1.
London Underground
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The London Underground is a public rapid transit system serving London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom. The network has expanded to 11 lines, and in 2015–16 carried 1.34 billion passengers, the 11 lines collectively handle approximately 4.8 million passengers a day. The system has 270 stations and 250 miles of track, despite its name, only 45% of the system is actually underground in tunnels, with much of the network in the outer environs of London being on the surface. In addition, the Underground does not cover most southern parts of Greater London, the current operator, London Underground Limited, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Transport for London, the statutory corporation responsible for the transport network in Greater London. As of 2015, 92% of operational expenditure is covered by passenger fares, the Travelcard ticket was introduced in 1983 and Oyster, a contactless ticketing system, in 2003. Contactless card payments were introduced in 2014, the LPTB was a prominent patron of art and design, commissioning many new station buildings, posters and public artworks in a modernist style. Other famous London Underground branding includes the roundel and Johnston typeface, to prepare construction, a short test tunnel was built in 1855 in Kibblesworth, a small town with geological properties similar to London. This test tunnel was used for two years in the development of the first underground train, and was later, in 1861, the worlds first underground railway, it opened in January 1863 between Paddington and Farringdon using gas-lit wooden carriages hauled by steam locomotives. It was hailed as a success, carrying 38,000 passengers on the opening day, the Metropolitan District Railway opened in December 1868 from South Kensington to Westminster as part of a plan for an underground inner circle connecting Londons main-line termini. The Metropolitan and District railways completed the Circle line in 1884, built using the cut and this opened in 1890 with electric locomotives that hauled carriages with small opaque windows, nicknamed padded cells. The Waterloo and City Railway opened in 1898, followed by the Central London Railway in 1900, the Metropolitan Railway protested about the change of plan, but after arbitration by the Board of Trade, the DC system was adopted. When the Bakerloo was so named in July 1906, The Railway Magazine called it an undignified gutter title, by 1907 the District and Metropolitan Railways had electrified the underground sections of their lines. In January 1913, the UERL acquired the Central London Railway, the Bakerloo line was extended north to Queens Park to join a new electric line from Euston to Watford, but World War I delayed construction and trains reached Watford Junction in 1917. During air raids in 1915 people used the stations as shelters. An extension of the Central line west to Ealing was also delayed by the war, the Metropolitan promoted housing estates near the railway with the Metro-land brand and nine housing estates were built near stations on the line. Electrification was extended north from Harrow to Rickmansworth, and branches opened from Rickmansworth to Watford in 1925, the Piccadilly line was extended north to Cockfosters and took over District line branches to Harrow and Hounslow. In 1933, most of Londons underground railways, tramway and bus services were merged to form the London Passenger Transport Board, the Waterloo & City Railway, which was by then in the ownership of the main line Southern Railway, remained with its existing owners. In the same year that the London Passenger Transport Board was formed, in the following years, the outlying lines of the former Metropolitan Railway closed, the Brill Tramway in 1935, and the line from Quainton Road to Verney Junction in 1936
2.
Eastcote
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Eastcote is an area established around an old village in the west of Greater London and is part of the London Borough of Hillingdon. In the Middle Ages, Eastcote was one of the three areas that made up the parish of Ruislip, under the name of Ascot, the name came from its position to the east of the parish. While no historically significant events have taken place in Eastcote, there are links to past events in the history of Britain. One such example is of Lady Mary Bankes, who lived in Eastcote for a time, Eastcote also housed an outstation of the Bletchley Park codebreaking activities during the Second World War, with several codebreaking computers in use. This operation became the precursor to GCHQ, which remained in Eastcote after the war until the department moved to buildings in Cheltenham in 1952. By the turn of the 20th century, the population was around 600. The town is referred to in its postal address as being part of Pinner. Eastcote was originally recorded as Ascot, one of the three medieval tithings of the parish of Ruislip, along with Westcot and Norwood. Norwood, in the north of the parish, became Northwood, Westcot, in the west became Westcote, the Hawtrey family moved to Eastcote around 1525 after Ralph Hawtrey married Winifred Walleston. She lived in a cottage named Hopkyttes, which the moved into. A dovecote was built by their son John, without applying for a licence from the manor, after his death in 1593, his nephew Ralph Hawtrey applied for the licence, which was approved. Ralph Hawtreys only daughter became Lady Mary Bankes when she married Sir John Bankes, as a Royalist, she defended their home in Dorset, Corfe Castle, against the Roundheads in 1643 at the time of the English Civil War. A plaque on the wall of St Martins Church in Ruislip commemorates her heroic act. Lady Bankes had also lived at Haydon Hall in Eastcote, in 1565, a land survey was completed which recorded 62 houses in Eastcote, of which four were ruined. The first Haydon Hall was built in 1630 for Lady Alice, Lady Alice lived at Harefield Place, and purchased the land on which the hall was built from the Haydon family. The family appear in records from 1394 until 1562 when they sold a house on the site of Haydon Hall to William Nicholas. Highgrove House was built in the 18th century but was destroyed by fire, winston Churchill stayed there during his honeymoon and the Queen of Sweden was resident during the First World War. At the turn of the 20th century, Eastcote was a community with around 120 cottages
3.
