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I will be hosting this month's photo competition. The theme chosen for this month is Unusual modes of transportation, as suggested by JJJ.

Here is a further description of the topic:
A photo of any vehicle or other method of transportation of humans, animals or freight which is not the norm in most of the world as far as you know.

The following rules apply:

  • Please do not post photos until 00:00:00 1st March 2022 (UTC Time) - any photos posted before that time will not be counted.
  • Please include a description of what you're photographing, when and where the photo was taken(if known).
  • Photos should be taken by you or a travel companion who is named.
  • One photo per post, three posts maximum per person. Do not delete or change photos once posted.
  • If there are any people in the photo, make sure you have their permission to post the photo online (or blur their faces).
  • No offensive / NSFW photos.
  • No downvotes, they are not counted. Please leave a comment if you disagree.
  • Photos may be posted until 23:59:59 31st if March (UTC Time) when the winner will be announced. If there is a draw/tie voting will continue.

If you have any suggestions, please leave a comment or post in chat. Please suggest any more ideas for themes there or them to this post.

18 Answers 18

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15

A huge man made elephant walking with people on and around it Photo taken 15 March 2016, Nante, France. More information on a Wikipedia site about it.

The Elephant 'walks' and moves his trunk, legs, tail and ears. People are carried on and in the animal.

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  • This photo had the most votes at the end of the month, so the bragging rights are for Willeke.
    – Willeke Mod
    Commented Apr 1, 2022 at 13:46
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Chasing Chaos Dog Sled Team near Fairbanks, AK

Dog sled transportation in Oct of 2021 near Fairbanks, Alaska. The vehicle is mostly behind and under the camera. The engine, in the form of six hard working dogs, is clearly visible!

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  • That's six dogs, no? Or are you implying that two of them are lazy? :)
    – LShaver
    Commented Mar 24, 2022 at 1:47
  • Nice observation. Sometimes I have a hard time counting. I updated the description to better reflect reality!
    – jcklopp
    Commented Mar 24, 2022 at 20:31
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cable cars

In most parts of the world, cable cars are a tourist attraction or holiday transport. But in La Paz, Bolivia (where I took this photo on February 3, 2019), the Mi Teleférico system is just part of the urban fabric of the city, used to get to work or to the market or a quick trip on a day off.

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  • This is insane. I've been to La Paz twice, don't remember this at all! Just the little shuttle buses with destinations being yelled out!
    – Mark Mayo
    Commented Mar 10, 2022 at 3:40
  • @MarkMayo not sure when you were there but the system opened in 2014 and has grown a lot since then, so it may not have been in existence or useful to you at the time (even now there are a lot of places it doesn't go)
    – mlc
    Commented Mar 10, 2022 at 4:11
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    2010 both times, so that makes sense :)
    – Mark Mayo
    Commented Mar 10, 2022 at 4:16
  • A means to commute is what the cable car in London was meant to be, but no one used it for that so it was repurposed as a tourist attraction
    – gparyani
    Commented Mar 10, 2022 at 7:42
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    This is totally the current Windows 11 image they show (well not YOUR photo but the same scene) when I currently log on to my work machine.
    – Mark Mayo
    Commented Mar 29, 2022 at 22:42
9

rocket

At an estimated €185 million per launch (discounts available if you are willing to share with another satellite), it's a bit pricey, but if you need to get your heaviest cargo into space, the Ariane 5 rocket is one of your few options.

This full-size model is on display at the Centre Spatial Guyanais in Kourou, French Guiana, where I took this photo on January 26, 2019. We were also able to see the launchpad, but there wasn't a rocket on it at the time.

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  • FYI: From French Ariane, from Ancient Greek Ἀριάδνη (Ariádnē), a female name still in use in modern Greece/Hellas! Btw, I shared another aerial means of transportation, check out the Electric Autonomous Air Taxi!
    – gsamaras
    Commented Mar 16, 2022 at 12:35
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a yellow velomobile A cycle, but one that is a bit special, this is a Velomobile known as Quest.
Three wheels, full fairing, transports just one but is a bit longer and wider than the average bike (although not much wider than many handle bars.) And it is a bit lower and can be a bit faster if a fast rider rides it.

Photo taken 19 June 2021, Beverwijk, the Netherlands. I own the Quest as well.

7

This method of transportation of veggies definitely wasn't my standard when I caught it at Russian Market in Phnom Penh (Cambodia) on 10 Dec. 2018.

scooter

6

A hot air balloon over the Valley of the Kings area near Luxor, as taken from another hot air balloon above it :D

You can see the bus on the road at the top left for scale/distance.

