1.
Hocket
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In music, hocket is the rhythmic linear technique using the alternation of notes, pitches, or chords. In medieval practice of hocket, a melody is shared between two voices such that alternately one voice sounds while the other rests. In European music, hocket was used primarily in music of the 13th. It was a predominant characteristic of music of the Notre Dame school, during the ars antiqua, in the 14th century, the device was most often found in secular vocal music. The term originated in reference to medieval French motets and was revived in 1968 when Wendy Carlos used the technique in her groundbreaking Switched-On Bach. Since she had to painstakingly assemble Bachs melodies note-by-note anyway, she discovered that altering the voice and it is also evident in drum and bugle corps drumline music, colloquially known as split parts or simply splits. The group Dirty Projectors uses hocketing as a prominent element of their music. The composer Dave Longstreth has expressed his interest in the origins of the technique. The term comes from the French word hoquet meaning a shock, sudden interruption, hitch, hiccup, the words were Latinized as hoquetus, oketus, and ochetus. Earlier etymologies tried to show derivation from Arabic, which are no longer favored, bigwala Kecak, Balinese performance piece also known as the Ramayana Monkey Chant. Hocket, Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World Musical example from Cent Motets du XIIIe Siècle, the Gumuz Tribe, Music of the Blue Nile Province - Anthology of African Music - Reference D8072, Reissue
2.
Des Plaines, Illinois
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Des Plaines /dᵻsˈpleɪnz/ is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 58,364 and it is a suburb of Chicago and is just north of OHare International Airport. It is located on, and named for, the Des Plaines River, Des Plaines is the home of the first franchised McDonalds opened by Ray Kroc in 1955, which is preserved as a museum on Lee Street, north of downtown. Potawatomi, Ottawa, and Ojibwe Native American tribes inhabited the Des Plaines River Valley prior to Europeans arrival, the first white settlers came from the eastern United States in 1833, after the Treaty of Chicago, followed by many German immigrants during the 1840s and 1850s. In the 1850s, land in the area was purchased by the Illinois, in 1852, the developers built a steam-powered mill next to the river, to cut local trees into railroad ties. Socrates Rand then bought the mill and converted it into a grist mill, the Illinois and Wisconsin Railroad made its first stop in the area in the fall of 1854. In 1857, the Chicago, St. Paul and Fond du Lac Railroad began running its route, stoppingnear the mill on the Des Plaines river, the railroad platted the prospective town of Rand at the site. In 1859, the Chicago and North Western Railway purchased the rail line, in 1869, the Rand subdivision name was changed to Des Plaines, and the village of Des Plaines was incorporated. Des Plaines was reincorporated in 1873 and elected a board the following year. Local brick manufacturer Franklin Whitcomb was the first Village President, in 1925, village residents voted to convert to a city form of government and annexed the village of Riverview to the south. Subsequent annexations included the Orchard Place area in 1956, the city experienced rapid growth after World War II and with the opening of nearby Chicago-OHare International Airport. Two workers at a garage were killed and two more, along with three civilians, were injured, all 271 people on board the aircraft also died. Midwest Gaming received the award despite having the lowest bid because other bidders were found unacceptable by the Board, the city approved zoning in early 2010, and the casino opened in July 2011 as Rivers Casino. Des Plaines is located at 42°2′2″N 87°53′59″W, according to the 2010 census, Des Plaines has a total area of 14.415 square miles, of which 14.28 square miles is land and 0.135 square miles is water. Des Plaines is traversed by two interstate highways – I-90 and I-294, Des Plaines is named for the Des Plaines River, which flows through it. The name is from 18th-century French referencing the American sycamore which resembles the European plane tree, portions of Des Plaines are underlain by the Des Plaines Disturbance, an area in which the layers of sedimentary rock are highly abnormal. This probably represents an ancient meteorite crater,75 to 200 feet beneath the town, the bedrock was highly fractured by the impact, with large blocks of sediment upended. The crater was filled by glacial activity, so that no trace now remains on the surface
3.
Railway signalling
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Railway signalling is a system used to direct railway traffic and keep trains clear of each other at all times. Trains move on fixed rails, making them susceptible to collision. This susceptibility is exacerbated by the weight and inertia of a train. Most forms of control involve movement authority being passed from those responsible for each section of a rail network to the train crew. The set of rules and the equipment used to accomplish this determine what is known as the method of working. Not all these methods require the use of signals. The earliest rail cars were first hauled by horses or mules, a mounted flagman on a horse preceded some early trains. Hand and arm signals were used to direct the “train drivers”, foggy and poor-visibility conditions gave rise to flags and lanterns. Wayside signalling dates back as far as 1832, and used elevated flags or balls that could be seen from afar, the simplest form of operation, at least in terms of equipment, is to run the system according to a timetable. Every train crew understands and adheres to a fixed schedule, trains may only run on each track section at a scheduled time, during which they have possession and no other train may use the same section. When trains run in opposite directions on a railroad, meeting points are scheduled. Neither train is permitted to move before the other has arrived, in the US the display of two green flags is an indication that another train is following the first and the waiting train must wait for the next train to pass. In addition, the carrying the flags gives eight blasts on the whistle as it approaches. The waiting train must return eight blasts before the flag carrying train may proceed, the timetable system has several disadvantages. First, there is no confirmation that the track ahead is clear. A second problem is the systems inflexibility, trains cannot be added, delayed, or rescheduled without advance notice. A third problem is a corollary of the second, the system is inefficient, to provide flexibility, the timetable must give trains a broad allocation of time to allow for delays, so the line is not in the possession of each train for longer than is otherwise necessary. Nonetheless, this system permits operation on a vast scale, with no requirements for any kind of communication that travels faster than a train, timetable operation was the normal mode of operation in North America in the early days of the railroad
4.
Junction (rail)
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A junction, in the context of rail transport, is a place at which two or more rail routes converge or diverge. This implies a connection between the tracks of the two routes, provided by points and signalling. In a simple case where two routes with one or two tracks each meet at a junction, a simple layout of tracks suffices to allow trains to transfer from one route to the other. More complicated junctions are needed to permit trains to travel in direction after joining the new route. In this latter case, the three points of the triangle may be different names, for example using points of the compass as well as the name of the overall place. Rail transport operations refer to stations that lie on or near a railway junction as a junction station, frequently, trains are built up and taken apart at such stations so that the same train can split up and go to multiple destinations. For goods trains, marshalling yards serve a similar purpose, the worlds first railway junction was Newton Junction near Newton-le-Willows, England where, in 1831, two railways merged. The capacity of the limits the capacity of a railway network more than the capacity of individual railway lines. This applies more as the density increases. Measures to improve junctions are often more useful than building new railway lines, the capacity of a railway junction can be increased with improved signalling measures, by building points suitable for higher speeds, or by turning level junctions into flying junctions. With more complicated junctions such construction can rapidly become very expensive, especially if space is restricted by tunnels, rail terminology Interlocking Railway town Double junction
5.
Track (rail transport)
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The track on a railway or railroad, also known as the permanent way, is the structure consisting of the rails, fasteners, railroad ties and ballast, plus the underlying subgrade. It enables trains to move by providing a surface for their wheels to roll upon. For clarity it is referred to as railway track or railroad track. Tracks where electric trains or electric trams run are equipped with a system such as an overhead electrical power line or an additional electrified rail. The term permanent way also refers to the track in addition to structures such as fences etc. Most railroads with heavy traffic use continuously welded rails supported by sleepers attached via baseplates that spread the load, a plastic or rubber pad is usually placed between the rail and the tieplate where concrete sleepers are used. The rail is held down to the sleeper with resilient fastenings. For much of the 20th century, rail track used softwood timber sleepers and jointed rails, jointed rails were used at first because contemporary technology did not offer any alternative. The joints also needed to be lubricated, and wear at the mating surfaces needed to be rectified by shimming. For this reason jointed track is not financially appropriate for heavily operated railroads, timber sleepers are of many available timbers, and are often treated with creosote, copper-chrome-arsenic, or other wood preservative. Pre-stressed concrete sleepers are used where timber is scarce and where tonnage or speeds are high. Steel is used in some applications, the track ballast is customarily crushed stone, and the purpose of this is to support the sleepers and allow some adjustment of their position, while allowing free drainage. A disadvantage of traditional track structures is the demand for maintenance, particularly surfacing and lining to restore the desired track geometry. Weakness of the subgrade and drainage deficiencies also lead to maintenance costs. This can be overcome by using ballastless track, in its simplest form this consists of a continuous slab of concrete with the rails supported directly on its upper surface. There are a number of systems, and variations include a continuous reinforced concrete slab. Many permutations of design have been put forward, however, ballastless track has a high initial cost, and in the case of existing railroads the upgrade to such requires closure of the route for a long period. Its whole-life cost can be lower because of the reduction in maintenance, some rubber-tyred metros use ballastless tracks
6.
Railway signal
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A signal is a mechanical or electrical device erected beside a railway line to pass information relating to the state of the line ahead to train/engine drivers. The driver interprets the signals indication and acts accordingly, typically, a signal might inform the driver of the speed at which the train may safely proceed or it may instruct the driver to stop. Originally, signals displayed simple stop/proceed indications, as traffic density increased, this proved to be too limiting and refinements were added. One such refinement was the addition of distant signals on the approach to stop signals, the distant signal gave the driver warning that he was approaching a signal which might require a stop. This allowed for an increase in speed, since train drivers no longer had to drive at a speed within sighting distance of the stop signal. Under timetable and train operation, the signals did not directly convey orders to the train crew. Instead, they directed the crew to pick up orders, possibly stopping to do so if the order warranted it, signals are used to indicate one or more of the following, that the line ahead is clear or blocked. That the driver has permission to proceed, the speed the train may travel. The state of the next signal and that the train orders are to be picked up by the crew. Signals can be placed, at the start of a section of track, on the approach to a movable item of infrastructure, such as points/switches or a swingbridge. in advance of other signals. On the approach to a level crossing, ahead of platforms or other places that trains are likely to be stopped. Running lines are usually continuously signalled, each line of a double track railway is normally signalled in one direction only, with all signals facing the same direction on either line. Where bi-directional signalling is installed, signals face in both directions on both tracks, signals are generally not provided for controlling movements within sidings or yard areas. The aspect is the appearance of the signal, the indication is the meaning. In American practice the indications have conventional names, so that for instance Medium Approach means Proceed at not exceeding medium speed and it is important to understand that for signals that use coloured aspects, the colour of each individual light is subsumed in the overall pattern. In the United States, for example, it is common to see a Clear aspect consisting of a light above a red light. The red light in this instance does not indicate Stop, it is simply a component of a larger aspect. Operating rules normally specify that there is some imperfection in the display of an aspect
7.
Railroad switch
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A railroad switch, turnout or points is a mechanical installation enabling railway trains to be guided from one track to another, such as at a railway junction or where a spur or siding branches off. The switch consists of the pair of linked tapering rails, known as points and these points can be moved laterally into one of two positions to direct a train coming from the point blades toward the straight path or the diverging path. A train moving from the end toward the point blades is said to be executing a facing-point movement. Passage through a switch in this direction is known as a trailing-point movement, a switch generally has a straight through track and a diverging route. The handedness of the installation is described by the side that the track leaves. Right-hand switches have a path to the right of the straight track, when coming from the point blades. In many cases, such as yards, many switches can be found in a short section of track. Sometimes a switch merely divides one track into two, at others, it serves as a connection between two or more tracks, allowing a train to switch between them. A straight track is not always present, for example, both tracks may curve, one to the left and one to the right, or both tracks may curve, with differing radii, while still in the same direction. A railroad cars wheels are guided along the tracks by coning of the wheels, only in extreme cases does it rely on the flanges located on the insides of the wheels. When the wheels reach the switch, the wheels are guided along the route determined by which of the two points is connected to the track facing the switch. In the illustration, if the point is connected, the left wheel will be guided along the rail of that point. If the right point is connected, the right wheels flange will be guided along the rail of that point, and the train will continue along the straight track. Only one of the points may be connected to the track at any time. A mechanism is provided to move the points from one position to the other, historically, this would require a lever to be moved by a human operator, and some switches are still controlled this way. However, most are now operated by a remotely controlled electric motor or by pneumatic or hydraulic actuation and this both allows for remote control and for stiffer, strong switches that would be too difficult to move by hand, yet allow for higher speeds. In a trailing-point movement, the flanges on the wheels will force the points to the proper position and this is sometimes known as running through the switch. Some switches are designed to be forced to the position without damage
8.
