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Abbots Ripton Rail Accident
The Abbots Ripton rail disaster occurred on 21 January 1876 at Abbots Ripton, then in the county of Huntingdonshire, England, on the Great Northern Railway main line, previously thought to be exemplary for railway safety. In the accident, the ''Special Scotch Express'' train from Edinburgh to London was involved in a collision, during a blizzard, with a coal train. An express travelling in the other direction then ran into the wreckage. The initial accident was caused by: * over-reliance on signals and block working as allowing high-speed running even in adverse conditions * systematic signal failure in the adverse conditions of that day due to a vulnerability to accumulation of snow and ice The accident (and the subsequent inquiry into it) led to fundamental changes in British railway signalling practice. Overview A coal train preceding the Flying Scotsman on the main East Coast up (south-bound) line was normally scheduled to be shunted into a siding at Abbots Ripton to a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abbots Ripton
Abbots Ripton is a village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England. Abbots Ripton is situated within Huntingdonshire which is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire as well as being an historic county of England. Abbots Ripton lies approximately north of Huntingdon on the B1090. The parish occupied some of land in 1801, which had reduced to by 2011. The parish of Abbots Ripton is home to 305 residents (2011 census). The village is also notable as the location of the Abbots Ripton railway disaster in 1876 in which a Flying Scotsman train was wrecked during a blizzard. The disaster led to important safety improvements in railway signalling. The civil parish includes the nearby hamlet of Wennington, which lies one mile north of Abbots Ripton. Wennington has a population of about 60 people. History Abbots Ripton was listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 in the Hundred of Hurstingstone in Huntingdonshire; the name of the settlement was written as ''Riptune''. In ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Absolute Block Signalling
Absolute block signalling is a British signalling block system 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. Each block section is manually controlled by a signalman, who communicates with the other block sections via telegraph. This system was used on double or multiple lines where use of each line is assigned a direction of travel before the introduction of track circuits. 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. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Tennant
Robert Tennant (1828 – 5 March 1900) of Chapel House in the parish of Conistone (now Conistone with Kilnsey, Burnsall), Yorkshire, England, was the Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament for Leeds (UK Parliament constituency), Leeds, Yorkshire, from 1874 to 1880. He served as a captain in the Yorkshire Hussars and as a Justice of the Peace for Yorkshire and for Ross and Cromarty and Sutherland in Scotland. Origins He was born in 1828, the youngest son of John Tennant Tennant (born 1790 as "John Tennant Stansfield") and Jane Tennant (born 1718). Robert's mother was a daughter of John Tennant (born 1686) of Chapel House, Yorkshire, whilst his father was a son of Jonathan Stansfield of Idle, West Yorkshire, Idle, Yorks, by his wife Miss Barcroft, a daughter of John Barcroft of Foulridge, Lancashire, Serving as a justice of the peace as well as a Captain in the 3rd West Yorkshire Militia, John Tennant Stansfield inhe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Colville, 1st Viscount Colville Of Culross
Charles John Colville, 1st Viscount Colville of Culross, (23 November 1818 – 1 July 1903), known as The Lord Colville of Culross between 1849 and 1902, was a British nobleman, Conservative politician, courtier, and painter. Background and education Colville was the son of General the Honourable Sir Charles Colville and the grandson of John Colville, 8th Lord Colville of Culross. He was educated at Harrow. Career Colville served as a captain in the 11th Hussars. He succeeded his uncle in the lordship of Colville of Culross 1849 and was elected a Scottish representative peer in 1851. He served under Lord Derby as Chief Equerry and Clerk Marshal from February to December 1852 and again from 1858 to 1859 and under Derby and subsequently Benjamin Disraeli as Master of the Buckhounds from 1866 to 1868. In 1866 he was sworn of the Privy Council. He was later Lord Chamberlain to the Princess of Wales from 1873 to 1901 and was appointed in the same capacity to her as Queen Alexan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
GNR Stirling 4-2-2
The Great Northern Railway (Great Britain), Great Northern Railway (GNR) No. 1 class Stirling Single is a class of steam locomotive designed for Express train, express passenger work. Designed by Patrick Stirling (railway engineer), Patrick Stirling, they are characterised by a single pair of large (8 ft 1 in) driving wheels which led to the nickname ''"eight-footer"''. Originally the locomotive was designed to haul up to 26 passenger carriages at an average speed of . They could reach speeds of up to 85 mph (137 km/h). Development On his arrival at GNR, Stirling set out to standardise the railway's rolling stock. He also borrowed a 'single-wheeler' from the Great Eastern Railway and, in 1868, designed two versions of a arrangement with driving wheels. The outcome in 1870 was a locomotive with driving wheels with outside cylinders, designed specifically for high-speed expresses between York and London. The British norm at the time were inside cylinders. Ho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Application Of Railway Signals
