1.
Burnley Bus Company
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Transdev Burnley & Pendle is a bus operator running services in the boroughs of Burnley and Pendle, and into the surrounding areas including Accrington, Keighley and Manchester. It is a subsidiary of the Transdev Blazefield, the Burnley, Colne & Nelson Joint Transport Committee was established in 1933 to merge the three municipal tramway and bus operations of those towns. The tramway network was progressively being abandoned with the last closing in May 1935, to comply with the Transport Act 1985, in 1986 the assets were transferred to a new legal entity and the operation rebranded Burnley & Pendle Transport Company. Deregulation opened Burnley & Pendles routes to competition from operators, with Blackburn Transport, Tyrer Tours. To stave off the competition five AEC Routemasters were purchased with each named after a character from the television series EastEnders, deregulation also saw many Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive services contracted out. Burnley & Pendle successfully tendered a number of routes with their sphere of operation extending to Blackburn, Bury, Manchester, Preston, Rawtenstall, Rochdale, in April 1996 Pendle Council sold its share to Stagecoach North West. Burnley Council was livid, and stated strongly it would never sell its share, Stagecoach put up a multi-million pound investment plan for Burnley and Pendle, but Burnley Council could not meet its share unless it cut other council services. In March 1997 it reversed its policy and sold out to Stagecoach, initially branded Stagecoach Burnley & Pendle in May 2000 it was incorporated into the Stagecoach Ribble business. In 1997 Stagecoach purchased 10 Volvo B10Ms and 10 Volvo Olympians to upgrade the run down fleet, in April 2001 Stagecoach sold its East Lancashire operations to the Blazefield Travel. Soon after the business was split in two, what had been Burnley & Pendle once again became Burnley & Pendle while the former Ribble Motor Services became Lancashire United. Before the sale many of the buses were transferred to other Stagecoach subsidiaries being replaced by Dennis Javelins, Leyland Atlanteans. Blazefield Travel purchased 15 Volvo B7TLs and 25 Volvo B10BLEs to commence a fleet renewal program, in January 2006 Burnley & Pendle was included in the sale of Blazefield Travel to Transdev. Burnley & Pendle was rebranded as Transdev in Burnley & Pendle, in January 2007 Blackburn Transport was purchased followed in August 2007 by Accrington Transport and Northern Blue of Burnley with 65 buses. In September 2009 Transdev Northern Blue was integrated into Transdev Burnley & Pendle, as at October 2013 Transdev in Burnley & Pendle operate 31 routes. The company operates bus services towards Accrington, Bury, Clitheroe, Colne, Keighley, Manchester, Nelson, Padiham, connections to Preston are available from Burnley & Pendles sister company, Lancashire United, on service 152. In 2004 the company introduced the high quality route The Witch Way, since Blazefields acquisition of Blackburn Transport, Northern Blue and Accrington Transport, some routes formerly run by these companies have been taken over by Burnley & Pendle Travel. These include several Blackburn Transport school services and all of Northern Blues operations, as at October 2013 the fleet consists of 97 buses. Burnley & Pendles buses were painted in a red and cream livery although can now be seen in a wide variety of liveries
2.
Plaxton Pointer
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The Plaxton Pointer is a single-decker bus body manufactured during the 1990s by Plaxton and latterly built by Alexander Dennis. With the launch of the Dennis Dart in 1989, Plaxtons subsidiary Reeve Burgess made the Pointer body on the short 8.5 m chassis. Launched in 1991, at 2.3 m wide, this proved popular with many operators, the modular nature of both chassis and body meant for various permutations in length, with 8.5 m,9.0 m and 9.8 m variants being manufactured. The Pointer became the most successful midibus body, the Pointer was also available with Volvo B6 chassis. This redesigned Pointer bodywork was built on the Volvo B6LE, one for the UK. The low floor Plaxton Pointer 1 and the Plaxton Pointer 2 have a rounded dome with a double-curvature windscreen. Not long after, the received an all-new lower front end design, and alterations to the rest of the body - the Pointer 2 was born. This was also available in a range of lengths to suit individual needs -9.3 m,10.1 m,10.7 m,11.3 m Super Pointer Dart, and after 3 years of production, the 8.8 m Mini Pointer Dart. The 11.3 m Super Pointer Dart is considered as a full-sized single-decker bus, in 1998, the Mayflower Group, owner of Alexander Coachbuilders, took over Dennis. The future of the Pointer at that time appeared uncertain as it was thought the Dart may be solely bodied by Alexander. As a result, Plaxton built two Pointer bodies on the Volvo B6BLE chassis known as Bus 2000, but the project was scrapped when Mayflower also purchased Plaxton, forming TransBus International. Certain design features of the scrapped Bus 2000 project have since used on other designs. With the collapse of TransBus in 2004 and subsequent restructuring by the administrators, Plaxton, as Pointer production had been transferred to the former Alexander plant at Falkirk, it became an Alexander Dennis product. Plaxton, once again an independent company, signalled its return to the bus market by developing the Centro on VDL, in August 2006 Alexander Dennis launched the Enviro200 Dart as a replacement for the Pointer Dart. Alexander Dennis Henlys Group PLC List of buses Plaxton Media related to Plaxton Pointer at Wikimedia Commons Alexander Dennis Pointer product website - Web archive
3.
Arriva North West and Wales
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Arriva North West and Wales was a division of Arriva that operated bus services around North West England and Wales. It was made up several previous bus operators including North Western, most of MTL North, the Bee Line Buzz Company. In January 2009, the Welsh depots were separated into a new division named Arriva Buses Wales, from Autumn 1997, Cowie Group plc was renamed Arriva plc and like Stagecoach and FirstGroup a consistent corporate image was introduced for its many and different bus operations. Outside of London this was a livery of aquamarine with a Cotswold stone swoop, Arriva branding. For the former North Western operation this strap-line was serving the North West, in Spring 1998 Arriva decided to give an Arriva identity to the many companies which comprised Arriva Passenger Services and as a consequence North Western Road Car Co. Ltd became Arriva North West Ltd with the associated Bee Line and Liverline operations becoming Arriva Manchester Ltd, apart from the adoption of the Arriva corporate identity, not too much was different between Arriva North West and North Western as the 1990s drew to a close. In late Summer 1998, Arriva North West became responsible for the management of the bus station at the new Trafford Centre shopping mall, on 18 February 2000 Arriva plc acquired Merseysides largest bus operator MTL Trust Holdings Ltd. As a consequence of Arrivas acquisition of MTL, the management of the Arriva North West depot at Winsford was transferred to Arriva Midlands North Ltd. Arrivas acquisition of MTL significantly increased its presence within Merseysides bus market with the effect that Aintree based CMT Buses remained its only meaningful competitor. This concerned the Competition Commission who ordered Arriva North West to sell one of its depots in order to avoid a public inquiry over its purchase of MTL, Gillmoss depot in north Liverpool was the depot chosen to be sold, although its sale became a rather protracted affair. In early 2001 the Go-Ahead Group plc seemed ready to purchase Gillmoss, however, at the 11th hour, this deal broke down and instead Go Ahead acquired Arriva Croydon & North Surrey Ltd merging it into its established Metrobus operation. Arriva North West put a proposal to the Competition Commission for substantial investment in Gillmoss if the Commission withdrew its stipulation that Arriva had to sell the depot, however the Competition Commission did not accept this proposal and a buyer for Gillmoss had to be found. Gillmoss was eventually purchased on 15 July 2001 by two former MTL managers - Dominic Brady and Ian Campbell who formed Glenvale Transport Limited, furthermore, the Competition Commission stipulated Arriva North West couldnt compete with GTLs core service network in North Liverpool and Kirkby for three years. GTL began expanding its service network against Arriva North West and in June 2003 acquired CMT Buses, further strengthening its position in Liverpool, by 2004 the Competition Commission ban against Arriva North West competing with GTL was over and gradually copycat services were introduced on most of GTLs routes. GTL, £7m in debt and with a bus fleet, was taken over on 11 July 2005 by the Stagecoach Group who renamed it Stagecoach Merseyside. Arriva North West became responsible for the management of Arriva Cymru Ltd from 25 February 2002, and to reflect this, some of the operations of KMP of Llanberis were acquired by Arriva in August 2008 and merged with Arriva Cymru. This removed competition along the route between Llandudno and Bangor, the rest of KMP was acquired by independent Padarn Bus in April 2009. From 1 January 2009, the Wales operations were split from Arriva North West, from 23 July 2011, Skelmersdale Depot was closed down, losing 19 jobs
4.
Dennis Specialist Vehicles
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Dennis Specialist Vehicles Limited was a major British manufacturer of specialised commercial vehicles based in Guildford, England. The company was best known as the manufacturer of engines, although its other major product lines were buses, dustcarts. They made their first motor vehicle in 1898, and in 1899, their first car, though shown at the National Cycle Show and they entered car production around 1900. Larger models followed with a 35 hp model in 1906 powered by a White and Poppe engine, commercial vehicle activity was increasing with the first bus being made in 1903 and fire engine in 1908. Cars soon took place and it is doubtful if any were made after about 1915. In 1913 Dennis Brothers moved to a new larger building of almost four acres on a twelve acre site at Woodbridge on the outskirts of Guildford leaving Onslow Street solely for repairs. The rate of expansion of the business may be gauged from the expansions at Woodbridge in 1907,1910. In mid-1913 an offer of shares to the made the business owner a public listed company. At that time the business was described as manufacturers of motor-vans, motor-lorries, motor-fire-engines, wartime production was reduced to military lorries for the War Office and the Dennis turbine fire engine. New buildings were added to contain the manufacture of munitions, White and Poppe in Coventry has always supplied engines for Dennis Brothers motor vehicles. It had been under consideration from before the war and it was announced in April 1919 that Dennis Brothers and White, the fact being to give Dennis Brothers a controlling interest in the other company. Mr White and Mr Poppe joined the Dennis Brothers board. the Karnataka Fire and Emergency Services owns a pumper that was built by Dennis Brothers and delivered to the erstwhile Kingdom of Mysore in 1925 from England. In 1972 the company was acquired by Hestair Group and renamed Hestair Dennis after a few years of financial difficulties and it was sold to Trinity Holdings in 1989 and then to Mayflower Corporation in October 1998. Dennis Bus - manufacturer of buses and other transport vehicles Dennis Eagle - manufacturer of dustcarts/refuse lorries. This company also incorporated the remains of the Eagle Engineering and Shelvoke, Dennis Group plc also owned Duple Metsec, the bus bodywork builder which usually supplied body kits for assembly overseas. Mayflower Corporation sold Dennis Eagle in July 1999 and purchased by Ros Roca in 2006, Dennis Bus and Dennis Fire were incorporated into Transbus International in 2001. Dennis fire engines were noted, from the outset, for their use of a pump or turbine as a water pump. This was more complex to build than the piston pumps
5.