Derail (railroad)
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A derail or derailer is a device used to prevent fouling of a rail track by unauthorized movements of trains or unattended rolling stock. The device works by derailing the equipment as it rolls over or through it, there are four basic forms of derail. The most common form is a piece of steel which fits over the top of the rail. If a car or locomotive attempts to roll over it, the flange is lifted over the rail to the outside. When not in use, the derail folds away, leaving the rail unobstructed and it can be manually or remotely operated, in the former case it will have a lock applied to prevent it from being moved by unauthorized personnel. This type is common on North American railroads, the second type of derail is the split rail type. These are basically a complete or partial railroad switch which directs the errant rolling stock away from the main line and this form is common throughout the UK, where it is called trap points or catch points. The third type of derail is the portable derail, and is used by mechanical forces. This is often used in conjunction with Blue Flag rules and is temporary in nature and they are placed onto one side of the rail with the derail pointed to the outside of the track. Then there is a part of the derail that is able to be tightened down to the rail and then secured with a locking mechanism. If the derail is left unlocked for any reason or does not have a mechanism deployed then the owner of the derail can face substantial fines if found by an FRA inspector. The fourth type of derailer is the powered or motorized derailer and this type of derailer can be controlled remotely from an external control panel or manually. It is commonly installed as a part of Depot Personnel Protection Systems, to ensure safety in maintenance workshops. Derails have failed on occasion, such as the Newark Bay rail accident of 1958, or on April 1,1987, at Burnham, Illinois, due to rusty rails, the car then failed to shunt the track circuit that should have put block signals to stop
9.
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
10.
John Saxby
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John Saxby was a British engineer from Brighton, noted for his work in railway signalling and the invention of the interlocking system of points and signals. He was later a partner in the firm Saxby and Farmer, Saxby was born at Brighton on 17 August 1821 and in 1834 was apprenticed at the age of thirteen to a carpenter and joiner. In 1840 he was employed as a carpenter at the Brighton railway works of the London and Brighton Railway to make oak mile-posts, and he later became the foreman of the carpenters and joiners, sawyers, pattern makers, plumbers, gas-fitters, and labourers at the works. Two accidents took place on the London Brighton and South Coast Railway during the early 1850s due to signalling failures, Saxby became interested in railway safety and invented an improved signalling lamp, giving considerable benefits and savings on the lamps then in use. He also invented a device for interlocking points and signals, in 1856 he was awarded a patent for this invention which was designed to act at once upon all the points and signals at a railway junction. Not only were the points and signals activated, but all the signals in the system were locked against improper use. The first interlocked signaling system was installed at the Bricklayers Arms junction and it consisted of eight semaphore signals and six pairs of points controlling the routes in and out of London bridge Station and neighbouring goods yards, with linkages to a signal box. In 1861 Saxby left the employment and started his own business at Haywards Heath to manufacture signalling apparatus. The following year he was joined in partnership by John Stinson Farmer, Saxby and Farmer became the leading manufacturers of railway signaling equipment and established a works at Kilburn where they eventually employed 3,000 workers. The firm also established works at Brussels, in 1868 the company also constructed the worlds first traffic signal for road traffic in Londons George Street, working to the designs of the South-Eastern Railway engineer John Peake Knight. In 1875 firm brought out its first mechanical brake, which more powerful braking by connecting each vehicles brakes together. Saxbys son James established a works at Creil near Paris in 1878. From the 1860s to the 1880s Saxby and Farmer were the dominant force in railway signalling equipment manufacture, much of the equipment they provided survived in use for the greater part of the twentieth century. Saxby and Farmer became the contractor responsible for building signal boxes on behalf of railways. The partnership with Farmer ended in 1888 and the French works became part of John Saxby Ltd in 1889, in 1901 the British company that Saxby founded merged with several rivals to create the Westinghouse Brake and Signal Company Ltd. The French company is now part of United Technologies Corporation, John Saxby died at Hassocks, Sussex on 22 April 1913. He is commemorated with a plaque in Brighton Station
11.
London and North Western Railway
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The London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century the L&NWR was the largest joint stock company in the world, the company was formed on 16 July 1846 by the amalgamation of the Grand Junction Railway, London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway. This move was prompted in part by the Great Western Railways plans for a railway north from Oxford to Birmingham, the company initially had a network of approximately 350 miles, connecting London with Birmingham, Crewe, Chester, Liverpool and Manchester. The headquarters were at Euston railway station, as traffic increased it was greatly expanded with the opening in 1849 of the Great Hall, designed by Philip Charles Hardwick in classical style. It was 126 ft long,61 ft wide and 64 ft high, the station stood on Drummond Street. Further expansion resulted in two platforms in the 1870s, and four more in the 1890s, bringing the total to 15. The LNWR described itself as the Premier Line, as the largest joint stock company in the United Kingdom, it collected a greater revenue than any other railway company of its era. With the Grand Union Railway acquisition of the North Union Railway in 1846, in 1858 they merged with the Chester and Holyhead Railway and became responsible for the lucrative Irish Mail trains via the North Wales Main Line to Holyhead and handled the Irish Mail. On 1 February 1859 the company launched the limited mail service, the Postmaster General was always willing to allow a fourth coach provided the increased weight did not cause time to be lost in running. The train was timed to leave Euston at 20.30 and operated until the GPO instituted its own post train, wholly of Post Office vehicles, on 1 October 1873 the first sleeping carriage ran between Euston and Glasgow, attached to the limited mail. It ran three nights a week in each direction, on 1 February 1874 a second carriage was provided and the service ran every night. In 1860 the company pioneered the use of the water trough designed by John Ramsbottom and it was introduced on a section of level track at Mochdre, between Llandudno Junction and Colwyn Bay. At the core of the LNWR system was the main line network connecting London Euston with the cities of Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester. This route is known as the West Coast Main Line. The LNWR also had a line connecting Liverpool and Manchester with Leeds. At its peak just before World War I, it ran a route mileage of more than 1,500 miles, in 1913 the company achieved a total revenue of £17,219,060 with working expenses of £11,322,164. With this, the LNWR achieved a route mileage of 2,707.88 miles, the LNWR became a constituent of the London, Midland and Scottish railway when the railways of Great Britain were merged in the grouping of 1923. Ex-LNWR lines formed the core of the LMSs Western Division, nationalisation followed in 1948, with the English and Welsh lines of the LMS becoming the London Midland Region of British Railways
12.
Spuyten Duyvil, Bronx
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Spuyten Duyvil /ˈspaɪtən ˈdaɪvəl/ is an upper middle class neighborhood of the Bronx, New York City. The area is named after Spuyten Duyvil Creek, Spuyten Duyvil may be literally translated as Spouting Devil or Spuitende Duivel in Dutch, a reference to the strong and wild tidal currents found at that location. It may also be translated as Spewing Devil or Spinning Devil, spui is a Dutch word involving outlets for water. Historian Reginald Pelham Bolton, however, argues that the phrase means sprouting meadow, an additional translation, to spite the Devil or in spite of the devil, was popularized by a story in Washington Irvings A Knickerbockers History of New York published in 1809. The creek was referred to as Shorakapok by Lenape Native Americans in the area and this may be the earliest recorded shark attack in the New World. In the late 17th century, Frederick Philipse, the lord of Philipse Manor in Westchester County, received permission to construct a bridge across Spuyten Duyvil Creek, kings Bridge, which was located roughly south of and parallel to where West 230th Street lies today, opened in 1693. Development of the began in the latter half of the 19th century once the New York Central. This is the still used by Metro-North today. Through the 1920s development of the Spuyten Duyvil neighborhood continued, on July 18,2013, a freight train derailed near the Spuyten Duyvil station due to an excessively wide gauge at one point. No one was killed or injured, less than six months later on December 1, a commuter train derailment near the Spuyten Duyvil station resulted in 4 deaths and over 70 injuries,11 of them critical. The cause of the derailment was determined to be excessive speed. Spuyten Duyvil Bridge, a swing bridge that carries Amtraks Empire Corridor line between New York City and Albany, spans Spuyten Duyvil Creek. The north end of the Henry Hudson Bridge connects the neighborhood to the island of Manhattan via the Henry Hudson Parkway, the church was designated a New York City landmark in 1980. Villa Charlotte Bronte is an apartment house built in 1926 and designed by Robert Gardner, hell Gate List of place names of Dutch origin John Jay McKelvey, Sr. Attorney, Park District Protection League Trustee. Notes Bibliography Burrows, Edwin G. & Wallace, Mike, Gotham, A History of New York City to 1898, New York, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-195-11634-8 Fernicola, twelve Days of Terror, A Definitive Investigation of the 1916 New Jersey Shark Attacks. The Encyclopedia of New York City, New Haven, Yale University Press, ISBN0300055366 New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission, Dolkart, Andrew S. Postal, Matthew A. Postal, Matthew A. ed
13.
New York City
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The City of New York, often called New York City or simply New York, is the most populous city in the United States. With an estimated 2015 population of 8,550,405 distributed over an area of about 302.6 square miles. Located at the tip of the state of New York. Home to the headquarters of the United Nations, New York is an important center for international diplomacy and has described as the cultural and financial capital of the world. Situated on one of the worlds largest natural harbors, New York City consists of five boroughs, the five boroughs – Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, The Bronx, and Staten Island – were consolidated into a single city in 1898. In 2013, the MSA produced a gross metropolitan product of nearly US$1.39 trillion, in 2012, the CSA generated a GMP of over US$1.55 trillion. NYCs MSA and CSA GDP are higher than all but 11 and 12 countries, New York City traces its origin to its 1624 founding in Lower Manhattan as a trading post by colonists of the Dutch Republic and was named New Amsterdam in 1626. The city and its surroundings came under English control in 1664 and were renamed New York after King Charles II of England granted the lands to his brother, New York served as the capital of the United States from 1785 until 1790. It has been the countrys largest city since 1790, the Statue of Liberty greeted millions of immigrants as they came to the Americas by ship in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and is a symbol of the United States and its democracy. In the 21st century, New York has emerged as a node of creativity and entrepreneurship, social tolerance. Several sources have ranked New York the most photographed city in the world, the names of many of the citys bridges, tapered skyscrapers, and parks are known around the world. Manhattans real estate market is among the most expensive in the world, Manhattans Chinatown incorporates the highest concentration of Chinese people in the Western Hemisphere, with multiple signature Chinatowns developing across the city. Providing continuous 24/7 service, the New York City Subway is one of the most extensive metro systems worldwide, with 472 stations in operation. Over 120 colleges and universities are located in New York City, including Columbia University, New York University, and Rockefeller University, during the Wisconsinan glaciation, the New York City region was situated at the edge of a large ice sheet over 1,000 feet in depth. The ice sheet scraped away large amounts of soil, leaving the bedrock that serves as the foundation for much of New York City today. Later on, movement of the ice sheet would contribute to the separation of what are now Long Island and Staten Island. The first documented visit by a European was in 1524 by Giovanni da Verrazzano, a Florentine explorer in the service of the French crown and he claimed the area for France and named it Nouvelle Angoulême. Heavy ice kept him from further exploration, and he returned to Spain in August and he proceeded to sail up what the Dutch would name the North River, named first by Hudson as the Mauritius after Maurice, Prince of Orange
14.
