1.
Geographic coordinate system
–
A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
2.
Liverpool
–
Liverpool is a major city and metropolitan borough in North West England.24 million people in 2011. Liverpool historically lay within the ancient hundred of West Derby in the south west of the county of Lancashire and it became a borough from 1207 and a city from 1880. In 1889 it became a county borough independent of Lancashire, Liverpool sits on the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary and its growth as a major port is paralleled by the expansion of the city throughout the Industrial Revolution. Along with general cargo, freight, raw materials such as coal and cotton, the city was also directly involved in the Atlantic slave trade. Liverpool was home to both the Cunard and White Star Line, and was the port of registry of the ocean liner RMS Titanic and others such as the RMS Lusitania, Queen Mary, and Olympic. The city celebrated its 800th anniversary in 2007, and it held the European Capital of Culture title together with Stavanger, Norway, several areas of Liverpool city centre were granted World Heritage Site status by UNESCO in 2004. The Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City includes the Pier Head, Albert Dock, tourism forms a significant part of the citys economy. Liverpool is also the home of two Premier League football clubs, Liverpool and Everton, matches between the two being known as the Merseyside derby, the world-famous Grand National horse race takes place annually at Aintree Racecourse on the outskirts of the city. The city is home to the oldest Black African community in the country. Natives of Liverpool are referred to as Liverpudlians and colloquially as Scousers, a reference to scouse, the word Scouse has also become synonymous with the Liverpool accent and dialect. Pool is a place name element in England from the Brythonic word for a pond, inlet, or pit, cognate with the modern Welsh. The derivation of the first element remains uncertain, with the Welsh word Llif as the most plausible relative and this etymology is supported by its similarity to that of the archaic Welsh name for Liverpool Llynlleifiad. Other origins of the name have suggested, including elverpool. The name appeared in 1190 as Liuerpul, and it may be that the place appearing as Leyrpole, in a record of 1418. King Johns letters patent of 1207 announced the foundation of the borough of Liverpool, the original street plan of Liverpool is said to have been designed by King John near the same time it was granted a royal charter, making it a borough. The original seven streets were laid out in an H shape, Bank Street, Castle Street, Chapel Street, Dale Street, Juggler Street, Moor Street, in the 17th century there was slow progress in trade and population growth. Battles for the town were waged during the English Civil War, in 1699 Liverpool was made a parish by Act of Parliament, that same year its first slave ship, Liverpool Merchant, set sail for Africa. Since Roman times, the city of Chester on the River Dee had been the regions principal port on the Irish Sea
3.
West Coast Main Line
–
The West Coast Main Line is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London, Birmingham, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. It is one of the busiest mixed-traffic railway routes in Europe, carrying a mixture of intercity rail, regional rail, the core route of the WCML runs from London to Glasgow, with branches diverging to Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool, totalling a route mileage of 700 miles. Services from London to North Wales and Edinburgh also run via the WCML and it is one of the busiest freight routes in Europe, carrying 40% of all UK rail freight traffic. The line is the rail freight corridor linking the European mainland through London and South East England to the West Midlands. The line has been declared a strategic European route and designated a priority Trans-European Networks route, other traffic is limited to 110 mph. The route between Rugby and Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Stafford was the main line until the Trent Valley Line was built in 1847. A further branch at Carstairs links Edinburgh to the WCML, providing a connection between the WCML and the East Coast Main Line. This legacy means the WCML has limitations as a main line, with lower maximum speeds than the East Coast Main Line route. The WCML was not originally conceived as a trunk route. After the completion of the successful Liverpool and Manchester Railway in 1830, and so this is how the early stages of the WCML evolved. The first stretch of what is now the WCML was the Grand Junction Railway connecting Liverpool and Manchester to Birmingham, via Crewe, Stafford, the following year the London and Birmingham Railway was completed, connecting to the capital via Coventry, Rugby and the Watford Gap. Three other sections, the North Union Railway, the Lancaster and Preston Junction Railway, another important section, the North Staffordshire Railway, which opened its route in 1848 from Macclesfield to Stafford and Colwich via Stoke-on-Trent also remained independent. Poor relations between the LNWR and the NSR meant that trains did not run until 1867. The route to Scotland was marketed by the LNWR as The Premier Line, because the cross-border trains ran over the LNWR and Caledonian Railway, through trains consisted of jointly owned West Coast Joint Stock to simplify operations. The first direct London to Glasgow trains in the 1850s took 12.5 hours to complete the 400-mile journey, the final sections of what is now the WCML were put in place over the following decades by the LNWR. To expand capacity, the line between London and Rugby was widened to four tracks in the 1870s, as part of this work, a new line, the Northampton Loop was built, opening in 1881, connecting Northampton before rejoining the main line at Rugby. The route came under the control of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway on 1 January 1923 when railway companies were grouped, the LMS competed fiercely with the rival LNERs East Coast Main Line for London to Scotland traffic. As part of the 1955 modernisation plan, the line was modernised and electrified in stages between 1959 and 1974, the first stretch to be electrified was Crewe to Manchester, completed on 12 September 1960
4.
