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Stanbridgeford Railway Station
Stanbridgeford railway station on the London and North Western Railway's branch line to Dunstable served the Bedfordshire villages of Stanbridge, Totternhoe, Eaton Bray and Tilsworth from 1849 to 1964. Once popular with visitors to the nearby Totternhoe Knolls and ramblers, the station closed against a background of falling passenger numbers and declining freight returns. The station building has survived into private ownership, but a section of the alignment to the east and west of the site has been taken into the A505 Leighton Southern Bypass. National Cycle Network route 6 runs to the east over the bypass as far as the outskirts of Dunstable. History The passing of the Dunstable & London & Birmingham Railway Act on 30 June 1845 authorised the construction of a short branch line from to connect Dunstable, and eventually Luton, with the London and Birmingham's main line. The proposals were devised by George and Robert Stephenson. The line opened for freight on 29 May 1848 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stanbridge, Bedfordshire
Stanbridge is a village and civil parish in Bedfordshire which lies east of Leighton Buzzard. It also borders the Bedfordshire villages of Hockliffe, Eggington, Tilsworth, Totternhoe and Billington. There was a windmill to the east of Mill Road, in the north of the village, that is marked on early Ordnance Survey maps. To the west of Mill Road, still standing, is a later windmill that has been converted to a three-story house. This has recently had a new dome fitted to its roof. St John the Baptist Parish Church is also located in the village. Stanbridge had its own railway station, until it was closed in the 1960s by Lord Beeching. This was to the south of the village, at Stanbridgeford on the Leighton Buzzard to Dunstable LNWR line. The eastern part of the old line has been utilised as a footpath to Sewell and Dunstable; the western part is now part of the Leighton Buzzard Southern Bypass. RAF Stanbridge was built on land that was in the neighbouring parish of Billingto ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Luton
Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable and Houghton Regis, had a population of 258,018. It is the most populous town in the county, from the County Towns of Hertford, from Bedford and from London. The town is situated on the River Lea, about north-north-west of London. The town's foundation dates to the sixth century as a Saxon outpost on the River Lea, from which Luton derives its name. Luton is recorded in the Domesday Book as ''Loitone'' and ''Lintone'' and one of the largest churches in Bedfordshire, St Mary's Church, was built in the 12th century. There are local museums which explore Luton's history in Wardown Park and Stockwood Park. Luton was, for many years, widely known for hatmaking and also had a large Vauxhall Motors factory. Car production at the plant be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leighton Buzzard Light Railway
The Leighton Buzzard Light Railway (LBLR) is a light railway in Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire, England. It operates on narrow-gauge track and is just under long. The line was built after the First World War to serve sand quarries north of the town. In the late 1960s the quarries switched to road transport and the railway was taken over by volunteers, who now run the line as a heritage railway. History Sand extraction A bed of Lower Cretaceous sand across Bedfordshire has been quarried on a small scale for centuries. The most significant occur around Leighton Buzzard. In the 19th century sand was carried by horse carts from quarries south of the town to be shipped on the Dunstable- Leighton Buzzard railway. The carts damaged roads and resulted in claims for compensation against the quarry owners from Bedfordshire County Council. At the end of the century steam wagons were introduced which increased the damage to roads. The outbreak of the First World War cut off supp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Billington, Bedfordshire
Billington is a civil parish in Bedfordshire about south of Leighton Buzzard and not far from the Buckinghamshire border. There are two settlements: Little Billington (a hamlet in the west of the parish) and one that is now called Great Billington (straddling the A4146). At the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 632, although by the 2011 Census the population had fallen to 291. The name of the parish is recorded in 1196 as ''Billendon'', and may come from Anglo-Saxon language ''Billan dūn'' = "hill of a man named Billa". Another theorized original meaning is "hill with a sharp ridge". The spelling ''Billyngdon'' appears in a legal record, dated 1440, where Hugh and Thomas Billyngdon of Billyngdon, Beds, gentlemen, are mentioned. The village is known for its high density of Travellers, who outnumber the settled community. This community live in privately owned, but permitted, sites in the village, three in Little Billington and one between Billington and the nearby ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Avengers (TV Series)
''The Avengers'' is a British Spy fiction, espionage television series, created in 1961, that ran for 161 episodes until 1969. It initially focused on David Keel (Ian Hendry), aided by John Steed (Patrick Macnee). Hendry left after the first series; Steed then became the main character, partnered with a succession of assistants. His most famous assistants were intelligent, stylish and assertive women: Cathy Gale (Honor Blackman), Emma Peel (Diana Rigg), and Tara King (Linda Thorson). Dresses and suits for the series were made by Pierre Cardin. The series ran from 1961 until 1969, screening as one-hour episodes for its entire run. The pilot episode, "Hot Snow (The Avengers), Hot Snow", aired on 7 January 1961. The final episode, "Bizarre", aired on 21 April 1969 in the United States, and on 17 May 1969 in the United Kingdom. ''The Avengers'' was produced by ABC Weekend TV, a contractor within the ITV (TV network), ITV network. After a merger with Rediffusion London in July 1968 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Signal Box
In signal processing, a signal is a function that conveys information about a phenomenon. Any quantity that can vary over space or time can be used as a signal to share messages between observers. The ''IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing'' includes audio, video, speech, image, sonar, and radar as examples of signal. A signal may also be defined as observable change in a quantity over space or time (a time series), even if it does not carry information. In nature, signals can be actions done by an organism to alert other organisms, ranging from the release of plant chemicals to warn nearby plants of a predator, to sounds or motions made by animals to alert other animals of food. Signaling occurs in all organisms even at cellular levels, with cell signaling. Signaling theory, in evolutionary biology, proposes that a substantial driver for evolution is the ability of animals to communicate with each other by developing ways of signaling. In human engineering, signals are typi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crossover (rail)