New York Central Railroad
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The New York Central Railroad was a railroad operating in the Northeastern United States. NYCs Grand Central Terminal in New York City is one of its best known extant landmarks, in 1968 the NYC merged with its former rival, the Pennsylvania Railroad, to form Penn Central. That company went bankrupt in 1970 and was taken over by the federal government, Conrail was broken up in 1998, and portions of its system was transferred to the newly formed New York Central Lines LLC, a subsidiary leased to and eventually absorbed by CSX and Norfolk Southern. Those companies lines included the original New York Central main line, but outside that area it included lines that were never part of the New York Central system. At the end of 1925, the New York Central System operated 11,584 miles of road and 26,395 miles of track, at the end of 1967 the mileages were 9,696 miles and 18,454 miles. The Mohawk and Hudson opened on September 24,1831, and changed its name to the Albany, the Utica and Schenectady Railroad was chartered April 29,1833, as the railroad paralleled the Erie Canal it was prohibited from carrying freight. Revenue service began August 2,1836, extending the line of the Albany and Schenectady Railroad west from Schenectady along the side of the Mohawk River, opposite the Erie Canal. The Syracuse and Utica Railroad was chartered May 1,1836, the full line opened July 3,1839, extending the line further to Syracuse via Rome. This line was not direct, going out of its way to stay near the Erie Canal and serve Rome, nothing of that line was ever built, though the later West Shore Railroad, acquired by the NYC in 1885, served the same purpose. The Auburn and Syracuse Railroad was chartered May 1,1834, and opened mostly in 1838, a month later, with the opening of the Syracuse and Utica Railroad, this formed a complete line from Albany west via Syracuse to Auburn, about halfway to Geneva. The Auburn and Rochester Railroad was chartered May 13,1836, as an extension via Geneva and Canandaigua to Rochester. The two lines merged on August 1,1850, to form the rather indirect Rochester and Syracuse Railroad, to fix this, the Rochester and Syracuse Direct Railway was chartered and immediately merged into the Rochester and Syracuse Railroad on August 6,1850. That line opened June 1,1853, running more directly between those two cities, roughly parallel to the Erie Canal. The Tonawanda Railroad, to the west of Rochester, was chartered April 24,1832 to build from said city to Attica. The first section, from Rochester southwest to Batavia, opened May 5,1837, the Attica and Buffalo Railroad chartered in 1836 and opened on November 24,1842, running from Buffalo east to Attica. On March 19,1844, the Tonawanda Railroad was authorized to build the connection, the Albany and Schenectady Railroad bought all the baggage, mail and emigrant cars of the other railroads between Albany and Buffalo on February 17,1848, and began operating through cars. On December 7,1850, the Tonawanda Railroad and Attica and Buffalo Railroad merged to form the Buffalo and Rochester Railroad. A new direct line opened from Buffalo east to Batavia on April 26,1852, the line was added to the New York and Erie Railroad system and converted to the Eries 6 ft broad gauge
15.
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
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Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in the United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 49,673, it is the tenth-largest city in the Commonwealth and it lies on the east bank of the Susquehanna River,107 miles west of Philadelphia. The Harrisburg-York-Lebanon, PA Combined Statistical Area is made up of six counties in south central Pennsylvania, Harrisburg played a notable role in American history during the Westward Migration, the American Civil War, and the Industrial Revolution. The U. S. Navy ship USS Harrisburg, which served from 1918 to 1919 at the end of World War I, was named in honor of the city. The Pennsylvania Farm Show, the largest free indoor agriculture exposition in the United States, was first held in Harrisburg in 1917 and has held there every early-to-mid January since then. Harrisburg is also known for the Three Mile Island accident, which occurred on March 28,1979 near Middletown, in 2010 Forbes rated Harrisburg as the second best place in the U. S. to raise a family. Despite the citys recent financial troubles, in 2010 The Daily Beast website ranked 20 metropolitan areas across the country as being recession-proof, the financial stability of the region is in part due to the high concentration of state and federal government agencies. The finances of the city however, were poorly managed. Harrisburgs site along the Susquehanna River is thought to have been inhabited by Native Americans as early as 3000 BC, in 1719, John Harris, Sr. an English trader, settled here and 14 years later secured grants of 800 acres in this vicinity. In 1785, John Harris, Jr. made plans to lay out a town on his fathers land, in the spring of 1785, the town was formally surveyed by William Maclay, who was a son-in-law of John Harris, Sr. In 1791, Harrisburg became incorporated, and in October 1812 it was named the Pennsylvania state capital, the assembling here of the highly sectional Harrisburg Convention in 1827 led to the passage of the high protective-tariff bill of 1828. In 1839, Harrison and Tyler were nominated for President of the United States at the first national convention of the Whig Party of the United States, which was held in Harrisburg. Before Harrisburg gained its first industries, it was a scenic, pastoral town, typical of most of the day, compact, in 1822, the impressive brick capitol was completed for $200,000. It was Harrisburg’s strategic location which gave it an advantage over other towns. It was settled as a trading post in 1719 at an important to Westward expansion. The importance of the location was that it was at a pass in a mountain ridge, the Susquehanna River flowed generally west to east at this location, providing a route for boat traffic from the east. The head of navigation was a distance northwest of the town. Persons arriving from the east by boat had to exit at Harrisburg, Harrisburg assumed importance as a provisioning stop at this point where westward bound pioneers transitioned from river travel to overland travel
16.
New York City Transit Authority
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The New York City Transit Authority is a public authority in the U. S. state of New York that operates public transportation in New York City. Part of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the busiest and largest transit system in North America, the NYCTA operates the following systems, New York City Subway, a rapid transit system in Manhattan, The Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens. Staten Island Railway, a transit line in Staten Island New York City Bus. As part of establishing a common identity, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in 1994 assigned popular names to each of its subsidiaries and affiliates. The New York City Transit Authority is now known popularly as MTA New York City Transit, newer contracts and RFPs, however, have also used the popular name. The Authority is also referred to as NYCT, or simply the TA. The Executive Director of the MTA is, ex officio, Executive Director of the Transit Authority, the Transit Authority has its own management structure which is responsible for its day-to-day operations, with executive personnel reporting to the agency president. Veronique “Ronnie” Hakim is the current President of New York City Transit, the subway system today is composed of what once were three separate systems in competition with one another. Two of them were built and operated by companies, August Belmonts Interborough Rapid Transit Company. The third, the public Independent Subway System was owned and operated by the City of New York. The IRT and BMT systems were acquired by the city on June 1,1940 for $317,000,000, the buses on Staten Island had been operated by a private company operating under a franchise that expired in 1946. When it became known that the company would not renew its franchise and this group ran into financial difficulties and the city took over the company on February 23,1947. The city then controlled all of the bus routes on Staten Island, on March 30,1947, the City took over the bus lines of the North Shore Bus Company, which comprised half of the privately owned lines in Queens, after that company went into financial troubles. On September 24,1948, the City acquired five bus lines in Manhattan for similar reasons, factories began to work around the clock, and therefore business boomed. Transit repairs were kept at a minimum as basic materials were in supply for civilian use. Operating revenues were raised and maintenance costs were reduced, but as a result, the future problems of deferred maintenance and falling ridership. In 1946, costs rose and profits turned to losses, and to obtain needed funds, the fare was raised in 1948 to ten cents on the subways and elevated and this increase only produced a revenue surplus for a single year. In 1951 a uniform ten-cent fare was established on both the transit and surface lines
17.
Union Switch & Signal
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Union Switch and Signal is a supplier of railway signaling equipment, systems and services in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. As of January 1,2009, US&S is known as Ansaldo STS USA, george Westinghouse founded Union Switch & Signal in 1881, consolidating the assets of the Union Electric Signal Company and the Interlocking Switch & Signal Company. In 1925 US&S acquired the Hall Signal Company, primarily to obtain the latter companys patents for searchlight signals, US&S operated as an independent company until 1917, when it became a subsidiary of the Westinghouse Air Brake Company. In 1968, American Standard purchased WABCO and reorganized US&S as a separate division, in 1988, Ansaldo purchased US&S from American Standard. In November 1993, US&S became a traded company with shares listed on Nasdaq. In December 1996, US&S merged with the other signaling investments of Ansaldo, as a result of that merger, US&S is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Ansaldo STS, a global supplier of signaling, control and automation systems. The company was renamed Ansaldo STS – USA in January 2009, throughout its history, US&S had manufacturing facilities in the borough of Swissvale, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh. The Swissvale plant was closed in 1985 and demolished in 1986, US&S moved manufacturing operations to a facility in Batesburg-Leesville, South Carolina. It maintained a facility in Pittsburgh. Other facilities include a service and repair shop in Kingston, Ontario, US&S built the first power interlocking system in the United States, a pneumatic design, in 1882 at East St. Louis, Illinois. Within several years the company developed a system, which was widely adopted by railroads across the country. In 1901 US&S developed the first electro-pneumatic automatic train stop system for the Boston Elevated Railway and this system was later adopted by the New York City Subway and other transit systems. In 1908 the company introduced a highway crossing gate. In 1923 US&S developed the first inductive train control system, the company developed coded track circuits, supporting bi-directional cab signalling, in 1934. The first digital rail yard control system was built by US&S in 1970, for the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railway at Kansas City, US&S first patented the Model 15A Highway crossing bell on February 20,1917. The bell has been referred to as the Teardrop bell by railroaders and signal fans alike because of its unique shape. This bell has appeared on advertising literature for railroad signals as far back as the 1920s as far abroad as Chile and Italy on early wig wag crossings and this is the most commonly seen variation of the Teardrop. This bell is treasured by many for its slow low pitched ring at an irregular cadence, the production of this bell was discontinued sometime by the 1960s, but WABCO carried replacement castings and service manuals into the 1970s
18.
Bound Brook, New Jersey
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Bound Brook is a borough in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States, located along the Raritan River. Bound Brook was originally incorporated as a town by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 24,1869, on February 11,1891, it was reincorporated as a borough, based on the results of a referendum held on the previous day. The brook, which was mentioned as a boundary in a Native American deed, a wooden bridge over the Raritan River was erected as early as 1761 and named Queens Bridge in 1767. Later, it became a covered bridge, during the American Revolutionary War, the bridge was used repeatedly by both sides including during the Battle of Bound Brook in 1777. In 1875, the bridge was replaced by a steel pipe truss bridge. More than 100 years later, that bridge was replaced by a steel girder bridge in 1984. The bridge was renovated and repaved in 2007, according to the United States Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 1.695 square miles, including 1.659 square miles of land and 0.036 square miles of water. The borough borders the municipalities of Bridgewater Township and South Bound Brook in Somerset County, since the southern portion of the borough is a low-lying natural flood plain of the Raritan River, Bound Brook has suffered occasional severe flooding after heavy rain. Extensive flood control measures were put into place during 1999–2015 to provide protection from 150-year floods, Bound Brook prides itself on having a diverse community. It has many thriving businesses, including restaurants and small markets. As of the census of 2010, there were 10,402 people,3,586 households, the population density was 6,269.6 per square mile. There were 3,816 housing units at a density of 2,300.0 per square mile. [[Hispanic |Hispanic or Latino of any race were 48. 66% of the population,22. 8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7. 9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.89 and the family size was 3.28. In the borough, the population was out with 22. 6% under the age of 18,9. 0% from 18 to 24,34. 2% from 25 to 44,24. 0% from 45 to 64. The median age was 35.1 years, for every 100 females there were 109.7 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and old there were 108.4 males, the Census Bureaus 2006-2010 American Community Survey showed that median household income was $67,056 and the median family income was $68,315. Males had an income of $33,462 versus $35,261 for females
19.
Reading Company
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The Reading Company operated an important railroad in southeast Pennsylvania and neighboring states from 1924-1976. Commonly called the Reading Railroad, it was a successor to the Philadelphia, until the decline in anthracite loadings in the Coal Region after World War II, it was one of the most prosperous corporations in the United States. Competition with the highway system and short hauls compounded the companys problems. Its railroad operations were merged into Conrail in 1976, but the corporation lasted into 2000, the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad was one of the first railroads in the United States. Along with the Little Schuylkill, a railroad in the Schuylkill River Valley. Primarily, the P&R was constructed to haul coal from the mines in northeastern Pennsylvanias Coal Region to Philadelphia. The P&R mainline had the distinction of being, upon its 1843 completion, the P&R became profitable almost immediately. In 1871, the Reading established a subsidiary called the Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron Company, the heavy investment in coal paid off quickly. By 1871, the Reading was the largest company in the world, with $170,000,000 in gross value, in 1879, the Reading gained control of the North Pennsylvania Railroad and gained access to the burgeoning steel industry in the Lehigh Valley. Instead of broadening its rail network, the Reading invested its vast wealth in anthracite and this led to financial trouble in the 1870s. In 1890, Reading president Archibald A. McLeod saw that more riches could be earned by expanding its rail network, McLeod went about trying to control neighboring railroads in 1891. He was able to control of the Lehigh Valley Railroad, Central Railroad of New Jersey. The Reading almost achieved its goal of becoming a road, but the deal was scuttled by J. P. Morgan and other rail barons. The Reading was relegated to a railroad for the rest of its history. The Philadelphia and Reading Rail Road was chartered April 4,1833, the portion from Reading to Norristown opened July 16,1838, the full line December 9,1839. An extension northwest from Reading to Mount Carbon, also on the Schuylkill River, opened on January 13,1842, at Mount Carbon, it connected with the earlier Mount Carbon Railroad, continuing through Pottsville to several mines, and would eventually be extended to Williamsport. On May 17 of 1842, a branch from West Falls to Port Richmond on the Delaware River north of downtown Philadelphia opened. Port Richmond later became a large coal terminal
20.
