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Lochaber Narrow Gauge Railway
The Lochaber Narrow Gauge Railway was a narrow-gauge industrial railway. It was a relatively long line, built for the construction and subsequent maintenance of a tunnel from Loch Treig to a factory near Fort William in Scotland. The tunnel was excavated to carry water for the Lochaber hydroelectric scheme in connection with aluminium production by British Aluminium. The railway came to be known colloquially as the 'Old Puggy Line'. Background Aluminium is found in a clay-like mineral called bauxite, whose properties were first understood in 1821. This can be refined to produce alumina by the Bayer process, which is then reduced to the metal aluminium by the Hall–Héroult process. This requires large amounts of electricity to perform the electrolysis, and the first factory in the United Kingdom where this was carried out was opened at Foyers, on the shores of Loch Ness, in 1896. It was owned by the British Aluminium Company, and as world demand for the metal rose rapid ...
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Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, the North Sea to the northeast and east, and the Irish Sea to the south. It also contains more than 790 islands, principally in the archipelagos of the Hebrides and the Northern Isles. Most of the population, including the capital Edinburgh, is concentrated in the Central Belt—the plain between the Scottish Highlands and the Southern Uplands—in the Scottish Lowlands. Scotland is divided into 32 administrative subdivisions or local authorities, known as council areas. Glasgow City is the largest council area in terms of population, with Highland being the largest in terms of area. Limited self-governing power, covering matters such as education, social services and roads and transportation, is devolved from the ...
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Kinlochleven
Kinlochleven () ( gd, Ceann Loch Lìobhann) is a village located in Lochaber, in the Scottish Highlands and lies at the eastern end of Loch Leven. To the north lie the Mamores ridge; to the south lie the mountains flanking Glen Coe. The village was formed from two previously separate small communities – Kinlochmore to the north of the River Leven in Inverness-shire and Kinlochbeg to the south of the Leven in Argyll – following the construction of an aluminium smelter and associated housing for its employees. The processing plant was powered by a hydroelectric scheme situated in the mountains above, and made Kinlochleven the first village in the world to have every house connected to electricity, coining the phrase "The Electric Village". In 1991, the village (according to annual census returns) had just over 1000 inhabitants in some 420 households. Today it is a notable tourist destination and centre for mountain pursuits. Smelter Work on the dam and water supply system bega ...
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A82 Road
The A82 is a major road in Scotland that runs from Glasgow to Inverness via Fort William. It is one of the principal north-south routes in Scotland and is mostly a trunk road managed by Transport Scotland, who view it as an important link from the Central Belt to the Scottish Highlands and beyond. The road passes close to numerous landmarks, including; Loch Lomond, Rannoch Moor, Glen Coe, the Ballachulish Bridge, Ben Nevis, the Commando Memorial, Loch Ness, and Urquhart Castle. The route is derived in several places from the military roads constructed through the Highlands by General George Wade and Major William Caulfeild in the 18th century, along with later roads constructed by Thomas Telford in the 19th. The modern route is based on that designed by Telford, but with a number of improvements primarily dating from the 1920s and 30s. These include a diversion across Rannoch Moor, and another around Loch Leven which was subsequently replaced by the Ballachulish Bridge. Sev ...
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Inverlochy, Highland
Inverlochy ( gd, Inbhir Lochaidh, IPA: ˆinivɪɾʲˈɫ̪ɔxɪ is a village north of Fort William, Highland, Scotland. Inverlochy is part of the Great Glen Way, a popular hiking and cycling route from Fort William to Inverness. History The village was purpose-built in the 1920s by the British Aluminium Company to house workers. Prior to this, nearby Inverlochy Castle was the location of battles in 1431 and 1645. See also *Lochaber Lochaber ( ; gd, Loch Abar) is a name applied to a part of the Scottish Highlands. Historically, it was a provincial lordship consisting of the parishes of Kilmallie and Kilmonivaig, as they were before being reduced in extent by the creati ... References Villages in Highland (council area) Populated places in Lochaber {{Scotland-stub ...
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Fascine
A fascine is a rough bundle of brushwood or other material used for strengthening an earthen structure, or making a path across uneven or wet terrain. Typical uses are protecting the banks of streams from erosion, covering marshy ground and so on. In war they have often been used to help armiesin modern times, especially tanks and other vehiclescross trenches, valleys, marshes, muddy or uneven terrain, etc. Early military use Fascine bundles were used defensively for revetting (shoring up) trenches or ramparts, especially around artillery batteries, or offensively to fill in ditches and cross obstacles on a battlefield. Fascine bridges are a regularly attested feature of Roman military engineering and would have been widespread in the ancient world due to their usefulness and ease of construction. During the Siege of Alesia, the Gauls repeatedly attempted to repel the invading Romans by filling their trenches in with fascines and covering their traps, to support their cou ...
