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Ampthill Tunnel
Ampthill tunnel is a railway tunnel at Ampthill on the Midland Main Line, being positioned between Bedford and Flitwick. It consists of two separate bores, each one accommodating double-track throughout. The first Ampthill Tunnel was built during the 1860s; growing demand on the line led to the original double-track configuration being inadequate for further growth. Thus, during the 1890s, a second Ampthill Tunnel was constructed directly alongside, facilitating the Midland Railway's expansion plans of running a quadruple-track arrangement between Kettering and London wherever practical to do so. Both bores have remained active through to the present day. During mid 2012, Ampthill Tunnel was subject to a series of high speed evaluation runs, including a record maximum speed for the route of ; in the following year, the line speeds were increased to 125 mph along much of the Midland Main Line. History The Ampthill Tunnel was constructed during the early 1860s on behalf of the Mid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Midland Main Line
The Midland Main Line is a major railway line in England from London to Nottingham and Sheffield in the Midlands. It comprises the lines from London's St Pancras station via Leicester, Derby/Nottingham and Chesterfield in the East Midlands. Express passenger services on the line are operated by East Midlands Railway. The line is electrified between St Pancras and Corby and the section south of Bedford forms the northern half of the Thameslink network, with a semi-fast service to Brighton and other suburban services. A northern part of the route, between Derby and Chesterfield, also forms part of the Cross Country Route operated by CrossCountry. Tracks from Nottingham to Leeds via Barnsley and Sheffield are shared with Northern. East Midlands Railway also operates regional and local services using parts of the line. The Midland Main Line is to receive a major upgrade of new digital signalling and full line electrification from London to Sheffield. HS2 is to branch onto th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ampthill
Ampthill () is a town and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, between Bedford and Luton, with a population estimate of 8,100 (Mid year estimate 2017 from the ONS). It is administered bAmpthill Town Council The ward of Ampthill which also includes Maulden and Clophill has an estimated population of 13,280 and is administered by Central Bedfordshire Council. History The name 'Ampthill' is of Anglo-Saxon origin. The first settlement was called 'Aemethyll', which literally means either 'ant-heap' or 'ant infested hill'. In the Domesday Book, Ampthill is referred to as 'Ammetelle', with the landholder in 1086 being Nigel de la Vast. The actual entry reads: ''Ammetelle: Nigel de la Vast from Nigel d'Aubigny.'' A further variation may be 'Hampthull', in 1381. In 1219 King Henry III granted a charter for a weekly market to be held on a Thursday. In 2019 the market celebrated 800 years. Henry VIII was a frequent visitor to Ampthill Castle, and it was there that Catherine of Arag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Network Rail
Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is an "arm's length" public body of the Department for Transport with no shareholders, which reinvests its income in the railways. Network Rail's main customers are the private train operating companies (TOCs), responsible for passenger transport, and freight operating companies (FOCs), who provide train services on the infrastructure that the company owns and maintains. Since 1 September 2014, Network Rail has been classified as a "public sector body". To cope with fast-increasing passenger numbers, () Network Rail has been undertaking a £38 billion programme of upgrades to the network, including Crossrail, electrification of lines and upgrading Thameslink. In May 2021, the Government announced its intent to replace Network Rail in 2023 with a n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tunnel
A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube construction techniques rather than traditional tunnel boring methods. A tunnel may be for foot or vehicular road traffic, for rail traffic, or for a canal. The central portions of a rapid transit network are usually in the tunnel. Some tunnels are used as sewers or aqueducts to supply water for consumption or for hydroelectric stations. Utility tunnels are used for routing steam, chilled water, electrical power or telecommunication cables, as well as connecting buildings for convenient passage of people and equipment. Secret tunnels are built for military purposes, or by civilians for smuggling of weapons, contraband, or people. Special tunnels, such as wildlife crossings, are built to allow wildlife to cross human-made barriers safely. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bedford Railway Station
Bedford railway station (formerly Bedford Midland Road and historically referred to on some signage as Bedford Midland) is the larger of two railway stations in the town of Bedford in Bedfordshire, England. It is on the Midland Main Line from St Pancras railway station, London St Pancras to the East Midlands and the terminus of the Marston Vale Line, Marston Vale line from Bletchley railway station, Bletchley through Bedford St Johns railway station, Bedford St Johns. History The original station was built by the Midland Railway in 1859 on its line to the Great Northern Railway (Great Britain), Great Northern at Hitchin. It was on land known as "Freemen's Common" approximately south of the current station on Ashburnham Road. The London and North Western Railway (LNWR) also had a station on its line between and . The Midland crossed it on the level and there was a serious collision when an LNWR train passed a red signal. (Curiously, both drivers were named John Perkins). ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flitwick Railway Station
