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Toby The Tram Engine
Toby is a fictional anthropomorphic brown square tram engine in ''The Railway Series'' by the Reverend Wilbert Vere Awdry and his son, Christopher; he also appears in the television series adaptation ''Thomas & Friends'' and is currently set to appear in its reboot, '' Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go''. Toby, a tram engine with cowcatchers and sideplates, carries the North Western Railway running number seven and works on the same Ffarquhar Branch Line as Thomas the Tank Engine. Toby first appeared in the seventh book in ''The Railway Series'', ''Toby the Tram Engine'' in 1952, and appeared in several subsequent books. The second book focused on Toby was the sixth of Christopher Awdry's books, ''Toby, Trucks and Trouble''. Prototype and back-story Toby is based on a J70 tram engine from the Great Eastern Railway (GER Class C53). His cowcatchers and sideplates allow him to run on roadside tramways, which other engines are not allowed to do for safety reasons. J70s were used ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Railway Series
''The Railway Series'' is a series of British books about a railway known as the North Western Railway, located on the fictional Island of Sodor. There are 42 books in the series, the first published in May 1945 by the Rev. Wilbert Awdry. Twenty-five more books were written by Awdry, the final one being written in October 1972. Sixteen more were written by his son, Christopher Awdry, between September 1983 and July 2011. The series features many anthropomorphic vehicles, including Thomas the Tank Engine. Thomas became the most popular & famous character in the series and the titular character of the television series ''Thomas & Friends'' from 1984 to 2021. Many characters and stories from the books formed the basis of the children's television series. Nearly all of ''The Railway Series'' stories were based on real-life events. As a lifelong railway enthusiast, Awdry was keen that his stories should be as realistic as possible. The engine characters were mostly based upon real c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Footplate
A footplate provides the structure on which a locomotive driver and fireman stand in the cab to operate a British or continental European steam locomotive. It comprises a large metal plate that rests on top of the locomotive frame, usually it is covered with wooden floorboards. It takes up the full width of the locomotive cab, and in depth it extends from the front of the cab to the coal bunker on the tender. The cab and other superstructure elements are in turn mounted on it. On some locomotives, the footplate is extended beyond the front of the cab to form a walkway around the boiler – usually referred to as the "running board" or "foot board" – to facilitate inspection and maintenance. In Britain, the word remains in use as a synonym for the cab or working in the cab, even in the context of diesel and electric locomotives, as in the expression of working ''on the footplate''. The term can also be applied to the external step along the side of a classical tram. Nation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth (), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside town and unparished area in, and the main administrative centre of, the Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. A population of 38,693 in the 2011 Census made it Norfolk's third most populous. Its fishing industry, mainly for herring, shrank after the mid-20th century and has all but ended. North Sea oil from the 1960s supplied an oil-rig industry that services offshore natural gas rigs; more recently, offshore wind power and other renewable energy industries have ensued. Yarmouth has been a resort since 1760 and a gateway from the Norfolk Broads to the North Sea. Holiday-making rose when a railway opened in 1844, bringing easier, cheaper access and some new settlement. Wellington Pier opened in 1854 and Britannia Pier in 1858. Through the 20th century, Yarmouth boomed as a resort, with a promenade, pubs, trams, fish-and-chip shops, theatres, the Pleasu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Rail Class 04
The British Rail Class 04 is a 0-6-0 diesel-mechanical shunting locomotive class, built between 1952 and 1962 and was the basis for the later Class 03 built in the British Railways workshops. History The prototype locomotive was built in 1947 and served as a departmental shunter at Hither Green depot as number DS1173, before being transferred to the capital stock list as D2341 in 1967. The Class 04 locomotives were supplied by the Drewry Car Co., which at the time (and for most of its existence) had no manufacturing capability. Drewry sub-contracted the construction work to two builders both of whom built other locomotives under the same arrangement. Early locomotives which became D2200-41 (including DS1173) were built by Vulcan Foundry in 1952–56, and later examples D2242-2339 were built by Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns in 1956–61. Design evolution A clear line of development can be seen in the Class 04 from the 0-4-0DM locomotives built by Andrew Barclay and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Drewry Car Co
The Drewry Car Co was a railway locomotive and railcar manufacturer and sales organisation from 1906 to 1984. At the start and the end of its life it built its own products, for the rest of the time it sold vehicles manufactured by sub-contractors. It was separate from the lorry-builder, Shelvoke & Drewry, but it is believed that James Sidney Drewry was involved with both companies. History Charles Stewart Drewry (c1843 - 1929) ran a motor and cycle repair business called Drewry & Sons at Herne Hill Motor Works, Railway Arches, Herne Hill, London. His son, James Sidney Drewry (1882-1952), formed the Drewry Car Co on 27 November 1906 and opened a small works in Teddington where he started building Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA) engined rail trolleys and inspection railcars. The products of this works were sold by A.G. Evans & Co of London. A ready market was found in South America, Africa and India. In 1908 BSA (of motor-cycle fame) took over building the railcars in Smal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west. The city of Cambridge is the county town. Following the Local Government Act 1972 restructuring, modern Cambridgeshire was formed in 1974 through the amalgamation of two administrative counties: Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely, comprising the Historic counties of England, historic county of Cambridgeshire (including the Isle of Ely); and Huntingdon and Peterborough, comprising the historic county of Huntingdonshire and the Soke of Peterborough, historically part of Northamptonshire. Cambridgeshire contains most of the region known as Silicon Fen. The county is now divided between Cambridgeshire County Council and Peterborough City Council, which since 1998 has formed a separate Unitary authorities of England, unita ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
