1.
Gare Montparnasse
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Gare Montparnasse is one of the six large Paris railway termini, in the 14th arrondissement and 15th arrondissement of Paris. It was opened in 1840, rebuilt in 1852, and then rebuilt completely further south in 1969, a steam train crashed through the station in 1895, there is a well-known photograph of the event, and full scale reproductions outside a museum chain in South America. There is also a metro station, the station opened in 1840 as Gare de lOuest, later being renamed. A second station was built between 1848 and 1852, during the 1960s, a newer station integrated into a complex of office buildings was built. In 1969, the old station was torn down and the Tour Montparnasse built on its site, an extension was built in 1990 to host the TGV Atlantique. The Gare Montparnasse became famous for the derailment on October 22,1895, of the Granville–Paris Express, two of the 131 passengers sustained injuries, along with the fireman and two conductors. The only fatality was a woman on the street below, Marie-Augustine Aguilard and she was killed by falling masonry. The railway company paid for her funeral and provided a pension to look after her two children. The accident was caused by a faulty Westinghouse brake and the engine driver, a conductor was given a 25-franc fine and the engine driver a 50-franc fine. Replicas of the crash are recreated outside the Mundo a Vapor museum chain buildings in Brazil, in the southernmost state, Rio Grande do Sul. The station is served by suburban trains heading to the west and south-west of Paris. Satellite image from Google Maps Mundo a Vapor Museum The Brazilian museum which contains the 1895 derailment accident replica
2.
Granville, Manche
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Granville is a commune in the Manche department and region of Normandy in north-western France. It is sometimes nicknamed Monaco of the north by virtue of its location on a rocky promontory, the town was founded by a vassal of William the Conqueror, on land occupied by the Vikings, in the 11th century. Administratively, the islands of Chausey, which include a harbour, are part of the commune of Granville. The town is populated by 13,021 inhabitants, who are called Granvillais, the upper town is located on a peninsula surrounded by schist cliffs, known as Pointe du Roc or Cap Lihou. The rest of the town extends eastward inland, bounded on the north by the Boscq, a coastal river. The commune has four beaches, one to the north between the peninsula and the river, three to the south on the bay. It occupies 990 acres, of mostly urbanised territory but this urbanisation is now limited by the Natura 2000 European directive, the town is part of the association of Les Plus Beaux Détours de France. The National Institute of Geographic Information and Forestry gives the coordinates as 48°50′17″N 1°35′13″W and it is at the centre of the Urban Area of Granville. Closing in the north of the Bay of Mont Saint-Michel and its foreshore of a gentle gradient, it enjoys the highest tides in Europe. This situation also leads to significant changes of the coastal features of the nearby beaches. Off the coast, the archipelago of the Chausey Islands is administered by the commune of Granville and it is one of the only island quarters of France. For a few years, an artificial river pierced between the mainland and the peninsula and it was filled and is now replaced by Place du Maréchal-Foch. The commune is largely at sea level and it rises only towards the interior, a little more on the peninsula from the Pointe du Roc to reach 67 m. Granville, located on the Pointe du Roc is washed to the north, south, the island quarter of Chausey is located off to the northwest, and Mont Saint-Michel is to the south. Granville is located on the English Channel coast, it is subject to an oceanic climate. Annual average temperature stood at 11.4 °C with a maximum of 14.2 °C, the maximum nominal temperatures of 21 °C in July–August and 3 °C in January–February show the mildness of the climate and the lack of thermal amplitude. The insolation values given here are those of the station of Caen, contrary to a common misconception,606 mm of total precipitation shows that Normandy is not a wetter region than others. The record of rainfall per 24-hour period was established during a storm on 11 July 1977 with 57.2 mm of water, in the 1987 storm, wind culminated at 220 km/h in gusts, which is the current absolute record for the city
3.