Flitwick railway station is in the centre of Flitwick, in Bedfordshire, England. The station is situated on the Midland Main Line. The station is managed by Thameslink, who operate all trains serving it, and is served by Thameslink route services between Bedford and Brighton. As well as Flitwick itself, the station also serves the adjoining town of Ampthill, which no longer has its own station. From Flitwick, trains travel north and serve Bedford and southbound trains serve Luton, Luton Airport Parkway, Harpenden, St Albans, London St Pancras, Gatwick Airport and Brighton. History It was built by the Midland Railway in 1870 on its extension to St. Pancras. The original station buildings were restored in the early 1980s. There were originally platforms for two lines. This remained the case when the line was quadrupled. The up goods opened in 1893 and extended to Harlington in 1894; and the down goods opened in 1895. It was not until 1960 that British Railways added extr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kettering
Kettering is a market and industrial town in North Northamptonshire, England. It is located north of London and north-east of Northampton, west of the River Ise, a tributary of the River Nene. The name means "the place (or territory) of Ketter's people (or kinsfolk)".R.L. Greenall: A History of Kettering, Phillimore & Co. Ltd, 2003, . p.7. In the 2011 census Kettering's built-up area had a population of 63,675. It is part of the East Midlands, along with other towns in Northamptonshire. There is a growing commuter population as it is on the Midland Main Line railway, with East Midlands Railway services direct to London St Pancras International taking about an hour. Early history Kettering means "the place (or territory) of Ketter's people (or kinsfolk)". Spelt variously Cytringan, Kyteringas and Keteiringan in the 10th century, although the origin of the name appears to have baffled place-name scholars in the 1930s, words and place-names ending with "-ing" usually der ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major settlement for two millennia. The City of London, its ancient core and financial centre, was founded by the Roman Empire, Romans as ''Londinium'' and retains its medieval boundaries.See also: Independent city#National capitals, Independent city § National capitals The City of Westminster, to the west of the City of London, has for centuries hosted the national Government of the United Kingdom, government and Parliament of the United Kingdom, parliament. Since the 19th century, the name "London" has also referred to the metropolis around this core, historically split between the Counties of England, counties of Middlesex, Essex, Surrey, Kent, and Hertfordshire, which largely comprises Greater London ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Midland Railway
The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had its headquarters. It amalgamated with several other railways to create the London, Midland and Scottish Railway at grouping in 1922. The Midland had a large network of lines emanating from Derby, stretching to London St Pancras, Manchester, Carlisle, Birmingham, and the South West. It expanded as much through acquisitions as by building its own lines. It also operated ships from Heysham in Lancashire to Douglas and Belfast. A large amount of the Midland's infrastructure remains in use and visible, such as the Midland main line and the Settle–Carlisle line, and some of its railway hotels still bear the name '' Midland Hotel''. History Origins The Midland Railway originated from 1832 in Leicestershire / Nottinghamshire, with the purpose of serving the ne ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oxford Clay
The Oxford Clay (or Oxford Clay Formation) is a Jurassic marine sedimentary rock formation underlying much of southeast England, from as far west as Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ... and as far north as Yorkshire. The Oxford Clay Formation dates to the Jurassic, specifically, the Callovian and Oxfordian stage, Oxfordian ages, and comprises two main facies. The lower facies comprises the Peterborough Member, a fossiliferous organic-rich mudstone. This facies and its rocks are commonly known as lower Oxford Clay. The upper facies comprises the middle Oxford Clay, the Stewartby Member, and the upper Oxford Clay, the Weymouth Member. The upper facies is a fossil poor assemblage of calcareous mudstones. Oxford Clay appears at the surface around Oxford, Peterbor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fossil
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved in amber, hair, petrified wood and DNA remnants. The totality of fossils is known as the ''fossil record''. Paleontology is the study of fossils: their age, method of formation, and evolutionary significance. Specimens are usually considered to be fossils if they are over 10,000 years old. The oldest fossils are around 3.48 billion years old to 4.1 billion years old. Early edition, published online before print. The observation in the 19th century that certain fossils were associated with certain rock strata led to the recognition of a geological timescale and the relative ages of different fossils. The development of radiometric dating techniques in the early 20th century allowed scientists to quantitatively measure the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Rail Class 222
The British Rail Class 222 Meridian is a diesel-electric multiple-unit high-speed passenger train capable of . Twenty-seven sets were built by Bombardier Transportation in Bruges, Belgium. The Class 222 is part of the Bombardier Voyager family, so it is very similar to the Class 220 ''Voyager'' and Class 221 ''Super Voyager'' trains used by CrossCountry and Avanti West Coast. In comparison, the Class 222s have a different interior and also have more components fitted under the floors to free up space within the body. Built for Midland Mainline and Hull Trains, today all are operated by East Midlands Railway and branded ''Meridians''. Details All are equipped with a Cummins QSK19 diesel engine of at 1800 rpm. TheRailwayCentre.Com This powers a generator, which supplies current to motors driving two axles per coach. Approximately can be travelled between each refuelling. Class 222 have rheostatic braking using the motors in reverse to generate electricity which is dis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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