1.
Rail transport
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Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, also known as tracks. It is also referred to as train transport. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles run on a flat surface. Tracks usually consist of rails, installed on ties and ballast, on which the rolling stock, usually fitted with metal wheels. Other variations are possible, such as slab track, where the rails are fastened to a concrete foundation resting on a prepared subsurface. Rolling stock in a transport system generally encounters lower frictional resistance than road vehicles, so passenger. The operation is carried out by a company, providing transport between train stations or freight customer facilities. Power is provided by locomotives which either draw electric power from a railway system or produce their own power. Most tracks are accompanied by a signalling system, Railways are a safe land transport system when compared to other forms of transport. The oldest, man-hauled railways date back to the 6th century BC, with Periander, one of the Seven Sages of Greece, Rail transport blossomed after the British development of the steam locomotive as a viable source of power in the 19th centuries. With steam engines, one could construct mainline railways, which were a key component of the Industrial Revolution, also, railways reduced the costs of shipping, and allowed for fewer lost goods, compared with water transport, which faced occasional sinking of ships. The change from canals to railways allowed for markets in which prices varied very little from city to city. In the 1880s, electrified trains were introduced, and also the first tramways, starting during the 1940s, the non-electrified railways in most countries had their steam locomotives replaced by diesel-electric locomotives, with the process being almost complete by 2000. During the 1960s, electrified high-speed railway systems were introduced in Japan, other forms of guided ground transport outside the traditional railway definitions, such as monorail or maglev, have been tried but have seen limited use. The history of the growth, decline and restoration to use of transport can be divided up into several discrete periods defined by the principal means of motive power used. The earliest evidence of a railway was a 6-kilometre Diolkos wagonway, trucks pushed by slaves ran in grooves in limestone, which provided the track element. The Diolkos operated for over 600 years, Railways began reappearing in Europe after the Dark Ages. The earliest known record of a railway in Europe from this period is a window in the Minster of Freiburg im Breisgau in Germany
2.
Scotland
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Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and covers the northern third of the island of Great Britain. It shares a border with England to the south, and is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to the east. In addition to the mainland, the country is made up of more than 790 islands, including the Northern Isles, the Kingdom of Scotland emerged as an independent sovereign state in the Early Middle Ages and continued to exist until 1707. By inheritance in 1603, James VI, King of Scots, became King of England and King of Ireland, Scotland subsequently entered into a political union with the Kingdom of England on 1 May 1707 to create the new Kingdom of Great Britain. The union also created a new Parliament of Great Britain, which succeeded both the Parliament of Scotland and the Parliament of England. Within Scotland, the monarchy of the United Kingdom has continued to use a variety of styles, titles, the legal system within Scotland has also remained separate from those of England and Wales and Northern Ireland, Scotland constitutes a distinct jurisdiction in both public and private law. Glasgow, Scotlands largest city, was one of the worlds leading industrial cities. Other major urban areas are Aberdeen and Dundee, Scottish waters consist of a large sector of the North Atlantic and the North Sea, containing the largest oil reserves in the European Union. This has given Aberdeen, the third-largest city in Scotland, the title of Europes oil capital, following a referendum in 1997, a Scottish Parliament was re-established, in the form of a devolved unicameral legislature comprising 129 members, having authority over many areas of domestic policy. Scotland is represented in the UK Parliament by 59 MPs and in the European Parliament by 6 MEPs, Scotland is also a member nation of the British–Irish Council, and the British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly. Scotland comes from Scoti, the Latin name for the Gaels, the Late Latin word Scotia was initially used to refer to Ireland. By the 11th century at the latest, Scotia was being used to refer to Scotland north of the River Forth, alongside Albania or Albany, the use of the words Scots and Scotland to encompass all of what is now Scotland became common in the Late Middle Ages. Repeated glaciations, which covered the land mass of modern Scotland. It is believed the first post-glacial groups of hunter-gatherers arrived in Scotland around 12,800 years ago, the groups of settlers began building the first known permanent houses on Scottish soil around 9,500 years ago, and the first villages around 6,000 years ago. The well-preserved village of Skara Brae on the mainland of Orkney dates from this period and it contains the remains of an early Bronze Age ruler laid out on white quartz pebbles and birch bark. It was also discovered for the first time that early Bronze Age people placed flowers in their graves, in the winter of 1850, a severe storm hit Scotland, causing widespread damage and over 200 deaths. In the Bay of Skaill, the storm stripped the earth from a large irregular knoll, when the storm cleared, local villagers found the outline of a village, consisting of a number of small houses without roofs. William Watt of Skaill, the laird, began an amateur excavation of the site, but after uncovering four houses
3.
4 ft 6 in gauge railway
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The 4 ft 6 in track gauge, also called the Scotch gauge, was adopted by early 19th century railways mainly in the Lanarkshire area of Scotland. It differed from the gauge of 4 ft 8 in that was used on some lines in England. In the early 1840s standard gauge lines began to be constructed in Scotland, the gauge was outlawed in Great Britain by law in 1846. From 1903, tram lines of Tokyo adopted this gauge, a small number of early to mid-19th century passenger railways were built to 4 ft 6 in Scotch gauge including, Ardrossan and Johnstone Railway. Authorised on 20 July 1806 and opened on 6 November 1810, authorised on 17 May 1824 and opened on 1 October 1826. Incorporated on 19 May 1826 and opened on 8 August 1828, authorised on 26 May 1826 and opened in part on 4 July 1831. Incorporated on 26 May 1826 and ceremonially opened on 27 September 1831 for both passengers and goods, the engineers were Thomas Grainger and John Miller from Edinburgh. Incorporated on 21 June 1829 and partially opened on 21 March 1834, the engineers were Thomas Grainger and John Miller from Edinburgh. Incorporated on 3 July 1835 and opened on 31 August 1840, authorised on 21 July 1835 and opened on 3 April 1837 for both passengers and goods. Interestingly Robert Stephenson and Company built a Scotch gauge locomotive, the St. Rollox, for the Garnkirk and Glasgow Railway, all the lines were later relaid in standard gauge. In addition to the lines, there were three railways, authorised between 1822 and 1835, that were built in the Dundee area, to a gauge of 4 ft 6 1⁄2 in. They were, The Dundee and Newtyle Railway, the Newtyle and Coupar Angus Railway. Grainger and Miller built another two lines in the same area to a gauge of 5 ft 6 in. Thomas Grainger is said to have chosen this gauge, since he regarded 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in standard gauge as being too narrow and they were, The Dundee and Arbroath Railway. Incorporated on 19 May 1836 and opened in part in October 1838, incorporated on 19 May 1836 and opened in part on 24 November 1838. A few remnants of old lines remain, but are non functional with the exception of one example of the St Michaels Mount Tramway at St Michaels Mount in Cornwall and it is a partial underground railway that used to bring luggage up to the castle. It occasionally operates, but only for reasons and is not open to the general public. It is therefore believed to be Britains last functionally operational Scotch gauge railway, after the end of Scotch gauge in Britain, the gauge was revived in Japan
4.
Boston and Maine Corporation
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The Boston and Maine Corporation, known as the Boston and Maine Railroad, was a U. S. Class I railroad in northern New England and it became part of what is now the Pan Am Railways network in 1983. At the end of 1970 B&M operated 1,515 route-miles on 2,481 miles of track and that year it reported 2744 million ton-miles of revenue freight and 92 million passenger-miles. The Andover and Wilmington Railroad was incorporated March 15,1833, to build a branch from the Boston and Lowell Railroad at Wilmington, Massachusetts, north to Andover, the line opened to Andover on August 8,1836. The railroad opened in 1840 to Exeter, New Hampshire, and on January 1,1842, on February 23,1843, the B&M opened to Agamenticus, on the line of the Portland, Saco and Portsmouth Railroad in South Berwick. On January 28 of that year the B&M and Eastern Railroad came to an agreement to lease the PS&P as a joint line to Portland. The Boston and Maine Railroad Extension was incorporated March 16,1844, due to a dispute with the Boston and that company was merged into the main B&M on March 19,1845, and opened July 1, leading to the abandonment of the old connection to the B&L. In 1848 another original section was abandoned, as a new alignment was built from Wilmington north to North Andover, Massachusetts, in order to better serve Lawrence, a new alignment to Portland opened in 1873, splitting from the old route at South Berwick, Maine. The old route was later abandoned and this completed the B&M main line which would become known as the Western Route to distinguish it from the Eastern Route which also connected Boston and Portland. As the B&M grew, it gained control of former rivals, including, The Eastern Railroad was leased by the B&M on December 23,1883, and on May 9,1890. This provided a route to Maine, ending competition along the immediate route between Boston and Portland. Along with the Eastern, the B&M also acquired many branch lines, including the Conway Branch, the Saugus Branch, the South Reading Branch, and branches to Marblehead and Rockport, Massachusetts. The Worcester and Nashua Railroad was organized in 1845 and the Nashua and Rochester Railroad in 1847, the W&N leased the N&R in 1874, and the two companies merged into the Worcester, Nashua and Rochester Railroad in 1883. The B&M leased the line on January 1,1886 and this acquisition also included the continuation from Rochester to Portland, Maine, incorporated in 1846 as the York and Cumberland Railroad. It opened partially in 1851 and 1853, was reorganized as the Portland and Rochester Railroad in 1867 and it was again reorganized in 1881 and then operated in conjunction with the line to Worcester. Johnsbury and Lake Champlain Railroad to northwestern Vermont, and the Connecticut, additionally, the St. Johnsbury and Lake Champlain Railroad, owned by the B&M through stock, was leased to the Maine Central Railroad by 1912. The Central Massachusetts Railroad stayed a part of the B&M, as did the Connecticut and Passumpsic Rivers Railroad. The Northern Railroad was leased to the Boston and Lowell in 1884, but that lease was cancelled and the Northern was on its own until 1890, the Northern owned a number of lines running west from Concord
5.
Haverhill, Massachusetts
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Haverhill is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 60,879 at the 2010 census, located on the Merrimack River, it began as a farming community of Puritans, largely from Newbury Plantation. The land was purchased from the Pentuckets on November 15,1642 for three pounds, ten shillings. Pentucket was renamed Haverhill and would evolve into an important industrial center, in the 18th and 19th century, Haverhill developed woolen mills, tanneries, shipping and shipbuilding. The town was for decades home to a significant shoe-making industry. By the end of 1913, one tenth of the shoes produced in the United States were made in Haverhill, the city was also known for the manufacture of hats. Haverhill has played a role in every era of American history, from the initial colonial settlement, to the French and Indian Wars. The town was founded in 1640 by settlers from Newbury, and was known as Pentucket. Settlers such as John Ward, Robert Clements, Tristram Coffin, Hugh Sheratt, William White, the land was purchased from native Indian chiefs Passaquo and Saggahew and permission was granted by Passaconaway, chief of the Pennacooks. Settlers, Thomas Hale, Henry Palmer, Thomas Davis, James Davis, first Court appointments, given to end small causes were given to Robert Clements, Henry Palmer, and Thomas Hale. At the same court, it was John Osgood and Thomas Hale that were appointed to lay the way from Haverhill to Andover. It is said that early settlers worshipped under a large oak tree. The town was renamed for the town of Haverhill, England, in deference to the birthplace of the settlements first pastor, the original Haverhill settlement was located around the corner of Water Street and Mill Street, near the Linwood Cemetery and Burying Ground. The home of the father, William White, still stands. Whites Corner was named for his family, as was the White Fund at Bostons Museum of Fine Arts, judge Nathaniel Saltonstall was chosen to preside over the Salem witch trials in the 17th century, however, he found the trials objectionable and recused himself. However, a number of women from Haverhill were accused of witchcraft, one of the initial group of settlers, Tristram Coffin, ran an inn. However, he grew disenchanted with the stance against his strong ales. Haverhill was for years a frontier town, and was occasionally subjected to Indian raids
6.
