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Plymouth Millbay Railway Station
Plymouth Millbay railway station was the original railway terminus in Plymouth, Devon, England. It was used for passenger trains from 1849 to 1941. It was rebuilt in 1903. History The South Devon Railway Company, South Devon Railway originally planned to bring its broad gauge railway from Exeter St Davids railway station, Exeter St Davids to the Eldad area of Plymouth, terminating on a hill above Stonehouse Pool. In the event, it was redesigned to end at a station situated between Union Street, Plymouth, Union Street and Millbay itself. The railway reached a Laira railway station, temporary station at Laira on the eastern outskirts of Plymouth on 5 May 1848 and was extended to Millbay on 2 April 1849. At this time the station was just known as Plymouth as no other stations existed in the town. The station became known as "Plymouth Millbay" after other stations were opened in the town in 1876–7 at Mutley railway station, Mutley and Plymouth railway station, North Road. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plymouth
Plymouth () is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth's early history extends to the Bronze Age when a first settlement emerged at Mount Batten. This settlement continued as a trading post for the Roman Empire, until it was surpassed by the more prosperous village of Sutton founded in the ninth century, now called Plymouth. In 1588, an English fleet based in Plymouth intercepted and defeated the Spanish Armada. In 1620, the Pilgrim Fathers departed Plymouth for the New World and established Plymouth Colony, the second English settlement in what is now the United States of America. During the English Civil War, the town was held by the Roundhead, Parliamentarians and was besieged between 1642 and 1646. Throughout the Industrial Revolution, Plymouth grew as a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Duke Of Cornwall Hotel
The Duke of Cornwall Hotel is a hotel in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. It opened in 1865 to cater for the increasing number of travellers who were coming to the region by rail and sea. The hotel survived the World War II Plymouth Blitz without damage, and was the venue for regular functions throughout the war. In the 1970s and early 1980s it was threatened with closure but, helped by poet laureate John Betjeman's praise for its architecture, it was saved by a major refurbishment. History The first steam train arrived at the now-closed Plymouth Millbay railway station on 2 April 1849. The increase of first class travel to the area led to an increasing demand for luxury accommodation and once the need for a quality hotel was recognised, a group of railway directors were appointed as the hotel's board of directors. They selected the architect C. Forster Hayward, who later designed the Swyddfa'r Sir in Aberystwyth to the same style but on a smaller scale. The buil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
London Paddington Station
Paddington, also known as London Paddington, is a Central London railway terminus and London Underground station complex, located on Praed Street in the Paddington area. The site has been the London terminus of services provided by the Great Western Railway and its successors since 1838. Much of the main line station dates from 1854 and was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Paddington is the London terminus of the Great Western Main Line; passenger services are primarily operated by Great Western Railway, which provides the majority of commuter and regional passenger services to west London and the Thames Valley region as well as long-distance intercity services to South West England and South Wales. The station is also the eastern terminus for Heathrow Express and the western terminus for Elizabeth line services from Shenfield. Elizabeth line services also run through Paddington westwards to Reading, Heathrow Terminal 5, and Heathrow Terminal 4, and eastwards to Abbey ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
London And South Western Railway
The London and South Western Railway (LSWR, sometimes written L&SWR) was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Originating as the London and Southampton Railway, its network extended to Dorchester and Weymouth, to Salisbury, Exeter and Plymouth, and to Padstow, Ilfracombe and Bude. It developed a network of routes in Hampshire, Surrey and Berkshire, including Portsmouth and Reading. The LSWR became famous for its express passenger trains to Bournemouth and Weymouth, and to Devon and Cornwall. Nearer London it developed a dense suburban network and was pioneering in the introduction of a widespread suburban electrified passenger network. It was the prime mover of the development of Port of Southampton, Southampton Docks, which became an important ocean terminal as well as a harbour for cross channel services and for Isle of Wight ferries. Although the LSWR's area of influence was not the home of large-scale heavy industry, the transport goods and mineral traffic wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South Devon Railway 0-4-0 Locomotives
The South Devon Railway 0-4-0 locomotives were small 0-4-0 broad gauge locomotives operated on the South Devon Railway, Cornwall Railway, mainly on the dockside lines around Plymouth. On 1 February 1876 the South Devon Railway was amalgamated with the Great Western Railway, the locomotives were given numbers by their new owners but continued to carry their names too. Tiny * ''Tiny'' (1868 – 1883) GWR no. 2180 ''Tiny'' was built by Sara and Company. It has a vertical boiler and was similar to four locomotives that later worked in the docks at Falmouth in Cornwall., ''Tiny'' After withdrawal it was used at Newton Abbot where it was used to power machinery in the workshops there. In 1927, no longer required for this purpose, it was displayed on the platform at the station opposite the workshops. It has since been moved to Buckfastleigh railway station where it is displayed in the museum of the South Devon Railway Trust. Owl class The three Owl class locomotives had w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Level Crossing