London Borough of Hillingdon
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The London Borough of Hillingdon is the westernmost borough in Greater London, England which had a population of 273,936 according to the 2011 Census. It was formed from the districts of Hayes and Harlington, Ruislip-Northwood, Uxbridge, today, Hillingdon is home to Heathrow Airport and Brunel University, and is the second largest of the 32 London boroughs by area. Hillingdon Council governs the borough, with its headquarters in the Civic Centre in Uxbridge, for administrative purposes, the borough is split into North and South Hillingdon. The councils involved were unable to decide upon a name, with Keith Joseph suggesting Uxbridge in October 1963. The coat of arms for the London Borough of Hillingdon was granted on 22 March 1965, between 1973 and 1978, the boroughs civic centre was built in Uxbridge. The borough has been twinned with the French town of Mantes-la-Jolie, the twinning programme was reviewed in 2011 and it was suggested that the link with Schleswig be ended owing to a lack of contact between the towns. In December 2011, the borough decided instead to end the link with a second German town, Emden, citing administrative problems. Population grew from 2001–2011 by 11. 5% -4. 4% above the England and Wales mean of 7. 1% - as part of the fastest population-growth area, by comparison Merton and Bromley had growth of 4. 5% and Tower Hamlets had growth of 26. 4%. Households increased from 2001–2011 by 3. 3%, and the number of people per household was 2.7. The borough is governed by a council, known interchangeably by the full name. It is split into wards represented by 65 Conservative and Labour councillors, a cabinet and leader are elected annually. The present leader of the council is Cllr, ray Puddifoot MBE of the Conservative Party. Elections for councillors are held four years. A Mayor is chosen yearly by councillors, the role is largely ceremonial, the present mayor is Councillor George Cooper, who was elected in May 2015. In the London assembly elections, Ealing and Hillingdon Borough form a constituency with one member as there are eleven London-wide members. At the same election in 2012 Conservative mayoral candidate Boris Johnson won the largest share of Hillingdons votes in becoming elected Mayor of London for a second term. The British Governments UK Visas and Immigration has two immigration removal centres, Colnbrook Immigration Removal Centre and Harmondsworth Immigration Removal Centre in Harmondsworth. The borough also includes RAF Northolt and the sites of RAF Eastcote, RAF South Ruislip, RAF West Drayton, RAF Ruislip 4MU, RAF West Ruislip
4.
Listed building
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A listed building or listed structure, in the United Kingdom, is one that has been placed on the Statutory List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest. The statutory bodies maintaining the list are Historic England in England, Cadw in Wales, Historic Scotland in Scotland, however, the preferred term in Ireland is protected structure. In England and Wales, an amenity society must be notified of any work to a listed building which involves any element of demolition. Owners of listed buildings are, in circumstances, compelled to repair and maintain them. When alterations are permitted, or when listed buildings are repaired or maintained, slightly different systems operate in each area of the United Kingdom, though the basic principles of the listing remain the same. It was the damage to caused by German bombing during World War II that prompted the first listing of buildings that were deemed to be of particular architectural merit. The listings were used as a means of determining whether a building should be rebuilt if it was damaged by bombing. Listing was first introduced into Northern Ireland under the Planning Order 1972, the listing process has since developed slightly differently in each part of the UK. In the UK, the process of protecting the historic environment is called ‘designation’. A heritage asset is a part of the environment that is valued because of its historic. Only some of these are judged to be important enough to have legal protection through designation. However, buildings that are not formally listed but still judged as being of heritage interest are still regarded as being a consideration in the planning process. Almost anything can be listed – it does not have to be a building, Buildings and structures of special historic interest come in a wide variety of forms and types, ranging from telephone boxes and road signs, to castles. Historic England has created twenty broad categories of structures, and published selection guides for each one to aid with assessing buildings and these include historical overviews and describe the special considerations for listing each category. Both Historic Scotland and Cadw produce guidance for owners, in England, to have a building considered for listing or delisting, the process is to apply to the secretary of state, this can be done by submitting an application form online to Historic England. The applicant does not need to be the owner of the building to apply for it to be listed, full information including application form guidance notes are on the Historic England website. Historic England assesses buildings put forward for listing or delisting and provides advice to the Secretary of State on the architectural, the Secretary of State, who may seek additional advice from others, then decides whether or not to list or delist the building. In England and Wales the authority for listing is granted to the Secretary of State by the Planning Act 1990, Listed buildings in danger of decay are listed on the Historic England Heritage at Risk Register
5.