Germany
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Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a federal parliamentary republic in central-western Europe. It includes 16 constituent states, covers an area of 357,021 square kilometres, with about 82 million inhabitants, Germany is the most populous member state of the European Union. After the United States, it is the second most popular destination in the world. Germanys capital and largest metropolis is Berlin, while its largest conurbation is the Ruhr, other major cities include Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf and Leipzig. Various Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity, a region named Germania was documented before 100 AD. During the Migration Period the Germanic tribes expanded southward, beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation, in 1871, Germany became a nation state when most of the German states unified into the Prussian-dominated German Empire. After World War I and the German Revolution of 1918–1919, the Empire was replaced by the parliamentary Weimar Republic, the establishment of the national socialist dictatorship in 1933 led to World War II and the Holocaust. After a period of Allied occupation, two German states were founded, the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, in 1990, the country was reunified. In the 21st century, Germany is a power and has the worlds fourth-largest economy by nominal GDP. As a global leader in industrial and technological sectors, it is both the worlds third-largest exporter and importer of goods. Germany is a country with a very high standard of living sustained by a skilled. It upholds a social security and universal health system, environmental protection. Germany was a member of the European Economic Community in 1957. It is part of the Schengen Area, and became a co-founder of the Eurozone in 1999, Germany is a member of the United Nations, NATO, the G8, the G20, and the OECD. The national military expenditure is the 9th highest in the world, the English word Germany derives from the Latin Germania, which came into use after Julius Caesar adopted it for the peoples east of the Rhine. This in turn descends from Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz popular, derived from *þeudō, descended from Proto-Indo-European *tewtéh₂- people, the discovery of the Mauer 1 mandible shows that ancient humans were present in Germany at least 600,000 years ago. The oldest complete hunting weapons found anywhere in the world were discovered in a mine in Schöningen where three 380, 000-year-old wooden javelins were unearthed
7.
Ross Winans
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Ross Winans was an American inventor, mechanic, and builder of locomotives and railroad machinery. He is also noted for design of pioneering cigar-hulled ships, Winans, one of the United States first multi-millionaires, was involved in national and state politics, a southern-sympathizer and was a vehement states rights advocate. Winans was related to James McNeill Whistler through marriage, Ross Winans was born in Vernon Township, New Jersey on October 17,1796. His parents were William and Mary Winans and he married Julia de Kay in 1820 and they had five children. He moved his family to Baltimore, Maryland in the late 1820s and did business with the newly founded Baltimore, following the death of his wife Julia in 1850, he married Elizabeth K. Winans came from a New Jersey family of horse breeders, in 1828 he developed a friction wheel with outside bearings which established a distinctive pattern for railroad wheels for the next one hundred years or so. In the late 1820s also he became associated with the B&O, by 1831, he was appointed assistant engineer of machinery on the B. & O. He invented and patented an improvement in the construction of axles, as far back perhaps as the year 1836, the firm of Gillingham and Winans, and, after the dissolution of that firm, I myself, down to 1841 or 1842, manufactured a Rail Road Wheel. In 1841, he opened his own shop adjacent to the B, & O. s new Mount Clare Shops, along West Pratt Street, between Arlington and Schroeder Streets in southwest Baltimore, with that railroad as his primary customer. He was a pioneer in the development of substituting coal-burning steam locomotives and he was eccentric, and his locomotive business made him independently wealthy. His customer relations were simple—he built engines his way, and you bought them, bored with the business, and having a design disagreement with the B. & O. he closed his shops, which were later leased to the Hayward & Bartlett iron and steel foundries. He went on to do significant work for the Czar’s railroad from the new imperial capital St. Petersburg on the Baltic Sea to the old traditional medieval capital of Moscow in central Russia, all of the listed engines are type 0-8-0, called the Camel. They were all acquired from predecessor roads, Engine sales to the Cumberland and Pennsylvania Railroad were recorded in 1863. James Millholland, the C. & P, master Mechanic, was familiar with keeping these Camel engines running, and making improvements to them. Winans set trends in locomotive and car design rather than followed them, the B. & O. was Winans largest locomotive customer, with one hundred and forty locomotive deliveries going to that road. Winans had a disagreement with Mr. Hayes of the B. & O. which delayed delivery of some engines into 1863, Winans second best customer was the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad. These two customers represented 70 percent of his sales, Winans typically offered a thirty-day trial period at the customer site. About three hundred engine deliveries to twenty-six American railroads by Winans are documented during the period 1843–1863 and he is also credited with being the first manufacture to export a locomotive to Europe
8.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
9.
Grand Junction Railway
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The line built by the company was the first trunk railway to be completed in England, and arguably the worlds first long-distance railway with steam traction. Presently, the lines which comprised the GJR form the section of the West Coast Main Line. The GJR established its chief engineering works at Crewe, relocating there from Edge Hill and it began operation with a temporary Birmingham terminus at Vauxhall, The travelling post office where mail was sorted on a moving train was instituted on the Grand Junction Railway in January 1838. Using a converted horse-box, it was carried out at the suggestion of Frederick Karstadt, karstadts son was one of two mail clerks who did the sorting. The route between Curzon Street railway station and Vauxhall primarily consisted of the Birmingham Viaduct and it consisted of 28 arches, each 31 feet wide and 28 feet tall and crossed the River Rea. This being accomplished, what further improvement could be desired between London and Lancashire, in 1840 the GJR absorbed the Chester and Crewe Railway soon before it began operation. In 1845 the GJR merged with the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, in 1841 the company appointed Captain Mark Huish as the Secretary of the railway. Huish was ruthless in the development of the business and contributed significantly to the Companys success, the GJR was very profitable, paying dividends of at least 10% from its beginning and having a final capital value of more than £5. One locomotive, Columbine, is preserved at the Science Museum and this was GJR No.49 and LNWR No. In the 2007 adaptation of the television series Cranford, a line owned by the Grand Junction Railway is the subject of gossip when the railway line bypasses the village of Cranford. Grand Junction Railroad Notes References Bibliography Webster, Norman W. Britains First Trunk Line – the Grand Junction Railway, the Railways of Great Britain and Ireland Practically Described and Illustrated
10.
Great Britain
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Great Britain, also known as Britain, is a large island in the north Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of 209,331 km2, Great Britain is the largest European island, in 2011 the island had a population of about 61 million people, making it the worlds third-most populous island after Java in Indonesia and Honshu in Japan. The island of Ireland is situated to the west of it, the island is dominated by a maritime climate with quite narrow temperature differences between seasons. Politically, the island is part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, most of England, Scotland, and Wales are on the island. The term Great Britain often extends to surrounding islands that form part of England, Scotland, and Wales. A single Kingdom of Great Britain resulted from the union of the Kingdom of England, the archipelago has been referred to by a single name for over 2000 years, the term British Isles derives from terms used by classical geographers to describe this island group. By 50 BC Greek geographers were using equivalents of Prettanikē as a name for the British Isles. However, with the Roman conquest of Britain the Latin term Britannia was used for the island of Great Britain, the oldest mention of terms related to Great Britain was by Aristotle, or possibly by Pseudo-Aristotle, in his text On the Universe, Vol. III. To quote his works, There are two large islands in it, called the British Isles, Albion and Ierne. The name Britain descends from the Latin name for Britain, Britannia or Brittānia, Old French Bretaigne and Middle English Bretayne, Breteyne. The French form replaced the Old English Breoton, Breoten, Bryten, Breten, Britannia was used by the Romans from the 1st century BC for the British Isles taken together. It is derived from the writings of the Pytheas around 320 BC. Marcian of Heraclea, in his Periplus maris exteri, described the group as αἱ Πρεττανικαὶ νῆσοι. The peoples of these islands of Prettanike were called the Πρεττανοί, Priteni is the source of the Welsh language term Prydain, Britain, which has the same source as the Goidelic term Cruithne used to refer to the early Brythonic-speaking inhabitants of Ireland. The latter were later called Picts or Caledonians by the Romans, the Greco-Egyptian scientist Ptolemy referred to the larger island as great Britain and to Ireland as little Britain in his work Almagest. The name Albion appears to have out of use sometime after the Roman conquest of Britain. After the Anglo-Saxon period, Britain was used as a term only. It was used again in 1604, when King James VI and I styled himself King of Great Brittaine, France, Great Britain refers geographically to the island of Great Britain, politically to England, Scotland and Wales in combination
11.
Birmingham
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Birmingham is a major city and metropolitan borough of West Midlands, England lying on the River Rea, a small river that runs through Birmingham. It is the largest and most populous British city outside London, the city is in the West Midlands Built-up Area, the third most populous urban area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2,440,986 at the 2011 census. Birminghams metropolitan area is the second most populous in the UK with a population of 3.8 million and this also makes Birmingham the 8th most populous metropolitan area in Europe. By 1791 it was being hailed as the first manufacturing town in the world, perhaps the most important invention in British history, the industrial steam engine, was invented in Birmingham. From the summer of 1940 to the spring of 1943, Birmingham was bombed heavily by the German Luftwaffe in what is known as the Birmingham Blitz. The damage done to the infrastructure, in addition to a deliberate policy of demolition and new building by planners, led to extensive demolition. Today Birminghams economy is dominated by the service sector and its metropolitan economy is the second largest in the United Kingdom with a GDP of $121. 1bn, and its six universities make it the largest centre of higher education in the country outside London. Birmingham is the fourth-most visited city in the UK by foreign visitors, Birminghams sporting heritage can be felt worldwide, with the concept of the Football League and lawn tennis both originating from the city. Its most successful football club Aston Villa has won seven league titles, people from Birmingham are called Brummies, a term derived from the citys nickname of Brum. This originates from the citys name, Brummagem, which may in turn have been derived from one of the citys earlier names. There is a distinctive Brummie accent and dialect, Birminghams early history is that of a remote and marginal area. The main centres of population, power and wealth in the pre-industrial English Midlands lay in the fertile and accessible river valleys of the Trent, the Severn and the Avon. The area of modern Birmingham lay in between, on the upland Birmingham Plateau and within the wooded and sparsely populated Forest of Arden. Birmingham as a settlement dates from the Anglo-Saxon era, within a century of the charter Birmingham had grown into a prosperous urban centre of merchants and craftsmen. By 1327 it was the third-largest town in Warwickshire, a position it would retain for the next 200 years, by 1700 Birminghams population had increased fifteenfold and the town was the fifth-largest in England and Wales. The importance of the manufacture of goods to Birminghams economy was recognised as early as 1538. Equally significant was the emerging role as a centre for the iron merchants who organised finance, supplied raw materials. The 18th century saw this tradition of free-thinking and collaboration blossom into the phenomenon now known as the Midlands Enlightenment
12.
