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Marston Vale Line
The Marston Vale line is the line between and in England, a surviving remnant of the former Varsity Line between and , most of which was closed in the late 1960s. The line is sponsored by the Marston Vale community rail partnership. The line is to be adopted and upgraded as part of East West Rail, a project underway to re-establish the OxfordCambridge route. History The line was authorised by the ( 8 & 9 Vict. c. xliii), and opened in 1846 by the London and Birmingham Railway, though the L&B merged with the Grand Junction Railway to become the London and North Western Railway whilst construction was ongoing – the LNWR ran it from its opening."Bedford Railway" 'Disused Stations Site Record''; Retrieved 7 September 2016 The line later became part of the cross-country |
Heavy Rail
Various terms are used for passenger railway lines and equipment; the usage of these terms differs substantially between areas: Rapid transit A rapid transit system is an electric railway characterized by high speed (~) and rapid acceleration. It uses passenger railcars operating singly or in multiple unit trains on fixed rails. It operates on separate right-of-way (transportation), rights-of-way from which all other vehicular and foot traffic are excluded (i.e. is fully grade separation, grade-separated from other traffic). The APTA definition also includes the use sophisticated railway signalling, signaling systems, and railway platform height, high platform loading. Originally, the term ''rapid transit'' was used in the 1800s to describe new forms of quick urban public transportation that had a right-of-way separated from street traffic. This set rapid transit apart from horsecars, trams, streetcars, bus, omnibuses, and other forms of public transport. A variant of the ter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Timber Framing
Timber framing () and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy Beam (structure), timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and Woodworking joints, joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs. If the Structural system, structural frame of Load-bearing wall, load-bearing timber is left exposed on the exterior of the building it may be referred to as half-timbered, and in many cases the infill between timbers will be used for decorative effect. The country most known for this kind of architecture is Germany, where timber-framed houses are spread all over the country. The method comes from working directly from logs and trees rather than pre-cut Lumber#Dimensional lumber, dimensional lumber. Artisans or framers would gradually assemble a building by hewing logs or trees with broadaxes, adzes, and draw knife, draw knives and by using woodworking tools, such as hand-powered Brace (tool), braces and Auger (dril ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rail (magazine)
''Rail'' is a British magazine on the subject of current rail transport in Great Britain. It is published every two weeks by Bauer Consumer Media and can be bought from the travel sections of UK newsstands. It is targeted primarily at the enthusiast market, but also covers issues relating to rail transport. ''Rail'' is more than four decades old, and was called ''Rail Enthusiast'' from its launch in 1981 until 1988. It is one of only two railway magazines that increased its circulation. It has roughly the same cover design for several years, with a capitalised italic red ''RAIL'' along the top of the front cover. Editorial policy ''Rail'' is customarily critical of railway institutions, including the Rail Delivery Group, the Office of Rail and Road, as well as, since it assumed greater railway powers, the Department for Transport. ''Rail's'' continuing campaigns include one against advertising and media images showing celebrities and others walking between the rails (an un ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sprinter (British Rail)
The Sprinter is a family of diesel multiple unit trains in use on the Rail transport in Great Britain, British railway system. They were built in the 1980s and early-1990s by British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL), Metro-Cammell and British Leyland, Leyland. Sprinters operate in almost every part of Great Britain, from rural branch lines to commuter expresses into major cities. The class includes British Rail Class 150, class 150, British Rail Class 151, 151, British Rail Class 153, 153, 154, British Rail Class 155, 155, British Rail Class 156, 156, British Rail Class 158, 158 and British Rail Class 159, 159. Most have Cummins UK, Cummins engines with Voith hydraulic transmissions, although 47 Class 158 units have Perkins Engines, Perkins engines instead. Originally British Rail coined the "Sprinter" name for the units, mainly to promote the superior acceleration capabilities of the units compared with the first-generation DMUs they replaced. Advertisements such as "The Spri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vivarail
Vivarail was a British rolling stock manufacturer, founded in 2012 and based in Southam, Warwickshire. Vivarail's main project was the conversion of retired London Underground D78 Stock into two new classes for National Rail services. It was led by former Chiltern Railways chairman Adrian Shooter; the American Railroad Development Corporation was a shareholder. In November 2022, the company entered into administration. Assets of Vivarail have been purchased by train operating company GWR. GWR bought intellectual property, rolling stock and equipment relating to the development of high-performance battery and Fast Charge technology to continue Vivarail's work in these areas. The technology is due to be trialled between West Ealing and Greenford. Diesel and battery units In November 2014, Vivarail bought 156 driving motor cars and 70 carriages of ex London Underground D78 Stock which were being replaced by S Stock. The stated purpose of the Class 230 is to ameliorate a per ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Rail Class 230