Alexander Dennis
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Alexander Dennis is a British bus building company based in Scotland. In early 2016, Alexander Dennis had a 44% market share in the United Kingdom, as at April 2014, Brian Souter and Ann Gloag collectively held a 55% shareholding. Alexander Dennis was formed as TransBus International on 1 January 2001, TransBus International produced a range of both bus and coach chassis and bodies as well as fire engines. Included among its range of chassis were the Dennis Dart, one of the all-time best-selling buses in the UK, TransBus also produced export variants for service in Hong Kong, New York City and other locations. The Dennis Trident is the most common bus model in service in London, on 31 March 2004, TransBus International was put into administration. On 17 May 2004, the Plaxton coach business was sold in a management buyout, TransBus had been in the process of eradicating the traditional company names from the vehicles. On 21 May 2004, the part of TransBus was bought by a consortium of merchant bank Noble Grossart and businessmen David Murray. The new company was named Alexander Dennis, the sale did not include the former Alexander Belfast plant, which closed. On 26 January 2005, Alexander Dennis Wigan plant closed, after completing outstanding orders of its President body, Alexander Dennis secured a number of major orders from UK operators. In 2006 the company unveiled two new models, the Enviro400 double-decker and Enviro200 Dart midibus, in May 2007, Alexander Dennis purchased Plaxton, thus reuniting the two former TransBus businesses. In May 2012, New Flyer Industries and Alexander Dennis announced a new joint-venture to design, New Flyer will handle production and marketing, and Alexander Dennis will handle the engineering and testing. On 7 June 2012, Alexander Dennis acquired Australian bodybuilder Custom Coaches, however, in May 2014, Custom Coaches was placed into administration. In August 2014, Custom Coaches was sold to its former management, the bodywork on a majority of the chassis are built by a neighbouring company, John Dennis Coachbuilders Limited
6.
Thomas Built Buses
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Thomas Built Buses, Inc. is an American bus manufacturer. Headquartered in High Point, North Carolina, the company is a subsidiary of Daimler Trucks North America, while best known for its yellow school buses, Thomas also produces, activity buses/MFSAB, commercial buses, and bus bodies for aftermarket conversion. Thomas bus bodies are produced in two facilities in High Point, North Carolina, Thomas also produces the chassis for its Saf-T-Liner/Transit Liner EFX, the oldest surviving bus manufacturer in North America, Thomas Built Buses was founded in 1916. Trained as a woodworker and engineer, Perley A. Thomas had become unemployed as Southern Car Company had closed its doors, the company was a streetcar manufacturer based in High Point, North Carolina. As the city was a center of manufacturing, many workers found jobs in furniture production, Thomas initially founded a company specializing in fireplace mantles. In the summer of 1916, Thomas Car Works was founded as Perley Thomas began work in modification of existing streetcars in a car barn in High Point. With a $6,000 loan, Thomas purchased the equipment of Southern Car Works at auction, in 1918, the company began production of new streetcars,25 were produced, leading the company to build its own factory in High Point. Shortly after the company opened, all-steel streetcar bodies joined production of wooden bodies, in 1921, the company received its largest order ever, as NOPSI placed an order for 150 streetcars, to be delivered from 1921 to 1924. As Thomas was unable to fill the order on its own, in September 1922, after 25 streetcars were delivered, the High Point factory was destroyed by fire. To keep Thomas Car Works afloat, Perley Thomas secured $100,000 from NOPSI, allowing him to parts to build 55 more streetcars. By 1928, a batch of 25 streetcars was delivered. In the United States following World War II, the role of streetcars was largely superseded by transit buses, in New Orleans, over 90 years after the construction of the first Perley Thomas 900-series street cars,35 remain in service in active daily use in public transportation. In 1930, Thomas Car Works would receive its final order for streetcars, producing 4 for Mobile, although rail-based streetcars offered higher passenger capacity, automotive-based transit buses became more popular as they offered a greater degree of flexibility in route design. In the early 1930s, the company struggled, with most of its business consisting of automotive refinishing and construction of bus, the recession of the time had hit Thomas Car Works hard, with the company decreased in size from 125 employees to nearly 10. Eventually, a creditor would file for receivership, with its survival largely based on the lack of potential buyers. As the decade progressed, to secure its future, Thomas Car Works transitioned mass-transit production away from streetcars. In 1933, the company produced its first trolley bus, while still electric-powered from overhead wires, a trolley bus was bodied the same as a standard automotive-design bus. Moving further away from streetcars, Thomas Car Works produced 10 transit buses for Duke Power of South Carolina, in 1936, Thomas produced its first school bus
7.
High-floor
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A rail vehicle of high-floor design usually has a flat floor between 76 cm and 137 cm above the top of the railhead. For reasons of accessibility, an attempt is made to standardize the height, high platforms do have significant advantages beyond wheelchair accessibility. Mobility-impaired passengers also benefit, as do travelers pulling wheeled luggage or small folding shopping carts, even fully able-bodied passengers can board a railcar more rapidly if they do not have to climb stairs to enter, reducing dwell time at a stop, and reducing overall travel time. In addition, high-platform railcars have more space for passengers if space is not required for stairways. Tourist coaches generally have high floors, sometimes above 1 meter. Since boarding must be allowed directly from ground, long. Today, in Germany, all rapid transit railways, most commuter trains, a notable exception is the city railway in Cologne, in the mid-1990s, it was decided to divide that citys partially high platform network into two separate networks, high-floor and low-floor. In each of these cities, a new light rail line is equipped with platforms for low-floor trams. This form of design and construction will avoid the need for subsequent rebuilding of stops on tram routes, even though both cities already have underground lines with high-floor platforms
8.
Low-floor bus
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A low-floor bus is a bus or trolleybus that has no steps between one or more entrances, and low floor for part or all of the passenger cabin. Buses with partial low floor may also refer as low-entry bus in some locations, Low floor refers to a bus deck that is accessible from sidewalk with only a single step within a small height difference, caused solely by the difference between the bus deck and sidewalk. This is to distinguished from high-floor, a bus deck design that requires climbing one step or more steps to access the interior floor that is placed at a higher height. Being low-floor improves the accessibility of the bus for the public, particularly the elderly and people with disabilities, in North America, both types are commonly called low-floor, as the majority of the vehicle has a low floor, without steps at the doors. Some manufacturers use the initials LF or L in their model designations for fully low-floor models, in some countries, LE, short for Low Entry, is used by some manufacturers in their model designations for low-entry buses. Some full low-floor buses also have a rear axle, while the rear axle is not an issue on a low-entry bus. Many low-floor buses, including the Irisbus Citelis, has the engine in a cabinet at the rear of the bus. Van Hool have a series of side-engine mid-drive buses that puts the engine off to one side of the cabin longitudinally between the first and the axle, to maximize usable cabin space. The same concept was also utilized by Volvo on their B9S articulated chassis, for smaller buses, such as midibuses, the low-floor capability is achieved by placing the front wheels ahead of the entrance. Accessibility was previously achieved in paratransit type applications, which use small vehicles with the fitment of special lifts, the inception of small low-floor buses has allowed the development of several accessible demand-responsive transport schemes using standard off-the-shelf buses. A disadvantage of the low floor is accommodating the buss own wheels, with the low floor, the wheels protrude into the passenger cabin, and need to be contained in wheel pockets of waist height, and this occupies space which would otherwise be used for seating. Seating layout for a low-floor bus therefore requires careful design, Low-floor buses usually include an area without seating next to at least one of the doors, where wheelchairs, walkers, perambulators, and where allowed even bicycles, can be parked. This is sometimes not the purpose of this area, though. Despite the space existing, operators may also insist that one or two wheelchairs or pushchairs can be accommodated unfolded, due to space/safety concerns. Depending on how close to the curb the bus is parked and wheelchair design, many vehicles are also equipped with wheel-chair lifts, or ramps which, when combined with a low floor, can provide a nearly level entry. An interesting implementation of the low floor design exists in Australia and these buses combine a smaller low floor area with a small underfloor bin for some luggage. Whilst these buses do not provide an amount of luggage space. These buses also lack the ability to have a center door, many bus rapid transit systems employ a level boarding by using high-floor buses stopping at station style bus stops
9.
Engine
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An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one form of energy into mechanical energy. Heat engines burn a fuel to heat, which is then used to create a force. Electric motors convert electrical energy into motion, pneumatic motors use compressed air. In biological systems, molecular motors, like myosins in muscles, use energy to create forces. The word engine derives from Old French engin, from the Latin ingenium–the root of the word ingenious. Pre-industrial weapons of war, such as catapults, trebuchets and battering rams, were called siege engines, the word gin, as in cotton gin, is short for engine. Most mechanical devices invented during the revolution were described as engines—the steam engine being a notable example. However, the steam engines, such as those by Thomas Savery, were not mechanical engines. In this manner, an engine in its original form was merely a water pump. Devices converting heat energy into motion are commonly referred to simply as engines, examples of engines which exert a torque include the familiar automobile gasoline and diesel engines, as well as turboshafts. Examples of engines which produce thrust include turbofans and rockets, the term motor derives from the Latin verb moto which means to set in motion, or maintain motion. Thus a motor is a device that imparts motion, motor and engine later came to be used largely interchangeably in casual discourse. However, technically, the two words have different meanings, however, rocketry uses the term rocket motor, even though they consume fuel. A heat engine may also serve as a prime mover—a component that transforms the flow or changes in pressure of a fluid into mechanical energy. An automobile powered by a combustion engine may make use of various motors and pumps. Another way of looking at it is that a motor receives power from an external source, simple machines, such as the club and oar, are prehistoric. More complex engines using human power, animal power, water power, wind power and these were used in cranes and aboard ships in Ancient Greece, as well as in mines, water pumps and siege engines in Ancient Rome. The writers of those times, including Vitruvius, Frontinus and Pliny the Elder, treat these engines as commonplace, by the 1st century AD, cattle and horses were used in mills, driving machines similar to those powered by humans in earlier times
10.