Lehigh Valley Railroad
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The Lehigh Valley Railroad was one of a number of railroads built in the northeastern United States primarily to haul anthracite coal. On January 7,1853, the name was changed to Lehigh Valley Railroad. It was sometimes known as the Route of the Black Diamond, at the time, anthracite was transported by boat down the Lehigh River, the railroad was meant to be faster transportation. The railroad ended operations in 1976 and merged into Conrail along with several railroads that same year. During its existence, the Lehigh Valley Railroad used a line that later became known as the Lehigh Line in order for it to operate. The line was known as the Lehigh Valley Mainline during the majority of its time under the ownership of the Lehigh Valley Railroad, Conrail shortened the line by abandoning most of its route to Buffalo. The Lehigh Line still exists and retains its original route but it now also doesnt reach close to New York City, the Lehigh Line is now owned by the Norfolk Southern Railway and has lost its trackage miles between Manville, New Jersey and Newark, New Jersey. As of 31 Dec 1925,1363.7 miles of road,3533.3 miles of track, the Lehigh Valley Railroad was authorized on April 21,1846 for freight and transportation of passengers, goods, wares, merchandise and minerals in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania. The route was surveyed and grading started in 1850, but progress was slow, the railroad began to survey a route from Mauch Chunk to Easton, Pennsylvania and the route was to be double tracked. The survey was conducted by Robert H. Sayre, the railroads Chief Engineer, with a rail of not less than 55 lb to the yard, and aiding along the line not less than four miles additional. Asa Packer wanted thorough rock cuts throughout the length of the line and doubled tracked bridge over the Delaware River into Phillipsburg. The railroads growth occurred after Asa Packer invested in the company in 1852, on January 7,1853, the railroad was renamed to the Lehigh Valley Railroad. Sayre, the chief engineer, the lines route to Mauch Chunk was delayed. At Easton, the LVRR constructed a bridge across the Delaware River for connections to the CNJ. From Easton to Allentown, the LVRR ran two trains daily from its opening date until September 11,1855, during this time, the LVRR was finishing construction of an extension of the line from Allentown to Mauch Chunk. After October 1,1855, the LVRR added more services to the Allentown-Mauch Chunk route. Through a connection with the Central Railroad of New Jersey, LVRR passengers had a route to Newark, New Jersey, Jersey City, New Jersey, a daily freight train was put into operation leaving Easton in the morning and returning in the evening. In the early part of October 1855, a contract was made with Howard & Co of Philadelphia to do the business of the railroad
21.
Chicago and Northern Pacific Railroad
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The Baltimore and Ohio Chicago Terminal Railroad is a terminal railroad in the Chicago area, formerly giving various other companies access to Grand Central Station. It also served to connect those railroads for freight transfers, and is now controlled by CSX Corporation, the next month, the WC had itself leased to the Northern Pacific. As they were controlled by the same railroad, the C&NP and the C&CT were linked together with new construction. Weakened by the economic downturn, the C&NP was bankrupt by October 1893. In July 1897, a new company called the Chicago Terminal Transfer Railroad bought the C&NP from the Wisconsin Central. While the WC no longer had its own connection to the city, it continued to use the line to access Grand Central Station until 1899. In May 1897, the Chicago Terminal Transfer merged the Chicago & Calumet Terminal, the B&O began using Grand Central Station in 1892, when a connection was made between the CTT and the B&O at South Chicago. When the Pere Marquette Railroad was completed to Porter, Indiana in 1903, the railroad reached a peak size in the 1920s of 78 route-miles and 365 track-miles. The railroad was located in Chicago, connections made at Forest Park and trackage rights allowed the Minneapolis. Marie Railway and the Chicago Great Western Railway access to Grand Central Station, the Pere Marquette Railroad and B&O also used the B&OCT to access Grand Central Station. IL-1016, Grand Central Station Historic American Engineering Record No
22.
Chicago River
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The Chicago River is a system of rivers and canals with a combined length of 156 miles that runs through the city of Chicago, including its center. The River is also noteworthy for its natural and man-made history, in 1999, this system was named a Civil Engineering Monument of the Millennium by the American Society of Civil Engineers. The river is memorialized, in part, by two blue stripes on the Municipal Flag of Chicago. The source of the North Branch is in the suburbs of Chicago where its three principal tributaries converge. The Skokie River—or East Fork—rises from an area, historically a wetland, near Park City. It then flows southward, paralleling the edge of Lake Michigan, through wetlands, the Greenbelt Forest Preserve, South of Highland Park the river passes the Chicago Botanic Gardens and through an area of former marshlands known as the Skokie Lagoons. The Middle Fork arises near Rondout, Illinois and flows southwards through Lake Forest and these two tributaries merge at Watersmeet Woods west of Wilmette. From there the North Branch flows south towards Morton Grove, the West Fork rises near Mettawa and flows south through Bannockburn, Deerfield, and Northbrook, meeting the North Branch at Morton Grove. South of Belmont the North Branch is lined with a mixture of residential developments, retail parks, the North Branch Canal—or Ogdens Canal—was completed in 1857, and was originally 50 feet wide and 10 feet deep allowing craft navigating the river to avoid the bend. The 1902 Cherry Avenue Bridge, just south of North Avenue, was constructed to carry the Chicago, Milwaukee and it is a rare example of an asymmetric bob-tail swing bridge and was designated a Chicago Landmark in 2007. From Goose Island the North Branch continues to south east to Wolf Point where it joins the Main Stem. The source of the Main Stem of the Chicago River is Lake Michigan, acoustic velocity meters at the Columbus Drive Bridge and the T. J. On the south bank of the river is the site of Fort Dearborn, notable buildings surrounding this area include the NBC Tower, the Tribune Tower, and the Wrigley Building. The river turns slightly to the south west between Michigan Avenue and State Street, passing the Trump International Hotel and Tower,35 East Wacker, turning west again the river passes Marina City, the Reid, Murdoch & Co. Building, and Merchandise Mart, and 333 Wacker Drive, since the early 2000s, the south shore of the Main Stem has been developed as the Chicago Riverwalk. It provides a linear, lushly landscaped park intended to offer an escape from the busy Loop. Different sections are named Market, Civic, Arcade, and Confluence, the sections between State Street and Lake Street are currently under construction and scheduled to be completed by the end of 2016. The plans reflect ideas first proposed by the Burnham Plan as early as 1909, the source of the South Branch of the Chicago River is the confluence of the North Branch and Main stem at Wolf Point
23.
Siemens
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Siemens AG is a German conglomerate company headquartered in Berlin and Munich and the largest manufacturing and electronics company in Europe with branch offices abroad. The principal divisions of the company are Industry, Energy, Healthcare, and Infrastructure & Cities, the company is a component of the Euro Stoxx 50 stock market index. Siemens and its subsidiaries employ approximately 362,000 people worldwide, the von Siemens family remain the largest shareholder with a stake of 6. 9% percent. Siemens & Halske was founded by Werner von Siemens and Johann Georg Halske on 12 October 1847, based on the telegraph, their invention used a needle to point to the sequence of letters, instead of using Morse code. The company, then called Telegraphen-Bauanstalt von Siemens & Halske, opened its first workshop on 12 October, in 1848, the company built the first long-distance telegraph line in Europe,500 km from Berlin to Frankfurt am Main. In 1850, the younger brother, Carl Wilhelm Siemens, later Sir William Siemens. The London agency became an office in 1858. In the 1850s, the company was involved in building long distance telegraph networks in Russia, in 1855, a company branch headed by another brother, Carl Heinrich von Siemens, opened in St Petersburg, Russia. In 1867, Siemens completed the monumental Indo-European telegraph line, in 1867, Werner von Siemens described a dynamo without permanent magnets. A similar system was independently invented by Charles Wheatstone. In 1881, a Siemens AC Alternator driven by a watermill was used to power the worlds first electric lighting in the town of Godalming. The company continued to grow and diversified into electric trains and light bulbs, in 1890, the founder retired and left running the company to his brother Carl and sons Arnold and Wilhelm. In 1887, it opened its first office in Japan, Siemens & Halske was incorporated in 1897, and then merged parts of its activities with Schuckert & Co. Nuremberg in 1903 to become Siemens-Schuckert, in 1907, Siemens had 34,324 employees and was the seventh-largest company in the German empire by number of employees. In 1919, S & H and two companies jointly formed the Osram lightbulb company. During the 1920s and 1930s, S & H started to manufacture radios, television sets, in the 1920s, Siemens constructed the Ardnacrusha Hydro Power station on the River Shannon in the then Irish Free State, and it was a world first for its design. The company is remembered for its desire to raise the wages of its workers only to be overruled by the Cumann na nGaedheal government. Siemens exploited the forced labour of deported people in extermination camps, the company owned a plant in Auschwitz concentration camp
24.
Berlin-Westend station
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Westend is a station in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin. It is located on the Ringbahn circle line, served by the S-Bahn lines S41, S42 and it is named after the Westend locality, which is immediately adjacent to the station grounds. It is located on Spandauer Damm near Charlottenburg Palace and its gardens, the platform can be reached from a road bridge crossing both the tracks and the motorway. The station was opened as Charlottenburg-Westend in 1877, then on the area of the independent town of Charlottenburg, from 1884 the installations were significantly extended, when the station comprised a Neo-Renaissance entrance building and four platforms connected by a pedestrian tunnel
25.
Berlin
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Berlin is the capital and the largest city of Germany as well as one of its constituent 16 states. With a population of approximately 3.5 million, Berlin is the second most populous city proper, due to its location in the European Plain, Berlin is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. Around one-third of the area is composed of forests, parks, gardens, rivers. Berlin in the 1920s was the third largest municipality in the world, following German reunification in 1990, Berlin once again became the capital of all-Germany. Berlin is a city of culture, politics, media. Its economy is based on high-tech firms and the sector, encompassing a diverse range of creative industries, research facilities, media corporations. Berlin serves as a hub for air and rail traffic and has a highly complex public transportation network. The metropolis is a popular tourist destination, significant industries also include IT, pharmaceuticals, biomedical engineering, clean tech, biotechnology, construction and electronics. Modern Berlin is home to world renowned universities, orchestras, museums and its urban setting has made it a sought-after location for international film productions. The city is known for its festivals, diverse architecture, nightlife, contemporary arts. Since 2000 Berlin has seen the emergence of a cosmopolitan entrepreneurial scene, the name Berlin has its roots in the language of West Slavic inhabitants of the area of todays Berlin, and may be related to the Old Polabian stem berl-/birl-. All German place names ending on -ow, -itz and -in, since the Ber- at the beginning sounds like the German word Bär, a bear appears in the coat of arms of the city. It is therefore a canting arm, the first written records of towns in the area of present-day Berlin date from the late 12th century. Spandau is first mentioned in 1197 and Köpenick in 1209, although these areas did not join Berlin until 1920, the central part of Berlin can be traced back to two towns. Cölln on the Fischerinsel is first mentioned in a 1237 document,1237 is considered the founding date of the city. The two towns over time formed close economic and social ties, and profited from the right on the two important trade routes Via Imperii and from Bruges to Novgorod. In 1307, they formed an alliance with a common external policy, in 1415 Frederick I became the elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg, which he ruled until 1440. In 1443 Frederick II Irontooth started the construction of a new palace in the twin city Berlin-Cölln
26.
