Where didn’t you go ?

[Tony Taylor]

Duke
That iron ore shipped from Narvik comes from a massive mine in Kiruna in Swedish Lapland and is still producing huge amounts of iron ore to date. The underground workings are so extent that the town is actually sinking and is in the process of being moved to a safer area. There was an excellent documentary on the rail line linking Kiruna to Narvik on the yesterday channel recently. Due to the importance of iron ore in manufacturing, when the line was built one bridge across a gorge was built to be easily be brought down by blowing up a section of it should Germany invade Sweden. The iron ore trains haul something in the region of 7000 tons at a time and have the most powerful and eco friendly electric locos, that on the loaded run use self generating electricity to change the batteries with sufficient energy to power them on the return empty voyage.
On the subject of canals, has anyone ever done the Gota canal from Gothenburg up to lake vannern? Absolutely fabulous scenery and the locks at trollhatten are something to see.
The best parts of going to many ports we actually went to, was not the port itself but the scenery en route getting there. Thousand islands going up to Toronto, Swedish archipelago, the islands of the Philippines and Indonesia, great barrier reef transit, Kiel, Suez, Panama canals, the Mississippi River, belle isle straight and gulf of saint Lawrence. People pay thousands of pounds to get a quick view of those places on cruise liners, yet we saw them all, experienced it all and even got paid for doing it. What a life.
Rgds
J.A.

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Duke
That iron ore shipped from Narvik comes from a massive mine in Kiruna in Swedish Lapland and is still producing huge amounts of iron ore to date. The underground workings are so extent that the town is actually sinking and is in the process of being moved to a safer area. There was an excellent documentary on the rail line linking Kiruna to Narvik on the yesterday channel recently. Due to the importance of iron ore in manufacturing, when the line was built one bridge across a gorge was built to be easily be brought down by blowing up a section of it should Germany invade Sweden. The iron ore trains haul something in the region of 7000 tons at a time and have the most powerful and eco friendly electric locos, that on the loaded run use self generating electricity to change the batteries with sufficient energy to power them on the return empty voyage.
On the subject of canals, has anyone ever done the Gota canal from Gothenburg up to lake vannern? Absolutely fabulous scenery and the locks at trollhatten are something to see.
The best parts of going to many ports we actually went to, was not the port itself but the scenery en route getting there. Thousand islands going up to Toronto, Swedish archipelago, the islands of the Philippines and Indonesia, great barrier reef transit, Kiel, Suez, Panama canals, the Mississippi River, belle isle straight and gulf of saint Lawrence. People pay thousands of pounds to get a quick view of those places on cruise liners, yet we saw them all, experienced it all and even got paid for doing it. What a life.
Rgds
J.A.

Thousand Islands, very nice. I spent three months running from Oakville to Montreal carrying Canadian crude with the odd run to Sarnia and, I think Windsor.
Lovely scenery, but being on virtually constant standby down below gets a bit tedious.

[Duke Drennan]

Always wanted to visit NZ. Went to many great places and also many s***holes. Really enjoyed the canals; the worst being the Kiel in January. The best was the Welland in the Lakes. Amazing sight being on top of 7 locks looking down from the poop. Also got to transit the canal from Gothenburg to Lake Vanner.

The canal from Gothenburg to Lake Vanern is the Trollhattan, I think. Went there twice to Lidkoping on a yellow pearl.