Warrington, England
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Warrington is a town and unitary authority area in Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey,20 miles east of Liverpool, and 20 miles west of Manchester. The population in 2015 was estimated at 207,700, more than double that of 1968 when it became a New Town, Warrington was founded by the Romans at an important crossing place on the River Mersey. A new settlement was established by the Saxons, by the Middle Ages, Warrington had emerged as a market town at the lowest bridging point of the river. A local tradition of textile and tool production dates from this time, historically in Lancashire, the expansion and urbanisation of Warrington coincided with the Industrial Revolution, particularly after the Mersey was made navigable in the 18th century. The West Coast Main Line runs north to south through the town, the Manchester Ship Canal cuts through the south of the borough. The M6, M56 and M62 motorways form a box around the town. Warrington has been a crossing point on the River Mersey since ancient times. Local archaeological evidence indicates there were Bronze Age settlements also. In medieval times Warringtons importance was as a town and bridging point of the River Mersey. The first reference to a bridge at Warrington is found in 1285, Warrington was a fulcrum in the English Civil War. The armies of Oliver Cromwell and the Earl of Derby both stayed near the old town centre, popular legend has it that Cromwell lodged near the building which survives on Church Street as the Cottage Restaurant. The Marquis of Granby public house bears a plaque stating that the Earl of Derby had his quarters near this site, dents in the walls of the parish church are rumoured to have been caused by the cannons from the time of the civil war. The expansion and urbanisation of Warrington largely coincided with the Industrial Revolution, as Britain became industrialised, Warrington embraced the Industrial Revolution becoming a manufacturing town and a centre of steel, textiles, brewing, tanning and chemical industries. The navigational properties of the River Mersey were improved, canals were built, when the age of steam came, Warrington naturally welcomed it, both as a means of transport and as a source of power for its mills. Many people, particularly Americans, remember Warrington best as the location of RAF Station Burtonwood Burtonwood RAF base, the RAF station continued in use by the USAAF and subsequently USAF as a staging post for men and material until its closure in 1993. Warrington was designated a new town in 1968 and consequently the town grew in size, heavy industry declined in the 1970s and 1980s but the growth of the new town led to a great increase in employment in light industry, distribution and technology. On 20 March 1993, the Provisional Irish Republican Army detonated two bombs in Warrington town centre, the blasts killed two children, three-year-old Jonathan Ball died instantly, and twelve-year-old Tim Parry, from the Great Sankey area died five days later in hospital. Around 56 other people were injured, four seriously and their deaths provoked widespread condemnation of the organisation responsible
13.
Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway
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The Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway was a railway in Scotland that provided train services between Glasgow, Kilmarnock and Ayr. It opened its first line, between Glasgow and Ayr in 1839 -1840, the section between Glasgow and Paisley was made jointly with the Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock Railway. Later it built a line from Dalry via Kilmarnock to Cumnock, linking there with the Glasgow, Dumfries and Carlisle Railway, the two companies merged to form the Glasgow and South Western Railway. The original main line from Glasgow to Ayr, and the line from Kilmarnock to Carlisle, are in use today, although many intermediate stations and these coal railways used horse traction and short cast iron rails on stone block sleepers. The key technical advance was that they used edge rails, the guidance was provided by flanges on the wheels of the wagons and these lines showed the way forward. In 1831 the Ardrossan Railway opened, it too was a line using stone block sleepers. It was conceived as a means of developing Ardrossan Harbour as the sea port for Glasgow, accordingly, the line was truncated, and only reached a terminal at Kilwinning and collieries east of that town. When the Grand Junction Railway was authorised in 1833, it was possible to consider that railways might one day link central Scotland and the south of England. Miller proposed a route from Tradeston, in Glasgow at the end of Glasgow Bridge, through Paisley. The cost was to be £550,000 and a 10% return could be expected, notwithstanding the south-westerly course of the line, plotting a direct route was easy, but gradients were severe, earthworks would be formidable, and there was much less intermediate business. Gale was a rival canal companys engineer, and was hardly impartial and it was necessary to bring in someone to settle the matter, George Stephenson gave a report supporting Millers choice of route. Raising capital proved straightforward, and it was possible to present a Bill for the line in the 1837 session of Parliament, there was strenuous opposition from river and canal interests, but this was overcome. At the time the Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock Railway was also promoting its line and it became obvious that Parliament would be hostile to the formation of two adjacent lines, so it was determined to build the line jointly as far as Paisley. Both the GPK&AR and the GP&GR received the royal assent on 15 July 1837, the Glasgow, Paisley Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway Act authorised share capital of £625,000, and £208,300 in loans. The line was to be constructed simultaneously from each end, to prevent the experience of the Ardrossan Railway which failed to build the end of its authorised line. The gauge of the new line was not yet determined, although the estimates had been prepared on the basis that it would not exceed 6 feet. Many of Grainger and Millers lines had been to a gauge of 4 ft 6in, the Dundee and Newtyle Railway had been at 4 ft 6½in and the Dundee and Arbroath Railway, authorised in 1836, was to be 5 ft 6in. Construction of the line, supervised by Grainger & Miller, proved challenging, as a large-scale contracting industry was not yet in place in Scotland and this was an enormous success and that limited section of the line made a surplus of £500 in the remainder of the year
14.
Euston railway station
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Euston railway station is a central London railway terminus located on Euston Road in the London Borough of Camden. It is the terminus of the West Coast Main Line to Liverpool, Manchester, Edinburgh. The line is the busiest intercity passenger route in Britain and the gateway from London to the West Midlands, North West England, North Wales. The main line station is connected to Euston tube station and is near to Euston Square tube station on the London Underground and it is one of 19 stations in the country that are managed by Network Rail. Euston is the sixth-busiest station in Britain, virgin Trains provides high-speed intercity services, London Midland also operates local commuter and regional services as well as long-distance services. Euston is also the terminus of the suburban Watford DC Line operated by London Overground. It was the first intercity railway station to be built in London, as the terminus of the London, the original 1837 station was demolished and rebuilt in the 1960s. Euston is proposed to be the London terminus of the future High Speed 2 route and it is a short walk from Kings Cross, the southern terminus of the East Coast Main Line, and St Pancras for Midland Main Line and Eurostar services. These stations and Euston are all in Travelcard Zone 1, Euston was the first intercity railway station in London, opened on 20 July 1837 as the terminus of the London and Birmingham Railway. The building was demolished in the 1960s and replaced with the present building in the modern style. The site was chosen in the early 1830s by George and Robert Stephenson, the area was mostly farmland at the edge of the expanding city. The station was named after Euston Hall in Suffolk, the home of the Dukes of Grafton. Objections by local farmers meant that, when the Act authorising construction of the line was passed in 1833 and these objections were overcome, and in 1835 an Act authorised construction of the station, which then went ahead. It was designed by the classically trained architect Philip Hardwick with a 200 ft -long trainshed by structural engineer Charles Fox and it had two platforms, one for departures and one for arrivals. Also by Hardwick was a 72 ft -high Doric propylaeum, the largest ever built, erected at the entrance as a portico, the station grew rapidly as traffic increased. It was greatly expanded with the opening in 1849 of the Great Hall and it was 126 ft long,61 ft wide and 64 ft high, with a coffered ceiling and a sweeping double flight of stairs leading to offices at its northern end. Architectural sculptor John Thomas contributed eight allegorical statues representing the cities served by the line. The station stood on Drummond Street, further back from Euston Road than the front of the complex, Drummond Street now terminates at the side of the station
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London
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London /ˈlʌndən/ is the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames in the south east of the island of Great Britain and it was founded by the Romans, who named it Londinium. Londons ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its 1. 12-square-mile medieval boundaries. London is a global city in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism. It is crowned as the worlds largest financial centre and has the fifth- or sixth-largest metropolitan area GDP in the world, London is a world cultural capital. It is the worlds most-visited city as measured by international arrivals and has the worlds largest city airport system measured by passenger traffic, London is the worlds leading investment destination, hosting more international retailers and ultra high-net-worth individuals than any other city. Londons universities form the largest concentration of education institutes in Europe. In 2012, London became the first city to have hosted the modern Summer Olympic Games three times, London has a diverse range of people and cultures, and more than 300 languages are spoken in the region. Its estimated mid-2015 municipal population was 8,673,713, the largest of any city in the European Union, Londons urban area is the second most populous in the EU, after Paris, with 9,787,426 inhabitants at the 2011 census. The citys metropolitan area is the most populous in the EU with 13,879,757 inhabitants, the city-region therefore has a similar land area and population to that of the New York metropolitan area. London was the worlds most populous city from around 1831 to 1925, Other famous landmarks include Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, St Pauls Cathedral, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square, and The Shard. The London Underground is the oldest underground railway network in the world, the etymology of London is uncertain. It is an ancient name, found in sources from the 2nd century and it is recorded c.121 as Londinium, which points to Romano-British origin, and hand-written Roman tablets recovered in the city originating from AD 65/70-80 include the word Londinio. The earliest attempted explanation, now disregarded, is attributed to Geoffrey of Monmouth in Historia Regum Britanniae and this had it that the name originated from a supposed King Lud, who had allegedly taken over the city and named it Kaerlud. From 1898, it was accepted that the name was of Celtic origin and meant place belonging to a man called *Londinos. The ultimate difficulty lies in reconciling the Latin form Londinium with the modern Welsh Llundain, which should demand a form *lōndinion, from earlier *loundiniom. The possibility cannot be ruled out that the Welsh name was borrowed back in from English at a later date, and thus cannot be used as a basis from which to reconstruct the original name. Until 1889, the name London officially applied only to the City of London, two recent discoveries indicate probable very early settlements near the Thames in the London area
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Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily
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Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily was a French queen and the wife of Louis Philippe I, King of the French. Maria Amalia was born on 26 April 1782 at the Caserta Palace just outside Naples and she was the seventh of nine children of Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies and Maria Carolina of Austria. As a young Italian princess, she was educated in the Catholic tradition, Maria Carolina, like her mother, Maria Theresa, made an effort to be a part of her daughters life, though she was cared for daily by her governess, Vicenza Rizzi. As a child, Maria Amalias mother and her aunt, Marie Antoinette, arranged for her engagement to Marie Antoinettes son, Louis Joseph, Dauphin of France and her young fiance died in 1789. Maria Amelia faced chaos and upheaval from a young age, the death of her aunt Marie Antoinette during the French Revolution and her mothers subsequent dramatic actions emblazoned the event in her memory. During the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789, the Neapolitan court was not hostile to the movement, when the French monarchy was abolished and her aunt Marie Antoinette and uncle Louis XVI were executed, Maria Amelias parents joined the First Coalition against France in 1793. Maria Amelia spent the years 1800 to 1802 with her mother in Austria, in 1802, she finally returned to Naples with her mother. After the invasion of Naples by Napoleon in 1806, the family was once more forced to flee to Sicily. Louis-Philippes father, the previous Duke of Orléans, had been guillotined during the French Revolution, the two were married in 1809, three years after they met in Italy, whereupon Marie-Amelie became Duchess of Orléans. The ceremony was celebrated in Palermo 25 November 1809, the marriage was considered controversial, because she was the niece of Marie Antoinette, while he was the son of a man who was considered to have played a part in the execution of her aunt. During the first years of her marriage, Marie-Amelie and Louis Philippe lived under British protection in Palermo, in a given to them by her father. Marie-Amelie went to France with her new husband in 1814, where she attempted to make a home with her growing family, the family was given permission to return to France again in 1817. During the Orléans’ time in France prior to Louis-Philippes coronation, the family lived in the Palais-Royal, despite the monetary worries of the family, the house was returned to its original splendor at a cost to the couple of eleven million francs. However, it was rather her sister-in-law Madame Adelaide who was regarded the hostess at Palais-Royal, while Marie-Amelie was described as dignified but silent and withdrawn. In 1830, following what is known as the July Revolution, Louis-Philippe became king of France, Maria Amalia did not approve of Louis-Philippes acceptance of the crown and reportedly described it as a catastrophe. When tumult followed the publication of the Ordinances in 1830 and erupted in the July revolution in Paris, in this, she defeated the view of her Maria Amalia, who was loyal to the reigning older branch. When rumors arrived that the royalists were going to arrest Louis-Philippe, he evacuated to Raincy and the children were sent to Villers-Cotterêts, Adélaïde, however, accepted it with the argument that her brother would do anything to prevent the country he loved from anarchy. Thiers accepted the answer of Adélaïde rather than the one from Maria Amalia with the words, Madame, soon after, the Chamber of Deputies called Louis-Philippe to Paris to formally present him their offer
