Going Overseas-- St. Pancras and the Red Baron

A couple of interesting articles from over the Atlantic.

1. LONDON-- Abandoned by England's rail system, bombed by the Nazis, almost destroyed in the mid-60s, and listed as a Grade 1 historical building (the same as Westminster Abbey), the grand old railroad station sat and deteriorated for decades, but, it is back and in a big way.

Considered to be a cathedral more than a train station, its rebirth came about because of high-speed train travel. It is to be the terminus for the Eurostar which links London with the mainland by way of the English Channel Tunnel. This train runs from Paris to Calais, on the coast at speeds of close to 200 mph. It slows in the tunnel, then continues to St. Pancras. The whole trip takes 2 hours and ten minutes after the $10 billion stretch of English high-speed track has been completed and the terminus shifted from Waterloo to St. Pancras.

Over the past six years over $1.6 billion has been spent in St. Pancras' renovation. The station's undercroft, where once barrels of beer were stored, has been turned into a passenger lounge. The main floor features what is billed as the world's longest champagne bar at 315 feet. There is also a farmers market, two fancy restaurants, retail outlets, and a gastro-pub.

The station still has the grand Gothic spires that spoke of the glories of Britain's Victorian Age of train travel. Plus the great iron and glass train shed is still there.

Perhaps, if our money ever becomes worthwhile again, I'll have to visit this place.

Nov. 4th Chicago Tribune "Grand, beloved rail station finally gets back on track" by Tom Hundley.

2. SWIDNICA, POLAND--Baron von Richtofen, better known as the Red Baron is well known throughout the world, but until recently, he was not in his home town of Swidnica, Poland. A big part of this is because of Nazi attrocities in Poland during WWII when 6 million Poles were killed.

The borders between Germany and Poland have shifted often and that is how the Baron's home came to be in Poland.

Baron Manfred von Richtofen was the top flying ace of WWI, shooting down 80 Allied aircraft before dying before his 26th birthday in 1918.

Swidnica resident Jerzy Gaszynski is trying to change that. "I think that with a figure this well-known around the world, it's a bit of a sin that he's not even that well lnown here and that there's really no effort to remember him."

This past June he erected a plaque that he sculpted in the garden of the Richtofen family home.

Dec, 3rd Daily Herald "A proper tribute to the Red Baron" Associated Press

Great to See History Preserved. --RoadDog

To ATM or Not to ATM- Is That a Question?

Just in case this got by you without your knowing it, June 27 was the big 40th anniversary of the first ATM. For those of you who are technologically backward like me, that stands for Automated Teller Machine. I must admit, I've seen 'em, but have never, ever used one.

A June 28th Chicago Tribune article from AP "Thanks to the ATM, 40 years of quick cash" by Raphael G. Satter.

It said that the day before, an estimated $28 billion was given out at those machines worldwide. You can find them almost everywhere these days. They are even in bars, and how long before they'll be in public restrooms. "Let's see, I'm sitting here, oh yes, I could use some dough...."

It said that one version was set up in New York back in 1939, but "the first recognizably modern one was placed outside the Barclays PLC branch in Enfield, a north London suburb (a place where it's hard to know where the city ends and the suburbs begin), on June 27, 1967."

Since I've never used one, you users will have to figure out if the money-getting process is similar today. The first "customers were given special single-use vouchers that they placed into a drawer. After a personal identification number was entered, a second drawer sprang open with a ten-pound note."

The man who generally is considered to be its inventor, John Shepherd-Barron, said he came up with the idea after getting locked out of his bank. Ah, Necessity, the Mother of Invention.

By the end of the 1960s, there were 781 world-wide, mostly in Britain. Today, there are about 1.5 million around the world, and almost 400,000 in the US. Almost 165 million withdrawals are made daily. Why, there's even one at McMurdo Station at the South Pole, in case any penguins need the money. Right, "Happy Feet"?

I wonder if this bit of technology is a good or bad thing?

How did YOU celebrate the birthday and how many times do you use one a week? --RoadDog