Taken 29 Dec, 2007

Sony DSC-V3

f/5 1/400 ISO100 23.4mm

enter image description here

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This is another one that I admired in Kep, Cambodia, on 20 Dec. 2018: of course I could never move such a crew with a single scooter or motorbike!

kep, cambodia

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The Crawler-transporter at Kennedy Space Center, also known as Missile Crawler Transporter Facilities, were used to transport rockets/shuttles to the launch pads. They travel at a maximum speed of 1.6 kilometers per hour when loaded.

Not visible to the side is Discovery, sitting on the pad - who sadly didn't take off for a few months after a fuel leak and more :/ Was still cool to visit though!

1 November 2010

Nikon D80

f/5.6 1/400 125mm ISO250

enter image description here

4

Horse carriages have long become outdated as a mainstream means of transportation, which makes them unusual today.

I found this one while I was biking through Austin, Texas, in November 2018.

Taken on Ilford HP5 Plus 400 film.

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  • With the recent spike on petrol prices, I keep wondering to myself if I should get a carriage like this...
    – gmauch
    Commented Mar 17, 2022 at 11:16
  • @gmauch, ever seen the cost of a horse? And that goes on forever, also when you do not use it.
    – Willeke Mod
    Commented Mar 23, 2022 at 19:26
  • @gmauch Get a bicycle for short distances without heavy load, use public transportation (and accept it may take twice as long to your destination), use car-sharing, or get a fully electric car.
    – gerrit
    Commented Mar 28, 2022 at 9:05
  • @gerrit, an electric car only when you get it charged free of fossil fuel, like having your own solar or wind power.
    – Willeke Mod
    Commented Mar 31, 2022 at 18:35
  • @Willeke That's the best. With even charging it with a half-clean half-dirty energy mix is better than pure fossil fuel, and electric engines have higher fuel efficiency too. Let's not let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
    – gerrit
    Commented Mar 31, 2022 at 18:39
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Farmers riding in a wagon pulled by a walking tractor wagon in rural Laos in 2007 Locals returning to the village in rural Laos near Kasi about 15 years ago, 14 March 2007.

A vehicle in our minibus caravan struck a motorcyclist crossing the bridge, and we waited while one of the drivers ran to fetch medical assistance and the gendarmerie from town. A couple of these improvised tractor wagons passed by full of singing locals; I am not sure if the singing was ordinary, or a show they put on for all the foreign backpackers waiting by the side of the road, for once stopping in the village instead of just passing through it.

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A two wheeled cart with a toddler in it

When I talked with the owner of the cart, (she called it a 'karretje' which translates to little cart) she mentioned her children being in and now her grand children, but it might go back at least one more generation.

Two simple wheels, a simple wooden seat, a little bit of a soft layer for the little one. And a push/pull stick which comes high enough for an adult to handle it comfortable.
Photo taken 5 December 2015, in Castellum Hoge Woerd, which is has its address in Utrecht, the Netherlands.

3

An Airbus Electric Autonomous Air Taxi of ~8 passengers in Ingolstadt, Germany, 2018 (you can see its monoseat cousin in San Francisco, CA). Unfortunately it's still a prototype.

enter image description here

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3

A "gondola" inside the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas. Unusual for both being an antiquated water transport and for being indoors.

enter image description here

2

unicorn

What's more unusual than a unicorn ride? Nothing's more unusual than a unicorn ride.

July 31, 2013, OHM2013, Geestmerambacht, the Netherlands

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  • Not sure if it can be considered a mode of transportation if it doesn't move...
    – Martha
    Commented Mar 23, 2022 at 18:02
  • You got the virtual prize this month, nothing is more unusual than a unicorn ride, even when the unicorn does not move much.
    – Willeke Mod
    Commented Apr 1, 2022 at 8:11
  • @Willeke thanks!
    – mlc
    Commented Apr 2, 2022 at 3:29
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A model of an old wooden sailing ship, used for trading back before containerization. Today, you very rarely see these used for actual sailing; most are preserved in museums or permanently moored, such as the Star of India in San Diego Bay.

Taken December 2021 at the Smithsonian Museum of American History, Washington, D.C., on CineStill 800T film.

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An old streetcar (tram) used to transport people across the streets of New York. These mainly died out, aside from a few niche historical installations (such as the Silver Line in San Diego).

Taken December 2021 at the Smithsonian Museum of American History, Washington, D.C., on CineStill 800T film.

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So in 2007, Speights (NZ beer company) decided there wasn't enough/any for Kiwis in London. So as a promo stunt, they transported a working pub on a container ship to London, passing Canary Wharf (pictured) and Tower Bridge, docking up and distributing beer later to various bars.

8 Oct 2007

Sony DSC V-3

f/3.2 1/80 7mm ISO 100

enter image description here

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