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Louis Philippe I
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Louis Philippe I was King of the French from 1830 to 1848 as the leader of the Orléanist party. He spent 21 years in exile after he left France in 1793 and he was proclaimed king in 1830 after his cousin Charles X was forced to abdicate in the wake of the events of the July Revolution of that year. His government, known as the July Monarchy, was dominated by members of a wealthy French elite and he followed conservative policies, especially under the influence of the French statesman François Guizot during the period 1840–48. He also promoted friendship with Britain and sponsored colonial expansion, notably the conquest of Algeria and his popularity faded as economic conditions in France deteriorated in 1847, and he was forced to abdicate after the outbreak of the French Revolution of 1848. He lived out his life in exile in Great Britain, Louis Philippe was born in the Palais Royal, the residence of the Orléans family in Paris, to Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, and Louise Marie Adélaïde de Bourbon. As a member of the reigning House of Bourbon, he was a Prince of the Blood and his mother was an extremely wealthy heiress who was descended from Louis XIV of France through a legitimized line. Louis Philippe was the eldest of three sons and a daughter, a family that was to have erratic fortunes from the beginning of the French Revolution to the Bourbon Restoration. Louis Philippes father was exiled from the court, and the Orléans confined themselves to studies of the literature. Louis Philippe was tutored by the Countess of Genlis, beginning in 1782 and she instilled in him a fondness for liberal thought, it is probably during this period that Louis Philippe picked up his slightly Voltairean brand of Catholicism. When Louis Philippes grandfather died in 1785, his father succeeded him as Duke of Orléans, from October 1788 to October 1789, the Palais Royal was a meeting-place for the revolutionaries. Louis Philippe grew up in a period that changed Europe as a whole and, following his fathers support for the Revolution. In his diary, he reports that he took the initiative to join the Jacobin Club. In June 1791, Louis Philippe got his first opportunity to become involved in the affairs of France, in 1785, he had been given the hereditary appointment of Colonel of the 14th Regiment of Dragoons. With war on the horizon in 1791, all proprietary colonels were ordered to join their regiments, Louis Philippe showed himself to be a model officer, and he demonstrated his personal bravery in two famous instances. The young colonel broke through the crowd and extricated the two priests, who then fled, at a river crossing on the same day, another crowd threatened to harm the priests. Louis Philippe put himself between a peasant armed with a carbine and the priests, saving their lives, the next day, Louis Philippe dove into a river to save a drowning local engineer. For this action, he received a crown from the local municipality. His regiment was moved north to Flanders at the end of 1791 after the Declaration of Pillnitz, Louis Philippe served under his fathers crony, the Duke of Biron, along with several officers who later gained distinction in Napoleons empire and afterwards
18.
Paris
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Paris is the capital and most populous city of France. It has an area of 105 square kilometres and a population of 2,229,621 in 2013 within its administrative limits, the agglomeration has grown well beyond the citys administrative limits. By the 17th century, Paris was one of Europes major centres of finance, commerce, fashion, science, and the arts, and it retains that position still today. The aire urbaine de Paris, a measure of area, spans most of the Île-de-France region and has a population of 12,405,426. It is therefore the second largest metropolitan area in the European Union after London, the Metropole of Grand Paris was created in 2016, combining the commune and its nearest suburbs into a single area for economic and environmental co-operation. Grand Paris covers 814 square kilometres and has a population of 7 million persons, the Paris Region had a GDP of €624 billion in 2012, accounting for 30.0 percent of the GDP of France and ranking it as one of the wealthiest regions in Europe. The city is also a rail, highway, and air-transport hub served by two international airports, Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Orly. Opened in 1900, the subway system, the Paris Métro. It is the second busiest metro system in Europe after Moscow Metro, notably, Paris Gare du Nord is the busiest railway station in the world outside of Japan, with 262 millions passengers in 2015. In 2015, Paris received 22.2 million visitors, making it one of the top tourist destinations. The association football club Paris Saint-Germain and the rugby union club Stade Français are based in Paris, the 80, 000-seat Stade de France, built for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, is located just north of Paris in the neighbouring commune of Saint-Denis. Paris hosts the annual French Open Grand Slam tennis tournament on the red clay of Roland Garros, Paris hosted the 1900 and 1924 Summer Olympics and is bidding to host the 2024 Summer Olympics. The name Paris is derived from its inhabitants, the Celtic Parisii tribe. Thus, though written the same, the name is not related to the Paris of Greek mythology. In the 1860s, the boulevards and streets of Paris were illuminated by 56,000 gas lamps, since the late 19th century, Paris has also been known as Panam in French slang. Inhabitants are known in English as Parisians and in French as Parisiens and they are also pejoratively called Parigots. The Parisii, a sub-tribe of the Celtic Senones, inhabited the Paris area from around the middle of the 3rd century BC. One of the areas major north-south trade routes crossed the Seine on the île de la Cité, this place of land and water trade routes gradually became a town
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Saint-Germain-en-Laye
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Saint-Germain-en-Laye is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the suburbs of Paris,19.1 km from the centre of Paris. Inhabitants are called Saint-Germanois or Saint-Germinois, with its elegant tree-lined streets it is one of the more affluent suburbs of Paris, combining both high-end leisure spots and exclusive residential neighborhoods. Saint-Germain-en-Laye is a sub-prefecture of the department, because it includes the National Forest of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, it covers approximately 48 km2, making it the largest commune in the Yvelines. It occupies a large loop of the Seine, Saint-Germain-en-Laye lies at one of the western termini of Line A of the RER. Saint-Germain-en-Laye was founded in 1020 when King Robert the Pious founded a convent on the site of the present Church of Saint-Germain, in 1688, James II, King of England, exiled himself to the city due to religious conflicts in his own country. He spent the remainder of his days there, and died on 16 September 1701, prior to the French Revolution in 1789, it had been a royal town and the Château de Saint-Germain the residence of numerous French monarchs. The old château was constructed in 1348 by King Charles V on the foundations of an old castle dating from 1238 in the time of Saint Louis, francis I was responsible for its subsequent restoration. In 1862, Napoleon III set up the Musée des Antiquités Nationales in the erstwhile royal château and this museum has exhibits ranging from Paleolithic to Celtic times. The Dame de Brassempouy sculpted on a mammoths ivory tusk around 23,000 years ago is the most famous exhibit in the museum, kings Henry IV and Louis XIII left their mark on the town. Louis XIV was born in the château, and established Saint-Germain-en-Laye as his residence from 1661 to 1681. Louis XIV turned over the château to James VII & II of Scotland and England after his exile from Britain after the Glorious Revolution in 1688, James lived in the Château for 13 years, and his daughter Louisa Maria Stuart was born in exile here in 1692. James II is buried in the Church of Saint-Germain, Saint-Germain-en-Laye is famous for its 2. 4-kilometre long stone terrace built by André Le Nôtre from 1669 to 1673. The terrace provides a view over the valley of the Seine and, in the distance, during the French Revolution, the name was changed along with many other places whose names held connotations of religion or royalty. During his reign, Napoleon I established his cavalry officers training school in the Château-Vieux, the Treaty of Saint-Germain was signed in 1919 and was applied on July 16,1920. The treaty officially registered the breakup of the Habsburg empire, which recognized the independence of Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, and the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, during the occupation from 1940 to 1944, the town was the headquarters of the German Army. Saint-Germain-en-Laye is served by Saint-Germain-en-Laye station on Paris RER line A and it is also served by two stations on the Transilien Paris – Saint-Lazare suburban rail line, Saint-Germain – Bel-Air – Fourqueux and Saint-Germain – Grande Ceinture. Saint-Germain-en-Laye is also served by Achères – Grand Cormier station on Paris RER line A and this station is located in the middle of the Forest of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, far away from the urbanized part of the commune
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France
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France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks
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Russia
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Russia, also officially the Russian Federation, is a country in Eurasia. The European western part of the country is more populated and urbanised than the eastern. Russias capital Moscow is one of the largest cities in the world, other urban centers include Saint Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod. Extending across the entirety of Northern Asia and much of Eastern Europe, Russia spans eleven time zones and incorporates a range of environments. It shares maritime borders with Japan by the Sea of Okhotsk, the East Slavs emerged as a recognizable group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries AD. Founded and ruled by a Varangian warrior elite and their descendants, in 988 it adopted Orthodox Christianity from the Byzantine Empire, beginning the synthesis of Byzantine and Slavic cultures that defined Russian culture for the next millennium. Rus ultimately disintegrated into a number of states, most of the Rus lands were overrun by the Mongol invasion. The Soviet Union played a role in the Allied victory in World War II. The Soviet era saw some of the most significant technological achievements of the 20th century, including the worlds first human-made satellite and the launching of the first humans in space. By the end of 1990, the Soviet Union had the second largest economy, largest standing military in the world. It is governed as a federal semi-presidential republic, the Russian economy ranks as the twelfth largest by nominal GDP and sixth largest by purchasing power parity in 2015. Russias extensive mineral and energy resources are the largest such reserves in the world, making it one of the producers of oil. The country is one of the five recognized nuclear weapons states and possesses the largest stockpile of weapons of mass destruction, Russia is a great power as well as a regional power and has been characterised as a potential superpower. The name Russia is derived from Rus, a state populated mostly by the East Slavs. However, this name became more prominent in the later history, and the country typically was called by its inhabitants Русская Земля. In order to distinguish this state from other states derived from it, it is denoted as Kievan Rus by modern historiography, an old Latin version of the name Rus was Ruthenia, mostly applied to the western and southern regions of Rus that were adjacent to Catholic Europe. The current name of the country, Россия, comes from the Byzantine Greek designation of the Kievan Rus, the standard way to refer to citizens of Russia is Russians in English and rossiyane in Russian. There are two Russian words which are translated into English as Russians
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Saint Petersburg
