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British War Department
The War Department was the United Kingdom government department responsible for the supply of equipment to the armed forces of the United Kingdom and the pursuance of military activity. In 1857, it became the War Office. Within the War Office, the name 'War Department' remained in use to describe the military transport services of the War Department Fleet and the War Department Railways. History In 1794, the position of Secretary of State for War was created. The Secretary's department was at first unofficially known as the War Department. Colonial affairs were later added and it became the Colony Department. After the outbreak of war with revolutionary France it became Colony and War Department and on the restoration of peace in 1815 the Colonial Department. In February 1855, the offices of the Secretary of State for War, and Secretary at War were merged and the new department and became the War Department once again until 1857 when it became the War Office. In 1964, the depar ...
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WD Ordnance Survey Marker Bermuda
WD may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''The Walking Dead'' (TV series) * ''Watership Down'' * ''White Dwarf'' (magazine) Businesses and organizations Government agencies * Royal Canadian Air Force Women's Division * War Department (United Kingdom) Other businesses and organizations * DAS Air Cargo (IATA code WD) * Wardair (defunct IATA code WD) * WD-40 Company, manufacturer of household and multi-use products, well known for its signature brand, WD-40. * Western Digital, a computer storage manufacturer * Western Economic Diversification Canada, a Canadian government agency * Wikidata, a Wikimedia Foundation collaborative online project * Wilts & Dorset, a southern England bus operator * Winn-Dixie, an American supermarket chain Places * WD postcode area, England, UK * County Waterford, Ireland Science and technology * WD-40, a penetrating oil spray * Band 3, a protein * Web Dynpro, a web application for developing business applications * Whipple's diseas ...
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Trench Railways
A trench railway was a type of railway that represented military adaptation of early 20th-century railway technology to the problem of keeping soldiers supplied during the static trench warfare phase of World War I. The large concentrations of soldiers and artillery at the front lines required delivery of enormous quantities of food, ammunition and fortification construction materials where transport facilities had been destroyed. Reconstruction of conventional roads (at that time rarely surfaced) and railways was too slow, and fixed facilities were attractive targets for enemy artillery. Trench railways linked the front with standard gauge railway facilities beyond the range of enemy artillery. Empty cars often carried litters returning wounded from the front. Overview In the late 19th Century, the French company Decauville developed a portable narrow gauge railway for agricultural areas, small-scale mining, temporary construction projects, and other industrial uses. The Fre ...
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Broad Arrow
The broad arrow, of which the pheon is a variant, is a stylised representation of a metal arrowhead, comprising a Tang (tools), tang and two wikt:barb, barbs meeting at a point. It is a symbol used traditionally in heraldry, most notably in England, and later by the British government to mark government property. It became particularly associated with the Board of Ordnance, and later the War Department (United Kingdom), War Department and the Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), Ministry of Defence. It was exported to other parts of the British Empire, where it was used in similar official contexts. It is sometimes nicknamed the crows foot. In heraldry, the arrowhead generally points downwards, whereas in other contexts it more usually points upwards. In heraldry The broad arrow as a heraldic device comprises a socket Tang (tools), tang with two converging blades, or wikt:barb, barbs. When these barbs are Engrailed (heraldry), engrailed on their inner edges, the device may ...
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Steam Locomotives Of British Railways
The steam locomotives of British Railways were used by British Railways over the period 1948–1968. The vast majority of these were inherited from its four constituent companies, the "Big Four British railway companies, Big Four". In addition, BR built 2,537 steam locomotives in the period 1948–1960, 1,538 to Transport Act 1947, pre-nationalisation designs and 999 to its own standard designs. These locomotives had short working lives, some as little as five years, because of 1955 Modernisation plan, the decision to end the use of steam traction by 1968, against a design life of over 30 years and a theoretical final withdrawal date of between 1990 and 2000. Background British Railways was created on 1 January 1948 principally by the merger of the "Big Four British railway companies, Big Four" grouped railway companies: the Great Western Railway (GWR), the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS), the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) and the Southern Railway (UK), South ...
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WD Austerity 2-10-0
The War Department (United Kingdom), War Department (WD) "Austerity" 2-10-0 is a type of heavy freight steam locomotive that was introduced during the Second World War in 1943. Background The Austerity 2-10-0 was based on the WD Austerity 2-8-0, Austerity 2-8-0, and was designed to have interchangeable parts by R.A. Riddles. It had the same power output as the 2-8-0 but a lighter axle load, making it suitable for secondary lines. Design It had a parallel boiler and round-topped firebox. While the 2-8-0 had a narrow firebox, the 2-10-0 had a wide firebox placed above the driving wheels. This was common in the United States (e.g. the USRA 0-8-0) but unusual in Britain, where wide fireboxes usually used required trailing wheels, as with 4-4-2 (locomotive), 4-4-2 and 4-6-2 types. These were the first 2-10-0 locomotives used in Great Britain, and the first major class of ten-coupled engines — they had been preceded by two 0-10-0 locomotives; the Great Eastern Railway's GER Class ...