French franc
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The franc, also commonly distinguished as the French franc, was a currency of France. Between 1450 and 1999, it was the name of coins worth 1 livre tournois and it was revalued in 1960, with each new franc being worth 100 old francs. The French franc was a commonly held reserve currency of reference in the 19th and 20th centuries. The first franc was a gold coin introduced in 1360 to pay the Ransom of King John II of France and this coin secured the kings freedom and showed him on a richly decorated horse earning it the name franc à cheval. The obverse legend, like other French coins, gives the title as Francorum Rex. Its value was set as one livre tournois, john’s son, Charles V, continued this type. It was copied exactly at Brabant and Cambrai and, with the arms on the horse cloth changed, conquests led by Joan of Arc allowed Charles VII to return to sound coinage and he revived the franc à cheval. John II, however, was not able to strike enough francs to pay his ransom, John II died as a prisoner in England and his son, Charles V was left to pick up the pieces. Charles V pursued a policy of reform, including stable coinage, an edict dated 20 April 1365 established the centerpiece of this policy, a gold coin officially called the denier d’or aux fleurs de lis which had a standing figure of the king on its obverse. Its value in money of account was one livre tournois, just like the franc à cheval, in accordance with the theories of the mathematician, economist and royal advisor Nicolas Oresme, Charles struck fewer coins of better gold than his predecessors. In the accompanying deflation both prices and wages fell, but wages fell faster and debtors had to settle up in better money than they had borrowed, the Mayor of Paris, Etienne Marcel, exploited their discontent to lead a revolt which forced Charles V out of the city. The States General which met at Blois in 1577 added to the pressure to stop currency manipulation. Henry III agreed to do this and he revived the franc and this coin and its fractions circulated until 1641 when Louis XIII of France replaced it with the silver Écu. Nevertheless, the franc continued in accounting as a synonym for the livre tournois. The decimal franc was established as the currency by the French Revolutionary Convention in 1795 as a decimal unit of 4.5 g of fine silver. This was slightly less than the livre of 4.505 g, silver coins now had their denomination clearly marked as “5 FRANCS” and it was made obligatory to quote prices in francs. e. Coinage with explicit denominations in decimal fractions of the franc also began in 1795, decimalization of the franc was mandated by an act of 7 April 1795, which also dealt with of weights and measures. France’s first decimal coinage used allegorical figures symbolizing revolutionary principles, like the designs the United States had adopted in 1793
4.
2-4-0
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The wheel arrangement is known as a Porter. The notation 2-4-0T indicates a locomotive of this wheel arrangement on which its water and fuel is carried on board the engine itself. The type was designed for freight haulage. Because of its popularity for a period with English railways, noted railway author C. Hamilton Ellis considered the 2-4-0 designation to have the nickname of Old English, during the 1850s and 1860s these designs were widely copied by other railways, both in the United Kingdom and overseas. During the mid-1840s, Sir John Hawkshaw developed a new style of 2-4-0 passenger locomotive with outside cylinders in front of the leading wheels and this layout provided steady running at high speeds, despite a long overhang at the front. Joseph Beattie of the London and South Western Railway was one of the first British locomotive engineers to use this type on express locomotives. From 1858, he began experimenting with 2-4-0 designs for passenger work, culminating in his Seven-Foot 2-4-0 express passenger locomotives, built between 1859 and 1868. Beattie was also responsible for the long-lived 0298 Class of 2-4-0 well tanks, designed for passenger work in 1874. A locomotive of this type hauled the first Orient Express from Paris to Munich, the Bavarian B V and Bavarian B VI 2-4-0 locomotives of the Royal Bavarian State Railways were the first types to be produced in Bavaria in large numbers. In all,208 were built between 1853 and 1863, one example is preserved in the Nuremberg Transport Museum. Between 1877 and 1885, altogether 294 passenger locomotives of the Prussian P2 class were delivered to the Prussian State Railways, in New Zealand, two classes of tank locomotive were built with the 2-4-0T wheel arrangement. They were the New Zealand Railways D class in 1874 and 1929, five D class locomotives were built by Dübs and Company in Glasgow, Scotland, nineteen were built by Neilson and Company and eleven were built by Scott Brothers Ltd. of Christchurch. The first members of the D class entered service in 1874 and all had withdrawn from NZR service by the end of 1927. Of the 33 D class locomotives built, seven have been preserved, although only D16, all ten L class locomotives were built by the Avonside Engine Company in Bristol. The first L class built, entered service in 1878 and another nine L class locomotives were ordered, in 1893-94, three of the L class 2-4-0T locomotives were rebuilt to a 4-4-0 wheel arrangement at Newmarket workshops, with larger boilers and enlarged cylinders. This new design was classified La, but their limited coal bunker capacity remained a drawback, the solution was to add a trailing pony truck to accommodate a larger coal bunker, converting them to a 4-4-2T wheel arrangement. A further four L class locomotives were similarly converted, three were not rebuilt, but sold to the Public Works Department between 1901 and 1903. Three new 4-4-2T locomotives were built in 1902-03, when the conversion program was completed in 1903, the classification for all ten remaining NZR locomotives was changed back to L
5.