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Saint Petersburg is Russias second-largest city after Moscow, with five million inhabitants in 2012, and an important Russian port on the Baltic Sea. It is politically incorporated as a federal subject, situated on the Neva River, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea, it was founded by Tsar Peter the Great on May 271703. In 1914, the name was changed from Saint Petersburg to Petrograd, in 1924 to Leningrad, between 1713 and 1728 and 1732–1918, Saint Petersburg was the capital of imperial Russia. In 1918, the government bodies moved to Moscow. Saint Petersburg is one of the cities of Russia, as well as its cultural capital. The Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments constitute a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Saint Petersburg is home to The Hermitage, one of the largest art museums in the world. A large number of consulates, international corporations, banks. Swedish colonists built Nyenskans, a fortress, at the mouth of the Neva River in 1611, in a then called Ingermanland. A small town called Nyen grew up around it, Peter the Great was interested in seafaring and maritime affairs, and he intended to have Russia gain a seaport in order to be able to trade with other maritime nations. He needed a better seaport than Arkhangelsk, which was on the White Sea to the north, on May 1703121703, during the Great Northern War, Peter the Great captured Nyenskans, and soon replaced the fortress. On May 271703, closer to the estuary 5 km inland from the gulf), on Zayachy Island, he laid down the Peter and Paul Fortress, which became the first brick and stone building of the new city. The city was built by conscripted peasants from all over Russia, tens of thousands of serfs died building the city. Later, the city became the centre of the Saint Petersburg Governorate, Peter moved the capital from Moscow to Saint Petersburg in 1712,9 years before the Treaty of Nystad of 1721 ended the war, he referred to Saint Petersburg as the capital as early as 1704. During its first few years, the city developed around Trinity Square on the bank of the Neva, near the Peter. However, Saint Petersburg soon started to be built out according to a plan, by 1716 the Swiss Italian Domenico Trezzini had elaborated a project whereby the city centre would be located on Vasilyevsky Island and shaped by a rectangular grid of canals. The project was not completed, but is evident in the layout of the streets, in 1716, Peter the Great appointed French Jean-Baptiste Alexandre Le Blond as the chief architect of Saint Petersburg. In 1724 the Academy of Sciences, University and Academic Gymnasium were established in Saint Petersburg by Peter the Great, in 1725, Peter died at the age of fifty-two. His endeavours to modernize Russia had met opposition from the Russian nobility—resulting in several attempts on his life
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Tsarskoye Selo
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Tsarskoye Selo was the town containing a former Russian residence of the imperial family and visiting nobility, located 24 kilometers south from the center of Saint Petersburg. It is now part of the town of Pushkin, Tsarskoye Selo forms one of the World Heritage Site Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments. During the Soviet times it was known as Detskoye Selo, in the 17th century, the estate belonged to a Swedish noble. Its original Finnish name is translated as a higher ground. Max Vasmer, on the hand, derives this toponym from the Finnish word for island, saari. By the 18th-century at the latest, it was called Tsarskoye Selo, in 1708, Peter the Great gave the estate to his wife, the future Empress Catherine I, as a present. She founded the Blagoveschensky church there in 1724, and changed the name of the settlement to Blagoveschenskoye and it was Catherine I who started to develop the place as a royal country residence. Her daughter, Empress Elizabeth and her architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli were largely responsible for the building of the Catherine Palace, later Empress Catherine II of Russia and her architect Charles Cameron extended the palace building that is now known as the Cameron Gallery. Currently, there are two palaces, the baroque Catherine Palace with the adjacent Catherine Park and the neoclassical Alexander Palace with the adjacent Alexander Park. The landscape Alexander Park has several Chinoiserie structures, notably the Chinese Village, by the end of the 18th century, Tsarskoye Selo became a popular place of summer residence among the nobility. The guards regiments were stationed to the south of Tsarskoye Selo, the five-domed neoclassical Ascension Cathedral, designed by Cameron, is the chief monument of that area. The Royal Forestry School, perhaps the first such school in Russia, was founded in Tsarskoye Selo in 1803, it was moved to Saint Petersburg in 1811, in 1808, Sophia and Tsarskoye Selo merged and became one town. In 1811, Alexander I opened the celebrated Lyceum next door to the Catherine Palace, among the first students of the Lyceum who graduated in 1817 were Aleksandr Pushkin and Alexander Gorchakov. Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin also graduated from the Lyceum, the literary traditions of Tsarskoye Selo were continued in the 20th century by such notable poets as Anna Akhmatova and Innokenty Annensky. The town escaped the 19th century industrialization, although it was between Tsarskoye Selo and St. Petersburg that the first Russian railway was built in 1837 and it was also known for its powerful government radio station that was set up here in 1917. In the spring of 1917, Emperor Nicholas II was held under arrest in his favourite residence, the Alexander Palace. In 1918, Tsarskoye Selo was renamed by the Bolsheviks into Detskoye Selo and in 1937 it was renamed again to the town of Pushkin, thus commemorating the centenary of the poets death. On September 17,1941, the Germans occupied the town of Pushkin, destroying and plundering many historical monuments, buildings and other cultural artifacts, the Red Army liberated the town on January 24,1944
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Locomotive
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A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. A locomotive has no payload capacity of its own, and its purpose is to move the train along the tracks. In contrast, some trains have self-propelled payload-carrying vehicles and these are not normally considered locomotives, and may be referred to as multiple units, motor coaches or railcars. The use of these vehicles is increasingly common for passenger trains. Traditionally, locomotives pulled trains from the front, however, push-pull operation has become common, where the train may have a locomotive at the front, at the rear, or at each end. Prior to locomotives, the force for railroads had been generated by various lower-technology methods such as human power, horse power. The first successful locomotives were built by Cornish inventor Richard Trevithick, in 1804 his unnamed steam locomotive hauled a train along the tramway of the Penydarren ironworks, near Merthyr Tydfil in Wales. Although the locomotive hauled a train of 10 long tons of iron and 70 passengers in five wagons over nine miles, the locomotive only ran three trips before it was abandoned. Trevithick built a series of locomotives after the Penydarren experiment, including one which ran at a colliery in Tyneside in northern England, the first commercially successful steam locomotive was Matthew Murrays rack locomotive, Salamanca, built for the narrow gauge Middleton Railway in 1812. This was followed in 1813 by the Puffing Billy built by Christopher Blackett and William Hedley for the Wylam Colliery Railway, Puffing Billy is now on display in the Science Museum in London, the oldest locomotive in existence. In 1814 George Stephenson, inspired by the locomotives of Trevithick. He built the Blücher, one of the first successful flanged-wheel adhesion locomotives, Stephenson played a pivotal role in the development and widespread adoption of steam locomotives. His designs improved on the work of the pioneers, in 1825 he built the Locomotion for the Stockton and Darlington Railway, north east England, which became the first public steam railway. In 1829 he built The Rocket which was entered in and won the Rainhill Trials and this success led to Stephenson establishing his company as the pre-eminent builder of steam locomotives used on railways in the United Kingdom, the United States and much of Europe. The first inter city passenger railway, Liverpool and Manchester Railway, opened in 1830, there are a few basic reasons to isolate locomotive train power, as compared to self-propelled vehicles. Maximum utilization of power cars Separate locomotives facilitate movement of costly motive power assets as needed, flexibility Large locomotives can substitute for small locomotives when more power is required, for example, where grades are steeper. As needed, a locomotive can be used for freight duties. Obsolescence cycles Separating motive power from payload-hauling cars enables replacement without affecting the other, to illustrate, locomotives might become obsolete when their associated cars did not, and vice versa
25.
Timothy Hackworth
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Timothy Hackworth was a steam locomotive engineer who lived in Shildon, County Durham, England and was the first locomotive superintendent of the Stockton and Darlington Railway. At the end of his apprenticeship in 1807 Timothy took over his fathers position, since 1804, the mine owner, Christopher Blackett had been investigating the possibilities of working the mines short 5-mile colliery tramroad by steam traction. Blackett set up a working group including himself, William Hedley, the viewer, Timothy Hackworth, the new foreman smith and Jonathan Foster. The first step in 1808 was the relaying of the Wylam tramway with cast iron plates, in the meantime a new dilly, was put in hand and set to work in the Autumn of 1812. On the relaying, around 1830, of the Wylam line with wrought iron edge rails, the two locomotives were reverted to the 4-wheel arrangement, continuing to work until the closing of the line in 1862. What is considered to be the earlier of the two engines, now known as Puffing Billy is conserved at the Science Museum in London, furthermore, it subsequently fell to Hackworth to maintain the locomotives in running order and improve performance. He was not long in finding employment at Walbottle Colliery where he took up the same position of foreman blacksmith. Hackworth is believed to have been influential in the development of the first Stephenson locomotive intended for the Stockton and Darlington Railway during his time at the Forth Street factory. That locomotive, then named Active, now known as Locomotion No 1, was delivered to the railway just before the ceremony on 27 September 1825. This persistence resulted in his developing the first adequate locomotive adapted to the rigours of everyday road service, the outcome was the Royal George of 1827, an early 0-6-0 Locomotive, that among many new key features notably incorporated a correctly aligned steam blastpipe. Hackworth is usually acknowledged as the inventor of this concept, from 1830 onwards the blastpipe was employed by the Stephensons for their updated Rocket and all subsequent new types. Recent letters acquired by the National Railway Museum would appear to confirm Hackworth as the inventor of the device, in 1829 the Liverpool and Manchester, the worlds first Inter-City railway, was under construction. There was a potential for both passenger and goods traffic. However, all built to date, including those for the Stockton and Darlington, had been intended for slow freight. It was therefore clear that any future locomotives would have to be more versatile, to settle upon a locomotive type the directors set up a competition. The trials were held at Rainhill, and there were three serious contestants, Hackworth, with his own very limited resources, entered the 0-4-0 locomotive, Sans Pareil. This locomotive was deemed officially overweight, but nevertheless was allowed to undergo the ordeal, unfortunately faulty cylinder casting led to steam leaks and premature abandonment of the course. Stephensons Rocket was the winner as the only locomotive that stayed the course whilst fully complying with the rules
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Track gauge
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In rail transport, track gauge is the spacing of the rails on a railway track and is measured between the inner faces of the load-bearing rails. All vehicles on a network must have running gear that is compatible with the track gauge, as the dominant parameter determining interoperability, it is still frequently used as a descriptor of a route or network. There is a distinction between the gauge and actual gauge at some locality, due to divergence of track components from the nominal. Railway engineers use a device, like a caliper, to measure the actual gauge, the nominal track gauge is the distance between the inner faces of the rails. In current practice, it is specified at a distance below the rail head as the inner faces of the rail head are not necessarily vertical. In some cases in the earliest days of railways, the company saw itself as an infrastructure provider only. Colloquially the wagons might be referred to as four-foot gauge wagons, say and this nominal value does not equate to the flange spacing, as some freedom is allowed for. An infrastructure manager might specify new or replacement track components at a variation from the nominal gauge for pragmatic reasons. Track is defined in old Imperial units or in universally accepted metric units or SI units, Imperial units were established in United Kingdom by The Weights and Measures Act of 1824. In addition, there are constraints, such as the load-carrying capacity of axles. Narrow gauge railways usually cost less to build because they are lighter in construction, using smaller cars and locomotives, as well as smaller bridges, smaller tunnels. Narrow gauge is often used in mountainous terrain, where the savings in civil engineering work can be substantial. Broader gauge railways are generally expensive to build and require wider curves. There is no single perfect gauge, because different environments and economic considerations come into play, a narrow gauge is superior if ones main considerations are economy and tight curvature. For direct, unimpeded routes with high traffic, a broad gauge may be preferable, the Standard, Russian, and 46 gauges are designed to strike a reasonable balance between these factors. In addition to the general trade-off, another important factor is standardization, once a standard has been chosen, and equipment, infrastructure, and training calibrated to that standard, conversion becomes difficult and expensive. This also makes it easier to adopt an existing standard than to invent a new one and this is true of many technologies, including railroad gauges. The reduced cost, greater efficiency, and greater economic opportunity offered by the use of a common standard explains why a number of gauges predominate worldwide
27.
