Church ruin in Norfolk, England, with a tree rising into mist, ivy on the walls, and Autumn leaves on the ground. Local myth has it that the nun who lived here was a witch with a wooden leg. After she died and was buried in the church, this tree began to grow from her grave, having sprouted from the wooden leg!

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Fancy a ride? This awesome figurine features a Steampunk gondola! The air-vehicle features plenty of detail and accents to make the most highbrow airship pilot pleased. It's unique, and it'll catch the attention and capture the imagination of your guests! Size: 8 1/8" L x 4 3/8" W x 7 1/4" H Material: Cold Cast Bronze & Polystone Item# US-WU77254A4

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Swamp in Mueritz National Park, Bruchwald, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany

German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 673/3. Photo: Decla / Ufa-Film. Publicity still for part I. of Die Nibelungen (Fritz Lang, 1924) with Paul Richter as Siegfried. Austrian actor Paul Richter (1895-1961) is best known as Siegfried, the hero of the classic fantasy film Die Nibelungen (1924), one of the masterpieces of the German silent cinema, directed by Fritz Lang. For more postcards, a bio and clips check out our blog European Film Star Postcards or follow us at Tumblr or Pinterest.

In the summer of 1959, several pre-Grouping railway locomotives were given a complete mechanical overhaul and restored to near original condition by British Railways.This Historic Locomotive Restoration Programme was timed to coincide with the two week long Scottish Industries Exhibition being held at the Kelvin Hall, Glasgow. During the two week period from Saturday 5th September to 19th September special trains operated from near and far to the newly inaugurated Kelvin Hall station (formerly Partick Central) in Glasgow’s West End. On the first day, excursions were run from Aberdeen and Carlisle with Gordon Highlander and City of Truro working the train from Aberdeen via Stirling, whereas the Carlisle excursion travelled via Kilmarnock with Glen Douglas and the Caley single wheeler No 123 in charge. The Highland Railway’s Jones Goods did not get in on the action until two days later, Monday 7th September when it brought an excursion from Largs to the Kelvin Hall with Gordon Highlander as pilot. On Thursday 10th September a special train from Wishaw to Kelvin Hall again featured the Jones Goods, this time piloting Glen Douglas and is the subject of this photograph. The pair are seen preparing to depart from Bellshill for the relatively short trip into Glasgow. Both locomotives, being newly restored are in quite pristine condition. When the Industries Fair concluded the work of the historic locomotives had hardly started and was to continue until 1965, working chartered special trains for railway enthusiasts, -not to mention film makers. The Jones Goods No 103 became a celebrity in the production of the comedy film ‘Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines’ released in 1964. Continued use over a six year period effectively wore out the old locomotives which by then were ready for a further complete mechanical overhaul and looked rather the worse for wear –certainly they were in nothing like the condition they had on the date of this photograph. Re-invigoration did not happen however, predominantly on the grounds of cost (even though BR workshops at that time could have taken on the task), so the engines were simply withdrawn from service in 1965/6 and placed on view in the Museum of Transport, following a light cosmetic repaint/touch-up. All the Scottish engines except Gordon Highlander are currently (2013) at the Riverside Museum in Glasgow. The livery of No 103 is the so-called improved engine green attributed to William Stroudley of the Highland Railway although it is thought that No 103 never actually ran in these colours having received the Highland Railway’s bright green paintwork in its early years of service. Apart from being the sole surviving example of a Highland Railway engine, No 103 is of note, by being the first 4-6-0 ever built for working in the British Isles. The louvred chimney of No 103 consisted of two concentric cylinders the inner of which functioned as a smoke stack whilst the outer carried four rows of louvres on its leading face. On the switchback Highland lines the locomotives would often coast downhill with regulator closed, and the louvre slits were designed to aid the draught under these circumstances when the blast was temporarily absent. Air forced into the louvres of the moving locomotive was believed to aid creation of vacuum in the smokebox as it exited the top of the chimney, as well as enhancing smoke deflection. Whether the effect was worth the expense of providing such an elaborate design is doubtful, but as a hallmark of a Highland Railway locomotive the louvres were a publicity masterpiece fashioned by the shrewd CME Peter Jones.

It is the late 19th century and a mysterious airship orbits through the foggy skies. Its terrible secrets are sought by many, including the Royal Society, a fraudulent evangelist, a fiendish vivisectionist, an evil millionaire and an assorted group led by the scientist and explorer Professor Langdon St. Ives. Can St. Ives keep the alien homunculus out of the claws of the villainous Ignacio Narbondo?

Southampton Docks, one of the major British ports required a large fleet of shunting engines from the earliest of times. In 1891 the LSWR introduced a special dock shunter 0-4-0T, the B4 Class built to the design of William Adams. Those B4s which worked at Southampton were given names of channel ports and channel islands which were served by ships sailing from Southampton. The B4s gave sterling service for half a century but were worn out by the time of World War II, needing new boilers especially. The cost of new boilers at £1600 each was deemed excessive by Oliver Bulleid CME of the Southern Railway who cast around for an alternative solution. At this time stocks of cheap War Department engines were dumped at various locations around the country and these were given consideration. Hunslett type saddletanks were possible replacements but their 11’ wheelbase compared with the 10’ wheelbase of the USA tanks ruled in favour of the latter. 15 of the USA built machines were bought in 1945 at a total cost of £35,000 which comprised 14 working locomotives and one spare for cannibalisation when parts were needed. They proved to be powerful and reliable machines once they had been altered to suit the British requirements (eg fitting with cylinder drain cocks) but being utilitarian locomotives they had been constructed at minimum cost and their steel fireboxes gave considerable trouble due to excessive corrosion in early BR days. Once new fireboxes had been fitted the USA tanks gave excellent service throughout the 1950s until diesel shunters made them redundant at Southampton Docks from 1962. Despite being banished from Southampton, their general usefulness ensured that for almost all of them, new roles beckoned. Six engines were given a further lease of life as Departmental shunters in other BR estabishments such as Ashford Wagon Works (which received three) and most of the remainder were distributed elsewhere in the Southern Region to act as shed pilots or for similar duties. In this photograph two of the ‘yank tanks’ are seen outside the locomotive shed at Southampton Docks in 1959. Neither 30071 nor 30073 were amongst the ‘Departmental Six’ but both were found employment elsewhere on the BR system and were not finally withdrawn from service until 1967.

Some think of it as the witch’s finger while others know it as her wooden leg. Whatever you believe (or don’t believe) about the oak tree growing within St Mary’s Church in East S…