Say it with me: funicular
So on my birthday we went to Hastings. That’s like saying on your birthday you went to…I dunno…name a shit-hole. Ferguson? Tikrit? It’s not a nice place, mostly.
But down on the waterfront, there’s a little sliver of the charming fishing village Hastings used to be: Hastings Old Town. There are shops and restaurants and museums and the largest fishing fleet in England that is launched from a beachfront.
I like it. Uncle B, not so much. Eh, whose birthday?
It was a warm but a hella windy day, so it was fun to watch the waves come crashing in against the pier. Some damn fool was out surfing in it; we kept waiting for him to be smashed against something.
And I didn’t much fancy taking a ride on this thing. In the picture. The East Hill Cliff Railway. It’s the steepest funicular railway in England.
Funicular. Heh. Love that word. It means the two cars are tethered to each other so they balance and it takes less energy to move them up and down.
When it opened in 1903, this one was hydraulic — there were two big water tanks in the towers at the top and gravity did the thing. Now it’s electric, I think.
Anyway, that’s not important. The important thing is, I took this picture with my new birthday camera. After I busted my old camera, and then busted his old camera, I didn’t really fancy one of them fancy pants new SLR’s to bust.
This one is a Nikon D-60, the next generation after my beloved D-40. Last product in that line, and ever so slightly better at everything. And, yes, first thing I did before it left this house was buy a padded case. Here that pic is in color and unfuzzed.
Back in business, ladies and germs.
Posted: May 12th, 2015 under britain, personal.
Comments: 14
Comments
Comment from iamfelix
Time: May 12, 2015, 11:26 pm
Too cool, Stoaty! I’m glad you enjoyed your day — and a lovely new camera to boot. Yay!!!
🙂
Comment from mojo
Time: May 13, 2015, 12:35 am
Funicula, funiculo, funiculada…
Comment from scottthebadger
Time: May 13, 2015, 12:46 am
You black and white photo looks almost like it was HO scale.
Comment from Uncle Al
Time: May 13, 2015, 1:21 am
@scottthebadger – Sweasel will correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe that her “HO” effect is deliberate and involves digitally manipulating the apparent depth of field. Click HERE for the excellent original color image.
Good golly, you sure do good work ma’am!
Comment from Nina
Time: May 13, 2015, 4:11 am
I’ve been to Hastings!
I had to. I was in England!
Comment from S. Weasel
Time: May 13, 2015, 7:32 am
Uncle Al is right, Scott. Usually, a large landscape scene will be in consistent focus throughout. Blurring the background and foreground tricks the brain into thinking you’re seeing a miniature. When it’s done with hardware, it’s called tilt-shift.
But I don’t actually do it to be clever or look cool. I do it because it dramatically reduces file size for .jpg files. I keep the photos as small as possible because I use so many.
Comment from Deborah HH
Time: May 13, 2015, 11:51 am
First thing I did, before I read the text, was look to see if a tiny weasel was waving out the back of the funicular car. 🙂
A new camera! That Uncle Badger is a smart fella.
Comment from Wolfus Aurelius
Time: May 13, 2015, 4:41 pm
That is nice. Steep, less, but that ride wouldn’t be very long. Try the Sandia Tram in Albuquerque. It starts in the foothills of the Sandia Range, just east of town, about 5500 feet — and then runs up to the top of the mountains, 10,000 feet. It’s a long ride, and scary, as though you’re in a trolley suspended from cables (because, you know, you are.
I’ve ridden it twice, and left fingerprints in the metal roof support poles. Brrrr.
Comment from xul
Time: May 13, 2015, 6:47 pm
I had the displeasure of riding the poorly maintained one at the old Ghost Town in the Sky in Western North Carolina when I was a kid. Truly terrifying. Brrr. 🙁
Comment from mojo
Time: May 13, 2015, 8:55 pm
Make for a sporty ride if the cable broke, eh?
Comment from Man Mountain Molehill
Time: May 13, 2015, 10:05 pm
There’s a cute little one in Zurich that runs up the hill to the university. See images for “Polybahn”
I think there’s also a big, scary one, the Seilbahn.
Comment from Rich Rostrom
Time: May 13, 2015, 10:50 pm
At what point does a funicular become an elevator? That one is pretty close.
Comment from scottthebadger
Time: May 13, 2015, 11:47 pm
Well, it’s very well done.
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