[Duke Drennan]

Duke
That iron ore shipped from Narvik comes from a massive mine in Kiruna in Swedish Lapland and is still producing huge amounts of iron ore to date. The underground workings are so extent that the town is actually sinking and is in the process of being moved to a safer area. There was an excellent documentary on the rail line linking Kiruna to Narvik on the yesterday channel recently. Due to the importance of iron ore in manufacturing, when the line was built one bridge across a gorge was built to be easily be brought down by blowing up a section of it should Germany invade Sweden. The iron ore trains haul something in the region of 7000 tons at a time and have the most powerful and eco friendly electric locos, that on the loaded run use self generating electricity to change the batteries with sufficient energy to power them on the return empty voyage.
On the subject of canals, has anyone ever done the Gota canal from Gothenburg up to lake vannern? Absolutely fabulous scenery and the locks at trollhatten are something to see.
The best parts of going to many ports we actually went to, was not the port itself but the scenery en route getting there. Thousand islands going up to Toronto, Swedish archipelago, the islands of the Philippines and Indonesia, great barrier reef transit, Kiel, Suez, Panama canals, the Mississippi River, belle isle straight and gulf of saint Lawrence. People pay thousands of pounds to get a quick view of those places on cruise liners, yet we saw them all, experienced it all and even got paid for doing it. What a life.
Rgds
J.A.

- - - Updated - - -

Duke
That iron ore shipped from Narvik comes from a massive mine in Kiruna in Swedish Lapland and is still producing huge amounts of iron ore to date. The underground workings are so extent that the town is actually sinking and is in the process of being moved to a safer area. There was an excellent documentary on the rail line linking Kiruna to Narvik on the yesterday channel recently. Due to the importance of iron ore in manufacturing, when the line was built one bridge across a gorge was built to be easily be brought down by blowing up a section of it should Germany invade Sweden. The iron ore trains haul something in the region of 7000 tons at a time and have the most powerful and eco friendly electric locos, that on the loaded run use self generating electricity to change the batteries with sufficient energy to power them on the return empty voyage.
On the subject of canals, has anyone ever done the Gota canal from Gothenburg up to lake vannern? Absolutely fabulous scenery and the locks at trollhatten are something to see.
The best parts of going to many ports we actually went to, was not the port itself but the scenery en route getting there. Thousand islands going up to Toronto, Swedish archipelago, the islands of the Philippines and Indonesia, great barrier reef transit, Kiel, Suez, Panama canals, the Mississippi River, belle isle straight and gulf of saint Lawrence. People pay thousands of pounds to get a quick view of those places on cruise liners, yet we saw them all, experienced it all and even got paid for doing it. What a life.
Rgds
J.A.

Yes John, my first trip was on a yellow pearl up the canal through Trollhattan into Lidkoping on Lake Vanern. The scenery is beautiful as were the girls watching us at the locks.

[Duke Drennan]

Re #51 Tony,
It was the constant OT standing by that made the Lakes worthwhile and only in the summer. Went up as far as Chicago a couple of times.

[happy daze john in oz]

Malta, what a very interesting place back in the 60's
The Gut was something else and do not recall anywhere quite like it.

The biggest problem was the smell from the so called dunnies, but at high tide they may just have got a wash out.

[Tony Taylor]

Malta, what a very interesting place back in the 60's
The Gut was something else and do not recall anywhere quite like it.

The biggest problem was the smell from the so called dunnies, but at high tide they may just have got a wash out.

Could not have been as bad as the the Bugis Street sh-thouse. Only one for the whole street and flat roof also acted as the stage for the dance of flaming a-seholes.

[Alan Trueman]

went through the canal many times and visited Pitcairn but did go ashore in either place

[Red Lead Ted]

Worse place as for stench I got to was Bombay now { Mumbai } you could actually smell the place at sea before you sighted it, Bloody big green haze on the horizon, Capt Kong held the keys to the cages Grant Road ohhhh and there was a signed picture of Graham Payne dickie bow inclusive over the cages.

[Captain Kong]

That is my young lady friend Saleem on the right, good memories.

[Tony Taylor]

Worse place as for stench I got to was Bombay now { Mumbai } you could actually smell the place at sea before you sighted it, Bloody big green haze on the horizon, Capt Kong held the keys to the cages Grant Road ohhhh and there was a signed picture of Graham Payne dickie bow inclusive over the cages.

HA HA fbat is so true, spent a week there waiting for a ship, then 2 months or so on the coast, you could smell it 60 miles offshore