Pacerailer
The Pacerailer was a prototype railbus, a vehicle consisting of a bus-style body on a four-wheeled railway-vehicle chassis, built by Charles Sadler Ashby's Sadler Rail Coach Company (SRC) in the 1960s. Following the closure of Droxford station, on the Meon Valley Railway in Hampshire, both it and the track south to Wickham station were leased by SRC, who used the line to demonstrate the Pacerailer to potential buyers. A section of the line was rebuilt with a 1:10 incline to demonstrate the vehicle's abilities on steep gradients. There were problem with vandalism at the site, with the tracks intentionally blocked and points jammed in an effort to derail vehicles, and on 4 May 1970 the ''Pacerailer'' prototype was burned out and badly damaged. Ashby was in advanced negotiations to reopen the line between Cowes and Ryde on the Isle of Wight using Pacerailers. It was alleged that one of the Isle of Wight's bus companies was behind the vandalism and arson at Droxford. The underf ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Droxford Railway Station
Droxford railway station was an intermediate station on the Meon Valley Railway, built to a design by T. P. Figgis and opened in 1903. It served the villages of Droxford, Soberton and Hambledon in Hampshire, England. The railway served a relatively lightly populated area, but was built to main line specifications in anticipation of it becoming a major route to Gosport. Consequently, although the station was built in an area with only five houses, it was designed with the capacity to handle 10-carriage trains. It initially proved successful both for the transport of goods and passengers, but services were reduced during the First World War and the subsequent recession, and the route suffered owing to competition from road transport. In 1944, amid World War II, Droxford station was used by the Prime Minister Winston Churchill as his base during preparations for the Normandy landings. Based in an armoured train parked in the sidings at Droxford, Churchill met with numerous mini ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Meon Valley Railway
The Meon Valley Railway was a cross-country railway in Hampshire, England, that ran for 22 miles (36 km) between Alton and Fareham, closely following the course of the River Meon. At its northern (Alton) end, it joined with the Alton Line from London. It was conceived as an additional main line to the area around Gosport, and it was opened in 1903. It never fulfilled its planned potential, and remained a local line through sparsely populated agricultural areas, and it closed to passenger services in 1955; some local goods services continued until total closure in 1968. The name does not refer to an independent company; it was constructed and run by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR). History Background By the last decade of the nineteenth century, the railway map of Great Britain was already mature, and there were few gaps waiting to be filled by speculators. In 1852 the London and South Western Railway had reached Alton, from Brookwood on the London to Southampton ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Wickham (Hants) Railway Station
Wickham (Hants) railway station served the village of Wickham in Hampshire, England. It was on the Meon Valley line of the London and South Western Railway. The station opened in 1903 and closed to passengers in 1955 and to goods in 1962. The main building was to a design by the architect T. P. Figgis. History Opening The station was opened by the London and South Western Railway on 1 June 1903. It was on the Meon Valley line between and ; , between Wickham and Fareham, opened in 1907. The Meon Valley line had been authorised on 3 June 1897, and opened on 1 June 1903. Closure The station closed to passengers on 7 February 1955 and to goods traffic on 30 April 1962. The prospect was raised of Wickham becoming part of a heritage railway in the 1960s after closure of the line. Indeed, the line was leased by Charles Ashby from West Meon to Droxford, through Wickham and the line used for testing of his Sadler Pacerailer. Several locomotives arrived, including a Terrier now bas ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Sadler Rail Coach Company
Sadler may refer to: * Sadler (surname), people with the surname ''Sadler'' * James Sadler and Sons Ltd English pottery manufacturer * Sadler, Kentucky, United States; an unincorporated community * Sadler, Texas, United States; a city * Sadler report, 19th century British report on child labor See also * Saddler (other) * Sadleir (other) Sadleir may refer to: People with the surname * Franc Sadleir (1775–1851), Irish academic * James Sadleir (c.1815 – 1881), Irish financier and politician * John Sadleir (1813–1856), Irish financier and politician * Lynette Sadleir (b. 1963), ... {{disambig pt:Sadler ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Charles Sadler Ashby
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was "free man". The Old English descendant of this word was '' Ċearl'' or ''Ċeorl'', as the name of King Cearl of Mercia, that disappeared after the Norman conquest of England. The name was notably borne by Charlemagne (Charles the Great), and was at the time Latinized as ''Karolus'' (as in ''Vita Karoli Magni''), later also as '' Carolus''. Some Germanic languages, for example Dutch and German, have retained the word in two separate senses. In the particular case of Dutch, ''Karel'' refers to the given name, whereas the noun ''kerel'' means "a bloke, fellow, man". Etymology The name's etymology is a Common Germanic noun ''*karilaz'' meaning "free man", which survives in English as churl (< Old English ''ċeorl''), which developed its depre ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Railbus