Tender (rail)
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A tender or coal-car is a special rail vehicle hauled by a steam locomotive containing its fuel and water. Steam locomotives consume large quantities of water compared to the quantity of fuel, a locomotive that pulls a tender is called a tender locomotive. Locomotives that do not have tenders and carry all their fuel, a brake tender is a tender that is heavy and used to provide greater braking efficiency. The largest steam locomotives are coupled by a drawbar to a tender that carries the water. The fuel source used depends on what is available locally. In the UK and parts of Europe, a supply of coal made this the obvious choice from the earliest days of the steam engine. Until around 1850 in the United States, the vast majority of burned wood until most of the eastern forests were cleared. Subsequently coal burning became more widespread, and wood burners were restricted to rural, according to Steamlocomotive. com, By the mid-1800s, most steam locomotive tenders consisted of a fuel bunker surrounded by a U shaped water jacket. The overall shape of the tender was usually rectangular, the bunker which held the coal was sloped downwards toward the locomotive providing easier access to the coal. The ratio of water to fuel capacities of tenders was normally based on two water-stops to each fuel stop because water was readily available than fuel. One pound of coal could turn six pounds of water to steam, therefore, tender capacity ratios were normally close to 14 tons of coal per 10,000 gallons of water. The water supply in a tender was replenished at water stops, refilling the tender is the job of the fireman, who is responsible for maintaining the locomotives fire, steam pressure, and supply of fuel and water. Water carried in the tender must be forced into the boiler, early engines used pumps driven by the motion of the pistons. Later, steam injectors replaced the pump while some engines used turbopumps, in the UK, the USA and France, water troughs were provided on some main lines to allow locomotives to replenish their water supply while moving. The fuel and water capacities of a tender are usually proportional to the rate at which they are consumed, the Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York Central Railroad used track pans on many of their routes, allowing locomotives to pick up water at speed. The result was that the tanks on these tenders were proportionally much smaller. In the UK water troughs were used by three of the Big Four railways, the Southerns decision to electrify its routes into London with a third rail system also made the installation of water troughs impractical. Only on the former London and South Western Railway routes west of Salisbury, rather than install troughs the L&SWR equipped its express locomotives with special high-capacity tenders with a water capacity of 4,000 gallons running on a pair of twin-axle bogies
6.
