Armagh Rail Disaster
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Armagh Rail Disaster
The Armagh rail disaster happened on 12 June 1889 near Armagh, County Armagh, in Ireland, when a crowded Sunday school excursion train had to negotiate a steep incline; the steam locomotive was unable to complete the climb and the train stalled. The train crew decided to divide the train and take forward the front portion, leaving the rear portion on the running line. The rear portion was inadequately braked and ran back down the gradient, colliding with a following train. Eighty people were killed and 260 were injured, about a third of them children. It was the worst rail disaster in the United Kingdom in the nineteenth century, and to this day remains the worst railway disaster in Irish history. It is the fourth worst railway accident in the history of the post-independence United Kingdom. At the time, the disaster led directly to various safety measures becoming legal requirements for railways in the United Kingdom. This was important both for the measures introduced and fo ...
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Armagh
Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , "Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Primates of All Ireland for both the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of Ireland. In ancient times, nearby Navan Fort (''Eamhain Mhacha'') was a pagan ceremonial site and one of the great royal capitals of Gaelic Ireland. Today, Armagh is home to two cathedrals (both named after Saint Patrick) and the Armagh Observatory, and is known for its Georgian architecture. Although classed as a medium-sized town, Armagh was given city status in 1994 and Lord Mayoralty status in 2012, both by Queen Elizabeth II. It had a population of 14,777 people in the 2011 Census. History Foundation ''Eamhain Mhacha'' (or Navan Fort), at the western edge of Armagh, was an ancient pagan ritual or ceremonial site. According to Irish mythology it ...
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Armagh Railway Station
Armagh railway station was a railway station that served Armagh in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. Development The Ulster Railway opened Armagh station in 1848, linking the city with Belfast. The Ulster Railway was extended from Armagh to Monaghan in 1858 and Clones in 1863. The Newry and Armagh Railway (N&A) opened in 1864, and had its own temporary terminus just outside Armagh until it started using the Ulster Railway station in 1865. The Castleblayney, Keady and Armagh Railway (CK&A) was completed in 1910. In 1876 the Ulster Railway became part of the new Great Northern Railway (GNR), which took over the N&A in 1879 and the CKA in 1911. Rail disaster The Armagh rail disaster, which killed 80 people and injured 260, occurred on 12 June 1889 on the N&A line near Armagh. An excursion train had to climb a steep gradient, but the locomotive stalled. The crew decided to divide the train but when they did the rear portion had inadequate brake power and ran back down the gradi ...
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Brake Van
Brake van and guard's van are terms used mainly in the UK, Ireland, Australia and India for a railway vehicle equipped with a hand brake which can be applied by the guard. The equivalent North American term is caboose, but a British brake van and a caboose are very different in appearance, because the former usually has only four wheels, while the latter usually has bogies. German railways employed Brakeman's cabins combined into other cars. Many British freight trains formerly had no continuous brake so the only available brakes were those on the locomotive and the brake van. Because of this shortage of brake power, the speed was restricted to . The brake van was marshalled at the rear of the train so both portions of the train could be brought to a stand in the event of a coupling breaking. When freight trains were fitted with continuous braking, brake vans lost their importance, and were discontinued by many railways. However, they still continue on some important railw ...
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Brake (railway)
A railway brake is a type of brake used on the cars of railway trains to enable deceleration, control acceleration (downhill) or to keep them immobile when parked. While the basic principle is similar to that on road vehicle usage, operational features are more complex because of the need to control multiple linked carriages and to be effective on vehicles left without a prime mover. Clasp brakes are one type of brakes historically used on trains. Early days In the earliest days of railways, braking technology was primitive. The first trains had brakes operative on the locomotive tender and on vehicles in the train, where "porters" or, in the United States brakemen, travelling for the purpose on those vehicles operated the brakes. Some railways fitted a special deep-noted brake whistle to locomotives to indicate to the porters the necessity to apply the brakes. All the brakes at this stage of development were applied by operation of a screw and linkage to brake blocks applie ...
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Abergele Rail Disaster
The Abergele rail disaster, which took place near Abergele, North Wales, in August 1868, was the worst railway disaster in Great Britain up till then. The Irish Mail train was on its way from London to Holyhead, when a complicated shunting operation caused the derailment of a goods train at Llanddulas, the nearest sidings to Abergele, blocking the main line. In the confusion, a brake-van and six wagons loaded with paraffin were left uncoupled on a gradient leading down to Abergele, and a collision with other carriages caused it to run downhill into the path of the Irish Mail, exploding on impact. Flames and smoke made rescue impossible, and 33 people died in the crash, some of them burned beyond recognition. The inquest blamed the two brakemen on the goods train, who had failed to secure the wagons individually, as well as the stationmaster at Llanddulas who was supervising the operation. The Board of Trade also strongly criticised the London and North Western Railway for poor ...