Cuba
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Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is a country comprising the island of Cuba as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located in the northern Caribbean where the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, and it is south of both the U. S. state of Florida and the Bahamas, west of Haiti, and north of Jamaica. Havana is the largest city and capital, other cities include Santiago de Cuba. Cuba is the largest island in the Caribbean, with an area of 109,884 square kilometres, prior to Spanish colonization in the late 15th century, Cuba was inhabited by Amerindian tribes. It remained a colony of Spain until the Spanish–American War of 1898, as a fragile republic, Cuba attempted to strengthen its democratic system, but mounting political radicalization and social strife culminated in the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista in 1952. Further unrest and instability led to Batistas ousting in January 1959 by the July 26 Movement, since 1965, the state has been governed by the Communist Party of Cuba. A point of contention during the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States, a nuclear war broke out during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. Culturally, Cuba is considered part of Latin America, Cuba is a Marxist–Leninist one-party republic, where the role of the vanguard Communist Party is enshrined in the Constitution. Independent observers have accused the Cuban government of human rights abuses. It is one of the worlds last planned economies and its economy is dominated by the exports of sugar, tobacco, coffee, according to the Human Development Index, Cuba is described as a country with high human development and is ranked the eighth highest in North America. It also ranks highly in some metrics of national performance, including health care, the name Cuba comes from the Taíno language. The exact meaning of the name is unclear but it may be translated either as where fertile land is abundant, authors who believe that Christopher Columbus was Portuguese state that Cuba was named by Columbus for the town of Cuba in the district of Beja in Portugal. Before the arrival of the Spanish, Cuba was inhabited by three distinct tribes of indigenous peoples of the Americas, the Taíno, the Guanajatabey, and the Ciboney people. The ancestors of the Ciboney migrated from the mainland of South America, the Taíno arrived from Hispanola sometime in the 3rd century A. D. When Columbus arrived they were the dominant culture in Cuba, having a population of 150,000. The name Cuba comes from the native Taíno language and it is derived from either coabana meaning great place, or from cubao meaning where fertile land is abundant. The Taíno were farmers, while the Ciboney were farmers as well as fishers and hunter-gatherers, Columbus claimed the island for the new Kingdom of Spain and named it Isla Juana after Juan, Prince of Asturias. In 1511, the first Spanish settlement was founded by Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar at Baracoa, other towns soon followed, including San Cristobal de la Habana, founded in 1515, which later became the capital
28.
Spanish Empire
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The Spanish Empire was one of the largest empires in history. The Spanish Empire became the foremost global power of its time and was the first to be called the empire on which the sun never sets, the Spanish Empire originated during the Age of Discovery after the voyages of Christopher Columbus. Following the Spanish–American War of 1898, Spain ceded its last colonies in the Caribbean and its last African colonies were granted independence or abandoned during Decolonisation of Africa finishing in 1976. The unity did not mean uniformity, nevertheless, some historians assert that Portugal was part of the Spanish monarchy at the time, while others draw a clear distinction between the Portuguese and Spanish empires. During the 15th century, Castile and Portugal became territorial and commercial rivals in the western Atlantic. The conquest was completed with the campaigns of the armies of the Crown of Castile between 1478 and 1496, when the islands of Gran Canaria, La Palma, and Tenerife were subjugated. The Portuguese tried in vain to keep secret their discovery of the Gold Coast in the Gulf of Guinea, chronicler Pulgar wrote that the fame of the treasures of Guinea spread around the ports of Andalusia in such way that everybody tried to go there. Worthless trinkets, Moorish textiles, and above all, shells from the Canary and Cape Verde islands were exchanged for gold, slaves, ivory and Guinea pepper. The Crown officially organized this trade with Guinea, every caravel had to get a government license, the treaty delimited the spheres of influence of the two countries, establishing the principle of the Mare clausum. It was confirmed in 1481 by the Pope Sixtus IV, in the papal bull Æterni regis, thus, the limitations imposed by the Alcáçovas treaty were overcome and a new and more balanced worlds division would be reached at Tordesillas between both emerging maritime powers. Seven months before the treaty of Alcaçovas, King John II of Aragon died, Ferdinand and Isabella drove the last Moorish king out of Granada in 1492 after a ten-year war. The Catholic Monarchs then negotiated with Christopher Columbus, a Genoese sailor attempting to reach Cipangu by sailing west, Castile was already engaged in a race of exploration with Portugal to reach the Far East by sea when Columbus made his bold proposal to Isabella. Columbus discoveries inaugurated the Spanish colonization of the Americas and these actions gave Spain exclusive rights to establish colonies in all of the New World from north to south, as well as the easternmost parts of Asia. The treaty of Tordesillas was confirmed by Pope Julius II in the bull Ea quae pro bono pacis on 24 January 1506, Spains expansion and colonization was driven by economic influences, a yearning to improve national prestige, and a desire to spread Catholicism into the New World. The Catholic Monarchs had developed a strategy of marriages for their children in order to isolate their long-time enemy, the Spanish princes married the heirs of Portugal, England and the House of Habsburg. Following the same strategy, the Catholic Monarchs decided to support the Catalan-Aragonese house of Naples against Charles VIII of France in the Italian Wars beginning in 1494. As King of Aragon, Ferdinand had been involved in the struggle against France and Venice for control of Italy, these conflicts became the center of Ferdinands foreign policy as king. Only a year later, Ferdinand became part of the Holy League against France and this war was less of a success than the war against Venice, and in 1516, France agreed to a truce that left Milan in its control and recognized Spanish control of Upper Navarre
29.
Havana
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Havana is the capital city, largest city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city extends mostly westward and southward from the bay, which is entered through a narrow inlet, the sluggish Almendares River traverses the city from south to north, entering the Straits of Florida a few miles west of the bay. King Philip II of Spain granted Havana the title of City in 1592, walls as well as forts were built to protect the old city. The sinking of the U. S. battleship Maine in Havanas harbor in 1898 was the cause of the Spanish–American War. Contemporary Havana can essentially be described as three cities in one, Old Havana, Vedado and the suburban districts. The city is the center of the Cuban government, and home to various ministries, headquarters of businesses, the current mayor is Marta Hernández of the Communist Party of Cuba. In 2009, the city/province had the third highest income in the country, the city attracts over a million tourists annually, the Official Census for Havana reports that in 2010 the city was visited by 1,176,627 international tourists, a 20% increase from 2005. Old Havana was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982, the city is also noted for its history, culture, architecture and monuments. As typical of Cuba, Havana also features a tropical climate, in May 2015, Havana was officially recognized as one of the New7Wonders Cities together with Vigan, Doha, La Paz, Durban, Beirut, and Kuala Lumpur. Most native settlements became the site of Spanish colonial cities retaining their original Taíno names, an alternate theory is that Habana is derived from the Middle Dutch word havene, referring to a harbour, etymologically related to the English word haven. All attempts to found a city on Cubas south coast failed, however, an early map of Cuba drawn in 1514 places the town at the mouth of this river. The town that became Havana finally originated adjacent to what was then called Puerto de Carenas, the quality of this natural bay, which now hosts Havanas harbor, warranted this change of location. Pánfilo de Narváez gave Havana – the sixth town founded by the Spanish on Cuba – its name, the name combines San Cristóbal, patron saint of Havana. Shortly after the founding of Cubas first cities, the served as little more than a base for the Conquista of other lands. Havana began as a port, and suffered regular attacks by buccaneers, pirates. The first attack and resultant burning of the city was by the French corsair Jacques de Sores in 1555, ships from all over the New World carried products first to Havana, in order to be taken by the fleet to Spain. The thousands of ships gathered in the bay also fueled Havanas agriculture and manufacture, since they had to be supplied with food, water. On December 20,1592, King Philip II of Spain granted Havana the title of City, later on, the city would be officially designated as Key to the New World and Rampart of the West Indies by the Spanish Crown
30.
Austria
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Austria, officially the Republic of Austria, is a federal republic and a landlocked country of over 8.7 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Hungary and Slovakia to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, the territory of Austria covers 83,879 km2. The terrain is mountainous, lying within the Alps, only 32% of the country is below 500 m. The majority of the population speaks local Bavarian dialects of German as their native language, other local official languages are Hungarian, Burgenland Croatian, and Slovene. The origins of modern-day Austria date back to the time of the Habsburg dynasty, from the time of the Reformation, many northern German princes, resenting the authority of the Emperor, used Protestantism as a flag of rebellion. Following Napoleons defeat, Prussia emerged as Austrias chief competitor for rule of a greater Germany, Austrias defeat by Prussia at the Battle of Königgrätz, during the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, cleared the way for Prussia to assert control over the rest of Germany. In 1867, the empire was reformed into Austria-Hungary, Austria was thus the first to go to war in the July Crisis, which would ultimately escalate into World War I. The First Austrian Republic was established in 1919, in 1938 Nazi Germany annexed Austria in the Anschluss. This lasted until the end of World War II in 1945, after which Germany was occupied by the Allies, in 1955, the Austrian State Treaty re-established Austria as a sovereign state, ending the occupation. In the same year, the Austrian Parliament created the Declaration of Neutrality which declared that the Second Austrian Republic would become permanently neutral, today, Austria is a parliamentary representative democracy comprising nine federal states. The capital and largest city, with a population exceeding 1.7 million, is Vienna, other major urban areas of Austria include Graz, Linz, Salzburg and Innsbruck. Austria is one of the richest countries in the world, with a nominal per capita GDP of $43,724, the country has developed a high standard of living and in 2014 was ranked 21st in the world for its Human Development Index. Austria has been a member of the United Nations since 1955, joined the European Union in 1995, Austria also signed the Schengen Agreement in 1995, and adopted the euro currency in 1999. The German name for Austria, Österreich, meant eastern realm in Old High German, and is cognate with the word Ostarrîchi and this word is probably a translation of Medieval Latin Marchia orientalis into a local dialect. Austria was a prefecture of Bavaria created in 976, the word Austria is a Latinisation of the German name and was first recorded in the 12th century. Accordingly, Norig would essentially mean the same as Ostarrîchi and Österreich, the Celtic name was eventually Latinised to Noricum after the Romans conquered the area that encloses most of modern-day Austria, around 15 BC. Noricum later became a Roman province in the mid-first century AD, heers hypothesis is not accepted by linguists. Settled in ancient times, the Central European land that is now Austria was occupied in pre-Roman times by various Celtic tribes, the Celtic kingdom of Noricum was later claimed by the Roman Empire and made a province
31.