Cummins B Series engine
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The Cummins B Series is a family of American straight-four and straight-6 diesel truck and industrial piston engines that are manufactured by Cummins. The B Series is known for the popular 3.9 liters straight-four and 5.9 liters straight-six motors, straight-fours displacing 3.3 liters and 4.5 liters are also available. The B Series is widely used in segments, including pickup trucks, buses, military vehicles, construction equipment. Some of the construction and marine applications use a dual installation, the engine was originally designed by Cummins and Case Corporation for commercial truck applications, and gained much of its popularity after appearing in the Dodge Ram, in 1989. The B-series features engine bores machined directly into the block and it was also set apart by the use of a shallow one-piece head, requiring closer tolerances than in other Cummins products. The engine was first manufactured in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, and other plants were added in Mexico, Turkey. Every Cummins powered Dodge Pickup has come equipped with a turbocharger and it uses a gear-drive camshaft for extra reliability. Also specified is an engine block and extra-strong connecting rods. The original B Series was updated with 24 valves and an engine management system to become the ISB in 1998. The 3. 9L/4BT Cummins is an engine in the family as the 5.9 liters Cummins turbodiesels. The 3. 9L/4B is an inline four-cylinder turbodiesel that was popular for many step van applications, including bread vans and it has also gained popularity as an engine swap into smaller trucks. The lowest powered 4B produces 55 hp, the 5.9 liters 6BT, aka the Cummins 12-valve was the first member of the B engine family to be used in a light truck vehicle. The 6BT used Robert Bosch GmbH fuel systems, injector, and VE rotary pump, some early 6BTs were supplied with CAV rotary pumps instead, before the Bosch system became the sole standard. This engine started life in 1984 designed as an agricultural engine, after 1989, the 6BT engine was used in light duty, medium duty and select heavy duty trucks and buses. During that time, the Dodge Ram was the only diesel pickup that did not rely on glowplugs for cold weather starting. The 5.9 liters ISB is one of the largest straight-six engines used for light vehicles. One unusual feature of the ISB is that it is a pushrod engine design. The engine displaces 5,883 cubic centimetres, with a 102.0 millimetres cylinder bore and 120.0 millimetres piston stroke, a turbocharger is used to increase the output in the high-compression diesel
11.
Transmission (mechanics)
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A transmission is a machine in a power transmission system, which provides controlled application of the power. Often the term refers simply to the gearbox that uses gears and gear trains to provide speed. In British English, the term refers to the whole drivetrain, including clutch, gearbox, prop shaft, differential. In American English, however, the term more specifically to the gearbox alone. The most common use is in vehicles, where the transmission adapts the output of the internal combustion engine to the drive wheels. Such engines need to operate at a high rotational speed, which is inappropriate for starting, stopping. The transmission reduces the engine speed to the slower wheel speed. Transmissions are also used on bicycles, fixed machines. Often, a transmission has multiple gear ratios with the ability to switch between them as speed varies and this switching may be done manually or automatically. Directional control may also be provided, single-ratio transmissions also exist, which simply change the speed and torque of motor output. The output of the transmission is transmitted via the driveshaft to one or more differentials, while a differential may also provide gear reduction, its primary purpose is to permit the wheels at either end of an axle to rotate at different speeds as it changes the direction of rotation. Conventional gear/belt transmissions are not the mechanism for speed/torque adaptation. Alternative mechanisms include torque converters and power transformation, automatic transmissions use a valve body to shift gears using fluid pressures in conjunction with an ecm. Early transmissions included the right-angle drives and other gearing in windmills, horse-powered devices, and steam engines, in support of pumping, milling, most modern gearboxes are used to increase torque while reducing the speed of a prime mover output shaft. This means that the shaft of a gearbox rotates at a slower rate than the input shaft. A gearbox can be set up to do the opposite and provide an increase in speed with a reduction of torque. Some of the simplest gearboxes merely change the rotational direction of power transmission. Many typical automobile transmissions include the ability to select one of several gear ratios, in this case, most of the gear ratios are used to slow down the output speed of the engine and increase torque
12.
Allison Transmission
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Allison Transmission is an American manufacturer of commercial duty automatic transmissions and hybrid propulsion systems. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, Allison Transmission has regional offices all over the world and manufacturing facilities in Indianapolis, Indiana, Chennai, India, Allison began in 1909 when James A. Allison, along with three business partners, helped found and build the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In 1911, Allison’s new track held the first Indianapolis 500 mile race, in addition to funding several race teams, Jim Allison established his own racing team in 1915 and quickly gained a reputation for his work on race cars and automotive technology in general. After the war, Allison entered a car in the 1919 Indy 500 and it was the last race Allison’s team ever entered as he turned his company’s attention to aviation engineering. The company’s expertise in aviation was the factor in General Motors decision to buy the company following Jim Allison’s death in 1928. Shortly after the sale to General Motors in 1929, Allison engineers began work on a 12-cylinder engine to replace the aging Liberty engines. The result was the V1710 12-cylinder aircraft engine and it made the company, now known as the Allison Engine Company, a major force in aviation. Toward the end of World War II, General Motors formed Allison Transmission to put the engineers’ expertise to work in a new field — power transmissions for tracked military vehicles, the new division developed a transmission combining range change, steering and braking. After WWII, Allison Transmission turned its attention to civilian transportation, Allison designed, developed and manufactured the first-ever automatic transmissions for heavy-duty vehicles including delivery trucks, city buses, and locomotives. S. Army main battle tank is unveiled in Washington, D. C.6 billion, the transaction closed on August 7,2007. October 27,2013 Allison 10-speed TC10 transmission available for order at Navistar Current revenues were at $1.985 Billion a decrease from 2014, through 2011, it intends to introduce 16 hybrid models. In 2008, the number of GM-Allison hybrid buses are more than 2,700 units in 81 cities in the U. S, canada and Europe.4 million US gallons of fuel annually in Washington D. C
13.
Eaton Corporation
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Eaton Corporation Plc is a multinational power management company with 2016 sales of $19.7 billion, founded in the United States with corporate headquarters in Dublin, Ireland. Eaton has approximately 95,000 employees and sells products to customers in more than 175 countries, in 1911, Joseph O. Eaton, brother-in-law Henning O. Taube and Viggo V. Torbensen, incorporated the Torbensen Gear and Axle Co. in Bloomfield, New Jersey. With financial backing from Torbensens mother, the company was set to manufacture Torbensens patented internal-gear truck axle, in 1914, the company moved to Cleveland, Ohio, to be closer to its core business, the automotive industry. The Torbensen Axle Company was incorporated in Ohio in 1916, succeeding the New Jersey corporation, a year later, Republic Motor Truck Company, Torbensens largest customer bought out the company. But Eaton and Torbensen were not content and bowed out of Republic to form the Eaton Axle Company in 1919, a year later, in 1920, Eaton Axle Company merged with Standard Parts. Standard Parts went in later the same year and was later liquidated. In 1923, Eaton bought the Torbensen Axle Co. back from Republic and changed the name to the Eaton Axle, Eaton officers believed the quickest way to grow the business was through acquisitions and began buying companies in the automotive industry. By 1932, the company changed its name to Eaton Manufacturing Company. In 1937, Eaton became international by opening a plant in Canada. In 1958 Eaton Corporation acquired Fuller Manufacturing, the company name changed once again in 1965 to Eaton Yale & Towne Inc. after the acquisition of Yale & Towne Manufacturing Co. in 1963. Stockholders approved the change to the current name in 1971. In 1978, Eaton Corporation acquired Samuel Moore & Company, Kenway Systems, products include circuit breakers, switchgear, UPS systems, power distribution units, panelboards, loadcenters, motor controls, meters, sensors, relays and inverters. Eaton is a manufacturer of systems and components for use in mobile, markets include agriculture, construction, mining, forestry, utility, material handling, machine tools, molding, power generation, primary metals, and oil and gas. The Hydraulics group also includes Eatons Filtration, Golf Grip and Airflex industrial clutch, for the aerospace industry, Eaton manufactures and markets a line of systems and components for hydraulic, fuel, motion control, pneumatic systems and engine solutions. The Vehicle Group comprises the companys truck and automotive segments, the truck segment is involved in the design, manufacture and marketing of powertrain systems and other components for commercial vehicle markets. Key products include manual and automated transmissions, clutches and hybrid power, Eaton Electrical purchased the Westinghouse Distribution and Controls Business Unit in 1994 which was also one of Eatons largest acquisitions. Today, Eaton Electrical manufactures electrical distribution and control products branded Eaton or Cutler-Hammer which can replace Westinghouse products in commercial and industrial applications, Eaton spun off its semiconductor manufacturing equipment business as Axcelis Technologies in 2000. In 2003, Eatons Electrical Distribution and Control business acquired the division of Delta plc
14.