Brazil
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Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. As the worlds fifth-largest country by area and population, it is the largest country to have Portuguese as an official language. Its Amazon River basin includes a vast tropical forest, home to wildlife, a variety of ecological systems. This unique environmental heritage makes Brazil one of 17 megadiverse countries, Brazil was inhabited by numerous tribal nations prior to the landing in 1500 of explorer Pedro Álvares Cabral, who claimed the area for the Portuguese Empire. Brazil remained a Portuguese colony until 1808, when the capital of the empire was transferred from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro, in 1815, the colony was elevated to the rank of kingdom upon the formation of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves. Independence was achieved in 1822 with the creation of the Empire of Brazil, a state governed under a constitutional monarchy. The ratification of the first constitution in 1824 led to the formation of a bicameral legislature, the country became a presidential republic in 1889 following a military coup détat. An authoritarian military junta came to power in 1964 and ruled until 1985, Brazils current constitution, formulated in 1988, defines it as a democratic federal republic. The federation is composed of the union of the Federal District, the 26 states, Brazils economy is the worlds ninth-largest by nominal GDP and seventh-largest by GDP as of 2015. A member of the BRICS group, Brazil until 2010 had one of the worlds fastest growing economies, with its economic reforms giving the country new international recognition. Brazils national development bank plays an important role for the economic growth. Brazil is a member of the United Nations, the G20, BRICS, Unasul, Mercosul, Organization of American States, Organization of Ibero-American States, CPLP. Brazil is a power in Latin America and a middle power in international affairs. One of the worlds major breadbaskets, Brazil has been the largest producer of coffee for the last 150 years and it is likely that the word Brazil comes from the Portuguese word for brazilwood, a tree that once grew plentifully along the Brazilian coast. In Portuguese, brazilwood is called pau-brasil, with the word brasil commonly given the etymology red like an ember, formed from Latin brasa and the suffix -il. As brazilwood produces a red dye, it was highly valued by the European cloth industry and was the earliest commercially exploited product from Brazil. The popular appellation eclipsed and eventually supplanted the official Portuguese name, early sailors sometimes also called it the Land of Parrots. In the Guarani language, a language of Paraguay, Brazil is called Pindorama
7.
Chemins de fer de l'Ouest
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The Compagnie des chemins de fer de lOuest, often referred to simply as LOuest or Ouest, was an early French railway company. The Compagnie de lOuest was created in 1855 by the merger of small railway companies active in the western outskirts of Paris, in Normandy. The line was 19 km long and the trip took 30 minutes, initially greeted with fear and lack of interest, the railway was a success that paved the way for other new railways, for instance to Rouen. In 1847, the line to Le Pecq was extended to Saint-Germain-en-Laye, the section between Saint-Germain-en-Laye and Nanterre – Université is now part of the RER line A. The section between Paris Saint-Lazare and Nanterre is part of the lines to Rouen and Caen. While the line to Saint-Germain-en-Laye was being built, a line to Versailles, two lines were built, one from Gare Saint-Lazare to the terminus Versailles-Rive-Droite, the other from Gare Montparnasse to the terminus Versailles-Rive-Gauche. James Mayer de Rothschild in conjunction with the Chemin de Fer de Versailles-rive-Droite, the line to Versailles-Rive-Droite, opened on 4 August 1839 and still in use today as Transilien line L, is 19 km long, branching off the line to Saint-Germain at Asnières-sur-Seine. The line to Versailles-Rive-Gauche is also still in use today, the part between Montparnasse and Viroflay is used by trains from Paris to Chartres and Brittany as well as Transilien line N. The part between Viroflay and Versailles is used by RER C local trains, due to the lack of confidence in the second project, the first one was granted and the concession given to Charles Laffitte and Edouard Blount. Construction began in 1841 under the orders of engineer Joseph Locke, inauguration of the line was on 9 May 1843. It was an success, so much so that issues with the Chemin de Fer de Saint-Germain with platform allocation at Gare Saint-Lazare occurred. The network was expanded, To better use the Rive-Droite line. The line was declared of public utility in 1880 and the Chemins de fer de lOuest opened the line to lÉtang-la-Ville in 1884, a second line from Saint-Lazare to Mantes-la-Jolie was opened in 1892, following the right Seine bank. The new line started at Argenteuil, and passed Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, Triel, on a Sunday in May 1842 one of the worst accidents in French railway history happened near Meudon,164 victims, the 55 dead were burnt alive. After this incident the company no longer locked doors on passenger coaches, the only fatality was the wife of a newspaper vendor, filling in for her husband, who was killed by falling masonry from the wall. In 1881 there were 2064 railway related accidents,185 derailings,190 collisions,692 accidents on the line,512 passengers died in these accidents, 1/10 of those who died in accidents on stagecoaches. Lists of rail accidents LOuest built several stations within Paris, the two main terminals St Lazare and Montparnasse as well as Pont Cardinet at the beginning of the line to Auteuil, stations in large cities such as Le Havre, Lisieux, Deauville and Paris are unique. More modest halts were graced with type building, which are called type Ouest, according to the size of the town or village close to the proposed site for the station, a station of a certain size was built
8.