Vienna
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Vienna is the capital and largest city of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austrias primary city, with a population of about 1.8 million, and its cultural, economic and it is the 7th-largest city by population within city limits in the European Union. Today, it has the second largest number of German speakers after Berlin, Vienna is host to many major international organizations, including the United Nations and OPEC. The city is located in the part of Austria and is close to the borders of the Czech Republic, Slovakia. These regions work together in a European Centrope border region, along with nearby Bratislava, Vienna forms a metropolitan region with 3 million inhabitants. In 2001, the city centre was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, apart from being regarded as the City of Music because of its musical legacy, Vienna is also said to be The City of Dreams because it was home to the worlds first psycho-analyst – Sigmund Freud. The citys roots lie in early Celtic and Roman settlements that transformed into a Medieval and Baroque city and it is well known for having played an essential role as a leading European music centre, from the great age of Viennese Classicism through the early part of the 20th century. The historic centre of Vienna is rich in architectural ensembles, including Baroque castles and gardens, Vienna is known for its high quality of life. In a 2005 study of 127 world cities, the Economist Intelligence Unit ranked the city first for the worlds most liveable cities, between 2011 and 2015, Vienna was ranked second, behind Melbourne, Australia. Monocles 2015 Quality of Life Survey ranked Vienna second on a list of the top 25 cities in the world to make a base within, the UN-Habitat has classified Vienna as being the most prosperous city in the world in 2012/2013. Vienna regularly hosts urban planning conferences and is used as a case study by urban planners. Between 2005 and 2010, Vienna was the worlds number-one destination for international congresses and it attracts over 3.7 million tourists a year. The English name Vienna is borrowed from the homonymous Italian version of the name or the French Vienne. The etymology of the name is still subject to scholarly dispute. Some claim that the name comes from Vedunia, meaning forest stream, which produced the Old High German Uuenia. A variant of this Celtic name could be preserved in the Czech and Slovak names of the city, the name of the city in Hungarian, Serbo-Croatian and Ottoman Turkish has a different, probably Slavonic origin, and originally referred to an Avar fort in the area. Slovene-speakers call the city Dunaj, which in other Central European Slavic languages means the Danube River, evidence has been found of continuous habitation since 500 BC, when the site of Vienna on the Danube River was settled by the Celts. In 15 BC, the Romans fortified the city they called Vindobona to guard the empire against Germanic tribes to the north
32.
Floridsdorf
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Floridsdorf is the 21st district of Vienna, Austria. Floridsdorf is located in the part of Vienna. The District Office and the centre of Floridsdorf are located round Am Spitz, at the junction of Prager Straße, parts of Floridsdorf were formerly villages. For example, there are Stammersdorf, Strebersdorf and Leopoldau, because of this, Floridsdorf is mostly a very rural district, with many taverns selling homegrown wine. In the north of Floridsdorf, the area is dominated by the foothills of the Bisamberg hill. While the summit of Bisamberg,358 metres, is already in Lower Austria, it is the Summit Falkenberg,320 metres, the Danube forms the southwestern border district. A part of the New Danube and a section of the Danube Island are in Floridsdorf, in Floridsdorf is also the northern part of the Old Danube. In 1992, the Marchfeld channel was put into operation, which crosses the district area, the Floridsdorf district consists of seven formerly independent communities in their entirety, Floridsdorf, Donaufeld, Großjedlersdorf, Jedlesee, Leopoldau, Stammersdorf, and Strebersdorf. It also contains portions of two others, the eponymous district part Floridsdorf is also the smallest in area. The largest part is Stammersdorf, in the north of the district, Stammersdorf borders Strebersdorf and Großjedlersdorf, consisting of the two Katastralgemeinden Großjedlersdorf I and II. To the east, on the border of the 22nd district, are Leopoldau, Jedlesee in the west is composed of Jedlesee and Schwarze Lackenau. In addition to those full sub-districts, Floridsdorf also contains parts of Kagran and Kaisermühlen. The district is broken down into 28 census districts. The district of Autokader takes its name from the largest auto plant of the Habsburg monarchy, Gaswerk Leopoldau refers to the city gas works, the first settlements, in this area, were already there in the New Stone Age. Stone hatchets and pot remains found, from time, indicate that there were hunters who first settled in this area. In the area of Leopoldau, weapons were made of bronze, several items are in the District Museum. Around 500 BC, Celts came in the territory of present-day Floridsdorf and it has long been the territory of no-mans-land, a buffer zone between the Romans and Germans, and there were also repeated battles between the two peoples. After the end of Roman rule, it drew Longobards, Avars, the Avars were later defeated by Carlomagno, turning Bayern into the country from the Magyars to be distributed
33.
Deutsch-Wagram
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Deutsch-Wagram is a town in Austria, in the Gänserndorf District of the federal state of Lower Austria. It is situated in the Marchfeld basin close to the Vienna city limits, the settlement was probably established in the Bavarian March of Austria by colonists in the course of the Ostsiedlung. Wagram was first mentioned in a 1258 tithe register, drawn up when King Ottokar II of Bohemia ruled over the Austrian duchy and it was named after a now silted up meander of the Danube river, where the waves crushed against the shore. In 1560 it received the prefix Deutsch- to differ it from Kroatisch-Wagram, in 1580 the population turned Protestant but was forcefully converted in the Counter-Reformation under the Habsburg emperor Ferdinand II shortly afterwards. Deutsch-Wagram was the location of the 1809 Battle of Wagram fought between invading French troops under Napoleon and an Austrian army led by Archduke Charles, the population rose after the area was connected with the Austrian capital by the opening of the Emperor Ferdinand Northern Railway in 1837. The former village was elevated to the status of a town in 1929. The firearm company Glock was founded here in 1963
34.
Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works
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Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works was a 19th-century manufacturer of railroad steam locomotives based in Paterson, in Passaic County, New Jersey, in the United States. It built more than six thousand steam locomotives for railroads around the world, most railroads in 19th-century United States rostered at least one Rogers-built locomotive. The companys most famous product was a locomotive named The General, built in December 1855, the company was founded by Thomas Rogers in an 1832 partnership with Morris Ketchum and Jasper Grosvenor as Rogers, Ketchum and Grosvenor. Rogers remained president until his death in 1856 when his son, Jacob S. Rogers, took the position and reorganized the company as Rogers Locomotive, the younger Rogers led the company until he retired in 1893. Robert S. Hughes then became president and reorganized the company as Rogers Locomotive Company, Rogers avoided the American Locomotive Company merger in 1901 through closing and reopening as Rogers Locomotive Works. The company remained independent until 1905, when ALCO purchased it, ALCO used the Rogers facilities through the 1920s as a parts storage facility and warehouse, but eventually sold the property to private investors. The firm that was to become Rogers Locomotive Works began in 1831, Thomas Rogers had been designing and building machinery for textile manufacturing for nearly 20 years when he sold his interest in Godwin, Rogers & Company in June of that year. Rogers set out on his own with a new company called Jefferson Works in Paterson, the Jefferson Works built textile and agricultural machinery for a year before Rogers met the two men who would help transform the company into a major locomotive manufacturer. In 1832, Rogers partnered with two investors from New York City, Morris Ketchum and Jasper Grosvenor, Jefferson Works was renamed Rogers, Ketchum & Grosvenor, and the company began to diversify into the railroad industry. The company soon manufactured springs, axles and other parts for railroad use. The first locomotive that Rogers company assembled was built by Robert Stephenson. This locomotive was the McNeil for the Paterson and Hudson River Railroad and it took another two years before Rogers received its first order for a complete locomotive. In 1837, the Mad River and Lake Erie Railroad ordered two locomotives from Rogers to form the beginning of the railroads roster. The first of two locomotives was the Sandusky, which became the first locomotive to cross the Allegheny Mountains. Sandusky included features designed by Thomas Rogers that had not been seen in construction to date. Before Sanduskys construction, driving wheels were built with wooden spokes. Some accounts also state that Sandusky was the first locomotive to feature a whistle, Rogers was not working completely alone in American locomotive manufacturing. In 1837, in addition to building the companys first locomotive, Rogers also filled orders from fellow locomotive builders Matthias W. Baldwin, once Rogers started working on his own locomotives, however, no further orders from either Baldwin or Norris were forthcoming
35.
Steam locomotive
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A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its pulling power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning combustible material—usually coal, wood, the steam moves reciprocating pistons which are mechanically connected to the locomotives main wheels. Both fuel and water supplies are carried with the locomotive, either on the locomotive itself or in wagons pulled behind, the first steam locomotive, made by Richard Trevithick, first operated on 21 February 1804, three years after the road locomotive he made in 1801. The first practical steam locomotive was built in 1812-13 by John Blenkinsop, Steam locomotives were first developed in Great Britain during the early 19th century and used for railway transport until the middle of the 20th century. From the early 1900s they were superseded by electric and diesel locomotives, with full conversions to electric. The majority of locomotives were retired from regular service by the 1980s, though several continue to run on tourist. The earliest railways employed horses to draw carts along railway tracks, in 1784, William Murdoch, a Scottish inventor, built a small-scale prototype of a steam road locomotive. An early working model of a rail locomotive was designed and constructed by steamboat pioneer John Fitch in the US during 1794. His steam locomotive used interior bladed wheels guided by rails or tracks, the model still exists at the Ohio Historical Society Museum in Columbus. The authenticity and date of this locomotive is disputed by some experts, accompanied by Andrew Vivian, it ran with mixed success. The design incorporated a number of important innovations that included using high-pressure steam which reduced the weight of the engine, Trevithick visited the Newcastle area in 1804 and had a ready audience of colliery owners and engineers. The visit was so successful that the railways in north-east England became the leading centre for experimentation. Trevithick continued his own steam propulsion experiments through another trio of locomotives, Four years later, the successful twin-cylinder locomotive Salamanca by Matthew Murray for the edge railed rack and pinion Middleton Railway debuted in 1812. Another well known early locomotive was Puffing Billy built 1813–14 by engineer William Hedley and it was intended to work on the Wylam Colliery near Newcastle upon Tyne. This locomotive is the oldest preserved, and is on display in the Science Museum. George Stephenson built Locomotion No.1 for the Stockton and Darlington Railway, north-east England, in 1829, his son Robert built in Newcastle The Rocket which was entered in and won the Rainhill Trials. This success led to the company emerging as the pre-eminent builder of locomotives used on railways in the UK, US. The Liverpool and Manchester Railway opened a year later making exclusive use of power for passenger
36.