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Conductor (transportation)
A conductor (North American English) or guard (Commonwealth English) is a train crew member responsible for operational and safety duties that do not involve actual operation of the train/locomotive. The ''conductor'' title is most common in North American railway operations, but the role is common worldwide under various job titles. In Commonwealth English, a conductor is also known as guard or train manager. The responsibilities of a conductor or guard typically include the following: * Ensuring that the train follows applicable safety rules and practices * Making sure that the train stays on schedule starting from the stations * Opening and closing power operated doors * Selling and checking tickets, and other customer service duties * Ensuring that any cars and cargo are picked up and dropped off properly * Completing en-route paperwork * Directing the train's movement while operating in reverse * Coupling or uncoupling cars * Assisting with the setting out or picking up of ...
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Birmingham Daily Post
The ''Birmingham Post'' is a weekly printed newspaper based in Birmingham, England, with a circulation of 2,545 and distribution throughout the West Midlands. First published under the name the ''Birmingham Daily Post'' in 1857, it has had a succession of distinguished editors and has played an influential role in the life and politics of the city. It is currently owned by Reach plc. In June 2013, it launched a daily tablet edition called ''Birmingham Post Business Daily.'' History The '' Birmingham Journal'' was a weekly newspaper published between 1825 and 1869. A nationally influential voice in the Chartist movement in the 1830s, it was sold to John Frederick Feeney in 1844 and was a direct ancestor of today's ''Birmingham Post''. The 1855 Stamp Act removed the tax on newspapers and transformed the news trade. The price of the ''Journal'' was reduced from seven pence to four pence and circulation boomed. Untaxed, it became possible to sell a newspaper for a penny, and the ...
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Railroad Car
A railroad car, railcar (American and Canadian English), railway wagon, railway carriage, railway truck, railwagon, railcarriage or railtruck (British English and UIC), also called a train car, train wagon, train carriage or train truck, is a vehicle used for the carrying of cargo or passengers on a rail transport system (a railroad/railway). Such cars, when coupled together and hauled by one or more locomotives, form a train. Alternatively, some passenger cars are self-propelled in which case they may be either single railcars or make up multiple units. The term "car" is commonly used by itself in American English when a rail context is implicit. Indian English sometimes uses "bogie" in the same manner, though the term has other meanings in other variants of English. In American English, "railcar" is a generic term for a railway vehicle; in other countries "railcar" refers specifically to a self-propelled, powered, railway vehicle. Although some cars exist for the railroa ...
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0-6-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and no trailing wheels. This was the most common wheel arrangement used on both tender and tank locomotives in versions with both inside and outside cylinders. In the United Kingdom, the Whyte notation of wheel arrangement was also often used for the classification of electric and diesel-electric locomotives with side-rod coupled driving wheels. Under the UIC classification, popular in Europe, this wheel arrangement is written as C if the wheels are coupled with rods or gears, or Co if they are independently driven, the latter usually being electric and diesel-electric locomotives. Overview History The 0-6-0 configuration was the most widely used wheel arrangement for both tender and tank steam locomotives. The type was also widely used for diesel switchers (shunters). Because they lack leading a ...
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Fireman (steam Engine)
A fireman, stoker or watertender is a person whose occupation it is to tend the fire for the running of a boiler, heating a building, or powering a steam engine. Much of the job is hard physical labor, such as shoveling fuel, typically coal, into the boiler's firebox. On steam locomotives the title ''fireman'' is usually used, while on steamships and stationary steam engines, such as those driving saw mills, the title is usually ''stoker'' (although the British Merchant Navy did use ''fireman''). The German word ''Heizer'' is equivalent and in Dutch the word ''stoker'' is mostly used too. The United States Navy referred to them as ''watertenders''. Nautical Royal Navy The Royal Navy used the rank structure ordinary stoker, stoker, leading stoker, stoker petty officer and chief stoker. The non-substantive (trade) badge for stokers was a ship's propeller. Stoker remains the colloquial term used to refer to a marine engineering rating, despite the decommissioning of the la ...
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Station Master
The station master (or stationmaster) is the person in charge of a railway station, particularly in the United Kingdom and many other countries outside North America. In the United Kingdom, where the term originated, it is now largely historical or colloquial, with the contemporary term being station manager. However, the term ''station master'' remains current on many heritage railways, and also in many countries outside the United Kingdom, notably the extensive Indian Railways network. Historically a male occupation, women were sometimes appointed to the position, and the gender variation ''station mistress'' was sometimes employed in such cases. In the United States the role is commonly termed station agent. Job description The station master is responsible for the management of other station employees and holds responsibility for safety and the efficient running of the station. The term was historically employed across stations of all sizes, leading to variation in the preci ...
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Train Driver
A train driver, engine driver, engineman or locomotive driver, commonly known as an engineer or railroad engineer in the United States and Canada, and also as a locomotive handler, locomotive operator, train operator, or motorman, is a person who drives a train, multiple unit or a locomotive. The driver is in charge of, and is responsible for the mechanical operation of the train, train speed, and all of the train handling (also known as brake handling). In American English, a hostler (also known as a switcher) moves engines around rail yards, but does not take them out on the normal tracks; the British English equivalent is a shunter. Train drivers must follow certain guidelines for driving a train safely. For instance, in general, train drivers are encouraged to favour longer stopping distances as this promotes vehicle health, safety, and passenger comfort. Career progression For many American railroads, the following career progression is typical: assistant conductor ...
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