The application of railway signals on a rail layout is determined by various factors, principally the location of points of potential conflict, as well as the speed and frequency of trains and the movements they require to make. Non-provision of signals Before discussing the application of signals, it is useful to highlight some situations where signals are ''not'' required: * Sidings generally need not be signalled, as all movements within them are made cautiously at low speed. * Tram lines frequently employ "running on sight" without any signals (similar to road traffic) except at junctions. * Where movement authorities are passed to drivers exclusively by means other than fixed signals (e.g. by written or verbal authority), token, or cab signalling. Purpose of signals Signals exist primarily to pass instructions and information to drivers of passing trains. The driver interprets the signal's indication and acts accordingly. The most important indication is 'danger', w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Platelayer
A platelayer (British English), fettler (British English – UK, Australia, NZ) or trackman (American English) is a railway employee who inspects and maintains the permanent way of a railway, usually under the charge of a foreman called (in UK, Australia and NZ) the "ganger". The term "platelayer" derives from the plates used to build plateway A plateway is an early kind of railway, tramway or wagonway, where the rails are made from cast iron. They were mainly used for about 50 years up to 1830, though some continued later. Plateways consisted of L-shaped rails, where the flange ...s, an early form of railway. Track inspection Inspecting and maintaining the track, including all its component parts such as rails, sleepers, fishplates, bolts, etc., are the chief responsibility of the platelayer. Their duties include greasing points, and generally watching for wear and tear. When sections of track require complete replacement, larger teams of platelayers work togethe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Detonator (railway)
A railway detonator, (torpedo in North America) or fog signal is a coin-sized device that is used as a loud warning signal to Railroad engineer, train drivers. It is placed on the top of the Rail tracks, 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 Railway signal, 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 (rail), 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. Like all Explosive material, explosives, detonators can become ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Railway Semaphore Signal
Railway semaphore signals are an early form of fixed railway signals. The semaphore system involves signals that display their different indications to Railroad engineer, train drivers by changing the angle of inclination of a pivoted 'arm'. Semaphore signals were patented in the early 1840s by Joseph James Stevens, and soon became the most widely used form of mechanical signal. Designs have altered over the intervening years, and colour light signals have replaced semaphore signals in most countries, but in a few they remain in use. Origins The first railway semaphore signal was erected by Charles Hutton Gregory in about 1842, on the London and Croydon Railway (later the London Brighton and South Coast Railway) at New Cross, southeast London, as part of the newly enlarged layout also accommodating the South Eastern Railway. John Urpeth Rastrick claimed to have suggested the idea to Hutton Gregory. The semaphore was swiftly embraced across Britain and North America as a fixe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Morse Code
Morse code is a telecommunications method which Character encoding, encodes Written language, text characters as standardized sequences of two different signal durations, called ''dots'' and ''dashes'', or ''dits'' and ''dahs''. Morse code is named after Samuel Morse, one of the early developers of the system adopted for electrical telegraphy. International Morse code encodes the 26 ISO basic Latin alphabet, basic Latin letters to , one Diacritic, accented Latin letter (), the Arabic numerals, and a small set of punctuation and procedural signals (Prosigns for Morse code, prosigns). There is no distinction between upper and lower case letters. Each Morse code symbol is formed by a sequence of ''dits'' and ''dahs''. The ''dit'' duration can vary for signal clarity and operator skill, but for any one message, once the rhythm is established, a beat (music), half-beat is the basic unit of time measurement in Morse code. The duration of a ''dah'' is three times the duration ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Holme (Cambridgeshire) Railway Station
Holme railway station is a former station in Holme, Cambridgeshire. History The first section of the Great Northern Railway (GNR) - that from to a junction with the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway at Grimsby - opened on 1 March 1848, but the southern section of the main line, between and , was not opened until August 1850. Holme was one of the original stations, opening with the line on 7 August 1850. On 1 August 1863 Holme became a junction station with the opening of the Ramsey Railway, between Holme and Ramsey Ramsey may refer to: Companies *Ramsey (retailer), Turkish clothing retailer People * Ramsey (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Ramsey (surname), including a list of people with the surname * Baron de Ramsey, a title i .... The Ramsey branch closed to passengers on 6 October 1947, and Holme station closed on 6 April 1959. Route References External links Holme station on navigable 1946 O. S. mapHolme stationon '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rail Directions
Rail directions are used to describe train directions on rail systems. The terms used may be derived from such sources as compass directions, altitude directions, or other directions. These directions are often specific to system, country, or region. Radial directions Many rail systems use the concept of a centre (usually a major city) to define rail directions. Up and down In British practice, railway directions are usually described as "up" and "down", with "up" being towards a major location. This convention is applied not only to the trains and the tracks, but also to items of lineside equipment and to areas near a track. Since British trains run on the left, the "up" side of a line is usually on the left when proceeding in the "up" direction. On most of the network, "up" is the direction towards London. In most of Scotland, with the exception of the West and East Coast Main Lines, and the Borders Railway, "up" is towards Edinburgh. The Valley Lines network around Cardif ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
