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Railworld Wildlife Haven
Railworld Wildlife Haven is a charity in Peterborough which has a nature haven, a model railway and other exhibits. It is located on a landscaped former coal storage yard which once served Peterborough Power Station. It was founded by Rev. Richard Paten (1932-2012) in 1985 as the "Museum of World Railways" (MWR), changing its name to "Railworld" in 1992 and is now called "Railworld Wildlife Haven" in reference to its change of focus towards its landscaped nature area. The centre is open only on certain days. It is located beside the Peterborough Nene Valley railway station, but it is a separate organisation. Exhibits In reference to its previous function as a railway museum, there is a small collection of locomotives and railway memorabilia, all of which require extensive work. There are two unique vehicles: * Tracked Hovercraft RTV 31, a prototype hover train which was tested in the Cambridgeshire Fens. * The Birmingham AirRail Link Maglev vehicle. Other locomotives are: ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tracked Hovercraft
Tracked Hovercraft was an experimental high speed train developed in the United Kingdom during the 1960s. It combined two British inventions, the hovercraft and linear induction motor, in an effort to produce a train system that would provide inter-city service with lowered capital costs compared to other high-speed solutions. Substantially similar to the French Aérotrain and other hovertrain systems of the 1960s, Tracked Hovercraft suffered a similar fate to these projects when it was cancelled as a part of wide budget cuts in 1973. History Genesis at Hovercraft Development It was noticed early on in the development of the hovercraft that the energy needed to lift a vehicle was directly related to the smoothness of the surface on which it travelled. This was not entirely surprising; the air trapped under the hovercraft will remain there except where it leaks out where the lifting surface contacts the ground — if this interface is smooth, the amount of leaked air will b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diesel Locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving wheels. Early internal combustion locomotives and railcars used kerosene and gasoline as their fuel. Rudolf Diesel patented his first compression-ignition engine in 1898, and steady improvements to the design of diesel engines reduced their physical size and improved their power-to-weight ratios to a point where one could be mounted in a locomotive. Internal combustion engines only operate efficiently within a limited power band, and while low power gasoline engines could be coupled to mechanical transmissions, the more powerful diesel engines required the development of new forms of transmission. This is because clutches would need to be very large at these power levels and would not fit in a standard -wide locomotive frame, or wear too qu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frichs
Frichs is a Danish company based in Horsens, founded in 1854 in Aarhus. Frichs today produce ship engines but started out in the 19th century producing a long range of farm and industry equipment, ships, church bells, cranes and later through the 20th century locomotives and train carriages. In the early to mid 20th century it was a major company and employer in Aarhus at its height employing some 1000 people. The company was the sole Danish supplier of locomotives for the Danish State Railways from 1919 to the mid 1950s and sold locomotives across Europe and to Siam and New Zealand. In 1980 the company was sold to ''Kosan'' and then restructured and rebased to Horsens. History Frichs was founded by Søren Frich in 1854 in Aarhus under the name ''Frich Jernstøberi og Maskinfabrik'' (Frich Ironworks and Machine Factory) focused primarily on farm equipment and cast iron products such as furnaces, ovens and steel girders. In 1855 Frich specialized in parts for the water and wind ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
DSB (railway Company)
DSB, an abbreviation of ''Danske Statsbaner'' (, ''Danish State Railways''), is the largest Danish train operating company, and the largest in Scandinavia. While DSB is responsible for passenger train operation on most of the Danish railways, goods transport and railway maintenance are outside its scope. DSB runs a commuter rail system, called the S-train, in the area around the Danish capital, Copenhagen, that connects the different areas and suburbs in the greater metropolitan area. Between 2010 and 2017, DSB operated trains in Sweden. DSB was founded in 1885 when the state-owned companies ''De jysk-fynske Statsbaner'' and ''De sjællandske Statsbaner'' merged. History The first railways in Denmark were built and operated by private companies. The railways in Funen and Jutland were built by Peto and Betts who also supplied the locomotives (built by Canada Works, Birkenhead). Most of the technical staff was also recruited from Britain, notably from the Eastern Counties Railw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vauclain Compound
The Vauclain compound was a type of compound steam locomotive that was briefly popular circa 1900. Developed at the Baldwin Locomotive Works, it featured two pistons moving in parallel, driving a common crosshead and controlled by a common valve gear using a single, complex piston valve. Advantages and disadvantages The claimed advantage for this arrangement, as with other compounding arrangements, was greater economy due to lower fuel and water consumption. In practice uneven forces at the crosshead produced excess wear, with increased maintenance costs thus offsetting any fuel economies. The integration of the compounding system into the smokebox saddle made conversion to conventional engines straightforward, so most Vauclain compounds were so converted and led normal lives thereafter. The only known operable example is Manitou and Pikes Peak Railway No. 4, which is preserved on-site along with the static display of its sister #5. Design The key to the Vauclain compound is it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
4-6-2
