The last push pull service on BR

[adb968008]

On 23/08/2020 at 16:45, Steamport Southport said:

China for example doesn't recognise Taiwan even though it exists.

Oh yes it does, absolutely recognise the island of Formosa.

 

What the Peoples Republic of China doesnt recognise is the Republic of Chinas rule over that island. Lets not forget that the ROC is all that remains of the pre-communist state of China.
 

The museum of Taiwan houses the most immense concentrated collection of chinese culture anywhere, 700k artifacts. They also hold most of pre1949 China’s gold reserves, which underpins todays comparatively strong NTD$ currency. When visiting they proudly proclaim they could change the entire collection every day for decades without duplication. They also claim to be able to export it all within a few days if needed. Its a museum ive visited thrice and been blown away by.

 

Contrast that to dozens of PRC state museums in mainland china, including the National Palace & Forbidden city in Beijing, which consist of largely empty rooms.. because the ROC took everything they could save from the advancing PRC in their retreat to the Island during the civil war as they lost control of Mainland China. Subsequently much of what was left in China was lost on the mainland during the cultural revolution that followed it.  
 

Chinese peoples highly prize their cultural history, which has been often destroyed, looted or lost. Therefore the existence of such Historical culture is  one of the reasons Taiwan is literally the highly valued jewel it is. Of course in war, the victor is usually the one with the wealth, and the PRC, as well as the ROC and the US see this and hence the tolerated but strained existence. The PRC doesnt recognise the legitimacy of the ROc, but the Island itself is ancestral Chinese, they are the same people, it just happens to have an opposition government to the PRC incumbent there, with rather a lot of irreplaceable cultural wealth, the financial reserves of a much larger nation and a strong guarantor, whom fought as allies in WW2 and have a joint issues with Communists.

 

Another way to consider it would be to imagine the Isle of Wight being ruled by the Royalists, having lost the country to Parliamentarists during our 17th century civil war, but having the Royalists stripped the nation bare in their retreat... of course Westmister wouldnt recognise the IOW being independent, especially if the benches at Westminster had been ripped out and put in a Ryde museum along with the contents of every bank, reserve, council offices, vaults, castle, house, museum in the country too . :-)

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 27, 2020 by adb968008

[tomparryharry]

Now, I could be wrong, but I remember travelling up the A12, where the line runs alongside. Here, you were regularly overtaken by an electric with what appeared to be a DVT, with the locomotive at the back being the prime mover.

 

Push-pull, surely?

[Zomboid]

On 26/08/2020 at 23:57, Andy Reichert said:

I'm not sure if it was classed as BR or LT at the time, but I miss the steam Epping-Ongar push-pull. I just got to see it once, but had no time to travel on it then.

 

Andy

I believe it was BR until electrification and the arrival of the tube trains.

[br2975]

The last LMS 'motor fitted driving car was M24449M, withdrawn in July, 1966.

Source:- R.O. April, 1967.