By Fung Chi Ming The tricycle or ‘cycle rickshaw’, as some people now call it, combines the characteristics of bicycle and rickshaw. Tricycles could be found in Asia and around the world, but they differed significantly in design and appearance. In Malacca and Singapore, it was a carriage with a passenger seat on the left side of the rider. In […]
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IDJ: In the postwar years mid-stream ship cargo-handling was normal in Hong Kong but the territory was also aware of the great revolution being generated by the world movement towards unitization of cargoes. Godown and shipping companies were routinely recommending to shippers that cargo packages should be less than two-tons in weight (2,032 kilos) and less than forty cubic feet (1,133 […]
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Hugh Farmer with thanks to IDJ and Tymon Mellor for information and images. These come from The Engineer, 28th April 1911:- “The Beacon Hill Tunnel – Kowloon Canton Railway. Beacon Hill, about 1500ft in height, is part of a range of hills dividing Kowloon from the rest of the mainland. A tunnel through this hill was deemed necessary in connection with […]
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James Chan: Re the recent article Peak Tram: The Ward Leonard System installed 1926 I found this which I think must have been used in building the Peak Tram. This article was first posted on 14th June 2014. Source: Colorado School of Mines: Advanced funicular technology – page 3 the Abt Passing Loop Related Indhhk articles: Proposed Peak Tramway extension to Queen’s […]
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HF: In the article Ship breaking in Hong Kong – Junk Bay 將軍澳 – late 1970s IDJ mentions Argos which was a contract labour supplier to China Light & Power for a long period and ran their own fleet of double-decker buses to get their people to the Castle Peak Power Station site when it was under construction. From the company website: […]
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James Chan: Oasis Hong Kong Airlines Limited was a long-haul low-cost Asian airline. It operated scheduled services to London Gatwick Airport and Vancouver International Airport from its hub, Hong Kong International Airport. The airline offered low fares as its selling technique, which was similar to the operation principle of a low cost airline. Oasis was one of the growing number […]
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Tymon Mellor: At 11.39pm on the 3rd August, 1972 Mr M. McMillan, a construction superintendent became the first member of the public to drive from Hong Kong Island to Kowloon through the new cross-harbour tunnel. The tunnel project was a first, not only for connecting Hong Kong to Kowloon, but also for using private capital to finance the project under a […]
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Mike T and Hugh Farmer: The Port of Hong Kong was published by the Marine Department in 1966. The report covers a great deal to do with the administration of the port at this time. Of particular interest:- The section on Ship Breaking contains a list of firms engaged in this industry in the mid-1960s. Dockyards, Drydocks, Shipbuilding and Repair […]
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Don Holmgren left the following query on 14th December 2017. ”What was the final disposition of the two Hall-Scott Motor coaches – the Taipo Belle and the Canton Belle, did they possibly survive the ravages of World War Two?” Martin Baumann left the following comment on the 6th March 2025. ”Tai Po Belle was found damaged by British forces in […]
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Tymon Mellor: At the turn of the 19th century, railways and steam ships were changing the world and demanding new infrastructure to support them. With the construction of the Kowloon-Canton Railway – British Section in full swing, attention turned to the location of the terminus station in Kowloon. There were many competing requirements for the location; resulting in the site […]
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