Buffer stop
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A buffer stop or bumper, bumping post, or stopblock, is a device to prevent railway vehicles from going past the end of a physical section of track. The design of the stop is dependent, in part, on the kind of couplings that the railway uses. The term buffer stop is of British origin, since railways in Great Britain principally use buffer-and-screw couplings between vehicles, several different types of buffer stop have been developed. They differ depending on the type of coupler used and on the intended application and these are particularly important for passenger railway applications, because the anticlimbers prevent telescoping of the railroad cars during a head-on impact. One such accident occurred when a Northern Line train powered past the block at Moorgate station in 1975 on the London Underground system. Largely because of its mass, a train transfers an enormous amount of energy in a collision with a buffer stop. Rigid buffers can only cope with very low-speed impacts. To improve stopping performance, a way of dissipating this energy is needed, following a buffer stop accident at Frankfurt am Main in 1902, the Rawie company developed a large range of energy-absorbing buffer stops. Similar hydraulic buffer stops were developed by Ransomes & Rapier in the UK, when it is desired to slow or stop moving trains, without erecting a solid buffer stop, dowty retarders may be employed. They press upwards against the wheels, and may optionally be turned off as required, raja Trains Depot in Tehran Stopping speed,20 km/h Stopping distance,20 m. Wheel stops are used to slow moving trains from continuing down a level track section. 22 October 1895 – Gare Montparnasse, Paris, France – express train overruns buffer stop,1902 – Frankfurt am Main, Germany – Serious buffer stop collision inspires development of Rawie range of energy-absorbing buffer stops. 27 July 1903 – Glasgow St Enoch –16 killed 27 injured 1948 – diesel train through buffer stops at Los Angeles,15 January 1953 – Union Station, Washington, D. C. – Federal Express #173, pulled by PRR4876, overruns the stop after its brakes fail, the locomotive enters the concourse of the station building before falling through the floor. 1972 – BART train went through buffer stops due to fault in automatic train operation,28 February 1975 – Moorgate Underground rail crash –43 killed,74 injured – buffer stop collision made far worse by small size tube train running into large dimensioned dead-end tunnel beyond. The tunnel could accommodate full-size surface stock thus permitting the smaller train to concertina inside the tunnel,13 April 1978 – Budapest, Hungary – commuter train overruns a buffer stop owing to brake failure and crashes into the station building. 8 November 1986 – Hua Lamphong, Bangkok, Thailand –5 killed,7 injured – buffer stop collision made by a train at a speed of 50 km/h. 8 January 1991 – Cannon Street station rail crash, London –2 killed,11 July 1995 – Largs – Class 318 EMU goes through buffer stops
9.