East Anglia
East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in what is now Northern Germany. Area Definitions of what constitutes East Anglia vary. The Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of East Anglia, established in the 6th century, originally consisted of the modern counties of Norfolk and Suffolk and expanded west into at least part of Cambridgeshire, typically the northernmost parts known as The Fens. The modern NUTS 3 statistical unit of East Anglia comprises Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire (including the City of Peterborough unitary authority). Those three counties have formed the Roman Catholic Diocese of East Anglia since 1976, and were the subject of a possible government devolution package in 2016. Essex has sometimes been included in definitions of East Anglia, including by the London Society o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wisbech And Upwell Tramway
The Wisbech and Upwell Tramway was a rural standard gauge tramway in East Anglia. It was built by the Great Eastern Railway between Wisbech, Isle of Ely, Cambridgeshire and Upwell, now in Norfolk to carry agricultural produce. Although called a tramway, in many ways it more closely resembled a conventional railway line, and paved the way for the passing of the Light Railways Act 1896. History The Great Eastern Railway (GER) promoted the idea of a tramway between Wisbech and Upwell, and permission to construct the line was obtained by W. L. Ollard in 1873, but he failed to raise the finance to build it. The GER were still in favour of the line, and authorisation to construct it was enshrined in the Great Eastern Railway Act 1881. As well as carrying passengers, it was always intended as a freight line as well, and to this end it was built to standard gauge, with bull-head rails, rather than the tramway rails favoured by many British tramways. This allowed standard goods wagons t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shunting (rail)
Shunting, in railway operations, is the process of sorting items of rolling stock into complete trains, or the reverse. In the United States this activity is known as switching. Motive power Motive power is normally provided by a locomotive known as a ''shunter'' (in the UK) or switcher (in the US). Most shunter/switchers are now diesel-powered but steam and even electric locomotives have been used. Where locomotives could not be used (e.g. because of weight restrictions) shunting operations have in the past been effected by horses or capstans. Hazards Coupling The terms "shunter" and "switcher" are applied not only to locomotives but to employees engaged on the ground with shunting/switching operations. The task of such personnel is particularly dangerous because not only is there the risk of being run over, but on some railway systems—particularly ones that use buffer-and-chain/screw coupling systems—the shunters have to get between the wagons/carriages in order to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Great Eastern Railway
The Great Eastern Railway (GER) was a pre-grouping British railway company, whose main line linked London Liverpool Street to Norwich and which had other lines through East Anglia. The company was grouped into the London and North Eastern Railway in 1923. Formed in 1862 after the amalgamation of the Eastern Counties Railway and several other smaller railway companies the GER served Cambridge, Chelmsford, Colchester, Great Yarmouth, Ipswich, King's Lynn, Lowestoft, Norwich, Southend-on-Sea (opened by the GER in 1889), and East Anglian seaside resorts such as Hunstanton (whose prosperity was largely a result of the GER's line being built) and Cromer. It also served a suburban area, including Enfield, Chingford, Loughton and Ilford. This suburban network was, in the early 20th century, the busiest steam-hauled commuter system in the world. The majority of the Great Eastern's locomotives and rolling stock were built at Stratford Works, part of which was on the site of to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
GER Class C53
The GER Class C53 was a class of twelve steam tram locomotives designed by James Holden for the Great Eastern Railway. They passed to the London and North Eastern Railway at the grouping, and received the LNER classification J70. History These locomotives had outside cylinders driving wheels; all enclosed by skirting. They were the first locomotives on the Great Eastern to use Walschaerts valve gear. They were used on the Wisbech and Upwell Tramway and the ports of Great Yarmouth and Ipswich from the 1930s to the 1950s. They replaced earlier GER Class G15 of similar appearance. The first withdrawal was in 1942. The remaining locomotives were renumbered 8216–8226 in 1944. The remaining eleven locomotives passed to British Railways in 1948 on nationalisation, and had 60000 added to their numbers. Withdrawals restarted in 1949, slowly at first, then more quickly, and the last went in 1955. In fiction J70 68221 was the inspiration for the character Toby the Tram Engine ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wisbech And Upwell Tramway (postcard)
The Wisbech and Upwell Tramway was a rural standard gauge tramway in East Anglia. It was built by the Great Eastern Railway between Wisbech, Isle of Ely, Cambridgeshire and Upwell, now in Norfolk to carry agricultural produce. Although called a tramway, in many ways it more closely resembled a conventional railway line, and paved the way for the passing of the Light Railways Act 1896. History The Great Eastern Railway (GER) promoted the idea of a tramway between Wisbech and Upwell, and permission to construct the line was obtained by W. L. Ollard in 1873, but he failed to raise the finance to build it. The GER were still in favour of the line, and authorisation to construct it was enshrined in the Great Eastern Railway Act 1881. As well as carrying passengers, it was always intended as a freight line as well, and to this end it was built to standard gauge, with bull-head rails, rather than the tramway rails favoured by many British tramways. This allowed standard goods wagons t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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