A railbus is a lightweight passenger railcar that shares many aspects of its construction with a bus, typically having a bus (original or modified) body and four wheels on a fixed base, instead of on bogies. Originally designed and developed during the 1930s, railbuses have evolved into larger dimensions, with characteristics similar in appearance to a light railcar, with the terms ''railcar'' and ''railbus'' often used interchangeably. Railbuses designed for use specifically on little-used railway lines were commonly employed in countries such as Germany, Italy, France, the United Kingdom and Sweden. Today, railbuses are being replaced by modern light DMU railcar designs. Modern diesel-electric railcars, which can be run coupled as multiple units, like the Stadler RS1, the RegioSprinter of Siemens or the successor Siemens Desiro share role and specifications with railbuses (albeit with improvements in noise, low floor design, fuel efficiency, speed and other measures) but ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire is the 9th-most populous county in England. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, located in the north of the county. The county is bordered by Dorset to the south-west, Wiltshire to the north-west, Berkshire to the north, Surrey to the north-east, and West Sussex to the south east. The county is geographically diverse, with upland rising to and mostly south-flowing rivers. There are areas of downland and marsh, and two national parks: the New Forest National Park, New Forest and part of the South Downs National Park, South Downs, which together cover 45 per cent of Hampshire. Settled about 14,000 years ago, Hampshire's recorded history dates to Roman Britain, when its chi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Cowes Railway Station
Cowes railway station was a railway station in Cowes on the Isle of Wight, off the south coast of England. It took pride in being the "prettiest station on the Garden Isle". History Opened in 1862, the very first on the island, as part of the inaugural "Cowes and Newport" railway, it expanded to three platforms as the railway branched out towards Ryde in the years before the motor bus began to diminish trade. In its time prosperous enough to have a WH Smith bookstall, its latter years were considerably leaner as more and more people took their holidays abroad. The station has long since been demolished and today the area is a supermarket and municipal car park. In its later years Cowes station was notable for an unusual operating procedure. The engine would propel its empty carriages backwards up the 1-in-95 gradient towards Mill Hill and then run forward and round the train using a crossover. The carriages were then allowed to run back down into the station by gravity, cont ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Ryde Esplanade Railway Station
Ryde Esplanade railway station serves the town of Ryde on the Isle of Wight, and forms part of the Ryde Transport Interchange. Located on the sea front, it is the most convenient station for the majority of the town. Ryde Esplanade is also the location of the principal ticket office and all lost property facilities for the Island Line. The larger St John's Road station houses the area office and is next to Ryde Traincare Depot, where all in-house maintenance for the line takes place. History A station has existed on the site since 29 August 1864, when a horse-drawn tram service began operation along the new Ryde Pier. This service, and the line it ran along, pre-dates both the railway line and the current facilities on the site. The tramway was extended to St John's Road in August 1871, but in 1880 this service was replaced by the railway line and current station. The tramway station was originally known as ''Pier Gate''. Trams continued running under various power sourc ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Isle Of Wight Steam Railway
The Isle of Wight Steam Railway is a heritage railway on the Isle of Wight. The railway passes through of countryside from to station, passing through the small village of Havenstreet, where the line has a station, headquarters and a depot. At Smallbrook Junction, the steam railway connects with the Island Line. Operation The railway is owned and operated by the Isle of Wight Railway Co. Ltd. and run largely by volunteers. Services are operated on most days from June to September, together with selected days in April, May, and October and public holidays. The railway is popular with tourists, attracting people to its original steam locomotive and railway cafe. Over each August Bank Holiday weekend, the railway organises the Island Steam Show, which combines an intensive service on the railway with displays of various sorts of steam power including traction engines and steam fair equipment, together with other attractions that vary year by year. For events like steam galas ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Pacer (train)
Pacer was the operational name of the British Rail Classes 140, 141, 142, 143 and 144 diesel multiple unit railbuses, built between 1980 and 1987. They were inexpensively developed using a passenger body based on the Leyland National bus on top of a chassis based on the HSFV1 research vehicle. The railbuses were intended as a short-term solution to a shortage of rolling stock, with a lifespan of no more than 20 years. As modernised replacements were lacking, the Pacer fleet remained in service on some lines until 2021 37 years after their introduction in 1984. All Pacer trains were scheduled to be retired by the end of 2019 as the Rail Vehicle Accessibility Regulations require that all public passenger trains must be accessible to disabled people by 2020 however the Pacer units were given dispensation until the end of 2020. Only one Pacer (the modernised 144e) met this requirement, and the remainder were therefore planned to be withdrawn by that date. Furthermore, a decision ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Railcars Of The United Kingdom
A railcar (not to be confused with a railway car) is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term "railcar" is usually used in reference to a train consisting of a single coach (carriage, car), with a driver's cab at one or both ends. Some railway companies, such as the Great Western, termed such vehicles "railmotors" (or "rail motors"). Self-propelled passenger vehicles also capable of hauling a train are, in technical rail usage, more usually called "rail motor coaches" or "motor cars" (not to be confused with the motor cars, otherwise known as automobiles, that operate on roads). The term is sometimes also used as an alternative name for the small types of multiple unit which consist of more than one coach. That is the general usage nowadays in Ireland when referring to any diesel multiple unit (DMU), or in some cases electric multiple unit (EMU). In North America the term "railcar" has a much broader sense and can be used (as an abbre ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |