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Seer Green Rail Crash
The Seer Green rail crash occurred on the morning of 11 December 1981 near Seer Green, Buckinghamshire, England between two four-car Class 115 diesel multiple units, killing one driver and three passengers. Events In the winter of 1981, the weather in Southern England turned cold and there were frequent heavy falls of snow. On the Chiltern Main Line, the snow caused tree branches in the cutting at Seer Green to be weighed down and some of them were brushed by passing trains. On 11 December, the driver of an empty train from Marylebone to Princes Risborough came across a fallen branch lying across the track. He telephoned the signalman at High Wycombe to tell him that he was going to clear the obstruction and would be delayed by a few minutes. Meanwhile, at Gerrards Cross, behind the stationary train, the driver of the 07:31 from Marylebone to Banbury was being cautioned by the signalman about the overhanging branches. The signalman then attempted to clear the starting sign ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seer Green
Seer Green is a village and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England. It is in the Chiltern Hills, east-north-east of Beaconsfield and south-west of Chalfont St Giles. History The toponym "Seer" is derived from the Norman French for "dry or arid place". In manorial rolls of 1223 it was called ''La Sere'', although local legend has it that the "Seer" refers to King Arthur's Court visiting the area and locals consulting his "seer" – a nice story but of doubtful origin. Even so, there is a pub called Merlin's Cave in the nearby village Chalfont St Giles, after this legend. The affix "Green" came later. The Church of England parish church of the Holy Trinity was built in 1846. It is brick and flint with lancet windows. There is also a Baptist church. Seer Green became a separate parish in 1866, having previously been a hamlet of the parish of Farnham Royal. It had levied a separate poor rate before then. Until the early part of the 20th century Seer Green was mainly an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Banbury
Banbury is a historic market town on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. It had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding area of north Oxfordshire and southern parts of Warwickshire and Northamptonshire which are predominantly rural. Banbury's main industries are motorsport, car components, electrical goods, plastics, food processing and printing. Banbury is home to the world's largest coffee-processing facility ( Jacobs Douwe Egberts), built in 1964. The town is famed for Banbury cakes, a spiced sweet pastry dish. Banbury is located north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham, south-east of Coventry and north-west of Oxford. History Toponymy The name Banbury may derive from "Banna", a Saxon chieftain said to have built a stockade there in the 6th century (or possibly a byname from ang, bana meaning ''felon'', ''murderer''), and / meaning ''settlement''. In Anglo Saxo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Detonator (railway)
A railway detonator (torpedo in North America) is a coin-sized device that is used as a loud warning signal to train drivers. It is placed on the top of the rail, usually secured with two lead straps, one on each side. When the wheel of the train passes over, it explodes, emitting a loud bang. It was invented in 1841 by English inventor Edward Alfred Cowper. Uses Typical uses of detonators include: * A warning, caution or stop signal in dense fog, when signals are difficult to see * A warning of a train stopped on the line ahead by an incident or accident—the train crew are usually responsible for placing the detonators * A warning of ongoing engineering works ahead * When a signaller or other railway employee requires to stop approaching trains in an emergency On a high-speed line, detonators may need to be placed on both rails. As with all explosives, detonators can become unstable over time and must, therefore, be replaced regularly. They are triggered by pressure, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Rail
British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four (British railway companies), Big Four British railway companies, and was privatisation of British Rail, privatised in stages between 1994 and 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Commission, it became an independent statutory corporation in January 1963, when it was formally renamed the British Railways Board. The period of nationalisation saw sweeping changes in the railway. A process of dieselisation and Railway electrification in Great Britain, electrification took place, and by 1968 steam locomotives had been entirely replaced by diesel and electric traction, except for the Vale of Rheidol Railway (a narrow-gauge railway, narrow-gauge tourist line). Passenger train, Passengers replaced freight train, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Absolute Block Signalling
Absolute block signalling is a British signalling scheme designed to ensure the safe operation of a railway by allowing only one train to occupy a defined section of track (block) at a time. This system is used on double or multiple lines where use of each line is assigned a direction of travel. A train approaching a section is ''offered'' by a signalman to his counterpart at the next signal box. If the section is clear, the latter ''accepts'' the train, and the first signalman may clear his signals to give permission for the train to enter the section. This communication traditionally takes place by bell codes and status indications transmitted over a simple telegraph wire circuit between signalmen using a device called a ''block instrument'', although some contemporary block working is operated wirelessly. This process is repeated for every block section a train passes through. The absolute block system does not replace the use of any other form of signalling, such as fixe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Track Circuit
A track circuit is an electrical device used to prove the absence of a train on rail tracks to signallers and control relevant signals. An alternative to track circuits are axle counters. Principles and operation The basic principle behind the track circuit lies in the connection of the two rails by the wheels and axle of locomotives and rolling stock to short an electrical circuit. This circuit is monitored by electrical equipment to detect the absence of the trains. Since this is a safety appliance, fail-safe operation is crucial. Hence the circuit is designed to indicate the presence of a train when failures occur. On the other hand, false occupancy readings are disruptive to railway operations and must be minimized. Track circuits allow railway signalling systems to operate semi-automatically, by displaying signals for trains to slow or stop in the presence of occupied track ahead of them. They help prevent dispatchers and operators from causing accidents, both by info ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Job Centre
