English Electric Balloon
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English Electric Balloon
The English Electric Balloon is a type of double-decker tram that is operated on the Blackpool Tramway. Initially brought into service in 1934, the Balloon formed the backbone of the Blackpool tram fleet until the tramway's conversion to a modern light rail network in 2012. Following the network's re-opening, nine Balloons were converted to meet the disability regulations to serve as a supplement to the modern Flexity 2 vehicles. Some of the Balloons have been retained for use within the heritage fleet. History Commissioned in 1933 by Walter Luff, the controller of the network, in a bid to modernise the tramway's fleet, they were intended to replace the Dreadnought and Standard cars that had been in service since the early years of the tramway. They were built by English Electric during 1934 and 1935, the first being presented to Blackpool on 10 December 1934. 27 were delivered, of which the first thirteen were open-topped and the remaining fourteen were enclosed. They we ...
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English Electric
N.º UIC: 9094 110 1449-3 (Takargo Rail) The English Electric Company Limited (EE) was a British industrial manufacturer formed after the Armistice of 11 November 1918, armistice of World War I by amalgamating five businesses which, during the war, had been making munitions, armaments and aeroplanes. It initially specialised in industrial electric motors and transformers, railway locomotives and traction equipment, diesel motors and steam turbines. Its activities were later expanded to include consumer electronics, nuclear reactors, guided missiles, military aircraft and mainframe computers. Two English Electric aircraft designs became landmarks in British aeronautical engineering; the Canberra and the Lightning. In 1960, English Electric Aircraft (40%) merged with Vickers (40%) and Bristol (20%) to form British Aircraft Corporation. In 1968 English Electric's operations were merged with GEC's, the combined business employing more than 250,000 people. Foundation Aiming ...
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Check Rail
In rail transport, guard rails or check rails are rails used in the construction of the track, placed parallel to regular running rail to keep the wheels of rolling stock in alignment to prevent derailment. They are generally used along areas of restricted clearance, such as a bridge, trestle, tunnel, or level crossing. They also help to minimize damage to the structure and allow easier post-accident cleanup. History Although guard rails in some form have been used as long as there have been trains, the precursor of the guard rails in use today was detailed in , filed in 1893 by Gorham B. Ames, based in Laconia, New Hampshire, US. Applications Bridges Guard rails are an essential component of railroad bridges. Their presence prevents a derailed train from striking and damaging bridge components, or deviating from the track enough to leave the tracks entirely and roll over or fall. Sharp curves On sharp curves, guard rails may be placed inside the inner rail, whe ...
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Heaton Park Tramway
The Heaton Park Tramway is a heritage tramway that operates within Heaton Park, a large municipal park in the English city of Manchester. It is operated by the Manchester Transport Museum Society, a registered charity. In normal times, the tramway operates on Sunday afternoons between March and mid-November and on Saturday afternoons between May and mid-September. Operation may be suspended whilst major events are being held in the park, and was temporarily suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic although the tramway has now reopened. History Heaton Park was originally the private landscape park surrounding Heaton Hall, but was sold to Manchester City Council in 1902 for use as a municipal park. Shortly after the park was bought by the council, a branch of Manchester Corporation Tramways Between 1901 and 1949 Manchester Corporation Tramways (known as Manchester Corporation Transport Department from 1929 onwards) was the municipal operator of electric tram services in Manc ...
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Crich
Crich is a village in the English county of Derbyshire. The population at the 2001 Census was 2,821, increasing to 2,898 at the 2011 Census (including Fritchley and Whatstandwell). It has the National Tramway Museum inside the Crich Tramway Village and, at the summit of Crich Hill above, a memorial tower for those of the Sherwood Foresters regiment who died in battle, particularly in World War I. Built in 1923 on the site of an older tower called Crich Stand, the memorial tower is the destination of an annual pilgrimage on the first Sunday in July. It is above sea level and has 58 steps to the top. From there, seven counties can be seen (Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire, Leicestershire, Staffordshire, Lancashire and Lincolnshire), including landmarks such as Lincoln Cathedral and the Humber Bridge. History In 1009 King Æthelred the Unready signed a charter at the Great Council which recognised the position and boundaries of Weston-on-Trent and several other manors inc ...
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National Tramway Museum
The National Tramway Museum (trading as Crich Tramway Village) is a tram museum located at Crich (), Derbyshire, England. The museum contains over 60 (mainly British) trams built between 1873 and 1982 and is set within a recreated period village containing a working pub, cafe, old-style sweetshop and tram depots. The museum's collection of trams runs through the village-setting with visitors transported out into the local countryside and back. The museum is operated by the Tramway Museum Society, a registered charity. The trams at Crich mostly ran in cities in the United Kingdom prior to the 1960s, with trams rescued (even from other countries) as the systems closed. Most of the UK tram networks, with a few exceptions closed before the 1960s. The last to close was Glasgow Corporation Tramways in 1962, a tramway well represented at the museum, leaving just the Blackpool Tramway as the sole surviving first-generation tramway. There has been a recent revival in the use of trams, ...