Tramlink
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Tramlink is a light rail tram system serving Croydon and surrounding areas in South London, England. It began operation in 2000, the first tram system in London since 1952 and it is owned by London Trams, an arm of Transport for London, and operated by FirstGroup. The Tramlink is the fourth-busiest light rail network in the UK behind Manchester Metrolink, Tyne and Wear Metro, in 1990 Croydon Council with London Regional Transport put the project to Parliament and the Croydon Tramlink Act 1994 resulted, which gave LRT the power to build and run Tramlink. In 1996 Tramtrack Croydon Limited won a 99-year Private Finance Initiative contract to design, build, operate, TCL was a partnership comprising FirstGroup, Bombardier Transportation, Sir Robert McAlpine and Amey, and Royal Bank of Scotland and 3i. TCL kept the revenue generated by Tramlink and LRT had to pay compensation to TCL for any changes to the fares, TCL subcontracted operations to CentreWest Buses. One of the leading to its creation was that the London Borough of Croydon has no London Underground service. There are four routes, Route 1 – Elmers End to Croydon, Route 2 – Beckenham Junction to Croydon, Route 3 – New Addington to Wimbledon, and Route 4 – Therapia Lane to Elmers End. Route 2 runs parallel to the Crystal Palace to Beckenham Junction line of the Southern network between Birkbeck and Beckenham Junction – the National Rail track had been singled some years earlier. At Woodside the old station buildings stand disused, and the platforms have been replaced by accessible low platforms. From Woodside to near Sandilands and from near Sandilands almost to Lloyd Park, Tramlink follows the former Woodside and South Croydon Railway, including the Park Hill tunnels. The section of Route 3 between Wimbledon and West Croydon mostly follows the single-track British Rail route, closed on 31 May 1997 so that it could be converted for Tramlink, a partial obstruction near this point has necessitated the use of interlaced track. A Victorian footbridge beside Waddon New Road was dismantled to make way for the flyover over the West Croydon to Sutton railway line, the footbridge has been re-erected at Corfe Castle station on the Swanage Railway. In March 2008, TfL announced that it had reached agreement to buy TCL for £98m, the purchase was finalised on 28 June 2008. The background to this purchase relates to the requirement that TfL compensates TCL for the consequences of any changes to the fares, in 2007 that payment was £4m, with an annual increase in rate. In October 2008 TfL introduced a new livery, using the blue, white and green of the routes on TfL maps, the colour of the cars was changed to green, and the brand name was changed from Croydon Tramlink to simply Tramlink. These refurbishments were completed in early 2009, the tram stops have low platforms,35 cm above rail level. They are unstaffed and have automated ticket machines, in general, access between the platforms involves crossing the tracks by pedestrian level crossing. There are 39 stops, most being 32.2 m long and they are virtually level with the doors and are all wider than 2 m
6.