Eau Claire, Wisconsin
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Eau Claire is a city in Chippewa and Eau Claire counties in the west-central part of the U. S. state of Wisconsin. Located almost entirely in Eau Claire County, for which it is the county seat, Eau Claire is the principal city of the Eau Claire, Wisconsin Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a part of the Eau Claire-Menomonie Combined Statistical Area. Eau Claire took its name from Eau Claire County, Eau Claire is the singular form of the original French name, Eaux Claires, meaning Clear Waters, for the Eau Claire River. The city motto, which appears on the city seal, the name is pronounced as if it were spelled OClare. Eau Claire is located at 44°49′N 91°30′W, approximately 90 miles east of Minneapolis and St. Paul, the city is located on the northern fringes of the Driftless Zone. The city was founded near the confluence of the Eau Claire, the main section of downtown is on the site of the original village, where Stephen McCann, in partnership with J. C. Thomas, put up three buildings in 1845, although these structures were erected to establish a claim to the land they stood on, the McCann family moved into one of them and became the first permanent settlers. West Eau Claire, founded in 1856, was across the river near the county courthouse. Between a mile and a half and two miles downstream, the Daniel Shaw & Co. lumber company founded Shawtown, which was annexed by the 1930s, by the 1950s, the entire city had spread far enough to the east to adjoin Altoona. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 34.14 square miles. The terrain of the city is characterized by the river valleys, the lands into which the urban area is currently expanding are increasingly hilly. There are two lakes in the city, Dells Pond, and Half Moon Lake, Dells Pond is a reservoir created by a hydroelectric dam, and was formerly used as a holding pool for logs. Half Moon Lake is a lake created as part of the former course of the Chippewa River. As of 2000, the income for a household in the city was $36,399. Males had an income of $32,503 versus $23,418 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,230, about 5. 5% of families and 13. 6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10. 4% of those under age 18 and 7. 4% of those age 65 or over. As of the most recent census, the Eau Claire County portion had a population of 63,902 inhabitants, as of the census of 2010, there were 65,883 people,26,803 households, and 14,293 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,056.3 inhabitants per square mile, there were 28,134 housing units at an average density of 878.1 per square mile
27.
Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway
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The Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway or Omaha Road was a railroad in the U. S. states of Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and South Dakota. It was incorporated in 1880 as a consolidation of the Chicago, St. Paul and Minneapolis Railway, the Chicago and North Western Railway gained control in 1882. The C&NW leased the Omaha Road in 1957 and merged the company itself in 1972. At the end of 1956 CStPM&O operated 1616 miles of road and 2396 miles of track, the following main lines were part of the Omaha Road
28.
General Railway Signal
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General Railway Signal Company was a supplier of railway signaling equipment, systems and services in the Rochester, New York area. The company was established in 1904 and became part of Alstom Transport in 1998, GRS was a member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average from 1928 to 1930. GRS was founded in 1904 with the merger of three companies, in 1923 GRS acquired the Federal Signal Company of Albany, New York. General Railway Signal was one of the 30 stocks when the Dow Jones Industrial Average was expanded from a 20-stock average on October 1,1928 and it was replaced in the DJIA by Liggett & Myers on July 18,1930. In 1965, General Signal Corporation was created with the intent to diversify into areas other than railway signaling, GRS was a wholly owned subsidiary of GSX. Some of local lines that were provided with GRSA products were Belgrano Norte, Belgrano Sur, Urquiza. Most of the signals are still active, noticeably among their products are their railroad crossing signalling parts, branded with the GRSA logo, instead of the usual GRS one. This facility was closed down in the early 1980s, in 1989, GRS was acquired by the Italian company Sasib and joined the Sasib Railways group. From its founding until 1993, GRS main office and manufacturing facilities were located at 801 West Avenue in Rochester, in 1993, it moved to two new suburban facilities, administration and engineering to Sawgrass Drive in Brighton, and manufacturing to John Street in West Henrietta. In 1998, it part of Alstom, a French corporation. The GRS name is no longer used, all products now use the Alstom brand. In 2003, the Sawgrass facility was closed and all activity was consolidated at the John Street plant, first fully automated freight yard,1955. First fully automatic computer-planned and executed train meet,1981, union Switch and Signal, the other major US railway signaling company
29.
Alstom
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A merger with parts of the General Electric Company plc formed GEC-Alstom in 1989, the company became Alstom in 1998. In 2014, Alstom and General Electric announced that a US$17 billion bid for the power and grid divisions had been made. The GE acquisition deal for the power and grid division was accepted by EU and US anticompetition authorities in mid 2015, in 1932, Alsthom expanded into transportation by acquiring Constructions Electriques de France, Tarbes, a manufacturer of electric locomotives as well as electrical and hydraulic equipment. In 1969, Compagnie Générale dElectricité became the majority shareholder of Alsthom, in 1976, Alsthom merged with Chantiers de lAtlantique, becoming Alsthom Atlantique. Thus, the business expanded into marine, the next year, it constructed the first 1300 MW generator set for the Paluel power station, setting a world record with an output of 1500 MW. In 1978, Alsthom delivered its first TGV to SNCF, the TGV went on to break world rail speed records in 1981 and in 1990. It also set the endurance record for high-speed train lines in 2001. In 1986, Alsthom Belfort received an order from EDF for the largest gas turbine in the world, in 1988–89, holding company CGEE Alstom acquired ACEC Energie and ACEC Automatisme from the dissolution of Belgian electrical engineering company ACEC SA. Alstom acquired 100% of ACECs transport division, renaming it ACEC Transport, in 1991, Alstoms parent company CGE was renamed Alcatel Alsthom Compagnie Générale dElectricité, or Alcatel Alsthom for short. In 1994, GEC Alsthom acquired the vehicle manufacturer Linke-Hofmann-Busch from Salzgitter AG. In 1995, the acquired the remaining shares in the steam turbine manufacturer MAN Energie. In early 1998, GEC Alsthom acquired the electrical contractor Cegelec, in 1998, GEC-Alsthom bought Italian firm SASIB SpAs rail signalling subsidiary Sasib Railways, which included the former General Railway Signal. In June 1998, GEC Alsthom was listed on the Paris Stock Exchange, GEC, at the same time, the company name was changed to Alstom. In 1999, Alstoms energy division merged with ABB in a 50–50 joint company known as ABB Alstom Power, Alstom also bought Canadas Télécité, a passenger information and security solutions company, and sold its heavy-duty gas turbine business to General Electric. The next year, it bought out ABBs share in ABB Alstom Power, in 2000, Alstom sold its diesel engine businesses to MAN Group. It also acquired a 51% stake in Fiat Ferroviaria, the Italian rail manufacturer, in April 2003, Alstom sold its industrial turbine business to Siemens for €1.1 billion. By 2003, Alstom was facing a crisis due to poor sales and over $5 billion of debt liabilities. Alstoms share price had dropped 90% over two years, in 2004, the French state took a 21% stake in Alstom and received an EU-approved French government bailout worth €2.5 billion
30.
Levallois-Perret
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Levallois-Perret is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 6.4 km from the centre of Paris and it is the most densely populated town in Europe. The name Levallois-Perret comes from two housing developments, Champerret and Village Levallois, which resulted in the incorporation of the commune, on the territory of what is now Levallois-Perret, before the French Revolution, the village of Villiers and the hamlet of Courcelles were there. They now give their names to two Paris Métro stations, later in 1845, Nicolas-Eugène Levallois started some housing developments for landowner André Noël on his land near La Planchette. The land developed by Nicolas-Eugène Levallois soon became known as Village Levallois, in the 1860s, the village had grown to the point of forming a single builtup area. Several demands were made to the authorities for the incorporation of the area, the Eiffel company had its factory in the city and so the structure of the Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower were built there. Levallois-Perret became an important centre of the early French automotive industry with the establishment of such as Clément-Bayard, Delage and coachbuilders Chapron. Citroën purchased the Clément-Bayard factory and the famous Citroën 2CV was produced in Levallois for nearly forty years, Levallois-Perret was also an important centre of cosmetics industry in the early 20th century. It is also home to the large European commercial real estate company Atisreal, the northern part of the famous Île de la Jatte in the river Seine, where French impressionist painters created many of their masterpieces, is part of the commune of Levallois-Perret. Part of the healthy Ouest Parisien, Levallois-Perret is the most densely-populated commune of France, patrick Balkany has been mayor of the city for almost 20 years in a row, his wife, Isabelle Balkany Smadja, works for the municipality. Speed Rabbit Pizza also has its headquarters in the commune, EVA Air has its Paris office in Levallois-Perret. According to le journal du net, the debt per inhabitant of Levallois is 9,030 euros, previously Carrefour had its head office in Levallois-Perret. Levallois-Perret is served by three stations on Paris Métro Line 3, Louise Michel, Anatole France, and Pont de Levallois – Bécon and it is also served by Clichy – Levallois station on the Transilien Paris – Saint-Lazare suburban rail line. The municipality of Levallois-Perret operates two bus lines circulating the town. Levallois Sporting Club is one of the most important sports club in France with 14500 members, among them you can find notable sportsperson like Teddy Riner, Gauthier Grumier and Gevrise Emane. During his youth Didier Drogba played for the section, as Joakim Noah did for basket. The traditional coat of arms for the municipality puts emphasis on the importance of industry in the its history. The centre of the consists of a shield with red background, a yellow gearwheel in the bottom left
31.
Relay
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A relay is an electrically operated switch. Many relays use an electromagnet to operate a switch, but other operating principles are also used. Relays are used where it is necessary to control a circuit by a separate low-power signal, the first relays were used in long distance telegraph circuits as amplifiers, they repeated the signal coming in from one circuit and re-transmitted it on another circuit. Relays were used extensively in telephone exchanges and early computers to perform logical operations, a type of relay that can handle the high power required to directly control an electric motor or other loads is called a contactor. Solid-state relays control power circuits with no moving parts, instead using a device to perform switching. Magnetic latching relays require one pulse of power to move their contacts in one direction. Repeated pulses from the same input have no effect, magnetic latching relays are useful in applications where interrupted power should not be able to transition the contacts. Magnetic latching relays can have single or dual coils. On a single device, the relay will operate in one direction when power is applied with one polarity. On a dual coil device, when polarized voltage is applied to the coil the contacts will transition. AC controlled magnetic latch relays have single coils that employ steering diodes to differentiate between operate and reset commands, american scientist Joseph Henry is often claimed to have invented a relay in 1835 in order to improve his version of the electrical telegraph, developed earlier in 1831. However, there is little in the way of documentation to suggest he had made the discovery prior to 1837. It is claimed that English inventor Edward Davy certainly invented the electric relay in his electric telegraph c.1835, a simple device, which is now called a relay, was included in the original 1840 telegraph patent of Samuel Morse. The mechanism described acted as an amplifier, repeating the telegraph signal. This overcame the problem of limited range of earlier telegraphy schemes, the word relay appears in the context of electromagnetic operations from 1860. The armature is hinged to the yoke and mechanically linked to one or more sets of moving contacts, the armature is held in place by a spring so that when the relay is de-energized there is an air gap in the magnetic circuit. In this condition, one of the two sets of contacts in the relay pictured is closed, and the set is open. Other relays may have more or fewer sets of contacts depending on their function, the relay in the picture also has a wire connecting the armature to the yoke
32.
Lever frame
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Mechanical railway signalling installations rely on lever frames for their operation to interlock the signals and points to allow the safe operation of trains in the area the signals control. Located in the box, the levers are operated by the signalman. The worlds biggest signal box is Severn Bridge Junction at Shrewsbury it has 180 levers making it the biggest, in not only the UK, but the World. By the movement of individual levers, signals, points, level crossing gates or barriers and sometimes movable bridges over waterways are operated via wires and rods. The signaller chooses the correct combination of points, facing point locks and signals to operate, the lever frame contains interlocking designed to ensure that the levers cannot be operated to create a conflicting train movement. Each interlocking installation is individual and unique to the location controlled, the interlocking may be achieved mechanically or by electric lever locks, or a combination of both. Signals or points located some distance away from the box are sometimes electrically rather than mechanically operated. Movement of the lever operates an electrical circuit controller. In the UK, it is practice to cut short the handles of any levers controlling electrical apparatus, the worlds largest lever frame is thought to be in the Spencer Street No.1 signal box in Melbourne, Australia. Signallers are often seen using towels to cover the handles of the levers and this is to prevent sweat from the operators hands transferring to the handle and corroding the metal. A ground frame is a lever frame located beside a railway. A ground frame does not normally require any form of shelter since it is operated by traincrew. In some situations, signals may be worked from a ground frame, in most cases, a ground frame has to be released from a signal box before it can be used. Typical methods of release include, Mechanical midway release, once the ground frame has been released, the other levers controlling the points could be moved. When shunting was completed, the release cannot be restored until all levers are set back to their normal positions, the train would then continue on its way. To achieve this, a token instrument would be provided in a hut near the ground frame. Once the train was off the line, the points would be set back to normal. The modern equivalent of a frame, with switches instead of levers, is called a Ground Switch Panel
33.