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River Lochy
The River Lochy flows southwest along the Great Glen from Loch Lochy to Loch Linnhe at Fort William in the West Highlands of Scotland. Its two major tributaries are the short River Arkaig which drains Loch Arkaig into Loch Lochy and the River Spean which enters on its left bank at Gairlochy. The A830 road crosses the Lochy near its junction with the A82 road by means of the Victoria or Lochy Bridge just northeast of Fort William and the river is bridged again east of Gairlochy by the B8004 road. The only other crossing of the Lochy is a combined rail and foot bridge downstream from Victoria Bridge. This span takes the West Highland Line between Fort William and Mallaig and carries the Great Glen Way national trail. See also *List of rivers of Scotland This list of rivers in Scotland is organised geographically, taken anti-clockwise, from Berwick-upon-Tweed. Tributaries are listed down the page in an upstream direction. (L) indicates a left-bank tributary and (R) i ...
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West Highland Railway
The West Highland Railway was a railway company that constructed a railway line from Craigendoran (on the River Clyde west of Glasgow, Scotland) to Fort William and Mallaig. The line was built through remote and difficult terrain in two stages: the section from Craigendoran to Fort William opened in 1894, with a short extension to Banavie on the Caledonian Canal opening in 1895. It had originally been intended to extend to Roshven, to give good access to sea-going fishery vessels, but the end point was altered to Mallaig, and this section opened in 1901. The Mallaig Extension was notable for the extensive use of mass concrete in making structures for the line; at the time this was a considerable novelty. The line never made a profit, and relied on Government financial support, which was given (amid much controversy) to improve the depressed economic conditions of the region. It was worked by the North British Railway, which later took the company over. Except for a short st ...
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River Spean
The River Spean flows from Loch Laggan in a westerly direction to join the River Lochy at Gairlochy in the Great Glen in the West Highlands of Scotland. Major tributaries of the Spean include the left-bank Abhainn Ghuilbinn and River Treig, the right-bank River Roy and the left-bank river known as The Cour. The river is accompanied by the A86 road for almost its entire length, running from (upper) Loch Laggan west to Spean Bridge. The river is spanned by a bridge carrying the A82 road near its junction with the A86 at Spean Bridge. A minor road bridges the Spean just above the falls at Inverlair. Two further road crossings exist - a private estate road across the short stretch of river between upper Loch Laggan and the Laggan reservoir and a road traversing the top of Laggan Dam. The West Highland Line crosses the river near Tulloch Station and follows its north bank before re-crossing east of Spean Bridge. A branch of the railway formerly continued west beside the riv ...
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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 Ai ...
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Balfour Beatty
Balfour Beatty plc () is an international infrastructure group based in the United Kingdom with capabilities in construction services, support services and infrastructure investments. A constituent of the FTSE 250 Index, the company is active across the UK, US and Hong Kong. In terms of turnover, Balfour Beatty was ranked in 2021 as the biggest construction contractor in the United Kingdom. It was formed on 12 January 1909 by the engineer George Balfour and the accountant Andrew Beatty. Initially working on tramways, the company soon expanded into power and general contracting; the First World War saw it construct several army bases and various other works to support the British war effort. During the 1920s and 1930s, Balfour Beatty reoriented away from bus and tramway operations towards more lucrative heavy civil engineering, particularly the development of Britain's National Grid and various power stations. Early international projects include hydro electric power schemes i ...
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Halcrow Group
Halcrow Group Limited was a multinational engineering consultancy company, based in the United Kingdom Halcrow was one of the UK's largest consultancies, with origins stretching back to 1868. The UK-based consultancy specialised in the provision of planning, design and management services for infrastructure development worldwide. With interests in transportation, water, maritime and property, the company undertook commissions in over 70 countries from a network of more than 90 offices. In 2011, the company was acquired by US firm CH2M Hill, and in 2013 it was announced that the Halcrow brand would eventually be discontinued. The parent subsequently (2015) rebranded the whole group to CH2M. Two years later, in December 2017, CH2M was acquired by Jacobs Engineering Group. History The company was founded in 1868 by civil engineer Thomas Meik, and originally bore his name, and later those of his sons, Patrick and Charles. It worked extensively on port, maritime and railway projec ...
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River Spey
The River Spey (Scottish Gaelic: Uisge Spè) is a river in the northeast of Scotland. At it is the eighth longest river in the United Kingdom, as well as the second longest and fastest-flowing river in Scotland. It is important for salmon fishing and whisky production. Etymology The origin of the name ''Spey'' is uncertain. A possible etymological genesis for the name ''Spey'' is Early Celtic ''*skwej-'', meaning "thorn". The involvement of a Pictish form of Welsh ''ysbyddad'', meaning "hawthorn", has been suggested, but adjudged unlikely. One proposal is a derivation from a Pictish cognate of Old Gaelic ''sceïd'', "vomit" (c.f Welsh ''chwydu''), which is dubious both on phonological and semantic grounds. Ptolemy named the river on his map of 150 as ''Tuesis''. The name 'Spey' first appears in 1451. Course The Spey is long. It rises at over at Loch Spey in Corrieyairack Forest in the Scottish Highlands, south of Fort Augustus. Some miles downstream from its sour ...
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