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and two trailing wheels on one axle. The locomotive became almost globally known as a Pacific type. Overview The introduction of the design in 1901 has been described as "a veritable milestone in locomotive progress". On many railways worldwide, Pacific steam locomotives provided the motive power for express passenger trains throughout much of the early to mid-20th century, before either being superseded by larger types in the late 1940s and 1950s, or replaced by electric or diesel-electric locomotives during the 1950s and 1960s. Nevertheless, new Pacific designs continued to be built until the mid-1950s. The type is generally considered to be an enlargement of the Atlantic type, although its prototype had a direct relationship to the Ten-wheeler and Prairie, effectively bei ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Margam
Margam is a suburb and community of Port Talbot in the Welsh county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, close to junction 39 of the M4 motorway. The community had a population of 3,017 in 2011; the built up area being larger and extending into Taibach community. History Margam was an ancient Welsh community, formerly part of the cwmwd of Tir Iarll, initially dominated by Margam Abbey, a wealthy house of the Cistercians founded in 1147. (Margam is believed to have played a significant role in the early transmission of the work of St. Bernard of Clairvaux). At the dissolution of the monasteries, it came into the possession of the Mansel family who were eventually succeeded by their descendants in the female line, the Talbot family, a cadet branch of the family of the Earls of Shrewsbury. The parish church continued to operate from the nave of Margam Abbey, as it still does. Margam Castle grounds contain the ruins of the Chapter House and major 17th century and 18th century ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Steel Company Of Wales
The Steel Company of Wales Ltd was a Welsh steel and tinplate producer. It was formed in 1947 and absorbed into British Steel Corporation in 1967, British Steel then merged with Hoogovens and became Corus UK Limited. The business now forms part of Tata Steel Europe. The company led the restructuring of the steel and tinplate industries around Swansea and Llanelli, building the Abbey Steelworks at Margam, planning a new Deep Water Harbour at Port Talbot, a new tinplate works at Trostre and Velindre. Trostre came into production in 1951 and Velindre in 1956. The Steel Company of Wales was nationalised in 1951, becoming part of the Iron and Steel Corporation of Great Britain The Iron and Steel Corporation of Great Britain was a nationalised industry, set up in 1949 by Clement Attlee's Labour government. The Iron & Steel Act 1949 took effect on 15 February 1951, the Corporation becoming the sole shareholder of 80 of ..., was denationalised shortly afterwards, becoming the S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Locomotive Company
The American Locomotive Company (often shortened to ALCO, ALCo or Alco) was an American manufacturer of locomotives, diesel generators, steel, and tanks that operated from 1901 to 1969. The company was formed by the merger of seven smaller locomotive manufacturers and Schenectady Locomotive Engine Manufactory of Schenectady, New York. A subsidiary, American Locomotive Automobile Company, designed and manufactured automobiles under the Alco brand from 1905 to 1913. ALCO also produced nuclear reactors from 1954 to 1962. The company changed its name to Alco Products, Incorporated in 1955. In 1964, the Worthington Corporation acquired the company. The company went out of business in 1969. The ALCO name is currently being used by Fairbanks Morse Engine for their FM, ALCO line. Foundation and early history The company was created in 1901 from the merger of seven smaller locomotive manufacturers with Schenectady Locomotive Engine Manufactory of Schenectady, New York: * Brooks Loco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Switcher
A switcher, shunter, yard pilot, switch engine, yard goat, or shifter is a small railroad locomotive used for manoeuvring railroad cars inside a rail yard in a process known as ''switching'' (US) or ''shunting'' (UK). Switchers are not intended for moving trains over long distances but rather for assembling trains in order for another locomotive to take over. They do this in classification yards (Great Britain: ''marshalling yards''). Switchers may also make short transfer runs and even be the only motive power on branch lines and switching and terminal railroads. The term can also be used to describe the workers operating these engines or engaged in directing shunting operations. Switching locomotives may be purpose-built engines, but may also be downgraded main-line engines, or simply main-line engines assigned to switching. Switchers can also be used on short excursion train rides. The typical switcher is optimised for its job, being relatively low-powered but with a hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peterborough
Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until 1974, when county boundary change meant the city became part of Cambridgeshire instead. The city is north of London, on the River Nene which flows into the North Sea to the north-east. In 2020 the built-up area subdivision had an estimated population of 179,349. In 2021 the Unitary Authority area had a population of 215,671. The local topography is flat, and in some places, the land lies below sea level, for example in parts of the Fens to the east and to the south of Peterborough. Human settlement in the area began before the Bronze Age, as can be seen at the Flag Fen archaeological site to the east of the current city centre, also with evidence of Roman occupation. The Anglo-Saxon period saw the establishment of a monastery, Mede ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ALCO S-1 And S-3
The ALCO S-1 and S-3 were switcher diesel-electric locomotives produced by ALCO and their Canadian subsidiary Montreal Locomotive Works (MLW). The two locomotives differed only in trucks, with the S-1 using ALCO's own Blunt trucks, and the S-3 using AAR type A switcher trucks. The S-1 was built between April 1940 and June 1950, with a total of 543 completed, while the S-3 was constructed between February 1950 and November 1953 (MLW until 1957) with total sales of 300. A modified version, the S-10, was built by MLW only; 13 were built between January and June 1958. Identification The S-1 and S-3 are distinguishable externally from the very similar S-2 and S-4 switchers in that they have a smaller exhaust stack with a round base and a smaller radiator shutter area on the nose sides. The S-1/S-3 radiator shutter area is taller than it is wide, while the S-2/S-4 radiator area is wider. The smaller stack is due to the lack of turbocharging. The S-10 is not externally disti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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