The Ex (band)
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The Ex are an underground band from the Netherlands that formed in 1979 at the height of the original punk explosion. The Exs music has undergone significant evolution over the years from their beginnings as a punk band, the release of their first 7 All Corpses Smell the Same followed shortly after that, in 1980. Through the decades their music has developed into its current form of highly intricate. Expanding beyond punk rock, The Ex have incorporated an array of influences, often from non-Western. Some include Hungarian and Turkish folk songs, and more music from Ethiopia, Congo. Throughout the early 1980s The Ex went through many changes before settling on the core quartet of G. W. Sok on vocals, Terrie on guitar, Luc on bass, in the early 1990s, Andy became the bands permanent 2nd guitarist. In 2003 Luc left the band after 19 years, to be replaced by double bassist Rozemarie Heggen. In 2005 Heggen in turn left the band and Colin served as the bass player for recordings. Guitarists Andy Moor and Terrie Hessels have since filled in parts by switching off on baritone guitar. The album In the Fishtank 5 was made with Chicagos Tortoise, and on In the Fishtank 9 they collaborated with members of Sonic Youth, in 2009, after 30 years with the group, singer and co-founder G. W. Sok announced his departure from the band and his replacement is Arnold de Boer from the Dutch group Zea, with whom The Ex have toured and collaborated. In addition to singing, De Boer plays guitar and utilizes samples with The Ex, the Ex is the subject of a documentary, Beautiful Frenzy by Christina Hallström and Mandra U. Wabäck, and the concert film Building a Broken Mousetrap, directed by Jem Cohen, in 2008 the band was also featured in the film Roll Up Your Sleeves, directed by Dylan Haskins. In 2011 The Ex were chosen by Caribou to perform at and co-curate the All Tomorrows Parties music festival in Minehead, England. Present Terrie Hessels – guitar, baritone guitar Katherina Bornefeld – drums, vocals, percussion Andy Moor – guitar, baritone guitar Arnold de Boer – vocals, guitar, samples Former G. W
10.
Hugo (film)
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Hugo is a 2011 historical adventure drama film directed and co-produced by Martin Scorsese and adapted for the screen by John Logan. Based on Brian Selznicks book The Invention of Hugo Cabret, it is about a boy who lives alone in the Gare Montparnasse railway station in Paris in the 1930s. Hugo is Scorseses first film shot in 3D, of which the filmmaker remarked, I found 3D to be really interesting and their slightest move, their slightest intention is picked up much more precisely. The film was released in the United States on November 23,2011 and it was also nominated for eight BAFTAs, winning two, and was nominated for three Golden Globe awards, earning Scorsese his third Golden Globe Award for Best Director. The film grossed $185 million against a budget of $150–$170 million, in 1931, 12-year-old Hugo Cabret lives in Paris with his father, a widowed but kind clockmaker who also works at a museum. One day, his father finds a broken automaton, a man designed to write with a pen, at the museum. Hugo attempts to repair the automaton with stolen parts, believing it contains a message from his father, Hugo is caught when stealing from the toy store owner Georges, who looks through his fathers notebook and threatens to destroy it. Hugo encounters Georges goddaughter Isabelle, who offers to help get the notebook back, Hugo learns Georges has forbidden Isabelle from going to the cinema, and introduces the medium to her as his father had done for him. As their friendship grows, he shows her the automaton, and is surprised when Isabelle inadvertently reveals she wears the key as a given to her by Georges. When started, the machine draws out a scene that Hugo recognizes from his fathers description of the film A Trip to the Moon, Isabelle identifies the signature, that of a Georges Méliès, as her godfather. She sneaks Hugo into her home, where they find a cache of more imaginative drawings of Méliès, but are caught by Georges. Hugo and Isabelle go to the Film Academy Library and find a book about the history of cinema that praises Méliès contributions. They meet the author, René Tabard, a film expert who is surprised to hear that Méliès may still be alive. Excited at the chance to him, René agrees to meet Isabelle and Hugo at Georges home to show his copy of A Trip to the Moon. On the scheduled night, Georges wife Jeanne tries to turn away, but René compliments Jeanne as Jeanne dAlcy, an actress in many of Méliès films. As the film plays, Georges wakes up at the sight and he laments that even an automaton he made that he donated to a museum was lost. Hugo recognizes this is the same automaton he has, and races to the station to retrieve it and he is caught by Gustave, who has learned that Claudes body was found some time ago, and threatens to take Hugo to the orphanage. Georges arrives and tells Gustave that he will now see to Hugo, some time later, Georges is named a professor at the Film Academy, and is paid tribute through a showcase of his films recovered by René
