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Bristol–Exeter Line
The Bristol to Exeter line is a major branch of the Great Western Main Line in the West of England and runs from Bristol Temple Meads railway station, Bristol, to Exeter St Davids railway station, Exeter, from where it continues as the Exeter to Plymouth line. It was one of the principal routes of the pre-1948 Great Western Railway which were subsequently taken over by the Western Region of British Railways and are now part of the Network Rail system. History The line was built by the Bristol and Exeter Railway with Isambard Kingdom Brunel as the engineer. The section from Bristol to Bridgwater railway station, Bridgwater was opened on 14 June 1841 and it was completed to Taunton railway station, Taunton on 1 July 1842. It was initially operated by the Great Western Railway (GWR) as an extension of their line from Paddington railway station, London Paddington and formed part of the broad gauge trunk route to Penzance railway station, Penzance on which through trains were run f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
SR West Country And Battle Of Britain Classes
The SR West Country and Battle of Britain classes, collectively known as ''Light Pacifics'' or informally as ''Spam Cans'', are air-smoothed 4-6-2 ''Pacific'' steam locomotives designed for the Southern Railway by its Chief Mechanical Engineer Oliver Bulleid. Incorporating a number of new developments in British steam locomotive technology, they were amongst the first British designs to use welding in the construction process, and to use steel fireboxes, which meant that components could be more easily constructed under wartime austerity and post-war economy.Arlett (1989), p. 29–30 They were designed to be lighter in weight than their sister locomotives, the Merchant Navy class, to permit use on a wider variety of routes, including in the south-west of England and the Kent coast. They were a mixed-traffic design, being equally adept at hauling passenger and freight trains, and were used on all types of services, frequently far below their capabilities. A total of 110 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Western Region Of British Railways
The Western Region was a region of British Railways from 1948. The region ceased to be an operating unit in its own right on completion of the "Organising for Quality" initiative on 6 April 1992. The Region consisted principally of ex- Great Western Railway lines, minus certain lines west of Birmingham, which were transferred to the London Midland Region in 1963 and with the addition of all former Southern Railway routes west of Exeter, which were subsequently rationalised. History When British Railways was created at the start of 1948, it was immediately subdivided into six Regions, largely based upon pre-nationalisation ownership. The Western Region initially consisted of the former Great Western Railway system, totalling 3,782 route miles and with its headquarters at Paddington. To this was added some minor railways and joint lines in which the GWR had an interest: *Brynmawr and Western Valleys Railway *Clifton Extension Railway * Easton and Church Hope Railway *Great ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Transport Act 1947
The Transport Act 1947 (10 & 11 Geo. 6 c. 49) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Under the terms of the Act, the railway network, long-distance road haulage and various other types of transport were nationalised and came under the administration of the British Transport Commission. The BTC was responsible to the Ministry of Transport for general transport policy, which it exercised principally through financial control of a number of executives set up to manage specified sections of the industry under schemes of delegation. Overview The Act was part of the nationalisation agenda of Clement Attlee's Labour government, and took effect from 1 January 1948. In Northern Ireland, the Ulster Transport Authority acted in a similar manner. The government also nationalised other means of transport such as: canals, sea and shipping ports, bus companies, and eventually, in the face of much opposition, road haulage. All of these transport modes, including British Railways, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Langport And Castle Cary Railway
The Langport and Castle Cary Railway is a railway line from Castle Cary railway station to Cogload Junction near Taunton, Somerset, England, which reduced the length of the journey from London to Penzance by . History Through trains from London Paddington station to Penzance in Cornwall started running in 1867 taking a circuitous route over the Great Western Railway (GWR) to Bristol, then the Bristol and Exeter Railway through Taunton to Exeter, the South Devon Railway to Plymouth Millbay railway station, the Cornwall Railway to Truro, and finally completing their journey on the West Cornwall Railway. By 1889 the whole route was controlled by the GWR, but trains still had to take the "Great Way Round" through Bristol. There had been several schemes to build a shorter route to Cornwall, such as the Exeter Great Western Railway, but these came to nothing. Finally in 1895 the GWR directors announced that new lines were to be constructed to enable trains to reach Exeter, Plymouth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Consolidation (business)
In business, consolidation or amalgamation is the merger and acquisition of many smaller companies into a few much larger ones. In the context of financial accounting, ''consolidation'' refers to the aggregation of financial statements of a group company as consolidated financial statements. The taxation term of consolidation refers to the treatment of a group of companies and other entities as one entity for tax purposes. Under the Halsbury's Laws of England, 'amalgamation' is defined as "a blending together of two or more undertakings into one undertaking, the shareholders of each blending company, becoming, substantially, the shareholders of the blended undertakings. There may be amalgamations, either by transfer of two or more undertakings to a new company or the transfer of one or more companies to an existing company". Overview Consolidation is the practice, in business, of legally combining two or more organizations into a single new one. Upon consolidation, the original ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dual Gauge