Lever
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A lever is a machine consisting of a beam or rigid rod pivoted at a fixed hinge, or fulcrum. A lever is a body capable of rotating on a point on itself. On the basis of the location of fulcrum, load and effort and it is one of the six simple machines identified by Renaissance scientists. A lever amplifies an input force to provide an output force. The ratio of the force to the input force is the mechanical advantage of the lever. The word lever entered English about 1300 from Old French, in which the word was levier and this sprang from the stem of the verb lever, meaning to raise. The verb, in turn, goes back to the Latin levare, itself from the adjective levis, the words primary origin is the Proto-Indo-European stem legwh-, meaning light, easy or nimble, among other things. The PIE stem also gave rise to the English word light, the earliest remaining writings regarding levers date from the 3rd century BC and were provided by Archimedes. Give me a place to stand, and I shall move the Earth with it is a remark of Archimedes who formally stated the correct mathematical principle of levers. The distance required to do this might be exemplified in astronomical terms as the distance to the Circinus galaxy - about 9 million light years. It is assumed that in ancient Egypt, constructors used the lever to move, a lever is a beam connected to ground by a hinge, or pivot, called a fulcrum. The ideal lever does not dissipate or store energy, which there is no friction in the hinge or bending in the beam. This is known as the law of the lever, the mechanical advantage of a lever can be determined by considering the balance of moments or torque, T, about the fulcrum. T1 = F1 a, T2 = F2 b where F1 is the force to the lever. The distances a and b are the distances between the forces and the fulcrum. Since the moments of torque must be balanced, T1 = T2, the mechanical advantage of the lever is the ratio of output force to input force, M A = F2 F1 = a b. Levers are classified by the positions of the fulcrum, effort. It is common to call the force the effort and the output force the load or the resistance
34.
Bricklayers' Arms
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Bricklayers Arms is a busy road intersection between the A2 and the London Inner Ring Road in south London, England. It is the junction of Tower Bridge Road, Old Kent Road, New Kent Road and Great Dover Street, Old Kent Road, the area is named after a local coaching inn that was situated at the junction. It is close to the site of a large railway facility sharing its name. It was the point at which coaches travelling along the Old Kent Road to or from the City of London set down or picked up passengers travelling to or from the West End. The inn was situated on land owned by the City of London Corporation, a flyover of the Bricklayers Arms roundabout was built in the 1970s to cope with the increase in traffic in the area. This was to run along and under the road route and thence underneath the trackways of the old main line station. The roundabout would have been the site of a station, similar in layout to Old Street station, the route is still safeguarded but has no prominence in current proposals. In 2013 the underpasses were filled in and levelled, becoming wider pavements at these points, the two railways constructed a new passenger terminus and goods station on the site, thereby removing the need for them to use the L&GR facilities. According to Charles Vignoles, the making of Bricklayers Arms station was a matter of compulsion in driving the Greenwich people to reasonable terms. It had the effect, and the L&GR agreed to more reasonable terms. Plans to extend the line from Bricklayers Arms to a new SER terminus at Hungerford Bridge, the railway introduced a proposal to extend the line to Waterloo Road in 1846, which was rejected by a committee of Parliament. In 1845 the SER leased the L&GR line, and the year the L&CR became part of the London Brighton and South Coast Railway. The line is historically significant because it was the first in the world to be controlled by a signal box, the signals and points were installed by Charles Hutton Gregory, and were the first to contain some elements of interlocking. A boiler explosion by a SER locomotive on 11 December 1844 caused a bridge collapse, the terminus building was designed by Lewis Cubitt with an imposing facade resembling his later design of Kings Cross railway station, and costing £89,000. From 1844 the SER transferred all of its services to this new terminus, as mentioned above, the L&CR ceased using the station in 1845 although its successor retained running powers over the branch. The station was never viable as a passenger terminus due to its location in a poor working-class neighbourhood on the Old Kent Road. Also its raison detre largely disappeared after the South Eastern Railway took over the operation of the London, a shunting accident during August 1850 caused the collapse of a large part of the station roof, killing a porter. The SER therefore closed the Bricklayers Arms terminus for passenger traffic in 1852, thereafter it was occasionally used for special trains, such as a Royal train carrying Queen Alexandra on 3 March 1863
35.
Pneumatics
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Pneumatics is a branch of engineering that makes use of gas or pressurized air. Pneumatic systems used in industry are commonly powered by compressed air or compressed inert gases, a centrally located and electrically powered compressor powers cylinders, air motors, and other pneumatic devices. A pneumatic system controlled through manual or automatic solenoid valves is selected when it provides a lower cost, more flexible, pneumatics also has applications in dentistry, construction, mining, and other areas. Pneumatic systems in fixed installations, such as factories, use compressed air because a sustainable supply can be made by compressing atmospheric air, the air usually has moisture removed, and a small quantity of oil is added at the compressor to prevent corrosion and lubricate mechanical components. Factory-plumbed pneumatic-power users need not worry about poisonous leakage, as the gas is usually just air, smaller or stand-alone systems can use other compressed gases that present an asphyxiation hazard, such as nitrogen—often referred to as OFN when supplied in cylinders. Any compressed gas other than air is an asphyxiation hazard—including nitrogen, compressed oxygen would not asphyxiate, but is not used in pneumatically-powered devices because it is a fire hazard, more expensive, and offers no performance advantage over air. Carbon dioxide is an asphyxiant and can be a hazard if vented improperly. The origins of pneumatics can be traced back to the first century when ancient Greek mathematician Hero of Alexandria wrote about his inventions powered by steam or the wind, german physicist Otto von Guericke went a little further. He invented the pump, a device that can draw out air or gas from the attached vessel. He demonstrated the vacuum pump to separate the pairs of copper hemispheres using air pressures, the field of pneumatics has changed considerably over the years. It has moved from small handheld devices to large machines with multiple parts that serve different functions, both pneumatics and hydraulics are applications of fluid power. Pneumatics uses an easily compressible gas such as air or a suitable pure gas—while hydraulics uses relatively incompressible liquid media such as oil, most industrial pneumatic applications use pressures of about 80 to 100 pounds per square inch. Hydraulics applications commonly use from 1,000 to 5,000 psi, simplicity of design and control—Machines are easily designed using standard cylinders and other components, and operate via simple on-off control. Reliability—Pneumatic systems generally have long operating lives and require little maintenance, because gas is compressible, equipment is less subject to shock damage. Gas absorbs excessive force, whereas fluid in hydraulics directly transfers force, compressed gas can be stored, so machines still run for a while if electrical power is lost. Safety—There is a low chance of fire compared to hydraulic oil. Newer machines are usually overload safe, liquid does not absorb any of the supplied energy. Capable of moving much higher loads and providing much higher due to the incompressibility
36.
Relay logic
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Relay logic is a method of implementing combinational logic in electrical control circuits by using several electrical relays wired in a particular configuration. The schematic diagrams for relay logic circuits are often called line diagrams, a relay logic circuit is an electrical network consisting of lines, or rungs, in which each line or rung must have continuity to enable the output device. A typical circuit consists of a number of rungs, with each controlling a output. This output is controlled by a combination of input or output conditions, such as input switches, the conditions that represent the inputs are connected in series, parallel, or series-parallel to obtain the logic required to drive the output. The relay logic circuit forms an electrical schematic diagram for the control of input and output devices, relay logic diagrams represent the physical interconnection of devices. Each rung would have a unique identifying number and the individual wires on that rung would have wire numbers as a derivative of the rung number. Thus, if a rung was labelled as 105, the first independent wire would be 1051, the second as 1052, a wire would be named for the top most rung to which it connected, even if it branched to lower rungs. When designing a system, it was practice to skip numbers for the rungs to allow later additions as required. When the rack was manufactured, as a wire was installed and this also applied for pulling wire into the factory through conduit or in trays where each wire would have corresponding numbers. Wire labels were typically pieces of tape with numbers or letters printed onto them and collected in small. A number strip would be peeled out and wrapped around the wire near the end, wire numbers were made up of a series of the number strips so wire 1051 would be four strips. There are also pocket sized printers that print onto an adhesive backed label that can be wrapped around the wire, the basic format for relay logic diagrams is as follows,1. The two vertical lines that all devices on the relay logic diagram are labeled L1 and L2. The space between L1 and L2 represents the voltage of the control circuit, output devices are always connected to L2. Any electrical overloads that are to be included must be shown between the device and L2, otherwise, the output device must be the last component before L2. Control devices are shown between L1 and the output device. Control devices may be connected either in series or in parallel with each other, devices which perform a STOP function are usually connected in series, while devices that perform a START function are connected in parallel. Electrical devices are shown in their normal conditions, an NC contact would be shown as normally closed, and an NO contact would appear as a normally open device
37.
Fail-safe
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A systems being fail-safe means not that failure is impossible or improbable, but rather that the systems design prevents or mitigates unsafe consequences of the systems failure. That is, if and when a system fails, it is safe or at least no less safe than when it was operating correctly. Since many types of failure are possible, failure mode and effects analysis is used to examine failure situations and recommend safety design, some systems can never be made fail safe, as continuous availability is needed. Redundancy, fault tolerance, or recovery procedures are used for these situations and this also makes the system less sensitive for the reliability prediction errors or quality induced uncertainty for the separate items. On the other hand, failure detection & correction and avoidance of common cause failures becomes here increasingly important to system level reliability. Examples include, Roller-shutter fire doors - that are activated by building systems or local smoke detectors must close automatically when signaled regardless of power. In case of power outage the coiling fire door does not need to close, a temperature sensitive fusible link may be employed to hold the fire doors open against gravity or a closing spring. In case of fire, the link melts and releases the doors, the handbrake-holding requirement thus both operates according to the principles of fail-safety and contributes to the fail-security of the system. This is an example of a dead mans switch, lawnmowers and snow blowers have a hand-closed lever that must be held down at all times. If it is released, it stops the blades or rotors rotation and this is also a dead mans switch. Air brakes on trains and air brakes on trucks. The brakes are held in the off position by air pressure created in the brake system. Should a brake line split, or a carriage become de-coupled, the air pressure will be lost and it is impossible to drive a truck with a serious leak in the air brake system. Motorized gates — In case of power outage the gate can be pushed open by hand with no crank or key required, when such a gate provides vehicle access to homes, a fail-safe design is used, where the door opens to allow fire department access. Safety valves - Various devices that operate with fluids use fuses or safety valves as fail-safe mechanisms, a railway semaphore signal is designed so that should the cable controlling the signal break, the arm returns to the danger position, preventing any trains passing the inoperative signal. On diving watches, the rotating bezel used to measure dive time has a ratchet, if the bezel is inadvertently rotated during the dive, it will give a false reading of increased time spent below. This protects the diver from underestimating their decompression obligation, which could cause decompression sickness, isolation valves, and control valves - that are used for example in systems containing hazardous substances, can be designed to close upon loss of power, for example by spring force. This is known as fail-closed upon loss of power, an elevator has brakes that are held off brake pads by the tension of the elevator cable
38.