Voith
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The Voith Corporate Group is led by the Voith GmbH headquarters in Heidenheim, located in the German State of Baden-Württemberg. The Voith GmbH has around 39,302 employees worldwide, with 14,434 working in Germany, for the 2013/14 business year, the consolidated group had revenues of €5.34 billion, profits of €41 million and a new order volume of €5.58 billion. The Voith GmbH began as a small workshop in the former Kingdom of Württemberg. In 1825, Johann Matthäus Voith took over this workshop from his father Johannes, which employed five craftsmen, the same site used by the original workshop is now the home of the Voith GmbH Headquarters. In the mid-19th century, Johann Matthäus Voith began developing machinery for spinning mills, in 1848, he began working with the Heidenheim paper producer Heinrich Voelter, with the common goal of mass-producing paper. At that time, series production of paper had failed due to the lack of rag-fiber which was used as the raw material, wood however, being a plentiful renewable resource, was seen as an alternative. The very first patent for producing paper from wood pulp was awarded to Heinrich Voelter, Johann Matthäus Voith studied that patent, and then dramatically improved Keller’s design. As a result, the first Raffineur was born in 1859 – a machine that significantly refined raw wood pulp, in 1867, Johann Matthäus Voith transferred control of the company to his son Friedrich, which had 30 employees. In that same year, Friedrich Voith officially registered the company in the local trading register for the first time under the name, in 1869, Voith received his first patent for a wood grinder. In 1881, Voith delivered the first complete paper-making machine to Raithelhuber, Bezner & Cie in Gemmrigheim, Voiths invention had opened an entirely new market, and a surge in new orders helped his company to rapidly expand. By the mid-1890s, Voith machines were available for stage of the paper-making process. During the same timeframe, Voith began working on turbines, by 1879, the first Voith turbine regulator had been built, based on the designs from Adolf Pfarr, and it proved to be a decisive step for the generation of electricity through the force of water. By 1890, Voith had even begun deliveries of a high-pressure open-jet turbine, and in the same year, Friedrich Voith was named by King Karl I of Württemberg to join his council of commercial advisors in recognition of his successful business achievements. At the companys 25th anniversary in 1892,330 people were employed by Voith, the first Voith subsidiary, located in St. In 1911, Voith built the fastest and widest machine of its time for reel-fed printing papers, at its plant in St. Pölten, Austria. Shortly thereafter in 1913, Friedrich Voith died, and left behind a company with 3,000 employees, after World War I, the three brothers decided to expand the company and to concentrate on drive technologies. By 1922, Voith had begun building transmission gear assemblies, based on its fluid-dynamics know-how gained from previous turbine projects and this turned out to be yet another breakthrough, which was achieved with the aid of Hermann Föttinger, and his research on hydrodynamic energy transfers. In that same year, the first Kaplan turbine was produced by Voith, by 1929, the first Voith hydrodynamic couplings based on the Föttinger Principle were in use at the Herdecke pumped-storage hydropower station
15.
Dennis Domino
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The Dennis Domino was a step-entrance midibus chassis manufactured by Dennis Bus in Guildford, England in 1984 and 1985. It was in essence, a scaled down version of the Dennis Dominator. Developed for intensive urban work, the Domino was fitted with Perkins T6.354.4 turbocharged engine, Maxwell automatic transmission, front radiator, full air suspension and it can be regarded as a predecessor of the successful Dennis Dart. It was only sold to two customers, Greater Manchester Transport and South Yorkshire Transport, the Dominos for Greater Manchester Transport were bodied by Northern Counties, and South Yorkshire Transports by Optare. Nothing was at that time readily available that would meet the PTEs requirements, the engine was mounted transversely and vertically as in the Dominator, but was a 130 bhp 5. 7-litre Perkins T6. The radiator was smaller but like most Dominator derivatives mounted at the front, Greater Manchester PTE were unique among bus operators of the time in having a wholly owned coachbuilder, the Northern Counties Motor & Engineering Company. Also GMPTE were unique outside London in having an in-house design-consultant in Ken Mortimer who had styled the Manchester Corporation Mancunian bus in the 1960s, the 20 GMPTE Dominos with Ken Mortimer-designed Northern Counties bodies entered service in late 1985. These fourteen buses were marginally longer than the GMPTE buses at 7. 8m, the first of the GMPTE Dominos was exhibited at the Bus and Coach Councils show at the Earls Court Exhibition Centre in 1985 and is now preserved by the Selnec Preservation Society. One of the SYPTE batch adorns the scenery at the Alton Towers Nemesis, c41/46 HDT have been in storage for some time and have now passed to the owner of 53,41 will be restored as new nipper and restoration starts early 2017. 46 is to be used as a source of spares to keep 41/53 on the road, the rest of the 30 other Dominos have been scrapped. Media related to Dennis Domino at Wikimedia Commons Flickr gallery
16.
Alexander Dennis Enviro200
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The Alexander Dennis Enviro200 is a midibus manufactured by TransBus International and later Alexander Dennis since 2003. It was supposed to be positioned in between a minibus and a rigid single-decker bus, the Enviro200 was originally designed to be the replacement for the Dennis Dart SLF chassis and Alexander ALX200 and Plaxton Pointer 2 bodies. In 2014, a third version of the Enviro200 was launched, known as the Enviro200 MMC. A license-built version of the Enviro200 is built and marketed in North America by New Flyer Industries, the first generation Enviro200, then known as the TransBus Enviro200, was unveiled at Coach & Bus 2003 by the vehicles then-manufacturer, TransBus International. Two diesel trial buses were produced for display in 2003. The vehicle also incorporated an Enviro Pack, intended to vent exhaust emissions, noise and heat away from ground level and thus alighting passengers. The innovative design meant that the Enviro200 could hold up to 25% more passengers than a vehicle of equivalent dimensions, with a capacity of 77, as a result, it was the VDL SB120-based Wright Electrocity hybrid electric single-decker bus that was ordered instead by many operators. Following the collapse of TransBus, the Enviro200 was rebranded as the Alexander Dennis Enviro200 by Alexander Dennis, only two more first generation Enviro200s were built following the collapse of TransBus, one diesel and one hybrid vehicle, delivered to Far East Travel of Ipswich in early 2007. This pair, and the original London demonstrator, have passed to Buses Excetera of Guildford. The first generation Enviro200 was offered alongside the second generation Enviro200 Dart for a time, the Dart was soon dropped from the name, however. The Enviro200 body replaced the Plaxton Pointer and Alexander ALX200 and it also offered the same seating capacity of the Pointer at launch, but with more fixed seats rather than tip up seats for each length. The vehicle also featured integrated chassis and body multiplexing, and cantilevered seats, externally, the bus features the same front panel as the double-deck Enviro400, projecting a family look onto the two models. The Enviro200 chassis was soon made available with Optare Esteem and MCV Evolution bodywork. This gave prospective operators the option of EGR emissions reduction for the Enviro200, in 2009, the second generation Enviro200 received a facelift in order to allow the type to comply with European Community Whole Vehicle Type Approval regulations. With the introduction of the third generation Enviro200 MMC, the second generation Enviro200 was retired in 2015, Alexander Dennis unveiled the third generation Enviro200, also known as the Enviro200 MMC, at the Birmingham Euro Bus Exhibition in November 2014. The first Enviro200 MMC entered service with National Express West Midlands in May 2015, following the successful trial of two integral BYD electric buses in London since 2014, Go-Ahead London announced that they would be ordering 51 e-buses with Enviro200 MMC body in July 2015. It would be the first time ADL have bodied a BYD product, in May 2012 Canadian bus manufacturer New Flyer introduced a license-built version of the second generation Enviro200 as the New Flyer MiDi, suitably modified for the North American market. New Flyer estimated the size of the market for a bus at approximately 1,000 buses per annum
17.
Rear-engine design
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In automobile design, a rear-engine design layout places the engine at the rear of the vehicle. The center of gravity of the engine itself is past the rear axle and this is not to be confused with the center of gravity of the whole vehicle, as an imbalance of such proportions would make it impossible to keep the front wheels on the ground. Rear-engined cars are almost always rear wheel drive, a known as RR. The exception is certain high performance four wheel drive models from the German automaker Porsche. This layout is chosen for three reasons - packaging, traction, and ease of manufacture, Since the engine is located at an extremity, having the engine located over the driven wheels increases downward pressure, which is helpful for grip on loose surfaces. The drivetrain can be assembled as a unit and installed easily at the factory - easier than a front wheel drive layout where the wheels also steer the car. For this reason rear engine has been abandoned as an option for regular passenger cars. Although this layout was popular, it was mainly found in small, inexpensive cars. The most popular current application of this layout is in low-floor buses where its space-saving attributes are best applied. On the DeLorean DMC-12, to compensate for the weight distribution caused by the rear-mounted engine
18.
Midibus
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Midibuses are often designed to be lightweight to save on diesel fuel, making them not as durable as heavier full size buses. Some midibuses, such as the Scania OmniTown, are heavier, in some places such as Hong Kong, some bus routes have to be served by midibuses due to the winding roads along such routes. The term midibus is not in use in the United States, such smaller. For example, Muni in San Francisco operates both 30-foot and 40-foot versions of the Orion VII transit bus to serve routes that include some of the steeper and curvier hills, in charter / tour roles, there is indeed a gap between the minibus and the touring coach. Several shuttle bus companies such as Goshen Coaches and Crystal have manufactured rear-engined vehicles that have 30–35 seats and they are usually lumped together with their smaller minibus brethren and called minibus, or shuttle bus. The only other alternative was to import a short version of European touring coaches, known often as coaches, around 30 feet long. In the 2000s, some manufacturers introduced mid-sized bus models based on truck frames
19.
Guildford
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Guildford /ˈɡɪlfərd/ is a large town in Surrey, England, located 27 miles southwest of central London on the A3 trunk road midway between the capital and Portsmouth. It is the seat of the borough of Guildford, on the building of the Wey Navigation and Basingstoke Canal Guildford was connected to a network of waterways that aided its prosperity. In the 20th century, the University of Surrey and Guildford Cathedral, in Sir Thomas Malorys 1485 fictional series Le Morte dArthur, Guildford is identified with Astolat of Arthurian renown, however only rural Celtic Bronze Age pieces have been found in the town. Continuing the Arthurian connection, there is a public house. Some of the tiles built into Guildford Castle may be Roman, and it is proven by archaeology and contemporary accounts that Guildford was established as a small town by Saxon settlers shortly after Roman authority had been removed from Britain. The settlement was most likely expanded because of the Harrow Way crosses the River Wey by a ford at this point, alfred the Great, the first Anglo-Saxon king of unified England, named the town in his will. Guildford was the location of the Royal Mint from 978 until part-way through the reign of William the Conqueror, Guildford Castle is of Norman design, although there are no documents about its earliest years. Guildford appears in Domesday Book of 1086 as Geldeford and Gildeford, the King officially held the 75 hagae in which lived 175 homagers and the town rendered £32. Stoke, a suburb within todays Guildford, appears in the Book as Stoch and was held by William. Its Domesday assets were,1 church,2 mills worth 5s,16 ploughlands with two Lords plough teams and 20 mens plough teams,16 acres of meadow, and woodland worth 40 hogs. Stoke was listed as being in the Kings park, with a rendering of £15, William the Conqueror had the castle built in the classic Norman style, the castle keep still stands. A major purpose of Norman castle building was to overawe the conquered population and it had £26 spent on it in 1173 under the regency of the young Henry II. As the threat of invasion and insurrection declined, the status was demoted to that of a royal hunting lodge, Guildford was, at that time. It was visited on occasions by King John, Eleanor of Aquitaine. In 1611 the castle was granted to Francis Carter whose grandsons initials EC, the surviving parts of the castle were restored in Victorian times and again in 2004, the rest of the grounds became a public garden. In 1995, a chamber was discovered in the High Street, while this remains a matter of contention, it is likely to be the oldest remaining synagogue in Western Europe. Guildford elected two members of the Unreformed House of Commons, from the 14th century to the 18th century the borough corporation prospered with the wool trade. In the 14th century the Guildhall was constructed and still today as a noticeable landmark of Guildford
20.
