a link to a set of snaps taken at the recent fourth annual Ford Model T Show here in San Antonio. It is a joint project with the local Model T club, the “T Fords of Texas,” and sponsored by the Red McCombs Automotive group.
http://www.txtransportationmuseum.org/WE.htm
It was during this event that I arrived at the surprisingly conclusion that all Ts are divas. That’s why they are still here. Someone was just too crazy about each one to let it go. So far this year I have had the pleasure of touring both Medina and Caldwell Counties in this persnickety old machines and I fully understand the devotion. Now all I have to do is get the one I am looking after for future generations to run right! Having said that she did come through in spades during the Flambeau Parade, so she makes all the effort worthwhile!
Goin’ round the Bend
Feeling the need to get away from it all, I just returned from a long Memorial Weekend in Big Bend. I had the great good fortune to go with Anton Hajek, a local lawyer of some note but, more importantly, a man who has been visiting the area for many years, since, in fact, he was a teenager. Since then not only has his led many scouts through the vast National Park, the biggest yet least visited in the lower forty-eight, he is a leading member of the “Friends of Big Bend” plus a Master naturalist to boot. more »