River Mersey
–
The River Mersey /ˈmɜːrzi/ is a river in the north west of England. Its name is derived from the Anglo-Saxon language and translates as boundary river, the river may have been the border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria and for centuries it formed part of the boundary between the historic counties of Lancashire and Cheshire. The start of the Mersey is at the confluence of the River Tame and it flows westwards through the suburban areas of south Manchester, then into the Manchester Ship Canal at Irlam, becoming a part of the canal and maintaining the canals water levels. After 4 miles the river exits the canal flowing towards Warrington where the river widens before it then narrows as it passes between the towns of Runcorn and Widnes. From Runcorn the river widens into an estuary, which is 3 miles wide at its widest point near Ellesmere Port. The course of the then heads north as the estuary narrows between Liverpool and Birkenhead on the Wirral Peninsula to the west and empties into Liverpool Bay. In total the river flows 70.33 miles, a railway tunnel between Birkenhead and Liverpool as part of the Mersey Railway opened in 1886. Two road tunnels pass under the estuary from Liverpool, the Queensway Tunnel opened in 1934 connecting the city to Birkenhead, the Silver Jubilee Bridge completed in 1961, crosses between Runcorn and Widnes, adjacent to the Runcorn Railway Bridge which opened in 1868. Water quality in the Mersey was severely affected by industrialisation, and in 1985, in 2009 it was announced that the river is cleaner than at any time since the industrial revolution and is now considered one of the cleanest in the UK. The Mersey Valley Countryside Warden Service manages local nature reserves such as Chorlton Ees, the river gave its name to Merseybeat, developed by bands from Liverpool, notably the Beatles. In 1965 it was the subject of the hit single Ferry Cross the Mersey by Gerry. Its name is derived from the Anglo-Saxon mǣres, of a boundary and ēa, the Mersey was possibly the border river between Mercia and Northumbria. Its Welsh name is Afon Merswy, and it has given the alternative etymology of Celtic môr-afon meaning sea river. The Mersey is formed from three tributaries, the River Etherow, the River Goyt and the River Tame, the modern accepted start of the Mersey is at the confluence of the Tame and Goyt, in central Stockport, Greater Manchester. The 1784 John Stockdale map shows the River Mersey extending to Mottram, in the west of Stockport it flows at the base of a cliff below the road called Brinksway before reaching flat country. The old course of the Mersey has been obliterated by the canal past Hollins Green to Rixton although the old river bed can be seen outside Irlam, the river is tidal from Howley Weir in Warrington, although high spring tides often top the weir. Before construction of the canal, work to improve navigation included Woolston New Cut, bypassing a meander, and Howley Lock for craft to avoid the weir. The island formed between the weir and the lock is known locally as Monkey Island, west of Warrington the river widens, and then narrows as it passes through the Runcorn Gap between the towns of Runcorn and Widnes, in Halton
5.