United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
21.
North America
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North America is a continent entirely within the Northern Hemisphere and almost all within the Western Hemisphere. It can also be considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the west and south by the Pacific Ocean, and to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea. North America covers an area of about 24,709,000 square kilometers, about 16. 5% of the land area. North America is the third largest continent by area, following Asia and Africa, and the fourth by population after Asia, Africa, and Europe. In 2013, its population was estimated at nearly 565 million people in 23 independent states, or about 7. 5% of the worlds population, North America was reached by its first human populations during the last glacial period, via crossing the Bering land bridge. The so-called Paleo-Indian period is taken to have lasted until about 10,000 years ago, the Classic stage spans roughly the 6th to 13th centuries. The Pre-Columbian era ended with the migrations and the arrival of European settlers during the Age of Discovery. Present-day cultural and ethnic patterns reflect different kind of interactions between European colonists, indigenous peoples, African slaves and their descendants, European influences are strongest in the northern parts of the continent while indigenous and African influences are relatively stronger in the south. Because of the history of colonialism, most North Americans speak English, Spanish or French, the Americas are usually accepted as having been named after the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci by the German cartographers Martin Waldseemüller and Matthias Ringmann. Vespucci, who explored South America between 1497 and 1502, was the first European to suggest that the Americas were not the East Indies, but a different landmass previously unknown by Europeans. In 1507, Waldseemüller produced a map, in which he placed the word America on the continent of South America. He explained the rationale for the name in the accompanying book Cosmographiae Introductio, for Waldseemüller, no one should object to the naming of the land after its discoverer. He used the Latinized version of Vespuccis name, but in its feminine form America, following the examples of Europa, Asia and Africa. Later, other mapmakers extended the name America to the continent, In 1538. Some argue that the convention is to use the surname for naming discoveries except in the case of royalty, a minutely explored belief that has been advanced is that America was named for a Spanish sailor bearing the ancient Visigothic name of Amairick. Another is that the name is rooted in a Native American language, the term North America maintains various definitions in accordance with location and context. In Canadian English, North America may be used to refer to the United States, alternatively, usage sometimes includes Greenland and Mexico, as well as offshore islands
22.
Australia
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Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It is the worlds sixth-largest country by total area, the neighbouring countries are Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and East Timor to the north, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to the north-east, and New Zealand to the south-east. Australias capital is Canberra, and its largest urban area is Sydney, for about 50,000 years before the first British settlement in the late 18th century, Australia was inhabited by indigenous Australians, who spoke languages classifiable into roughly 250 groups. The population grew steadily in subsequent decades, and by the 1850s most of the continent had been explored, on 1 January 1901, the six colonies federated, forming the Commonwealth of Australia. Australia has since maintained a liberal democratic political system that functions as a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy comprising six states. The population of 24 million is highly urbanised and heavily concentrated on the eastern seaboard, Australia has the worlds 13th-largest economy and ninth-highest per capita income. With the second-highest human development index globally, the country highly in quality of life, health, education, economic freedom. The name Australia is derived from the Latin Terra Australis a name used for putative lands in the southern hemisphere since ancient times, the Dutch adjectival form Australische was used in a Dutch book in Batavia in 1638, to refer to the newly discovered lands to the south. On 12 December 1817, Macquarie recommended to the Colonial Office that it be formally adopted, in 1824, the Admiralty agreed that the continent should be known officially as Australia. The first official published use of the term Australia came with the 1830 publication of The Australia Directory and these first inhabitants may have been ancestors of modern Indigenous Australians. The Torres Strait Islanders, ethnically Melanesian, were originally horticulturists, the northern coasts and waters of Australia were visited sporadically by fishermen from Maritime Southeast Asia. The first recorded European sighting of the Australian mainland, and the first recorded European landfall on the Australian continent, are attributed to the Dutch. The first ship and crew to chart the Australian coast and meet with Aboriginal people was the Duyfken captained by Dutch navigator, Willem Janszoon. He sighted the coast of Cape York Peninsula in early 1606, the Dutch charted the whole of the western and northern coastlines and named the island continent New Holland during the 17th century, but made no attempt at settlement. William Dampier, an English explorer and privateer, landed on the north-west coast of New Holland in 1688, in 1770, James Cook sailed along and mapped the east coast, which he named New South Wales and claimed for Great Britain. The first settlement led to the foundation of Sydney, and the exploration, a British settlement was established in Van Diemens Land, now known as Tasmania, in 1803, and it became a separate colony in 1825. The United Kingdom formally claimed the part of Western Australia in 1828. Separate colonies were carved from parts of New South Wales, South Australia in 1836, Victoria in 1851, the Northern Territory was founded in 1911 when it was excised from South Australia
23.
Hong Kong
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Hong Kong, officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the Peoples Republic of China, is an autonomous territory on the Pearl River Delta of East Asia. Macau lies across the delta to the west, and the Chinese province of Guangdong borders the territory to the north. With a total area of 1,106 square kilometres. Hong Kong was later occupied by Japan during World War II until British control resumed in 1945, under the principle of one country, two systems, Hong Kong maintains a separate political and economic system from China. Except in military defence and foreign affairs, Hong Kong maintains its independent executive, legislative, in addition, Hong Kong develops relations directly with foreign states and international organisations in a broad range of appropriate fields. Hong Kong is one of the worlds most significant financial centres, with the highest Financial Development Index score and consistently ranks as the worlds most competitive and freest economic entity. As the worlds 8th largest trading entity, its legal tender, Hong Kongs tertiary sector dominated economy is characterised by simple taxation with a competitive level of corporate tax and supported by its independent judiciary system. However, while Hong Kong has one of the highest per capita incomes in the world and it has a very high Human Development Index ranking and the worlds longest life expectancy. Over 90% of the population use of well-developed public transportation. Seasonal air pollution with origins from neighbouring areas of Mainland China. Hong Kong was officially recorded in the 1842 Treaty of Nanking to encompass the entirety of the island, before 1842, the name referred to a small inlet—now Aberdeen Harbour, literally means Little Hong Kong)—between Aberdeen Island and the southern coast of Hong Kong Island. Aberdeen was a point of contact between British sailors and local fishermen. Detailed and accurate romanisation systems for Cantonese were available and in use at the time, fragrance may refer to the sweet taste of the harbours fresh water estuarine influx of the Pearl River or to the incense from factories lining the coast of northern Kowloon. The incense was stored near Aberdeen Harbour for export before Hong Kong developed Victoria Harbour, the name had often been written as the single word Hongkong until the government adopted the current form in 1926. Nevertheless, a number of century-old institutions still retain the form, such as the Hongkong Post, Hongkong Electric. As of 1997, its name is the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the Peoples Republic of China. This is the title as mentioned in the Hong Kong Basic Law. Hong Kong has carried many nicknames, the most famous among those is the Pearl of the Orient, which reflected the impressive nightscape of the citys light decorations on the skyscrapers along both sides of the Victoria Harbour
24.
Singapore
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Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, sometimes referred to as the Lion City or the Little Red Dot, is a sovereign city-state in Southeast Asia. It lies one degree north of the equator, at the tip of peninsular Malaysia. Singapores territory consists of one island along with 62 other islets. Since independence, extensive land reclamation has increased its size by 23%. During the Second World War, Singapore was occupied by Japan, after early years of turbulence, and despite lacking natural resources and a hinterland, the nation developed rapidly as an Asian Tiger economy, based on external trade and its workforce. Singapore is a global commerce, finance and transport hub, the country has also been identified as a tax haven. Singapore ranks 5th internationally and first in Asia on the UN Human Development Index and it is ranked highly in education, healthcare, life expectancy, quality of life, personal safety, and housing, but does not fare well on the Democracy index. Although income inequality is high, 90% of homes are owner-occupied, 38% of Singapores 5.6 million residents are permanent residents and other foreign nationals. There are four languages on the island, Malay, Mandarin, Tamil. English is its language, most Singaporeans are bilingual. Singapore is a multiparty parliamentary republic, with a Westminster system of unicameral parliamentary government. The Peoples Action Party has won every election since self-government in 1959, however, it is unlikely that lions ever lived on the island, Sang Nila Utama, the Srivijayan prince said to have founded and named the island Singapura, perhaps saw a Malayan tiger. There are however other suggestions for the origin of the name, the central island has also been called Pulau Ujong as far back as the third century CE, literally island at the end in Malay. In 1299, according to the Malay Annals, the Kingdom of Singapura was founded on the island by Sang Nila Utama and these Indianized Kingdoms, a term coined by George Cœdès were characterized by surprising resilience, political integrity and administrative stability. In 1613, Portuguese raiders burned down the settlement, which by then was part of the Johor Sultanate. The wider maritime region and much trade was under Dutch control for the following period, in 1824 the entire island, as well as the Temenggong, became a British possession after a further treaty with the Sultan. In 1826, Singapore became part of the Straits Settlements, under the jurisdiction of British India, prior to Raffles arrival, there were only about a thousand people living on the island, mostly indigenous Malays along with a handful of Chinese. By 1860 the population had swelled to over 80,000, many of these early immigrants came to work on the pepper and gambier plantations
25.
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
26.
Alexander ALX200
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The Alexander ALX200 was a single-decker bus body built by Alexander of the United Kingdom. It was created for low-floor bus chassis produced from the late 1990s and it was launched in summer 1996 as a low floor replacement of the Alexander Dash. It was supposed to fill in the gap between the ALX100 minibus and the ALX300 full-size single-decker, as compared to the Dash, the ALX200 has a more rounded appearance. The body was built on Dennis Dart SLF and Volvo B6LE. It was given a front end refresh during 2001. It sold quite well, and buyers included Stagecoach, FirstGroup, Arriva and Newport, citybus of Hong Kong purchased ten ALX200-bodied Volvo B6LE buses in 1997. Also, a number of ALX200-bodied Dennis Dart SLF had been exported to the Netherlands, a number were built by Thomas Built Buses, under license for use in the United States. List of buses Media related to Alexander ALX200 at Wikimedia Commons
27.