Lincoln, Nebraska
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Lincoln is the capital of the U. S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers 92.81 square miles with a population of 277,348 in 2015 and it is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 72nd-largest in the United States. The statistical area is home to 345,478 people, making it the 105th-largest combined statistical area in the United States, the city was founded in 1856 as the village of Lancaster on the wild salt marshes of what was to become Lancaster County. In 1867, the village of Lancaster became Nebraskas state capital and was renamed Lincoln, bertram G. Goodhue designed state capitol building was completed in 1932 and is the second tallest capitol in the United States. As the city is the seat of government for the state of Nebraska, the state, the University of Nebraska was founded in Lincoln in 1867. The university is the largest in Nebraska with 25,006 students enrolled and is the citys third-largest employer, other primary employers fall within the service and manufacturing industries, including a growing high-tech sector. The region makes up a part of what is known as the greater Midwest Silicon Prairie, designated as a refugee-friendly city by the U. S. Department of State in the 1970s, the city was the twelfth-largest resettlement site per capita in the United States by 2000. Refugee Vietnamese, Karen, Sudanese, and Yazidi people have resettled in the city. Lincoln Public Schools during the year of 2016–17 provided support for approximately 3,200 students from 118 countries. Prior to the westward of settlers, the prairie was covered with buffalo grass. Plains Indians, descendants of peoples who occupied the area for thousands of years, lived in. The Pawnee, which included four tribes, lived in villages along the Platte River, an occasional buffalo could still be seen in the plat of Lincoln in the 1860s. Lincoln was founded in 1856 as the village of Lancaster and became the county seat of the newly created Lancaster County in 1859, the village was sited on the east bank of Salt Creek. The first settlers were attracted to the due to the abundance of salt. Once J. Sterling Morton developed his salt mines in Kansas, Captain W. T. Donovan, a former steamer captain, and his family settled on Salt Creek in 1856. In the fall of 1859, the settlers met to form a county. A caucus was formed and the committee, which included Captain Donovan, after the passage of the 1862 Homestead Act, homesteaders began to inhabit the area. The first plat was dated August 6,1864, by the close of 1868, Lancaster had a population of approximately 500 people
39.
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad
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The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States. Its primary connections included Chicago, Minneapolis-St. Paul, St. Louis, Kansas City, because of this extensive trackage in the midwest and mountain states, the railroad used the advertising slogans Everywhere West, Way of the Zephyrs, and The Way West. It merged into Burlington Northern in 1970, in 1967, it reported 19,565 million net ton-miles of revenue freight and 723 million passenger miles, corresponding totals for C&S were 1,100 and 10 and for FW&D were 1,466 and 13. At the end of the year CB&Q operated 8,538 route-miles, C&S operated 708, the earliest predecessor of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy, the Aurora Branch Railroad, was chartered by act of the Illinois General Assembly on October 2,1848. The Aurora Branch was built from Aurora, through Batavia, to Turner Junction in what is now West Chicago, the line was built with old strap rail and minimal, if any, grading. The line from Aurora to Chicago was built through the towns of Naperville, Lisle, Downers Grove, Hinsdale, Berwyn. It was opened in 1864, and passenger and freight service began, regular commuter train service started in 1864 and remains operational to this day, making it the oldest surviving regular passenger service in Chicago. Both the original Chicago line, and to a lesser extent. With a steady acquisition of locomotives, cars, equipment, and trackage, the Burlington Route was able to enter the trade markets in 1862. From that year to date, the railroad and its successors have paid dividends continuously, the B&MR continued building west into Nebraska as a separate company, the Burlington & Missouri River Rail Road, founded in 1869. During the summer of 1870 it reached Lincoln, the designated capital of Nebraska and by 1872 it reached Kearney. That same year the B&MR across Iowa was absorbed by the CB&Q, by the time the Missouri River bridge at Plattsmouth, Nebraska was completed the B&MR in Nebraska was well on its way to the Mile High city of Denver, Colorado. That same year, the Nebraska B&MR was purchased by the CB&Q, Burlingtons rapid expansion after the American Civil War was based upon sound financial management, dominated by John Murray Forbes of Boston and assisted by Charles Elliott Perkins. Perkins was an administrator who eventually forged a system out of previously loosely held affiliates. Ultimately, Perkins believed the Burlington Railroad must be included into a powerful transcontinental system, though the railroad as far west as Denver and Billings, Montana, it had failed to reach the Pacific Coast during the 1880s and 1890s, when construction was less expensive. Though approached by E. H. Harriman of the Union Pacific Railroad, with its river line to the Twin Cities, the Burlington Route formed a natural connection between Hills home town of St. Paul, Minnesota, and the railroad hub of Chicago. Moreover, Hill was willing to meet Perkins $200-a-share asking price for the Burlingtons stock, by 1900, Hills Great Northern, in conjunction with the Northern Pacific Railway, held nearly 100 percent of Burlingtons stock. In 1901 a rebuffed Harriman tried to gain an indirect influence over the Burlington by launching a raid on the Northern Pacific
40.
Centralized traffic control
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Centralized traffic control is a form of railway signalling that originated in North America. CTC consolidates train routing decisions that were carried out by local signal operators or the train crews themselves. The system consists of a train dispatchers office that controls railroad interlockings. One hallmark of CTC is a panel with a graphical depiction of the railroad. On this panel the dispatcher can keep track of trains locations across the territory that the dispatcher controls, larger railroads may have multiple dispatchers offices and even multiple dispatchers for each operating division. These offices are located near the busiest yards or stations. Key to the concept of CTC is the notion of control as it applies to railroads. Trains moving in opposite directions on the same track cannot pass each other without special infrastructure such as sidings, the starting point of each system was the railroad timetable that would form the advanced routing plan for train movements. Trains following the timetable would know when to take sidings, switch tracks, however if train movements did not go as planned the timetable would then fail to represent reality, and attempting to follow the printed schedule could lead to routing errors or even accidents. This was especially common on single-track lines that comprised the majority of railroad route miles in North America, therefore, timetable operation was supplemented with train orders, which superseded the instructions in the timetable. The development of Direct Traffic Control via radio or telephone between dispatchers and train crews made telegraph orders largely obsolete by the 1970s. Where traffic density warranted it, multiple tracks could be provided, trains running counter to this flow of traffic would still require train orders, but other trains would not. Such a Mexican standoff not only represents a safety hazard, before the advent of CTC there were a number of solutions to this problem that did not require the construction of multiple single direction tracks. In areas of traffic density, sometimes bi-directional operation would be established between manned interlocking towers. Each section of track would have a traffic control lever associated with it to establish the direction of traffic on that track. Often, both towers would need to set their traffic levers in the way before a direction of travel could be established. Block signals in the direction of travel would display according to track conditions, furthermore, no train could be routed into a section of track against its flow of traffic and the traffic levers would not be able to be changed until the track section was clear of trains. Both APB and manual control would still require train orders in certain situations
41.
Metropolitan-Vickers
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Metropolitan-Vickers, Metrovick, or Metrovicks, was a British heavy electrical engineering company of the early-to-mid 20th century formerly known as British Westinghouse. Metrovick holds a place in history as the builders of the first commercial transistor computer, the Metrovick 950, and the first British axial-flow jet engine, the Metropolitan-Vickers F.2. Their factory in Trafford Park, Manchester, was for most of the 20th century one of the biggest and most important heavy engineering facilities in Britain, in 1917 a holding company was formed to try to find financing to buy the companys properties. On 15 March 1919, Docker agreed terms with Vickers, for Vickers to purchase all the shares of the Metropolitan Carriage, Wagon, on 8 September 1919, Vickers changed the name of the British Westinghouse Electrical and Manufacturing Company to Metropolitan Vickers Electrical Company. The immediate post-war era was marked by low investment and continued labour unrest, sales shot up, and 1927 marked the companys best year to date. On 15 November 1922 the BBC was registered and the BBCs Manchester station, in 1928 Metrovick merged with the rival British Thomson-Houston, a company of similar size and basically the same product lineup. Combined, they would be one of the few able to compete with Marconi or English Electric on an equal footing. In fact the merger was marked by poor communication and intense rivalry, rivalry between Metrovick and BTH continued, and AEI was never able to exert effective control over the two competing subsidiary companies. Problems worsened in 1929 with the start of the great depression, the British government intervened, the engineers were released and trade with Russia was resumed after a brief embargo. During the 1930s Metropolitan Vickers produced two very large diameter three-phase AC traction motors for the Hungarian railways V40 and V60 electric locomotives. The 1640 kW rated power machinery, designed by Kálmán Kandó, was paid for by British government economic aid, in 1935 the company built a 105 MW steam turbogenerator, the largest in Europe at that time, for the Battersea powerstation. In 1936 Metrovick started work with the Air Ministry on automatic systems, eventually branching out to gunlaying systems. In 1938 they reached an agreement with the Ministry to build a design developed at the Royal Aircraft Establishment under the direction of Hayne Constant. It is somewhat ironic that BTH, their partners, were at the same time working with Frank Whittle on his pioneering jet designs. In mid-1938, MVs were given a contract to build Avro Manchester twin-engined heavy bombers under licence from A. V. As this type of work was different from their traditional heavy engineering activities, a new factory was built on the western side of Mosley Road. Despite this the firm went on to complete 43 examples, by the end of the war, MVs had built 1,080 Lancasters. These were followed by 79 Avro Lincoln derivatives before remaining orders were cancelled, in 1940 the turboprop effort was re-engineered as a pure jet engine after the successful run of Whittles designs
42.
Brunswick railway station
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Brunswick railway station serves the Toxteth district of Liverpool, England, on the Northern Line of the Merseyrail network. The station serves the district of Dingle and is situated on a short section of track between two tunnels, between the now in-filled Toxteth and Harrington Docks. The station also serves businesses on the Brunswick Dock estate, the residential area of Grafton Street is reached by steps or ramp from the southbound platform. The original Brunswick station was opened on 1 June 1864 by the Garston and Liverpool Railway, on Sefton Street and it was the Liverpool terminus of a new Garston and Liverpool Railway line to Liverpool. A large impressive goods terminal building remained on the site, providing a connection to the Mersey Docks Railway. The goods terminal building was closed in the 1970s, the original passenger station building was still standing until demolition. The mouth of the former Liverpool Overhead Railway tunnel which led to Dingle can be seen just south of the station, the present passenger station opened in 1998, on a site close to the original station but on the through route to Merseyrails Liverpool Central underground station. The industrial former dock buildings are served on the side. The station has a 35-space car park, free of charge, the Liverpool-bound platform has a ticket office and a shelter with seats. A bridge leads over to the Hunts Cross-bound platform which has another shelter, a ramp and stairs lead upwards to the Eastern entrance. There is a rack for 8 cycles and secure cycle storage for 10 cycles. The typical Monday to Saturday service at the station is 4 trains per hour northbound to Southport via Liverpool Central and 4 trains per hour southbound to Hunts Cross, on Sundays there are 2 trains per hour in each direction. New stations open in Merseysde and Scotland, new stations opened in Merseysde and Scotland. Train times and station information for Brunswick railway station from National Rail Station information for Brunswick railway station from Merseyrail History of railway stations in Liverpool
43.