An employment agency is an organization which matches employers to employees. In developed countries, there are multiple private businesses which act as employment agencies and a publicly-funded employment agency. Public employment agencies One of the oldest references to a public employment agency was in 1650, when Henry Robinson proposed an "Office of Addresses and Encounters" that would link employers to workers. The British Parliament rejected the proposal, but he himself opened such a business, which was short-lived. The idea to create public employment agencies as a way to fight unemployment was eventually adopted in developed countries by the beginning of the twentieth century. In the United Kingdom, the first labour exchange was established by social reformer and employment campaigner Alsager Hay Hill in London in 1871. This was later augmented by officially sanctioned exchanges created by the Labour Bureau (London) Act 1902, which subsequently went nationwide, a move ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Major
Major ( commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators, major is one rank above captain, and one rank below lieutenant colonel. It is considered the most junior of the field officer ranks. Background Majors are typically assigned as specialised executive or operations officers for battalion-sized units of 300 to 1,200 soldiers while in some nations, like Germany, majors are often in command of a company. When used in hyphenated or combined fashion, the term can also imply seniority at other levels of rank, including ''general-major'' or ''major general'', denoting a low-level general officer, and '' sergeant major'', denoting the most senior non-commissioned officer (NCO) of a military unit. The term ''major'' can also be used with a hyphen to denote the leader of a military band suc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Railway Inspectorate
Established in 1840, His Majesty's Railway Inspectorate (HMRI) is the organisation responsible for overseeing safety on Britain's railways and tramways. It was previously a separate non-departmental public body, but from 1990 to April 2006 it was part of the Health and Safety Executive. It was then transferred to the Office of Rail and Road and ceased to exist by that name in May 2009 when it was renamed the Safety Directorate. However, in summer 2015 its name was re-established as the safety arm of ORR. Modern HMRI inspectorate The modern HMRI within the Office of Road and Rail (ORR) identifies as "The Railway Inspectorate". HMRI works in tandem with the rest of the ORR, and as such may be consulted on matters effecting industry efficiency. Internally, most of HMRI's inspectors are part of the Railway Safety Directorate (RSD) of the ORR, although some Railway Performance and Planning (RPP) engineers have some more limited powers as warranted HMRI individuals. HMRI's role ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Public Inquiry
A tribunal of inquiry is an official review of events or actions ordered by a government body. In many common law countries, such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and Canada, such a public inquiry differs from a royal commission in that a public inquiry accepts evidence and conducts its hearings in a more public forum and focuses on a more specific occurrence. Interested members of the public and organisations may make (written) evidential submissions, as is the case with most inquiries, and also listen to oral evidence given by other parties. Typical events for a public inquiry are those that cause multiple deaths, such as public transport crashes or mass murders. In addition, in the UK, the Planning Inspectorate, an agency of the Department for Communities and Local Government, routinely holds public inquiries into a range of major and lesser land use developments, including highways and other transport proposals. Advocacy groups and opposition political parties are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Telescoping (railway)
In a railway accident, telescoping occurs when the underframe of one vehicle overrides that of another, and smashes through the second vehicle's body. The term is derived from the resulting appearance of the two vehicle bodies: the body of one vehicle may appear to be slid inside the other like the tubes of a collapsible telescope – the body sides, roof and underframe of the latter vehicle being forced apart from each other. Telescoping often results in heavy fatalities if the cars telescoped are fully occupied. The car riding on top will often be destroyed by the structure of the car below, crushing those on board (although the physics of the incident may reverse the cars' roles). The chances of telescoping can be reduced by use of anticlimbers and other structural systems which direct crash energy and debris away from the passenger and crew areas. Accidents where telescoping occurred are numerous and include: * 1864 Shohola train wreck * 1888 Mud Run disaster * 1928 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Signal Passed At Danger
A signal passed at danger (SPAD), known in the United States as a stop signal overrun and in Canada as passing a stop signal, is an event on a railway where a train passes a stop signal without authority. In the United States and Canada, this may be known colloquially as '' running a red'', though this idiom principally refers to automobiles passing red traffic signals. The name derives from red colour light signals and horizontal semaphore signals in the United Kingdom, which are said to be ''at danger'' when they indicate that trains must stop (also known as the signal being ''on''). This terminology is not used in North America where not all red signals indicate stop. In the UK, the alternative description signal passed at red (S.P.A.R.) is used where a signal changes to red in front of a train due to either a technical fault or in an emergency, such that the train is unable to stop before passing the signal despite being driven correctly. Causes Because of its high inert ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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