Stagecoach South
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Stagecoach South is a bus operator providing services in South East England. It is a subsidiary of Stagecoach and it operates services in Hampshire, Surrey and Sussex with some routes extending into Berkshire and Wiltshire. As at April 2013 it operates 473 buses from seven depots and it is branded as three sub-divisions, Stagecoach in Hampshire, Stagecoach in Hants & Surrey and Stagecoach in the South Downs. Stagecoach in Hampshire operates from depots in Andover, Basingstoke and Winchester and it also formerly operated services in Fleet under the Fleet Buzz name. Stagecoach in Hants & Surrey operates from a depot in Aldershot, the company operates a number of routes across Hampshire, serving Aldershot, Camberley, Farnborough, Godalming and Guildford. Many of the routes are branded, with route number vinyls, or with names such as Yo-Yo. On 9 February 2009 route 1 was upgraded to Goldline status with new vehicles, route 2 lost its service name of The Marbles in 2008/9. Due to Hampshire County Council cuts in October 2011, routes 2 and 3 lost some of their services on Monday-Friday. Route 18 also lost a handful of evening services, route 41 Ash to Farnborough was taken over by Countryliner. In September 2012 Surrey County Councils bus review phase 3 saw route 92 renumbered to 72 to fit with routes 70 and 71, the contract for route 46 was lost to Countryliner. Countryliner ceased trading on 18 January 2013 with Stagecoach operating route 41 for one week before it passed to sister company Fleet Buzz, Stagecoach in the South Downs, operates from depots in Chichester, Portsmouth and Worthing. In August 1989 Stagecoach purchased Southdown Motor Services and it had previously been owned by the National Bus Company until sold in a management buy out. Services in Portsmouth are operated under the Stagecoach in Portsmouth banner and it also operates the Coastliner 700 service from Portsmouth to Brighton. List of bus operators of the United Kingdom Official website
28.
Alexander Dash
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The Alexander Dash is a step-entrance midibus body built by Walter Alexander Coachbuilders of Scotland from 1991 to 1997. It was one of the variants of Alexanders AM-type body and was combined with the Dennis Dart. It has a rounded roof dome that it has a double-curvature windscreen with a top as common. The body was built for the UK bus market, although one example with a Volvo B6R chassis. This bus was acquired by Citybus. Many UK operators had used these buses for interurban and rural services rather than metropolitan or inner-urban service, due to its step-floor, duple Dartline East Lancs EL2000 East Lancs Flyte Marshall C37 Northern Counties Paladin List of buses Media related to Alexander Dash at Wikimedia Commons
29.
GHA Coaches
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GHA Coaches was a bus and coach operator serving North East Wales, Cheshire and Shropshire. It also operated bus services extending into Telford & Wrekin, Staffordshire, Gwynedd, GHA Coaches ceased trading after entering administration on 13 July 2016. Former GHA services are now operated by a variety of operators including Arriva North West, Stagecoach, High Peak, GHA Coaches was founded by Eifion Lloyd Davies in 1990 and originally based in Corwen before moving to Ruabon in the mid-1990s. Services extended as far north as Manchester and Rhyl, to Hanley and Telford in the east, to Shrewsbury in the south, many coaches were inherited with the purchase of Hanmers Coaches, though as with the bus operations, the coach fleet expanded rapidly. The most common use for the fleet was school transport. Coaches were also used for hire and occasional day trip. Other depots were at Tarvin, Ruthin, Shrewsbury and Winsford, vehicles also operated an outstation at Betws Gwerfil Goch. As at June 2015 the fleet consisted of 325 buses and coaches, in October 2014 GHA launched a GHA Gold brand on the 88 Knutsford to Wilmslow to Altrincham route. They acquired four new Alexander Dennis Enviro200 buses which have WiFi, leather seats, wood effect flooring and these vehicles carried branding for the route. They were funded by Waters Corporation as part of a public commitment in order for them to get planning permission for building a new large employment site just outside Morley Green. Two of the buses are now owned and operated by Redline buses of Aylesbury who kept the Gold service branding, using them on their service 21 in, GHA went on to launch a second Gold route between Congleton and Crewe the following year. Two new Optare Metrocity buses were acquired to operate the Warrington services, the bus war led to constant timetable changes by both operators and eventually Network Warrington deciding to route all their Northwich to Warrington services via Barnton. The operations manager of GHA accused Routemaster of invading their territory in a Facebook post, after GHA failed to pay almost £1m in taxes, HMRC took out a court order against GHA placing the company in to administration. The administrators found the company had debts of £5, however, at a public inquiry the Traffic Commissioner banned the two Lloyd-Davies brothers from any involvement in any bus companies
30.
Wright Handybus
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The Wright Handybus was a single-decker bus body built primarily on the lower floor Dennis Dart chassis, that form it had a lower floorline, by Wrightbus between 1990 and 1995. It was also built on a number of the higher floor Leyland Swift chassis. It has an aluminium structure with two alternative windscreen styles. The outward styling is quite plain, with a flat front, london Buses was the first and also the largest customer, buying a fleet of nearly 200 Handybus-bodied Dennis Darts. Go-Ahead Northern also bought over 80, and Ulsterbus and Citybus had 40 between them
31.
Wrexham
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Wrexham is the largest town in north Wales and an administrative, commercial, retail and educational centre. Wrexham is situated between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley alongside the border with England, historically part of Denbighshire, the town became part of Clwyd in 1974 and since 1996 has been the centre of the Wrexham County Borough. At the 2011 Census, Wrexham had a population of 61,603, human activity in the Wrexham area dates back to the Mesolithic period. By the early Middle Bronze Age the area had developed into a centre for an innovative metalworking industry, a Roman civilian settlement was located in the Plas Coch area of Wrexham and excavations have revealed evidence of agriculture and trade with the wider Roman world. By the end of the 6th century AD, the area was being contested between the Celtic-speaking inhabitants and the English-speaking invaders advancing from the east, the origins of the name Wrexham may possibly be traced back to this period. Renewed Welsh and Viking attacks led to a reduction in Anglo-Saxon power in north Wales from the early 10th century, following the Welsh reconquest of the area during the 11th century, Wrexham formed part of the native Welsh lordship of Maelor. During the 12th century the lordship was disputed between the Welsh and the English. The first recorded reference to the town in 1161 is to a Norman motte and bailey castle at Wristlesham which was founded in the Erddig area around 1150 by Hugh de Avranches. However, by the early 13th century Wrexham was undisputedly in the hands of the Welsh house of Powys Fadog, stability under the princes of Powys enabled Wrexham to develop as a trading town and administrative centre of one of the two commotes making up the Lordship. Following the loss of Welsh independence on the death of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd in 1282, Wrexham became part of the semi-independent Marcher lordship of Bromfield and Yale. From 1327 onwards, the town is referred to as a villa mercatoria and by 1391 Wrexham was wealthy enough for a bard, jester, juggler, dancer and goldsmith to earn their living there. At the beginning of the 15th century, the local gentry, local poet Glyn Gutor Glyn wrote of Sion ap Madog, the great-nephew of Owain Glyndŵr, as Alecsander i Wrecsam. In the mid 15th century, the church was gutted by fire. The main part of the current church was built in the late 15th, the Acts of Union passed during the reign of Henry VIII brought the lordship into the full system of English administration and law. It became part of the new shire of Denbighshire in 1536, the economic character remained predominantly agricultural into the 17th century but there were workshops of weavers, smiths, nailers as well as dye houses. A grammar school was established in 1603 by Alderman Valentine Broughton of Chester, during the English Civil War, Wrexham was on the side of the Royalists, as most Welsh gentry supported the King, but local landowner Sir Thomas Myddelton, owner of Chirk Castle, supported Parliament. The Industrial Revolution began in Wrexham in 1762 when the entrepreneur John Wilkinson, known as Iron Mad Wilkinson, wilkinsons steam engines enabled a peak of production at Minera Lead Mines on the outskirts of Wrexham. Wrexham was also known for its industry, by the 18th century there were a number of skinners and tanners in the town
32.
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
33.
Heston Aircraft Company
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Heston Aircraft Company was a British aircraft manufacturer based at Heston Aerodrome, Middlesex, England. Starting in 1934 the company produced a number of designs beginning with the Heston Phoenix. During the Second World War the company transitioned to being a sub-contractor, after the war the company built aircraft components for companies such as de Havilland Aircraft. Most of the directors of Comper Aircraft, including Nick Comper, resigned, the new board was headed by Sir Norman J. Watson and included Brindley Bryn R. S. Chief designer was George Cornwall, and Chief Test Pilot was Edmund G Hordern, on 8 November 1935, a new company was formed with the same name that took over the existing business and personnel. The company continued to support Comper aircraft and owners, but discarded its own Comper aircraft, in 1936 the company built the Hordern-Richmond Autoplane, a twin-engined two-seat low-wing monoplane that had been designed by the firms test pilot E. G. Hordern in collaboration with the Duke of Richmond and Gordon, the sole example was registered G-AEOG. In 1937 the company designed the Heston T. 1/37 trainer, and it was not selected for production for the RAF. In 1938 the company started work on the Heston Type 5 Racer which was to be used in an attempt on the air speed record. The aircraft had been designed by Napier & Son and had a maximum speed of 480 mph. Registered G-AFOK, it first flew at Heston in June 1940 but was damaged on landing, in 1941 the company built the Boulton Paul P. 92/2 half-scale piloted flying model of the Boulton Paul P.92, the full-scale contract for which had been cancelled in May 1940. The first flight of the sole P. 92/2, serial V3142, was at Heston in early 1941. In 1947 the company designed and built the Heston JC.6, also known as the Heston A. 2/45, two examples were completed, serials VL529 and VL530, but the competition was won by the Auster AOP.6. In 1948 the company built the Youngman-Baynes High Lift, and the aircraft first flew at Heston on 5 February 1948 with military serial VT789. From early in its operations, the firm supplemented its aircraft construction by securing contracts for sub-assembly and these included assemblies for the Vickers Wellesley in the late 1930s. During World War II, as a contractor within the Civilian Repair Organisation, Heston Aircraft Company was heavily engaged in repair, from late 1940, Heston Aircraft played a major role in modifying Supermarine Spitfires for the photographic reconnaissance task. The company equipped the Spitfires with vertical and oblique cameras, additional fuel tanks, many marks of Spitfire were repaired at Heston throughout the war. Other types to be repaired and modified included the Fairchild Argus, Fairey Battle, Heston Aircraft was sub-contracted by de Havilland Aircraft to convert prototype de Havilland Hornets to Sea Hornet standards, for testing by the Fleet Air Arm
34.