A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line crossing over or under using an overpass or tunnel. The term also applies when a light rail line with separate 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 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 became commonplace in many areas, as they protected the railwa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel (; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was a British civil engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history," "one of the 19th-century engineering giants," and "one of the greatest figures of the Industrial Revolution, hochanged the face of the English landscape with his groundbreaking designs and ingenious constructions." Brunel built dockyards, the Great Western Railway (GWR), a series of steamships including the first propeller-driven transatlantic steamship, and numerous important bridges and tunnels. His designs revolutionised public transport and modern engineering. Though Brunel's projects were not always successful, they often contained innovative solutions to long-standing engineering problems. During his career, Brunel achieved many engineering firsts, including assisting in the building of the first tunnel under a navigable river (the River Thames) and the development of the , the f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Penzance Railway Station
Penzance railway station serves the town of Penzance in west Cornwall, England. It is the terminus of the Cornish Main Line from Plymouth, from via , and is the southernmost railway station in Great Britain. The first station opened in 1852 and through travel to and from London commenced from 1859 with the opening of the Royal Albert Bridge. The station was rebuilt by the Great Western Railway in 1876 and the current layout was the result of a further rebuilding in the 1930s. In 2020 the station is owned by Network Rail and managed by Great Western Railway who also operate the train services, together with CrossCountry. History Broad gauge era The station was opened by the West Cornwall Railway on 11 March 1852 as the terminus of its line from Redruth. The station itself consisted of a single platform face, and along with the rest of the West Cornwall Railway was laid as standard gauge. This changed in 1866 when the West Cornwall Railway was relaid to mixed gauge allowing S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
GWR Road Motor Services
The Great Western Railway road motor services operated from 1903 to 1933 by the Great Western Railway, both as a feeder to their train services, and as a cheaper alternative to building new railways in rural areas. They were the first successful bus services operated by a British railway company. History Faced with an estimate of £85,000 to build a light railway to serve the area south of Helston in Cornwall, the Great Western Railway (GWR) decided to test the market with bus services on the route. They learnt that the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway had been forced by local officialdom to cease using the two buses on their pioneering connection to Ilfracombe and so the GWR bought them to operate a Helston service. The service proved so popular and profitable that further routes were soon established at Penzance and Slough. By the end of 1904, 36 buses were in operation, 10 more than were in service in London. When the Great Western Railway (Road Transport) Act was passed in 1928 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Train Shed
A train shed is a building adjacent to a station building where the tracks and platforms of a railway station are covered by a roof. It is also known as an overall roof. Its primary purpose is to store and protect from the elements train cars not in use, The first train shed was built in 1830 at Liverpool's Crown Street Station. The biggest train sheds were often built as an arch of glass and iron, while the smaller were built as normal pitched roofs. The train shed with the biggest single span ever built was that at the second Philadelphia Broad Street Station, built in 1891. Types of train shed Early wooden train sheds The earliest train sheds were wooden structures, often with unglazed openings to allow smoke and steam to escape. The oldest part of Bristol Temple Meads is a particularly fine – and large – example, designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel with mock-hammerbeam roof. Surviving examples include: * Ashburton, Devon, England (station closed) *Bo'ness, Fal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plymouth Pavilions
Plymouth Pavilions is an entertainment and sports complex in Plymouth, Devon, England. It has an ice rink and indoor arena. The arena is used as an entertainment venue and also for corporate hire. The Pavilions is built on the site of the former Millbay railway station that is directly opposite the Duke of Cornwall Hotel. The granite pillars which can be seen outside the main entrance were once the gate posts to the station. Ice rink and pool closure Plymouth Pavilions is one of the only indoor centres with an ice rink in Devon. Plymouth Pavilions was also the home of a family fun indoor swimming pool - including an underwater-themed extension which closed in 2003; however on 18 March 2012, in response to the opening of the state-of-the-art Plymouth Life Centre, the swimming pool was shut down. The area once used by the pool has been vacated and abandoned, as of 2018. The Arena, Shows and concerts The Plymouth Pavilions Arena has a standing capacity of 4000 and a seated cap ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dual Gauge
In railway engineering, "gauge" is the transverse distance between the inner surfaces of the heads of two rails, which for the vast majority of railway lines is the number of rails in place. However, it is sometimes necessary for track to carry railway vehicles with wheels matched to two different gauges. Such track is described as dual gauge – achieved either by addition of a third rail, if it will fit, or by two additional rails. Dual-gauge tracks are more expensive to configure with signals and sidings, and to maintain, than two separate single-gauge tracks. It is therefore usual to build dual-gauge or other multi-gauge tracks only when necessitated by lack of space or when tracks of two different gauges meet in marshalling yards or passenger stations. Dual-gauge tracks are by far the most common configuration, but triple-gauge tracks have been built in some situations. Background The rail gauge is the most fundamental specification of a railway. Rail tracks and whe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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