Manchester Ship Canal
–
The Manchester Ship Canal is a 36-mile-long inland waterway in the North West of England linking Manchester to the Irish Sea. Starting at the Mersey Estuary near Liverpool, it follows the original routes of the rivers Mersey. Several sets of locks lift vessels about 60 feet up to Manchester, major landmarks along its route include the Barton Swing Aqueduct, the only swing aqueduct in the world, and Trafford Park, the worlds first planned industrial estate and still the largest in Europe. The rivers Mersey and Irwell were first made navigable in the early 18th century, in addition, Manchesters business community viewed the charges imposed by Liverpools docks and the railway companies as excessive. A ship canal was proposed as a way of giving ocean-going vessels direct access to Manchester. They initiated a campaign to enlist support for the scheme. Faced with stiff opposition from Liverpool, the supporters were unable to gain the necessary Act of Parliament to allow the scheme to go ahead until 1885. Construction began in 1887, it six years and cost £15 million. Although able to accommodate a range of vessels from coastal ships to inter-continental cargo liners, by 2011 traffic had decreased from its peak in 1958 of 18 million long tons of freight each year to about 7 million long tons. The necessary legislation was proposed in 1720, and the Act of Parliament for the navigation passed into law in 1721, construction began in 1724, undertaken by the Mersey & Irwell Navigation Company. The completion in 1776 of the Runcorn extension of the Bridgewater Canal, followed in 1830 by the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, intensified competition for the carriage of goods. In 1844 ownership of the Mersey & Irwell Navigation was transferred to the Bridgewater Trustees and its proponents argued that reduced transport costs would make local industry more competitive, and that the scheme would help create new jobs. The idea was championed by Manchester manufacturer Daniel Adamson, who arranged a meeting at his home, The Towers in Didsbury and he invited the representatives of several Lancashire towns, local businessmen and politicians, and two civil engineers, Hamilton Fulton and Edward Leader Williams. Fultons design was for a canal, with no locks. With the city about 60 feet above sea level, the docks, Williams plan was to dredge a channel between a set of retaining walls, and build a series of locks and sluices to lift incoming vessels up to Manchester. Both engineers were invited to submit their proposals, and Williams plans were selected to form the basis of a bill to be submitted to Parliament later that year. To generate support for the scheme, the provisional committee initiated a campaign led by Joseph Lawrence. His task was to set up committees in every ward in Manchester and throughout Lancashire, to raise subscriptions, the first meeting was held on 4 October in Manchesters Oxford Ward, followed by another on 17 October in the St. James Ward
6.
Runcorn
–
Runcorn is an industrial town and cargo port in Cheshire, England, located within the Borough of Halton. In 2010, Runcorns population was estimated to be 61,000, the town is on the southern bank of the River Mersey, where the estuary narrows to form the Runcorn Gap. Directly to the north across the River Mersey is the town of Widnes, upstream and 8 miles to the northeast is the town of Warrington, and downstream 16 miles to the west is the city of Liverpool. Runcorn railway station is on a branch of the West Coast Main Line and provides frequent services to the Liverpool Lime Street, Birmingham New Street, and London Euston stations. The A533 road passes through the town from the south, crossing the Runcorn Gap over the Silver Jubilee Bridge, Runcorn was a small, isolated village until the Industrial Revolution. It was a resort in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Towards the end of the 18th century, a port began to develop on the bank of the River Mersey. During the 19th century, industries developed the manufacture of soap and alkali, quarrying, shipbuilding, engineering, in the early 20th century, the prime industries were chemicals and tanning. The original village has grown to include what were outlying villages, the earliest written reference to the town is in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, where it is spelled Rumcofan, literally meaning a wide cove or bay. This word is derived from the Old English words rúm and cofa, other historical spellings of Runcorn include Rumcoven, Ronchestorn, Runckhorne, and Runcorne. Little is known about the history of the settlement but isolated findings of objects from the Stone, Bronze. The earliest recorded event in its history is the building by Ethelfleda of a fortification at Runcorn to protect the frontier of her kingdom of Mercia against the Vikings in 915. The fort was built on Castle Rock overlooking the River Mersey at Runcorn Gap, following the Norman conquest, Runcorn was not mentioned in the 1086 Domesday survey, although surrounding settlements were. William the Conqueror granted the earldom of Chester to Hugh dAvranches who granted the barony of Halton to Nigel and it is likely that Nigel erected a motte and bailey castle on Halton Hill in the 1070s. In 1115, Nigels son, William Fitznigel, founded an Augustinian Priory at Runcorn, in 1134 the priory was moved to Norton, about 3.5 miles away. In 1391 the priory was raised to the status of abbey. During the Civil War Halton Castle was held for the Royalists by John Savage, 2nd Earl Rivers and it fell twice to Parliamentarian Roundheads. The first siege was led by Sir William Brereton in 1643, following this, a Council of War was held in Warrington in 1646 at which it was decided that the castle should be slighted
7.