Duple Coachbuilders
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Duple was a bus bodybuilder in England from 1919 until 1989. Duple Bodies & Motors was formed in 1919 by Herbert White in Hornsey, before World War I, he had briefly built cars under the Bifort name in Fareham, Hampshire. The name Duple is intended to convey the principle of a vehicle being suitable for a dual role. The first vehicle of this type was called the Bifort, subsequently, former military Ford Model Ts were fitted with the newly designed dual-purpose bodywork. The bodies looked like a touring car, but could be transformed into a van by removing the decking at the rear of the car. In 1926 a new factory was opened in Hendon to meet growing demand, coachwork had been built on occasions since the inception of the company, including a six-wheeled Lancia-Barton Charabanc. But in 1928 it was decided to make an effort to increase output of this body type substantially, as a result, the order book began to grow and within ten years the number of people employed had risen to around 800. In 1928, Walter Ernest Brown, a partner in the Strachan & Brown bodybuilding business, joined the firm. Major clients of this included the Great Western Railway, who ordered a number of bodies for its expanding bus fleet. Accordingly, there was a trend towards vehicles with higher standards of finish, in August 1931, two Bedford passenger chassis were announced. Duple had built early bodies on the WLB chassis for the Vauxhall Motors, as demand for the type rose, Duples ability to produce in quantity set them apart from their competitors, and soon Duple-bodied Bedford WLBs were in service around the country. The association with Bedford was to last over 50 years, in 1932, Duple acquired the business of London Lorries who, despite the name, were heavily involved in the manufacture of coach bodies. By the middle of the 1930s, Duple was widely regarded as a coachbuilder, an order was received from Vauxhall Motors for special sports tourer bodies on Vauxhall 14 hp light six chassis and a stand was taken at the 1933 London Motor Show to display them. They were advertised by Vauxhall up to 1935 and may have been Duples last car made in quantity. Also built in the 1930s was a special coupé on an Alvis speed 20 model for Lloyd Thompson of the Holdsworth Moquette company, export orders were also received in quantity from East Africa and Argentina, and closer to home in Europe. This in part helped to compensate for the demand for UK bodywork. By 1934, the site had become inadequate and 3½ acres of adjoining land were purchased for expansion. The late 1930s saw the era of the coach design
35.
Minibus
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A minibus, microbus, or minicoach is a passenger carrying motor vehicle that is designed to carry more people than a multi-purpose vehicle or minivan, but fewer people than a full-size bus. In the United Kingdom, the minibus is used to describe any full-sized passenger carrying van. Minibuses have a capacity of between 8 and 30 seats. Larger minibuses may be called midibuses, minibuses are typically front-engined step-entrance vehicles, although low floor minibuses do exist. Minibuses are used for a variety of reasons, in a public transport role, they can be used as fixed route transit buses, airport buses, flexible demand responsive transport vehicles, share taxis or large taxicabs. Accessible minibuses can also be used for paratransit services, by local authorities, transit operators. Private uses of minibuses can include corporate transport, charter buses, schools, sports clubs, community groups and charities may also use minibuses for private transport. Individual owners may use reduced seating minibuses as cheap recreational vehicles, by size, microbuses are minibuses smaller than 8 metres long. Midibuses are minibuses bigger than microbuses but smaller than plenibuses, there are many different types and configurations of minibuses, due to historical and local differences, and usage. Minibus designs can be classified in three groups, with a general increase in seating capacity with each type, Van conversions. Simple, optional extras Body builds Purpose built The most basic source of minibus is the van conversion, Van conversions involve adding windows to the bodywork, and seating to the cargo area. Van conversion minibuses outwardly look the same shape as the parent van, access to the former cargo area for passengers is through the standard van side sliding door, or the rear doors. These may be fitted with equipment to make boarding easier. Optional extras to van converted minibuses can include the addition of a rollsign for transit work, for public transport use, this door may be an automatic concertina type. For other uses, this may be a simple plug style coach door, depending on the relevant legislation, conversions may also involve wheelchair lifts and tachograph equipment. A van conversion with an area in the front and a storage area in the back. These allow a higher seating capacity than a simple van conversion, often, the second stage manufacturer is a bus manufacturer. In a body-on-chassis minibus, a body is installed on a van or light truck chassis encompassing the drivers area
36.
Rigid bus
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A rigid bus is a vehicle used in public transportation with a single, rigid chassis. The term rigid bus is not used in American English, where the distinction is made using the term non-articulated bus or. Rigid buses may be of either single-deck or double-deck design, however, the expression rigid bus is seldom used to describe a double-decker bus, because very few double-decker buses have anything other than a rigid chassis. Single-decker rigid buses are used mainly on bus lines with an average ridership, bus High-floor Low-floor bus Media related to Buses at Wikimedia Commons
37.
Duple Dartline
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This bus has an asymmetrical windscreen covering the destination sign with an arched top as common. The Dartline was unveiled by Duple at the 1988 British Motor Show, the first body to be built on the Dart, it was 2. 3m wide, and initially offered in just one length, 9m. Its most distinctive feature was its curved, asymmetric windscreen covering the destination sign with an arched top, four pre-production vehicles were built in Blackpool in the summer of 1989, and were used as demonstrators. Of these, three were 9m, but the fourth was 8. 5m, after London Buses Limited had insisted on a shorter version. Production commenced at the end of 1989, with 278. 5m versions for the London United subsidiary of London Buses Limited, and 34 9m versions. By this time, however, Duple had been sold by the Hestair Group to a management buyout team, Trinity Holdings, which had made the decision to close down Duple. The rights to the Dartline were duly sold to Carlyle, and many of these 61 buses were completed by the Birmingham manufacturer and badged accordingly, although they retained their Duple body numbers. A further 199 Dartlines were built in Birmingham between the spring of 1990 and the beginning of 1992, of which 140 were 8. 5m,16 were 9m, and 43 were to a longer length,9. 8m. All the 8. 5m versions were for London Buses Limited, going to its London United, Metroline, Selkent, of the 9m versions,13 went to Warrington Borough Transport and one each to Southampton Citybus, Isle of Man Transport, and Yeomans Canyon Travel of Hereford. The Cambridge manufacturer built a final five Dartlines, all to the 9. 8m length and coded C27, in late 1992 and early 1993, total Dartline production was thus 269, including the four pre-production vehicles of 1989. In late 1993, Marshall redesigned the Dartline as the C37, with a symmetrical windscreen, alexander Dash East Lancs EL2000 East Lancs Flyte Marshall C37 Northern Counties Paladin
38.
MCW Metrorider
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The MCW Metrorider, launched at the 1986 Motor Show, was a minibus designed built by Metro Cammell Weymann between 1986 and 1989. Constructed in two lengths,7.0 m and 8.4 m, the Metrorider was an integral bus and it was the second purpose-built minibus design. Some Metroriders also featured the optional turbocharged Cummins engine, increasing further their already impressive turn of speed, disc brakes are fitted all round on the longer Metrorider, as opposed to drums on the short vehicles. The styling was an advance on the earlier van-based conversions, having a raked front with large windscreen. With shallower steps, wider entrance, and generous headroom, the environment was certainly a great improvement on what had come before. Like many MCW products, many components were from other manufacturers stocks, the dashboard and steering wheel came from a Ford Cargo lorry and the original rear lights were from the Escort Cabriolet Mk4. The design suited one-person bus operation well and, despite the somewhat simplistic styling, also, a number of Metroriders were exported new to Continental Europe and Hong Kong. When MCWs parent group announced the closure of the company in 1989, MCWs current designs were offered for sale, the Optare MetroRider was subsequently re-launched and continued in production till 2000. List of buses Media related to MCW Metrorider at Wikimedia Commons
39.
Optare MetroRider
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The Optare MetroRider is a midibus that was built by Optare between 1989 and 2000. Optare based the design on the MCW Metrorider after Optare bought the rights following a decision by MCW to end bus production. This model also replaced the less successful StarRider and the replacement of model is the low-floor Optare Solo. The MetroRider is a bus, which means the chassis. It had many options, and was available in three lengths and two widths, in addition, Optare offered the option of a protruding, more substantial, destination display, as opposed to the flat on the body destination display. In later years, the MetroRider could be ordered with a rather than a standard two-piece windscreen which, in turn. Among the most popular versions was the model, with short length, standard 1 door. In its prime, the MetroRider was also abroad in kit form. The successor to the MetroRider is the low-floor Optare Solo, an electric version of the MetroRider was produced in 1993. The transport authority placed four vehicles into service on a city centre circular service in Oxford and they were operated initially by the Oxford Bus Company but later briefly passed to Stagecoach Group before withdrawal owing to a cessation of subsidy. They were later used on Jersey and Islay, two MetroRiders were produced for Stagecoach Cambus in Cambridge, powered by a dedicated CNG engine developed by Cummins
40.
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
41.