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WD Austerity 2-8-0
The War Department (WD) "Austerity" 2-8-0 is a type of heavy freight steam locomotive that was introduced in 1943 for war service. A total of 935 were built, making this one of the most-produced classes of British steam locomotive. They were nicknamed ''Ozzies'' by the railwaymen. Overview The Austerity 2-8-0 was based on the LMS Stanier Class 8F, which until that point had been the government's standard design. Various modifications were made to the 8F design by Robert Riddles to prioritise low cost over design life. These included a boiler of simpler construction which was parallel rather than tapered and a round-topped firebox rather than a Belpaire firebox. The firebox was made of steel rather than the rarer and more expensive copper. The North British Locomotive Company (NBL) of Glasgow built 545 (split between their two works at Hyde Park and Queen's Park) and the Vulcan Foundry (VF) of Newton-le-Willows, Lancashire, built 390. North British also built a larger ...
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Hunslet Austerity 0-6-0ST
The Hunslet Austerity 0-6-0ST is a class of steam locomotive designed by Hunslet Engine Company for shunting. The class became the standard British shunting locomotive during the Second World War, and production continued until 1964 at various locomotive manufacturers. Background The 48150 class were built for the Guest Keen Baldwins Iron & Steel Company in 1937, being an enlarged version of a design dating from 1923. These developed into the 50550 class of 1941–42, with various modifications. At the outbreak of the Second World War, the War Department had initially chosen the LMS 'Jinty' 3F 0-6-0T as its standard shunting locomotive, but was persuaded by Hunslet that a simplified version of their more modern 50550 design would be more suitable. The first locomotive was completed at their Leeds works at the start of 1943. Construction Hunslet subcontracted some of the construction to Andrew Barclay Sons & Co., W. G. Bagnall, Hudswell Clarke, Robert Stephenson and Haw ...
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British Railways
British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 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. British Railways was formed on 1 January 1948 as a result of the Transport Act 1947, which nationalisation, nationalised the Big Four (British railway companies), Big Four British railway companies along with some other (but not all) smaller railways. Profitability of the railways became a pressing concern during the 1950s, leading to multiple efforts to bolster performance, including some line closures. The History of rail transport in Great Britain 1948–1994#The Modernisation Plan, 1955 Modernisation Plan formally directed a process of dieselisation and Railway electrification in Great Britain, electrification ...
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World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many nations mobilising all resources in pursuit of total war. Tanks in World War II, Tanks and Air warfare of World War II, aircraft played major roles, enabling the strategic bombing of cities and delivery of the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, first and only nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II is the List of wars by death toll, deadliest conflict in history, causing World War II casualties, the death of 70 to 85 million people, more than half of whom were civilians. Millions died in genocides, including the Holocaust, and by massacres, starvation, and disease. After the Allied victory, Allied-occupied Germany, Germany, Allied-occupied Austria, Austria, Occupation of Japan, Japan, a ...
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Narrow Gauge
A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum railway curve radius, tighter curves, smaller structure gauges, and lighter Rail profile, rails; they can be less costly to build, equip, and operate than standard- or broad-gauge railways (particularly in mountainous or difficult terrain). Lower-cost narrow-gauge railways are often used in mountainous terrain, where engineering savings can be substantial. Lower-cost narrow-gauge railways are often built to serve industries as well as sparsely populated communities where the traffic potential would not justify the cost of a standard- or broad-gauge line. Narrow-gauge railways have specialised use in mines and other environments where a small structure gauge necessitates a small loading gauge. In some countries, narrow gauge is the standard: Ja ...
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United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The UK includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, and most of List of islands of the United Kingdom, the smaller islands within the British Isles, covering . Northern Ireland shares Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border, a land border with the Republic of Ireland; otherwise, the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel, the Celtic Sea and the Irish Sea. It maintains sovereignty over the British Overseas Territories, which are located across various oceans and seas globally. The UK had an estimated population of over 68.2 million people in 2023. The capital and largest city of both England and the UK is London. The cities o ...
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World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting took place mainly in European theatre of World War I, Europe and the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I, Middle East, as well as in parts of African theatre of World War I, Africa and the Asian and Pacific theatre of World War I, Asia-Pacific, and in Europe was characterised by trench warfare; the widespread use of Artillery of World War I, artillery, machine guns, and Chemical weapons in World War I, chemical weapons (gas); and the introductions of Tanks in World War I, tanks and Aviation in World War I, aircraft. World War I was one of the List of wars by death toll, deadliest conflicts in history, resulting in an estimated World War I casualties, 10 million military dead and more than 20 million wounded, plus some 10 million civilian de ...
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