Cheshire Lines Committee
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The Cheshire Lines Committee was the second-largest joint railway in Great Britain, with 143 route miles. Despite its name, approximately 55% of its system was in Lancashire, in its publicity material it was often styled the Cheshire Lines Railway. It served Birkenhead, Chester, Knutsford, Liverpool, Manchester, Northwich, Southport, Stockport, Warrington, Widnes, under the Cheshire Lines Act 1867 the CLC became an independent organisation, although its management consisted of three directors of the three companies. Its purpose was to control lines in Lancashire and Cheshire, an area dominated by the LNWR, in its early years, the driving force behind the expansion of the railway was Sir Edward Watkin. It was granted powers to build a line 34 miles long, opened in 1873, the section from near Cressington to Liverpool was along the Garston and Liverpool Railway, which had been absorbed on 5 July 1865. From 1874 the CLC was headquartered at Liverpool Central station, by the late 1870s most CLC services radiated from Manchester and it became desirable to bring them into a single station – the MR and the MS&LR were sharing London Road with the LNWR. Accordingly, Manchester Central was built in 1880, and the MR moved its trains to the new station on its completion. In 1923 the MR, along with the LNWR, was grouped into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, while the GNR and MS&LR became part of the London and North Eastern Railway. The line continued to be joint, with a 1/3 share to the LMS, on nationalisation in 1948 both companies became part of British Railways, and shortly afterwards the CLC lines came under the control of the London Midland Region. The CLC routes between Liverpool and Manchester and between Manchester and Chester via Northwich survive, several CLC stations remain in their original form, such as Widnes, Warrington Central and Urmston. Manchester Central is now the Manchester Central Conference Centre, the loop line via Widnes Central, which was operated by the CLC closed in 1964. C. A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain, Volume X, The North West, Midland Though The Peak Unicorn Books,1988. Portrait of the Cheshire Lines Committee, Ian Allan, Shepperton,1999, ISBN 0-7110-2521-5 Midland Railway System Maps. Volume 2 Leeds to Leicester and branches, Derby to Manchester and branches, article written as at 1935, part CLC North Liverpool Extension Line CLC Liverpool area CLC Pages at the LNER Encyclopedia
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Utica, New York
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Utica is a city in the Mohawk Valley and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The tenth-most-populous city in New York, its population was 62,235 in the 2010 U. S. census, located on the Mohawk River at the foot of the Adirondack Mountains, Utica is approximately 90 miles northwest of Albany and 45 miles east of Syracuse. Formerly a river settlement inhabited by the Mohawk tribe of the Iroquois Confederacy, Utica attracted European-American settlers from New England during and after the American Revolution. In the 19th century, immigrants strengthened its position as a city between Albany and Syracuse on the Erie and Chenango Canals and the New York Central Railroad. During the 19th and 20th centuries, the citys infrastructure contributed to its success as a manufacturing center, Uticas 20th-century political corruption and organized crime gave it the nicknames Sin City, and later, the city that God forgot. Like other Rust Belt cities, Utica had a downturn beginning in the mid-20th century. Several theories exist about the history of the name Utica, prior to construction of the fort, the Mohawk, Onondaga and Oneida tribes had occupied this area south of the Great Lakes region as early as 4000 BC. The Mohawk were the largest and most powerful tribe in the part of the Mohawk Valley. Colonists had a fur trade with them, in exchange for firearms. The land housing Old Fort Schuyler was part of a 20, since the fort was located near several trails, its position—on a bend at a shallow portion of the Mohawk River—made it an important fording point. The Mohawk called the bend Unundadages, and the Mohawk word appears on the citys seal, during the American Revolution, border raids from British-allied Iroquois tribes harried the settlers on the frontier. George Washington ordered Sullivans Expedition, Rangers, to enter Central New York, more than 40 Iroquois villages were destroyed and their winter stores, causing starvation. In the aftermath of the war, numerous European-American settlers migrated into the state, in 1794 a state road, Genesee Road, was built from Utica west to the Genesee River. That year a contract was awarded to the Mohawk Turnpike and Bridge Company to extend the road northeast to Albany, the Seneca Turnpike was key to Uticas development, replacing a worn footpath with a paved road. The village became a rest and supply area along the Mohawk River for goods, the boundaries of the village of Utica were defined in an act passed by the New York State Legislature on April 3,1798. Utica expanded its borders in subsequent 1805 and 1817 charters, on April 5,1805, the villages eastern and western boundaries were expanded, and on April 7,1817, Utica separated from Whitestown on its west. After completion of the Erie Canal in 1825, the growth was stimulated again. The municipal charter was passed by the legislature on February 13,1832
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Rochester, New York
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Rochester is a city on the southern shore of Lake Ontario in the western portion of the U. S. state of New York, and the seat of Monroe County. The citys population was the third largest — after New York City. This area, which is part of the Western New York region, had a population of 1,079,671 at the time of the 2010 Census, a Census estimate of July 1,2012, raised that number to 1,082,284. Rochester was one of Americas first boomtowns, and rose to prominence as the site of many mills along the Genesee River. Several of the universities have renowned research programs. In addition, Rochester is the site of important inventions and innovations in consumer products. Until 2010, the Rochester metropolitan area was the second-largest regional economy in New York State, internal Revenue Service, after the New York City metropolitan area. Rochesters GMP has since ranked just below that of Buffalo, New York, the 25th edition of the Places Rated Almanac rated Rochester as the most livable city in 2007, among 379 U. S. metropolitan areas. In 2010 Forbes rated Rochester as the third-best place to raise a family, in 2012 Kiplinger rated Rochester as the fifth-best city for families, citing low cost of living, top public schools, and a low jobless rate. Of the 19 places in the United States named Rochester at least eight were named directly after Rochester, New York, having been founded or settled by former residents. These include Rochester, Indiana, Rochester, Texas, Rochester, Iowa, Rochester, Kentucky, Rochester, Michigan, Rochester, Minnesota, Rochester, Nevada, and Rochester, Ohio. The Seneca tribe of Native Americans lived in and around Rochester until they lost their claim to most of land in the Treaty of Big Tree in 1797. Settlement before the Seneca tribe is unknown, development of modern Rochester followed the American Revolution, and forced cession of their territory by the Iroquois after the defeat of Great Britain. Allied with the British, four major Iroquois tribes were forced from New York. As a reward for their loyalty to the British Crown, they were given a land grant on the Grand River in Canada. Rochester was founded shortly after the American Revolution by a wave of English-Puritan descended immigrants from New England who were looking for new agricultural land and they would be the dominant cultural group in Rochester for over a century. They chose the site because its three cataracts on the Genesee offered great potential for water power, beginning in 1811, and with a population of 15, the three founders surveyed the land and laid out streets and tracts. In 1817, the Brown brothers and other landowners joined their lands with the Hundred Acre Tract to form the village of Rochesterville, by 1821, Rochesterville was the seat of Monroe County
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New York City Subway
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Opened in 1904, the New York City Subway is one of the worlds oldest public transit systems, one of the worlds most used metro systems, and the metro system with the most stations. It offers service 24 hours per day, every day of the year, the New York City Subway is the largest rapid transit system in the world by number of stations, with 472 stations in operation. Stations are located throughout the boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Port Authority Trans-Hudson and the AirTrain JFK, in Manhattan and Queens respectively, accept the subways MetroCard but are not operated by the MTA and do not allow free transfers. Another mass transit service that is not operated by the MTA, the system is also one of the worlds longest. Overall, the system contains 236 miles of routes, translating into 665 miles of track. In 2015, the subway delivered over 1.76 billion rides, averaging approximately 5.7 million daily rides on weekdays and a combined 5.9 million rides each weekend. Of the systems 25 services,22 of them pass through Manhattan, the exceptions being the G train, the Franklin Avenue Shuttle, and the Rockaway Park Shuttle. Large portions of the subway outside Manhattan are elevated, on embankments, or in open cuts, in total, 40% of track is not underground despite the subway moniker. Many lines and stations have both express and local services and these lines have three or four tracks. Normally, the two are used for local trains, while the inner one or two are used for express trains. Stations served by express trains are typically major transfer points or destinations, alfred Ely Beach built the first demonstration for an underground transit system in New York City in 1869 and opened it in February 1870. The tunnel was never extended for political and financial reasons, although extensions had been planned to take the tunnel southward to The Battery, the Great Blizzard of 1888 helped demonstrate the benefits of an underground transportation system. A plan for the construction of the subway was approved in 1894, the first underground line of the subway opened on October 27,1904, almost 36 years after the opening of the first elevated line in New York City, which became the IRT Ninth Avenue Line. The fare was $0.05 and on the first day the trains carried over 150,000 passengers, the oldest structure still in use opened in 1885 as part of the BMT Lexington Avenue Line in Brooklyn and is now part of the BMT Jamaica Line. The oldest right-of-way, which is part of the BMT West End Line near Coney Island Creek, was in use in 1864 as a railroad called the Brooklyn, Bath. By the time the first subway opened, the lines had been consolidated into two privately owned systems, the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company and the Interborough Rapid Transit Company, the city built most of the lines and leased them to the companies. This required it to be run at cost, necessitating fares up to double the five-cent fare popular at the time, in 1940, the city bought the two private systems. Some elevated lines ceased service immediately while others closed soon after, integration was slow, but several connections were built between the IND and BMT, these now operate as one division called the B Division
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IND Fulton Street Line
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The IND Rockaway Line branches from it just east of Rockaway Boulevard. The A train runs express during daytime hours and local at night on the portion of the line. The C train runs local on the portion of the line at all times except late nights. The line runs primarily along Fulton Street, Pitkin Avenue, the underground portion, which constitutes the majority of the line, was built for the city-owned Independent Subway System, opening between 1936 and 1956. Under Fulton Street, the line is single level. Nostrand Avenue is the exception, with the tracks on the upper level. During construction, the old, now-demolished BMT Fulton Street Elevated had to be supported and this was the only section of the Fulton El that was built specifically to handle steel subway cars, as opposed to lighter wooden elevated cars. Entering Brooklyn via the Cranberry Street Tunnel as a two-track line and it becomes the Fulton Street Line at an interlocking north of Jay Street–MetroTech while briefly running parallel with the IND Culver Line. It turns away from the Culver Line onto Schermerhorn Street to the six-track Hoyt–Schermerhorn Streets station, the local tracks are unused at Hoyt-Schermerhorn Streets, but connect to the abandoned Court Street station which is now the site of the New York City Transit Museum. At this point, the line becomes a system until Euclid Avenue. It then turns east onto Pitkin Avenue until Euclid Avenue station, East of Euclid Avenue there are track connections to Pitkin Yard, and from either the express or local tracks to the two-track line towards Grant Avenue station. The four mainline trackways continue east on Pitkin Avenue, disused, past Grant Avenue, the line joins the former Fulton Street elevated via a ramp as it enters Queens, swinging somewhat north until it is over Liberty Avenue. Here, it becomes a line, with the center track coming from Pitkin Yard. Just past Rockaway Boulevard, the IND Rockaway Line branches southward while the Fulton Street Line continues over Liberty Avenue to its terminus at Lefferts Boulevard, the Fulton Street subway was the city-owned Independent System s main line from Downtown Brooklyn to southern Queens. Along with the IND Eighth Avenue Line, it was alternately known as the Washington Heights − East New York Line. The groundbreaking for the line was held on April 16,1929, at Fulton Street and Arlington Place, the line was opened from Jay Street to Rockaway Avenue on April 9,1936, including the stub terminal at Court Street. Further construction was delayed by funding problems due to the Great Depression in the 1930s and this was temporarily solved by federal Works Progress Administration funding starting in 1936. The portion continuing from east of Rockaway Avenue along Pennsylvania and Pitkin Avenues to Crystal Street began construction in 1938, the next portion east from Crystal Street to around Grant Avenue, including the Euclid Avenue terminal and the Pitkin Yard, began construction in 1940
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Signalling control
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Currently these decentralised systems are being consolidated into wide scale signalling centres or dispatch offices. Whatever the form, signalling control provides an interface between the signal operator and the lineside signalling equipment. The technical apparatus used to control switches, signals and block systems is called interlocking, originally, all signalling was done by mechanical means. Before long, it was realised that control should be concentrated into one building, the signal box provided a dry, climate controlled space for the complex interlocking mechanics and also the signalman. The raised design of most signal boxes also provided the signalman with a view of the railway under his control. The first use of a box was by the London and Croydon Railway in 1843 to control the junction to Bricklayers Arms in London. Power operated switch points and signalling decides greatly expanded the territory that a control point could operate from several hundred yards to several miles. As the technology of electric relay logic was developed, it no longer necessary for signalmen to operate control devices with any sort of mechanical logic at all. With the jump to all logic, physical presence was no longer needed. Another advancement made possible by the replacement of mechanical control by all systems was that the signalmans user interface could be enhanced to further improve productivity. The smaller size of electric toggles and push buttons put more functionality within reach of an individual signalman, route-setting technology automated the setting of individual points and routes through busy junctions. Computerised video displays removed the physical interface altogether, replacing it with a point-and-click or touchscreen interface, finally, the use of Automatic Route Setting removed the need for any human input at all as common train movements could be fully automated according to a schedule or other scripted logic. Signal boxes also served as important communications hubs, connecting the parts of a rail line. The first signalling systems were possible by technology like the telegraph. Later, the telephone put centralised dispatchers in contact with distant signal boxes, the ultimate ability for data to be transmitted over long distances has proven the demise of most local control signal boxes. Signalmen next to the track are no longer needed to serve as the eyes, track circuits transmit train locations to distant control centres and data links allow direct manipulation of the points and signals. In any node-based control system, proper identification is critical to ensuring that messages are received by their intended recipients. As such, signalling control points are provided with names or identifiers that minimise the likelihood of confusion during communications, popular naming techniques include using nearby geographic references, line milepost numbers, sequence numbers and identification codes