Plaxton
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Plaxton is an English builder of bus and coach vehicle bodies based in Scarborough. The Plaxton of today is the successor to a business founded in Scarborough in 1907 by Frederick William Plaxton and it became a subsidiary of Alexander Dennis in May 2007. The business was founded as a workshop, and expanded into building contracting. As a building contractor, Plaxtons built a number of buildings in Scarborough. Soon after World War I Plaxtons diversified and began to build charabanc bodies on Ford Model T chassis, of more importance at the time was the construction of automobile bodywork. This included bodywork for Rolls-Royce, Sunbeam and Daimler, but principally for Crossley car chassis and this activity continued through the 1920s, but the depression of 1929-1933 created difficulties for manufacture of luxury automobiles. As a result, the manufacture of charabanc, and later coach bodies became more important through the late 1920s, customers during this time tended to be local to the Scarborough area, Scarborough being a popular seaside resort. By 1936 the company felt justified in construction of a new manufacturing facility in Seamer Road. This allowed increased production, and Plaxtons became popular with independent operators throughout Northern England. Many of these operators purchased their vehicles through independent dealers, rather than directly from the factory, in this regard, Plaxtons sales were through Lancashire Motor Traders Ltd of Manchester and Arlington Motor Co Ltd of London. The company became known as FW Plaxton & Son by 1937, as the founders son, FW Plaxton junior was to be known as Eric to avoid confusion with his father. Plaxtons built a number of different coach designs through the 1930s, the style typically consisted of a very rounded front profile at the windscreen area with side windows that sloped backwards at the front, were upright at the centre, and sloped forward at the back. Bodywork for the Bedford WTB chassis was particularly distinctive, sloping severally from the bottom of the front wheel arch to the roofline, the WTB chassis was very popular choice for operators at that time, together with the Dodge RBF and SBF. Leyland and AEC chassis were popular for larger coaches, notably the Leyland Tiger. On the outbreak of World War II in 1939, coach production halted, many records from the early years were lost when an incendiary bomb set fire to the Seamer Road factory in 1943 causing much damage. As the factory was under control of the Ministry of Works, some adjacent land was loaned by a market gardener who subsequently joined the board years later. Production restarted at the end of 1945, and in 1951 the business was registered for the first time as a private company, two new models were exhibited at the 1950 Commercial Motor Show, with names instead of model codes for the first time. On front-engined chassis the Crusader employed the Envoys front trim, both Envoy and Crusader were produced to the new maximum dimensions of 30 ft by 8 ft, and many examples were originally fitted with rear wheel spats
42.
Blackpool
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Blackpool /ˈblækpuːl/ is a seaside resort and unitary authority area in Lancashire, England, on Englands northwest coast. The town is on the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries,15 miles northwest of Preston,27 miles north of Liverpool,28 miles northwest of Bolton and 40 miles northwest of Manchester. It had an population of 142,065 at the 2011 Census. In 1781, visitors attracted to Blackpools 7-mile sandy beach were able to use a new road, built by Thomas Clifton. Stagecoaches began running to Blackpool from Manchester in the same year, in the early 19th century, Henry Banks and his son-in-law John Cocker erected new buildings in Blackpool such that its population grew from less than 500 in 1801 to over 2,500 in 1851. St Johns Church in Blackpool was consecrated in 1821, Blackpool rose to prominence as a major centre of tourism in England when a railway was built in the 1840s connecting it to the industrialised regions of Northern England. In 1881, Blackpool was a resort with a population of 14,000. By 1901 the population of Blackpool was 47,000, by which time its place was cemented as the archetypal British seaside resort, by 1951 it had grown to 147,000. Shifts in tastes, combined with opportunities for Britons to travel overseas, Blackpool gets its name from a historic drainage channel that ran over a peat bog, discharging discoloured water into the Irish Sea, which formed a black pool. Another explanation is that the dialect for stream was pul or poole. People originating from Blackpool are called Blackpudlians although Sandgrownians or Sandgrownuns is sometimes used or Seasiders, a 13, 500-year-old elk skeleton was found with man-made barbed bone points on Blackpool Old Road in Carleton in 1970. Now displayed in the Harris Museum this provided the first evidence of living on the Fylde as far back as the Palaeolithic era. The Fylde was also home to a British tribe, the Setantii a sub-tribe of the Brigantes, during the Roman occupation the area was covered by oak forests and bog land. Some of the earliest villages on the Fylde, which were later to become part of Blackpool town, were named in the Domesday Book in 1086, many of them were Anglo-Saxon settlements. Some though had 9th and 10th century Viking place names, the Vikings and Anglo-Saxons seem to have co-existed peacefully, with some Anglo-Saxon and Viking placenames later being joined together – such as Layton-with-Warbreck and Bispham-with-Norbreck. Layton was controlled by the Butlers, Barons of Warrington from the 12th century, the stream ran through peatlands that discoloured the water, so the name for the area became Black Poole. In the 15th century the area was just called Pul, in 1602, entries in Bispham Parish Church baptismal register include both Poole and for the first time blackpoole. The first house of any substance, Foxhall, was built toward the end of the 17th century by Edward Tyldesley, an Act of Parliament in 1767 enclosed a common, mostly sand hills on the coast, that stretched from Spen Dyke southwards
43.
Carlyle Works
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Carlyle Works was an English builder of bus and coach bodywork based in Egbaston. In 1920, the Birmingham & Midland Motor Omnibus Company established a bus facility on land adjoining Rotton Park Reservoir. It initially performed repair work before chassis construction commenced in 1925, the eight acre site was redeveloped over a five-year period from 1949. It derived its name from its address, Carlyle Road, the company was famous for building its own buses and coaches, under the BMMO name. These buses were very innovative and were the first to introduce many advanced features. When the development and production of its own vehicles became prohibitive in the late 1960s the central works continued to provide engineering services for the company. On 1 January 1969, Midland Red became part of the National Bus Company and these services included major vehicle modifications and adaptations. In the mid-1980s, minibuses became very popular for operators, allowing them to higher frequency service on routes that could serve areas larger vehicles could not access. Carlyle developed a range of bodywork for minibuses, notably Ford Transit conversions, on 5 September 1981, Midland Red was divided into five operating companies with the Carlyle Works retained to provide engineering support. On 5 March 1987, Carlyle Works became the 22nd National Bus Company subsidiary to be privatised and it was purchased by Frontsource Limited, a company set up by Robert Beattie to purchase eight former National Bus Company engineering companies. Carlyle set about building upon its minibus expertise, and developed bodywork for the Freight Rover chassis and these sold well, especially to former NBC operators. Designs for Iveco and Mercedes Benz 700 and 800 series vehicles followed, in 1989, the body designs for the Duple Dartline were acquired from Trinity Holdings. This body was adapted for the Dennis Dart and was available in 8. 5m,9. 0m and 9. 8m lengths, Carlyle built 140 of an order for the 8. 5m vehicles from London Transport. Warrington Borough Transport bought most of the 9. 0m versions, the 9. 8m version was bought by China Motor Bus and Luton & District. Small numbers of each were bought by independent operators. New orders became increasingly hard to find, as the minibus vogue had ended, in October 1991, Carlyle Works was placed in receivership and closed. The rights to the Dartline were sold to bodybuilder Marshall Bus
44.
Marshall Bus
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Marshall Bus was an English builder of bus and coach bodywork based in Cambridge. Marshall Bus was a bodybuilder that during the 1960s built many buses for British Electric Traction and it ceased manufacturing in the early 1980s. It was typically built on the Dennis Dart SLF chassis, but was used for other chassis types. In 2001/02, Marshall rebuilt a number of AEC Routemasters for Transport for London, in 2002, Marshall went into administration and shortly after closed. Thereafter, MCV Bus & Coach bought the rights for the Capital body. All proceeds from the sale went to the heir of the initial designer, camair 80 C16/C19 Dartline C29 C31 C32/C33 C35/C36/C37 C39 Capital C43 Marshall Minibus Media related to Marshall Bus at Wikimedia Commons
45.
Cambridge
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Cambridge is a university city and the county town of Cambridgeshire, England, on the River Cam about 50 miles north of London. At the United Kingdom Census 2011, its population was 123,867, there is archaeological evidence of settlement in the area in the Bronze Age and in Roman Britain, under Viking rule, Cambridge became an important trading centre. The first town charters were granted in the 12th century, although city status was not conferred until 1951, the University of Cambridge, founded in 1209, is one of the top five universities in the world. The university includes the Cavendish Laboratory, Kings College Chapel, the citys skyline is dominated by the last two buildings, along with the spire of the Our Lady and the English Martyrs Church, the chimney of Addenbrookes Hospital and St Johns College Chapel tower. Anglia Ruskin University, evolved from the Cambridge School of Art, Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology Silicon Fen with industries such as software and bioscience and many start-up companies spun out of the university. More than 40% of the workforce has a higher education qualification, the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, one of the largest biomedical research clusters in the world, is soon to be home to AstraZeneca, a hotel and the relocated Papworth Hospital. Parkers Piece hosted the first ever game of Association football, the Strawberry Fair music and arts festival and Midsummer Fairs are held on Midsummer Common, and the annual Cambridge Beer Festival takes place on Jesus Green. The city is adjacent to the M11 and A14 roads, settlements have existed around the Cambridge area since prehistoric times. The earliest clear evidence of occupation is the remains of a 3, the principal Roman site is a small fort Duroliponte on Castle Hill, just northwest of the city centre around the location of the earlier British village. The fort was bounded on two sides by the lines formed by the present Mount Pleasant, continuing across Huntingdon Road into Clare Street, the eastern side followed Magrath Avenue, with the southern side running near to Chesterton Lane and Kettles Yard before turning northwest at Honey Hill. It was constructed around AD70 and converted to use around 50 years later. Evidence of more widespread Roman settlement has been discovered including numerous farmsteads, evidence exists that the invading Anglo-Saxons had begun occupying the area by the end of the century. Their settlement—also on and around Castle Hill—became known as Grantebrycge, Anglo-Saxon grave goods have been found in the area. During this period, Cambridge benefited from good trade links across the hard-to-travel fenlands, by the 7th century, the town was less significant and described by Bede as a little ruined city containing the burial site of Etheldreda. Cambridge was on the border between the East and Middle Anglian kingdoms and the settlement slowly expanded on both sides of the river, the arrival of the Vikings was recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in 875. Viking rule, the Danelaw, had been imposed by 878 Their vigorous trading habits caused the town to grow rapidly. During this period the centre of the town shifted from Castle Hill on the bank of the river to the area now known as the Quayside on the right bank. In 1068, two years after his conquest of England, William of Normandy built a castle on Castle Hill, like the rest of the newly conquered kingdom, Cambridge fell under the control of the King and his deputies
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UVG Urbanstar
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The UVG Urbanstar was a step-entrance and low-entry midibus bodywork built by UVG in Waterlooville, England for the Dennis Dart and Dart SLF chassis. It was later marketed as the Caetano Compass in production with Salvador Caetano and it was mainly sold to small provincial operators throughout the UK, with some being sold to mainstream London-based operators. A common feature about the Urbanstar/Compass was that it has a rounded dome, a double-curvature windscreen. It was superseded by the Caetano Nimbus low-entry midibus bodywork for the Dennis Dart SLF chassis only, media related to UVG Urbanstar at Wikimedia Commons
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Media related to Dennis Dart at Wikimedia Commons