A railroad switch (), turnout, or ''set ofpoints () is a mechanical installation enabling railway trains to be guided from one track to another, such as at a railway junction or where a spur or siding branches off. The most common type of switch consists of a pair of linked tapering rails, known as ''points'' (''switch rails'' or ''point blades''), lying between the diverging outer rails (the ''stock rails''). These points can be moved laterally into one of two positions to direct a train coming from the point blades toward the straight path or the diverging path. A train moving from the narrow end toward the point blades (i.e. it will be directed to one of the two paths, depending on the position of the points) is said to be executing a ''facing-point movement''. For many types of switch, a train coming from either of the converging directions will pass through the switch regardless of the position of the points, as the vehicle's wheels will force the points to move. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rail Siding
A siding, in rail terminology, is a low-speed track section distinct from a running line or through route such as a main line, branch line, or spur. It may connect to through track or to other sidings at either end. Sidings often have lighter rails, meant for lower speed or less heavy traffic, and few, if any, signals. Sidings connected at both ends to a running line are commonly known as loops; those not so connected may be referred to as single-ended or dead-end sidings, or (if short) stubs. Functions Sidings may be used for marshalling (classifying), stabling, storing, loading, and unloading vehicles. Common sidings store stationary rolling stock, especially for loading and unloading. Industrial sidings (also known as spurs) go to factories, mines, quarries, wharves, warehouses, some of them are essentially links to industrial railways. Such sidings can sometimes be found at stations for public use; in American usage these are referred to as team tracks (after the use ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ground Frame
Mechanical railway signalling installations rely on lever frames for their operation to interlock the signals, track locks and points to allow the safe operation of trains in the area the signals control. Usually located in the signal box, the levers are operated either by the signalman or the pointsman. The world's largest lever frame is believed to have been in the Spencer Street No.1 signal box in Melbourne, Australia, which had 191 levers, but was decommissioned in 2008. The largest, currently operational, lever frame is located at Severn Bridge Junction in Shrewsbury, England, and has 180 levers; although most of them have now been taken out of use. Overview The lever frame is located in the signal box, which can be a building at ground level or a tower, separated from or connected to an existing station building. Early lever frames were also built as ''ground frames'' next to the track, without any form of shelter and were usually operated by traincrew and not per ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Level Crossing
A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, Trail, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line crossing over or under using an Overpass#Railway, overpass or tunnel. The term also applies when a light rail line with separate Right-of-way (railroad), right-of-way or reserved track crosses a road in the same fashion. Other names include railway level crossing, railway crossing (chiefly international), grade crossing or railroad crossing (chiefly American), road through railroad, criss-cross, train crossing, and RXR (abbreviated). There are more than 100,000 level crossings in Europe and more than 200,000 in North America. History The history of level crossings depends on the location, but often early level crossings had a Flagman (rail), flagman in a nearby booth who would, on the approach of a train, wave a red flag or lantern to stop all traffic and clear the tracks. Gated crossings bec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Railroad Tie
A railroad tie, crosstie (American English), railway tie (Canadian English) or railway sleeper (Australian and British English) is a rectangular support for the rails in railroad tracks. Generally laid perpendicular to the rails, ties transfer loads to the track ballast and subgrade, hold the rails upright and keep them spaced to the correct gauge. Railroad ties are traditionally made of wood, but prestressed concrete is now also widely used, especially in Europe and Asia. Steel ties are common on secondary lines in the UK; plastic composite ties are also employed, although far less than wood or concrete. As of January 2008, the approximate market share in North America for traditional and wood ties was 91.5%, the remainder being concrete, steel, azobé (red ironwood) and plastic composite. Tie spacing may depend on the type of tie, traffic loads and other requirements, for example 2640 concrete ties per mile on North American mainline railroads to 2112 timber ties per mile ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Stephenson
Robert Stephenson Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS HFRSE FRSA Doctor of Civil Law, DCL (16 October 1803 – 12 October 1859) was an English civil engineer and designer of locomotives. The only son of George Stephenson, the "Father of Railways", he built on the achievements of his father. Robert has been called the greatest engineer of the 19th century. Life Robert was born in Willington Quay near Wallsend, Northumberland, the son of George Stephenson and his wife, Frances Henderson. The family moved to Killingworth, where Robert was taught at the local village school. Robert attended the middle-class Percy Street Academy in Newcastle and at the age of fifteen was apprenticed to the mining engineer Nicholas Wood. He left before he had completed his three years to help his father survey the Stockton and Darlington Railway. Robert spent six months at Edinburgh University before working for three years as a mining engineer in Colombia. When he returned his father was building t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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