The British Rail Class 230 ''D-Train'' is a diesel-electric multiple unit, Diesel multiple unit, diesel-battery electric multiple unit or battery electric multiple unit built by rolling stock manufacturer Vivarail for the British rail network. The units are converted from old London Underground D78 Stock, originally manufactured in 1980 by Metro-Cammell, and have been assigned the designation of Class 230 under TOPS. The conversion re-uses the D78's aluminium bodyshells with new interiors. It runs on the same bogies but these are rebuilt to as-new standard by Wabtec and fitted with brand-new Three-phase electric power, three-phase AC induction motors sourced from Austria. The initial build of three vehicles for London Northwestern Railway replaces the four-rail traction-current system with four diesel gen-sets, driving eight traction motors via purpose-built electronic traction control units. In this configuration, every wheel is driven and all are braked by a computer-controll ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Community Rail Network
Community rail in Britain is the support of railway lines and stations by local organisations, usually through community rail partnerships (CRPs) comprising railway operators, local councils, and other community organisations, and rail user groups (RUGs). Community railways are managed to fit local circumstances recognising the need to increase revenue, reduce costs, increase community involvement and support social and economic development. The Community Rail Network (CRN), formerly known as the Association of Community Rail Partnerships (ACoRP), supports its fifty or so member CRPs and also offers assistance to voluntary station friends groups that support their local stations through the station adoption scheme. Since 2005 the Department for Transport has formally designated a number of railway lines as community rail schemes in order to recognise the need for different, more appropriate standards than are applied to main line railway routes, and therefore make them more cost e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Network Rail Route 18 (West Coast Main Line)
Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is a non-departmental public body of the Department for Transport with no shareholders, which reinvests its income in the railways. Network Rail's main customers are the private train operating companies (TOCs), responsible for passenger transport, and freight operating companies (FOCs), who provide train services on the infrastructure that the company owns and maintains. Since 1 September 2014, Network Rail has been classified as a "public sector body". To cope with rapidly increasing passenger numbers, () Network Rail has been undertaking a £38 billion programme of upgrades to the network, including Crossrail, electrification of lines and upgrading Thameslink. In May 2021, the UK government announced its intent to replace Network Rail with a new ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West Midlands Trains
West Midlands Trains (WMT) is a British train operating company. It operates passenger trains on the West Midlands franchise between London and the English Midlands under two trading names: within the West Midlands region as West Midlands Railway (WMR) and outside the region as London Northwestern Railway (LNR). West Midlands Trains was created as a consortium of three companies, Abellio, JR East, and Mitsui & Co, which joined to bid for the West Midlands franchise; they were amongst the three bids to be shortlisted in April 2016, and were awarded the franchise during August 2017. JR East sold its 15% interest to Abellio in September 2021. In 2023 Abellio sold its stake to Transport UK Group. In addition to the DfT, it is also accountable to the West Midlands Rail Executive for services that operate wholly within the West Midlands region. On 10 December 2017, West Midlands Trains took over operations from the prior operator, London Midland. As per the original terms of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
London Midland
London Midland was a train operating company in England which operated the West Midlands franchise between 11 November 2007 and 10 December 2017. It was owned by the British transport group Govia. London Midland was created as a result of Govia being awarded the West Midlands franchise on 22 June 2007. This franchise had emerged out of a reorganisation conducted by the Department for Transport, which had combined elements of the Silverlink and Central Trains operations together. London Midland had various commitments to fulfil during the franchise period, including the procurement of at least 37 new multiple units, the introduction of a semi-fast service between London and Crewe, and to invest at least £11.5m into stations. Early rolling stock orders totalled 66 new trains, including two Class 139 ''Parry People Movers'', 12 two-car and 15 three-car Class 172 ''Turbostars'' and 37 four-car Class 350/2 ''Desiros''. Further orders and reorganisations of rolling stock would ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Central Trains
Central Trains was a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by National Express that operated a variety of local and inter-regional trains from 2 March 1997 until 11 November 2007. Overview Created out of the Central division of Regional Railways during the Privatisation of British Rail, Central Trains passed into the private sector on 2 March 1997. The franchise was awarded to National Express, who maintained control of the company until its eventual demise in 2007. Central Trains employed over 2,400 staff. The company invested significantly in rolling stock, with significant orders for new trains placed and the fleet later further grown through the acquisition of trains made surplus by other companies. Despite a reduction in the area covered during the ten years of its existence, the company grew its core fleet from fewer than 300 passenger vehicles to a total of 379 – a capacity increase of over 28%. It also refurbished a number of its stations, introducing t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