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Easter
Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel Pepys, Volume 2'') as well as the single word "Easter" in books printed i157515841586 also called Pascha (Aramaic, Greek, Latin) or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in the New Testament as having occurred on the third day of his burial following his crucifixion by the Romans at Calvary . It is the culmination of the Passion of Jesus Christ, preceded by Lent (or Great Lent), a 40-day period of fasting, prayer, and penance. Easter-observing Christians commonly refer to the week before Easter as Holy Week, which in Western Christianity begins on Palm Sunday (marking the entrance of Jesus in Jerusalem), includes Spy Wednesday (on whic ...
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Wall's (ice Cream)
Wall's is a British ice cream and frozen dessert brand in United Kingdom owned by Unilever and is part of the Heartbrand global frozen dessert brand. Wall's also owns the rights to the Mr. Whippy soft-serve ice cream mix. History Wall's was founded in 1786 by Richard Wall, when he opened a butcher's stall in St James's Market, London. In the 1900s the business was led by Richard's grandson Thomas Wall II. Every year the company had to lay off staff in the summer as demand for its sausages, pies and meat fell, so in 1913 Thomas Wall II conceived the idea of making ice cream in the summer to avoid those lay-offs; the First World War meant that his idea was not implemented until 1922. Following his retirement in 1920, Thomas Wall II created his Trust for the "encouragement and assistance of educational work and social service". Today, the Trust continues to assist in these areas by providing grants to individuals and organisations. By 1922 the business had been jointly boug ...
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Blackpool Gazette
The ''Blackpool Gazette'' (locally marketed as simply ''The Gazette'') is an English daily newspaper based in Blackpool, Lancashire. Published every day except Sunday, it covers the towns and communities of the Fylde coast. It was founded as ''The West Lancashire Evening Gazette'' in 1929 before being renamed the ''Evening Gazette'', and then ''Blackpool Gazette''. The paper's history dates back to a weekly publication founded in 1873. Background The newspaper is published by JPI Media (owned by National World), and is known locally as ''The Gazette''. The editor is Nicola Adam. Two other weekly newspapers are also published – the '' Lytham St.Annes Express'' and the ''Fleetwood Weekly News''. It is online at blackpoolgazette.co.uk. ''The Gazette'' had a close link with local football club Blackpool until the club's relegation from the Premier League in 2011. In 2014, the newspaper decided to scrap club chairman Karl Oyston Karl Samuel Oyston (born 20 February 1968) is a ...
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Bispham, Blackpool
Bispham is a village on the Fylde coast in Lancashire, England, a mile and a half north of Blackpool town centre. Geography and administration The village is part of the borough of Blackpool, and generally considered a suburb of the town. To the south of Bispham is Warbreck, North Shore and Layton, to the east is Carleton and to the north is Norbreck and Thornton Cleveleys and to the west, the Irish Sea. The area is mostly urban. Bispham was formerly in the Blackpool North and Fleetwood parliamentary constituency, but, as of the 2010 general election forms part of the Blackpool North and Cleveleys constituency whose M.P. is Paul Maynard. Bispham has three Blackpool Council electoral wards: Bispham, Greenlands and Ingthorpe. Demographics The population at the United Kingdom Census 2001 was 19,165, 13.41% of the population of Blackpool (142,900), with 3,873 residents aged between 0 and 17 years old (20.21%), 4,329 aged 65 and over (22.58%) and 10,963 between the ages of 1 ...
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Coronation Street
''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Originally broadcast twice weekly, the series began airing six times a week in 2017. The programme was conceived by scriptwriter Tony Warren. Warren's initial proposal was rejected by the station's founder Sidney Bernstein, but he was persuaded by producer Harry Elton to produce the programme for 13 pilot episodes, and the show has since become a significant part of English culture. ''Coronation Street'' is made by ITV Granada at MediaCityUK and shown in all ITV regions, as well as internationally. In 2010, upon its 50th anniversary, the series was recognised by Guinness World Records, as the world's longest-running television soap opera. Initially influenced by the conventions of kitchen sink realism, ''Coronation Street'' is noted for its ...
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Soap Opera
A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored by soap manufacturers.Bowles, p. 118. The term was preceded by "horse opera", a derogatory term for low-budget Westerns. BBC Radio's ''The Archers'', first broadcast in 1950, is the world's longest-running radio soap opera. The longest-running current television soap is '' Coronation Street'', which was first broadcast on ITV in 1960, with the record for the longest running soap opera in history being held by '' Guiding Light'', which began on radio in 1937, transitioned to television in 1952, and ended in 2009. A crucial element that defines the soap opera is the open-ended serial nature of the narrative, with stories spanning several episodes. One of the defining features that makes a television program a soap opera, according to Alber ...
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Alan Bradley (Coronation Street)
Alan Bradley is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera, ''Coronation Street'', played by Mark Eden. He first appeared on 15 January 1986 and became the show's main antagonist until the character was killed off on 8 December 1989. The character's story arc began with Alan visiting Weatherfield to reconcile with his long-lost daughter Jenny (Sally Ann Matthews), following the death of her mother and his ex-wife Pat – who was reported to have been killed in a car accident. This works successfully and Alan subsequently moves into Weatherfield to live with Jenny and her foster mother Rita Fairclough (Barbara Knox), whom he gradually establishes a relationship with as the pair end up falling in love with each other. Alan later plans to marry Rita in a surprise wedding between them, but is left unhappy when she doesn't go through with it and prefers for them to remain partners. Throughout his time on the show, Alan exhibits a volatile and temperamental streak due t ...
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