World Geodetic System
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The World Geodetic System is a standard for use in cartography, geodesy, and navigation including GPS. It comprises a standard system for the Earth, a standard spheroidal reference surface for raw altitude data. The latest revision is WGS84, established in 1984 and last revised in 2004, earlier schemes included WGS72, WGS66, and WGS60. WGS84 is the coordinate system used by the Global Positioning System. The coordinate origin of WGS84 is meant to be located at the Earths center of mass, the error is believed to be less than 2 cm. The WGS84 meridian of longitude is the IERS Reference Meridian,5.31 arc seconds or 102.5 metres east of the Greenwich meridian at the latitude of the Royal Observatory. The WGS84 datum surface is a spheroid with major radius a =6378137 m at the equator. The polar semi-minor axis b then equals a times, or 6356752.3142 m, currently, WGS84 uses the EGM96 geoid, revised in 2004. This geoid defines the sea level surface by means of a spherical harmonics series of degree 360. The deviations of the EGM96 geoid from the WGS84 reference ellipsoid range from about −105 m to about +85 m, EGM96 differs from the original WGS84 geoid, referred to as EGM84. Efforts to supplement the national surveying systems began in the 19th century with F. R. Helmerts famous book Mathematische und Physikalische Theorien der Physikalischen Geodäsie. Austria and Germany founded the Zentralbüro für die Internationale Erdmessung, a unified geodetic system for the whole world became essential in the 1950s for several reasons, International space science and the beginning of astronautics. The lack of inter-continental geodetic information, efforts of the U. S. Army, Navy and Air Force were combined leading to the DoD World Geodetic System 1960. Heritage surveying methods found elevation differences from a local horizontal determined by the level, plumb line. As a result, the elevations in the data are referenced to the geoid, the latter observational method is more suitable for global mapping. The sole contribution of data to the development of WGS60 was a value for the ellipsoid flattening which was obtained from the nodal motion of a satellite. Prior to WGS60, the U. S. Army, the Army performed an adjustment to minimize the difference between astro-geodetic and gravimetric geoids. By matching the relative astro-geodetic geoids of the selected datums with an earth-centered gravimetric geoid, since the Army and Air Force systems agreed remarkably well for the NAD, ED and TD areas, they were consolidated and became WGS60
7.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
8.
Greater London
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London, or Greater London, is a region of England which forms the administrative boundaries of London. It is organised into 33 local government districts, the 32 London boroughs, the Greater London Authority, based in Southwark, is responsible for strategic local government across the region and consists of the Mayor of London and the London Assembly. The county of Greater London was created on 1 April 1965 through the London Government Act 1963, administratively, Greater London was first established as a sui generis council area under the Greater London Council between 1963 and 1986. The area was re-established as a region in 1994, and the Greater London Authority formed in 2000, the region covers 1,572 km2 and had a population of 8,174,000 at the 2011 census. In 2012, it had the highest GVA per capita in the United Kingdom at £37,232, the Greater London Built-up Area—used in some national statistics—is a measure of the continuous urban area of London, and therefore includes areas outside of the administrative region. The term Greater London has been and still is used to different areas in governance, statistics, history. In terms of ceremonial counties, London is divided into the small City of London, outside the limited boundaries of the City, a variety of arrangements has governed the wider area since 1855, culminating in the creation of the Greater London administrative area in 1965. The Greater London Arterial Road Programme was devised between 1913 and 1916, one of the larger early forms was the Greater London Planning Region, devised in 1927, which occupied 1,856 square miles and included 9 million people. The LCC pressed for an alteration in its boundaries soon after the end of the First World War, noting that within the Metropolitan, a Royal Commission on London Government was set up to consider the issue. The LCC proposed a vast new area for Greater London, with a boundary somewhere between the Metropolitan Police District and the home counties, protests were made at the possibility of including Windsor, Slough and Eton in the authority. The Commission made its report in 1923, rejecting the LCCs scheme, two minority reports favoured change beyond the amalgamation of smaller urban districts, including both smaller borough councils and a central authority for strategic functions. The London Traffic Act 1924 was a result of the Commission, Greater London originally had a two-tier system of local government, with the Greater London Council sharing power with the City of London Corporation and the 32 London Borough councils. The GLC was abolished in 1986 by the Local Government Act 1985 and its functions were devolved to the City Corporation and the London Boroughs, with some functions transferred to central government and joint boards. Greater London was used to form the London region of England in 1994, a referendum held in 1998 established a public will to recreate an upper tier of government to cover the region. The Greater London Authority, London Assembly and the directly elected Mayor of London were created in 2000 by the Greater London Authority Act 1999, in 2000, the outer boundary of the Metropolitan Police District was re-aligned to the Greater London boundary. The 2000 and 2004 mayoral elections were won by Ken Livingstone, the 2008 and 2012 elections were won by Boris Johnson. The 2016 election was won by Sadiq Khan, Greater London continues to include the most closely associated parts of the Greater London Urban Area and their historic buffers. Thus it includes, in five boroughs, significant parts of the Metropolitan Green Belt which protects designated greenfield land in a way to the citys parks
9.
