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Weinachten Basel!
No 3 son is working in Basel (Switzerland) and has returned to join various bits of the family for the Festivities. Just before he flew to Gatport Airwick, he snapped this little jewel of public transport and wanted to know what it was.
Clearly it is a tram, indeed an ancient tram, very different from a normal Basel tram which might be red and yellow or green.
No 3 son has not really grasped the lingo, so, in justification of his interest he wrote, "it was on das bridge and contained das people."
C- could do better.
It was a non-smoker ...
... fleet number 12 ...
... although fbb has no idea what Ce 2/4 might be!
It carried a fleetname ...
... which no loner operates a tramway in Basel. But more interestingly some of das people ...
... were trinken das wein. (not to be confused with Wien, the German for Vienna!)
Try looking up "Birseck" on wikipedia and you find a coach and touring company ...
... with an HQ on Station Road, Arlesheim. Its offices are quite sweet in a swiss-chalet sort of way ...
... and, just down the road are buses ...
... a snazzy bus station ...
... a tram terminus ...
... and some proper trains.
But no sign of Birseckbahn.
The locality is explained in Wikipedia, but in German.
Das Birseck ist ein geographisches Gebiet an der unteren Birs und umfasst im Schweizer Kanton Basel-Landschaft die fünf Gemeinden Arlesheim, Münchenstein, Reinach, Aesch und Pfeffingen sowie das zum Kanton Solothurn zugehörige Dornach.
But there is a Birseck Castle.
Birseck Castle (German: Burg Birseck) is located in the municipality of Arlesheim in the canton of Basel-Country. Birseck Castle is also called "Untere Burg Birseck" or "Vordere Burg Birseck" and is one of four castles on a slope called Birseck that confines the plain of the Birs river.
We will pursue the clue tomorrow after fbb has had time to attempt (note - attempt) to switch on his "O" level German and do some more research.
Clever people who know the answer, please hold back your comments until fbb has had a go - then you can enjoy putting the old man right!
Meanwhile Yesterday's Logology Answers.
2. R A T P, Paris City Transport
3. Yorkshire Traction, pre-National Bus
4. Tyneside PTE (later Tyne and Wear)
5. Central Trains
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Health Warning - fbb's Health?
The little church that the fbbs attend (small elderly congregation) has carelessly lost a Church Secretary, a Church Treasurer and its "shared" Minister. This leaves all sorts of "stuff" to be done. fbb and Mrs are taking services on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, plus a lunch for a dozen on 25th. Various bits of family will arrive and leave over the next two weeks.
fbb reserves the right to default to mini-blogs if the diurnal pressure becomes too great.
Normality (is this blog ever "normal"?) will return after 1st January
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ADVENT CALENDAR - 18
We all sing the carols with various degrees of lustiness, but, so often, we remember the "pretty" bits bit quietly overlook the overt Christian Message. "Goodwill to All Men with whom God is Pleased" begs one very challenging question.
How does the birth of a baby, however "special" make God pleased with us?
No ear may hear His coming,
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive him still,
The dear Christ enters in.
O holy Child of Bethlehem
Descend to us, we pray
Cast out our sin and enter in
Be born to us today
It's the dreaded word "sin" - largely treated as a joke by today's media.
Sin is defined as anything, however small or large, that goes against the wishes of an Almighty God. In human terms we like to categorise our sins; little ones that don't matter much; medium ones that we wish we hadn't committed and big ones that we (of course) would never consider committing.
Hail the Heaven-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings,
Risen with healing in His wings;
Mild He lays His glory by
Born that man no more may die
Born to raise the sons of earth
Born to give them second birth
By definition, a God that is Goodness personified can never "be pleased" with anyone who carries the burden of sin; which may well be why "peace on earth and goodwill to all men" doesn't work.
Not a popular message in 2017/2018.
But there it is, and we happily enjoy singing about it in our favourite carols.
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Next logo collectors blog : Monday 18th December
The Ce 2/4 is part of a more or less universal descriptive system for Swiss rolling stock.
ReplyDeleteA = 1st class
B = 2nd class
C = 3rd class
e = external electric source (as opposed to "a" which means battery)
2/4 is powered axles/total axles (i.e. 2 of the 4 axles are powered)
The car dates from 1916 and sister no. 13 is also still extant.
Thanks muchly
ReplyDeleteThere is also an express class R - so Re 4/4 + a high-speed Bo-bo electric loco. ("Flying Scotsman" would be R 3/6). And there are various narrow-gauge and, I suspect, rack variants
ReplyDelete