In railway engineering, "gauge" is the transverse distance between the inner surfaces of the heads of two rails, which for the vast majority of railway lines is the number of rails in place. However, it is sometimes necessary for track to carry railway vehicles with wheels matched to two different gauges. Such track is described as dual gauge – achieved either by addition of a third rail, if it will fit, or by two additional rails. Dual-gauge tracks are more expensive to configure with signals and sidings, and to maintain, than two separate single-gauge tracks. It is therefore usual to build dual-gauge or other multi-gauge tracks only when necessitated by lack of space or when tracks of two different gauges meet in marshalling yards or passenger stations. Dual-gauge tracks are by far the most common configuration, but triple-gauge tracks have been built in some situations. Background The rail gauge is the most fundamental specification of a railway. Rail tracks and whee ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Durston Railway Station
There are 22 disused railway stations in the between and , 12 of which have structures that can still be seen from passing trains. Most were closed in the 1960s but four of them, especially around , were replaced by stations on new sites. 13 stations remain open on the line today, but there have been proposals to reopen stations at Cullompton and Wellington. Background The route was opened by the Bristol and Exeter Railway in stages between 1841 and 1844. In 1876 this company was amalgamated with the Great Western Railway which, in turn, was nationalised into British Railways in 1948. It is now owned by Network Rail. Apart from the temporary station at Beam Bridge which was only used for a year, the earliest closures were in the Weston-super-Mare area in order to provide new facilities for the traffic to that town, which was much greater than predicted when the line was planned. The majority of the remaining closures followed Dr Beeching's ''Reshaping of British Railways'' r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Highbridge And Burnham Railway Station
Highbridge and Burnham railway station is situated on the Bristol to Taunton Line within the town of Highbridge, Somerset, and also serves the neighbouring town of Burnham-on-Sea. It is from the zero point at via Box. It is unstaffed but managed by Great Western Railway who operate all the regular services. Until 1966 the station also had platforms on the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway (S&DJR) line which crossed the main line on the level at the north end of the station. History The station was opened as 'Highbridge' on 14 June 1841, when the Bristol and Exeter Railway (B&ER) engineered by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, opened its broad gauge line as far as . A road crossed the line at the north end of the platforms, and a goods shed was provided beyond this on the west side of the line. The B&ER was amalgamated with the Great Western Railway (GWR) on 1 January 1876. Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway On 28 August 1854 the Somerset Central Railway was opened from Highbri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Penzance Railway Station
Penzance railway station serves the town of Penzance in west Cornwall, England. It is the terminus of the Cornish Main Line from Plymouth, from via , and is the southernmost railway station in Great Britain. The first station opened in 1852 and through travel to and from London commenced from 1859 with the opening of the Royal Albert Bridge. The station was rebuilt by the Great Western Railway in 1876 and the current layout was the result of a further rebuilding in the 1930s. In 2020 the station is owned by Network Rail and managed by Great Western Railway who also operate the train services, together with CrossCountry. History Broad gauge era The station was opened by the West Cornwall Railway on 11 March 1852 as the terminus of its line from Redruth. The station itself consisted of a single platform face, and along with the rest of the West Cornwall Railway was laid as standard gauge. This changed in 1866 when the West Cornwall Railway was relaid to mixed gauge allowing So ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Broad Gauge
A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , commonly known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union (CIS states, Baltic states, Georgia and Ukraine), Mongolia and Finland. Broad gauge of , commonly known as Irish Gauge, is the dominant track gauge in Ireland, and the Australian states of Victoria and Adelaide. Broad gauge of , commonly known as Iberian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in Spain and Portugal. Broad gauge of , commonly known as Indian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Argentina, Chile, and on BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) in the San Francisco Bay Area. This is the widest gauge in common use anywhere in the world. It is possible for trains on both Iberian gauge and Indian gauge to travel on each other's tracks with no modifications in the vast majority of cases. History In Gr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paddington Railway Station
Paddington, also known as London Paddington, is a Central London railway terminus and London Underground station complex, located on Praed Street in the Paddington area. The site has been the London terminus of services provided by the Great Western Railway and its successors since 1838. Much of the main line station dates from 1854 and was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Paddington is the London terminus of the Great Western Main Line; passenger services are primarily operated by Great Western Railway, which provides the majority of commuter and regional passenger services to west London and the Thames Valley region as well as long-distance intercity services to South West England and South Wales. The station is also the eastern terminus for Heathrow Express and the western terminus for Elizabeth line services from Shenfield. Elizabeth line services also run through Paddington westwards to Reading, Heathrow Terminal 5, and Heathrow Terminal 4, and eastwards to Abbey Wood ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taunton Railway Station
Taunton railway station is a junction station on the route from London to Penzance, west of London Paddington station. It is situated in Taunton, Somerset, and is operated by Great Western Railway. The station is also served by CrossCountry trains and by the West Somerset Railway on special event days and by mainline steam excursions. History Originally opened on 1 July 1842 as part of the Bristol and Exeter Railway, Taunton was the terminus of the line until a new temporary terminus was opened on 1 May 1843 further west at Beambridge. Isambard Kingdom Brunel's original design was for a single-sided station with two platforms, each with their own buildings and train sheds, placed on the south side of the line. A hotel was built between them and the Grand Western Canal. Having both platforms on the town side of the line was meant to help passengers but was found to be problematic as the railway became busier, with each train having to cross the line used by trains in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
_track%2C_South_Australian_Railways.jpg "Click for more on -> Dual Gauge")