Uxbridge tube station
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Uxbridge is a London Underground station in Uxbridge in the London Borough of Hillingdon, north-west London. The station is the terminus of the Uxbridge branches of both the Metropolitan line and the Piccadilly line, the next station towards London is Hillingdon. The station is 15.5 miles west of Charing Cross and is in Travelcard Zone 6, the closest station on the Chiltern Line and Central line is West Ruislip, accessible by the U1 and U10 buses. The closest station on the First Great Western line is West Drayton, accessible by the U1, U3, Uxbridge was formerly the terminus of a branch of the District line which ran from Ealing Common, the Piccadilly line replaced the District line in 1933. The Harrow and Uxbridge Railway first opened a station in Uxbridge on 4 July 1904 on Belmont Road, the station was situated on a different track alignment, now used as sidings. The original service from central London was provided by steam-drawn trains, the London United Tramways extension from Shepherds Bush was opened a few weeks before the underground station. The manager, as reported in a newspaper at the time, commented on the high prices of the underground journey. The original Belmont Road station had two platforms, and after the introduction of shared operation one platform was used by each line, on 23 October 1933 District line services to Uxbridge were replaced by Piccadilly line trains. On 4 December 1938 the current station was opened on a new alignment, on 12 January 1983, the station buildings were given Grade II listed status. The London Borough of Hillingdon announced in June 2011 that it would be lobbying Transport for London to have the Central line diverted from West Ruislip station to Uxbridge. Such a project would require a business case approved by TfL, a tall concrete canopy arches over the tracks with a row of clerestory windows above the platforms. The canopy at Uxbridge is similar to the one at Cockfosters, the stained glass panels by Erwin Bossanyi at the booking hall end of the platforms reflect the areas heraldic associations. The crown and three seaxes on a red background are the arms of Middlesex County Council and the swan on a black. The forecourt of the new station was laid out to provide a turning circle for trolleybuses
10.
Metropolitan line
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Coloured magenta on the tube map, the line is 41.4 miles in length and serves 34 stations. Unlike the tube railways, the tunnels are just below the surface, just under 67 million passenger journeys were made on the line in 2011/12. Harrow was reached in 1880, and the line extended as far as Verney Junction in Buckinghamshire, more than 50 miles from Baker Street, from the end of the 19th century, the railway shared tracks with the Great Central Railway route out of Marylebone. The central London lines were electrified by 1907, but electric locomotives were exchanged for steam locomotives on trains heading north of Harrow, after the railway was absorbed by the London Passenger Transport Board in 1933 the line was cut back to Aylesbury. Steam trains ran until 1961, when the line was electrified to, the Hammersmith & City line was shown on the tube map as part of the Metropolitan line until 1990, when it appeared as a separate line. The current S7 and S8 Stock trains entered service between 2010 and 2012, the track is mostly underground between Aldgate and Finchley Road, save from Barbican and Farringdon as well as the Baker Street platforms. Baker Street is the terminus for some trains not continuing on to Aldgate. The disused Metropolitan line platforms at Willesden Green and Neasden are still in place despite Metropolitan line services having been withdrawn in 1940. The Watford branch is due to be diverted to Watford Junction by 2020, resulting in the closure of Watford station, the extension will link up with the London Overground Watford DC Line and would provide an interchange with the West Coast Main Line. The Metropolitan Railway was a passenger and goods railway that served London from 1863 to 1933 and it opened on 10 January 1863 with gas-lit wooden carriages hauled by steam locomotives, the worlds first underground railway. In 1871, when plans were presented for a railway in Paris. The modern word metro is a form of the French word. The railway was extended from both ends and northwards via a branch from Baker Street. Harrow was reached in 1880, and the line extended as far as Verney Junction in Buckinghamshire, more than 50 miles from Baker Street, from the end of the 19th century, the railway shared tracks with the Great Central Railway route out of Marylebone. Electric traction was introduced in 1905 with electric multiple units operating between Uxbridge, Harrow-on-the-Hill and Baker Street, to remove steam and smoke from the tunnels in central London, the railway purchased electric locomotives, exchanged for steam locomotives at Harrow from 1908. In 1910, a silent film recording was made showing large portions of the journey from Baker Street to Aylesbury and Uxbridge. The film survives and is publicly available, unlike other railways in the London area, the Met developed land for housing, thus benefitting from the increase in the value of its land caused by the building of the railway. After World War I it promoted its housing estates near the railway with the Metro-land brand, to improve services, more powerful electric and steam locomotives were purchased in the 1920s
2.63 million[1]
London transport portal
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