Electric locomotive
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An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or on-board energy storage such as a battery or fuel cell. Electricity is used to smoke and take advantage of the high efficiency of electric motors. One advantage of electrification is the lack of pollution from the locomotives, electrification results in higher performance, lower maintenance costs and lower energy costs. Power plants, even if they burn fossil fuels, are far cleaner than mobile sources such as locomotive engines, the power can come from clean or renewable sources, including geothermal power, hydroelectric power, nuclear power, solar power and wind turbines. Electric locomotives are quiet compared to locomotives since there is no engine and exhaust noise. The lack of reciprocating parts means electric locomotives are easier on the track, Electric locomotives are ideal for commuter rail service with frequent stops. They are used on high-speed lines, such as ICE in Germany, Acela in the U. S. Shinkansen in Japan, China Railway High-speed in China, Electric locomotives are used on freight routes with consistently high traffic volumes, or in areas with advanced rail networks. Electric locomotives benefit from the efficiency of electric motors, often above 90%. Additional efficiency can be gained from regenerative braking, which allows energy to be recovered during braking to put power back on the line. Newer electric locomotives use AC motor-inverter drive systems provide for regenerative braking. The chief disadvantage of electrification is the cost for infrastructure, overhead lines or third rail, substations, public policy in the U. S. interferes with electrification, higher property taxes are imposed on privately owned rail facilities if they are electrified. In Europe and elsewhere, railway networks are considered part of the transport infrastructure, just like roads, highways and waterways. Operators of the rolling stock pay fees according to rail use and this makes possible the large investments required for the technically and, in the long-term, also economically advantageous electrification. Because railroad infrastructure is owned in the U. S. railroads are unwilling to make the necessary investments for electrification. The first known electric locomotive was built in 1837 by chemist Robert Davidson of Aberdeen and it was powered by galvanic cells. Davidson later built a locomotive named Galvani, exhibited at the Royal Scottish Society of Arts Exhibition in 1841. The seven-ton vehicle had two direct-drive reluctance motors, with fixed electromagnets acting on iron bars attached to a cylinder on each axle. It hauled a load of six tons at four miles per hour for a distance of one and it was tested on the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway in September of the following year, but the limited power from batteries prevented its general use
37.
J. P. Morgan
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John Pierpont J. P. Morgan was an American financier and banker who dominated corporate finance and industrial consolidation in late 19th and early 20th Century United States. In 1892, Morgan arranged the merger of Edison General Electric and he was instrumental in the creation of the United States Steel Corporation, International Harvester and AT&T. He directed the banking coalition that stopped the Panic of 1907 and he was the leading financier of the Progressive Era, and his dedication to efficiency and modernization helped transform American business. Morgan has been described as America’s greatest banker, Morgan died in Rome, Italy, in his sleep in 1913 at the age of 75, leaving his fortune and business to his son, John Pierpont Morgan, Jr. His fortune was estimated at only US$80 million, prompting John D. Rockefeller to say, Morgan was born into the influential Morgan family in Hartford, Connecticut, and was raised there. He was the son of Junius Spencer Morgan and Juliet Pierpont, Pierpont, as he preferred to be known, had a varied education due in part to the plans of his father. In the fall of 1848, Pierpont transferred to the Hartford Public School and then to the Episcopal Academy in Cheshire, Connecticut, boarding with the principal. In September 1851, Morgan passed the exam for The English High School of Boston. In the spring of 1852, an illness struck which was to more common as his life progressed. Rheumatic fever left him in so much pain that he could not walk and he convalesced there for almost a year, then returned to the English High School in Boston to resume his studies. After he graduated, his father sent him to Bellerive, a school near the Swiss village of Vevey and his father then sent him to the University of Göttingen in order to improve his German. He attained a level of German within six months and also a degree in art history, then traveled back to London via Wiesbaden. Morgan went into banking in 1857 at the London branch of merchant banking firm Peabody, in 1858, he moved to New York City to join the banking house of Duncan, Sherman & Company, the American representatives of George Peabody and Company. Morgan had avoided serving during the war by paying a substitute $300 to take his place, from 1860 to 1864, as J. Pierpont Morgan & Company, he acted as agent in New York for his fathers firm, renamed J. S. Morgan & Co. upon Peabodys retirement in 1864, from 1864–72, he was a member of the firm of Dabney, Morgan, and Company. In 1871, he partnered with the Drexels of Philadelphia to form the New York firm of Drexel, at that time, Anthony J. Drexel became Pierponts mentor at the request of Junius Morgan. After the death of Anthony Drexel, the firm was rechristened J. P. Morgan & Company in 1895, retaining close ties with Drexel & Company of Philadelphia, Morgan, Harjes & Company of Paris, and J. S. By 1900, it was one of the most powerful banking houses of the world, Morgan had many partners over the years, such as George W. Perkins, but always remained firmly in charge
38.
U.S. Steel
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The United States Steel Corporation, more commonly known as U. S. Steel, is an American integrated steel producer with major production operations in the United States, Canada, and Central Europe. The company was the worlds 15th largest steel producer in 2014, at one time, U. S. Steel was the largest steel producer and largest corporation in the world. It was capitalized at $1.4 billion, making it the worlds first billion-dollar corporation, the company headquarters was established in 1901 in the Empire Building, purchased from the estate of Orlando B. Potter for $5 million. In 1907 it bought its largest competitor, the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company and this led to Tennessee Coals being replaced in the Dow Jones Industrial Average by the General Electric Company. The federal government attempted to use federal antitrust laws to break up U. S. Steel in 1911, in its first full year of operation, U. S. Steel made 67 percent of all the steel produced in the United States. One hundred years later, its shipments accounted for only about 8 percent of domestic consumption, the Corporation, as it was known on Wall Street, always distinguished itself to investors by virtue of its size, rather than for its efficiency or creativeness during its heyday. In 1901, it controlled two-thirds of steel production, because of heavy debts taken on at the companys formation — Carnegie insisted on being paid in gold bonds for his stake — and fears of antitrust litigation, U. S. Steel moved cautiously. Competitors often innovated faster, especially Bethlehem Steel, run by U. S, Steels former first president, Charles M. Schwab. Steels share of the expanding market slipped to 50 percent by 1911, james A. Farrell was named president in 1911 and served until 1932. U. S. Steel ranked 16th among United States corporations in the value of World War II production contracts, production peaked at more than 35 million tons in 1953. Its employment was greatest in 1943 when it had more than 340,000 employees, by 2000, however, the federal government has also intervened on other occasions to try to control U. S. Steel. President Harry S. Truman attempted to take over its steel mills in 1952 to resolve a crisis with its union, the United Steelworkers of America. The Supreme Court blocked the takeover by ruling that the president did not have the authority to seize the mills (see Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer. President John F. Kennedy was more successful in 1962 when he pressured the industry into reversing price increases that Kennedy considered dangerously inflationary. In the early days of the Reagan Administration, steel firms won substantial tax breaks in order to deal with imported goods, instead of modernizing their mills, steel companies shifted capital out of steel and into more profitable areas. In March 1982, U. S. Steel took its concessions and paid $1.4 billion in cash and $4.7 billion in loans for Marathon Oil, saving approximately $500 million in taxes through the merger. The architect of tax concessions to steel firms, Senator Arlen Specter, complained that we go out on a limb in Congress, the incident is the subject of a song by folk singer Anne Feeney. U. S. Steel finally acquired National Steels assets in 2003 after National Steel went bankrupt, as part of its diversification plan U. S. Steel acquired Marathon Oil on January 7,1982, as well as Texas Oil and Gas several years later
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William Barstow Strong
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William Barstow Strong served as president of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway from 1881 to 1889. He is often referred to as either William B and he was born in Brownington, Vermont on May 16,1837. Strong graduated from Bells Business College in Chicago, Illinois, in 1855 and his first railroad job was as a station agent for the Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad, a position that was introduced to him by his older brother James. He married Abbie J. Moore, October 2,1859, in Beloit and they had three children, a girl and two boys. In this position, Strong was succeeded by Henry Brockholst Ledyard in 1876 and he returned to the CB&Q after working on the Michigan Central and then joined the management team of the Santa Fe as General Manager, and was promoted to Vice President within a month. On July 12,1881, he succeeded T. Jefferson Coolidge as president of the Atchison, Topeka, under his tenure, the ATSF expanded to about 7,000 miles of right-of-way, which at the time made the ATSF the largest railroad in North America. He held the presidency until his retirement in 1889, William Barstow Strong was the name of an observation car owned by the ATSF and operated in business trains in the latter part of the 20th century. Strong was included in a list of names that traveled aboard NASAs Stardust spacecraft which visited the comet Wild 2 in 2004, list of railroad executives ATSF #89 - William Barstow Strong — photos and technical details of the observation car named in Strongs honor
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Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
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The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, often abbreviated as Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. Chartered in February 1859, the reached the Kansas-Colorado border in 1873 and Pueblo, Colorado. To create a demand for its services, the set up real estate offices. Despite the name, its main line never served Santa Fe, New Mexico, as the terrain was too difficult, the Santa Fe was a pioneer in intermodal freight transport, an enterprise that included a tugboat fleet and an airline. Its bus line extended passenger transportation to areas not accessible by rail, the AT&SF was the subject of a popular song, Harry Warren & Johnny Mercers On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe, written for the film, The Harvey Girls. The railroad officially ceased operations on December 31,1996, when it merged with the Burlington Northern Railroad to form the Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway. The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway was chartered on February 11,1859, to join Atchison and Topeka, Kansas, with Santa Fe, in its early years, the railroad opened Kansas to settlement. Much of its revenue came from wheat grown there and from cattle driven north from Texas to Wichita, rather than turn its survey southward at Dodge City, AT&SF headed southwest over Raton Pass because of coal deposits near Trinidad, Colorado and Raton, New Mexico. D&RG paid an estimated $1.4 million to Santa Fe for its work within the Gorge and agreed not to extend its line to Santa Fe, while Santa Fe agreed to forego its planned routes to Denver and Leadville. Building across Kansas and eastern Colorado was simple, with few natural obstacles and it set up real estate offices in the area and promoted settlement across Kansas on the land that was granted to it by Congress in 1863. It offered discounted fares to anyone who traveled west to land, if the land was purchased. AT&SF reached Albuquerque in 1880, Santa Fe, the destination of the railroad, found itself on a short branch from Lamy. In March 1881 AT&SF connected with the Southern Pacific at Deming, New Mexico, the railroad then built southwest from Benson, Arizona, to Nogales on the Mexican border where it connected with the Sonora Railway, which the AT&SF had built north from the Mexican port of Guaymas. The Atlantic & Pacific Railroad was chartered in 1866 to build west from Springfield, Missouri, the infant A&P had no rail connections. The line that was to become the St. Louis–San Francisco Railway would not reach Springfield for another four years, A&P started construction in 1868, built southwest into what would become Oklahoma, and promptly entered receivership. In 1879 A&P struck a deal with the Santa Fe and Frisco railroads to construct a line for each. The railroads would jointly build and own the A&P railroad west of Albuquerque, in 1883 A&P reached Needles, California, where it connected with an SP line. A&P also built a line between Tulsa, Oklahoma and St. Louis, Missouri for the Frisco, but the Tulsa-Albuquerque portion remained unbuilt, by January 1890, the entire system consisted of some 7,500 miles of track