Cheshire
–
Cheshire is a county in North West England, bordering Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south and Wales to the west. Cheshires county town is Chester, the largest town is Warrington, other major towns include Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Macclesfield, Northwich, Runcorn, Widnes, Wilmslow, and Winsford. The county covers 905 square miles and has a population of around 1 million and it is mostly rural, with a number of small towns and villages supporting the agricultural and other industries which produce Cheshire cheese, salt, chemicals and silk. Cheshires name was derived from an early name for Chester. Although the name first appears in 980, it is thought that the county was created by Edward the Elder around 920, in the Domesday Book, Chester was recorded as having the name Cestrescir, derived from the name for Chester at the time. A series of changes occurred as English itself changed, together with some simplifications and elision, resulted in the name Cheshire. Because of the close links with the land bordering Cheshire to the west. The Domesday Book records Cheshire as having two complete Hundreds that later became the part of Flintshire. Additionally, another portion of the Duddestan Hundred later became known as Maelor Saesneg when it was transferred to North Wales. For this and other reasons, the Welsh name for Cheshire is sometimes used within Wales, after the Norman conquest of 1066 by William I, dissent and resistance continued for many years after the invasion. In 1069 local resistance in Cheshire was finally put down using draconian measures as part of the Harrying of the North, the ferocity of the campaign against the English populace was enough to end all future resistance. Examples were made of major landowners such as Earl Edwin of Mercia, William I made Cheshire a county palatine and gave Gerbod the Fleming the new title of Earl of Chester. When Gerbod returned to Normandy in about 1070, the king used his absence to declare the earldom forfeit, due to Cheshires strategic location on Welsh Marches, the Earl had complete autonomous powers to rule on behalf of the king in the county palatine. Cheshire in the Domesday Book is recorded as a larger county than it is today. It included two hundreds, Atiscross and Exestan, that became part of North Wales. At the time of the Domesday Book, it included as part of Duddestan Hundred the area of land later known as English Maelor in Wales. The area between the Mersey and Ribble formed part of the returns for Cheshire, an example is the barony of Halton. One of Hugh dAvranches barons has been identified as Robert Nicholls, Baron of Halton, in 1182 the land north of the Mersey became administered as part of the new county of Lancashire, thus resolving any uncertainty about the county in which the land Inter Ripam et Mersam was
8.
Network Rail
–
Network Rail is the owner and infrastructure manager of most of the rail network in England, Scotland and Wales. Network Rail is an arms length public body of the Department for Transport with no shareholders, since 1 September 2014, Network Rail has been classified as a public sector body. Britains railway system was built by companies, but it was nationalised by the Transport Act 1947. Infrastructure and passenger and freight services were separated at that time, between 1994 and 2002 the infrastructure was owned and operated by Railtrack. The Hatfield train crash on 17 October 2000 was a moment in the collapse of Railtrack. The costs of modernising the West Coast Main Line were also spiralling, the purchase was completed on 3 October 2002. The SRA was abolished in November 2006, the company moved its headquarters to Kings Place,90 York Way, from 40 Melton Street, Euston, in August 2008. In October 2008, Sir Ian McAllister announced that he would not stand for re-election as chairman of Network Rail and he had held the position for six years. He noted that as Network Rail moved to a new phase in its development it was appropriate for a new chairman to lead it there, many track safety initiatives have been introduced in the time Network Rail has been responsible for this area. This ruling came into force in January 2009 for maintenance and property workers and in April 2009 for infrastructure, in 2009, allegations appeared in the media from the Transport Salaried Staffs Association concerning treatment of Network Rail employees. Former chief executive Iain Coucher was also accused of financial impropriety involving unspecified payments to his business partner Victoria Pender during his tenure at Network Rail, an internal investigation held by Network Rail in 2010, vetted by its auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers, uncovered no evidence of wrongdoing. An independent enquiry headed by Anthony White QC in 2011 further examined the claims, critical commentary appeared in the media concerning the knighthood awarded to John Armitt in the 2012 New Year Honours for services to engineering and construction. The reorganisation has been interpreted as a move back towards vertical integration of track, in 2016 Network Rail failed to check whether the Flying Scotsman could fit through tunnels along the Borders Route resulting in the cancellation of a trip just 24 hours before departure. Scottish Transport Minister Derek Mackay branded the affair a debacle, Network Rails attempt to electrify the West Coast Mainline has been dogged by poor planning and cost overruns, the projected cost has ballooned from by £1.2 billion to £2. It however owns a fleet of departmental stock, although it owns over 2,500 railway stations, it manages only 18 of the biggest and busiest of them, all the other stations being managed by one or other of the various train operating companies. Network Rail has a 15-year lease on Square One in Manchester with 800 staff in one of Manchesters largest refurbished office spaces, Network Rail should not be confused with National Rail. National Rail is not an organisation, but merely a brand, used to explain, the majority of Network Rail lines also carry freight traffic, some lines are freight only. A few lines that carry passenger traffic are not part of the National Rail network, conversely, a few National Rail services operate over track which is not part of the Network Rail network
9.
Wrought iron
–
Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content in contrast to cast iron. It is a mass of iron with fibrous slag inclusions which gives it a grain resembling wood. Wrought iron is tough, malleable, ductile, corrosion-resistant and easily welded, before the development of effective methods of steelmaking and the availability of large quantities of steel, wrought iron was the most common form of malleable iron. A wrought product is one that has been worked by forging, extruding, rolling, hammering, etcetera, to change its form. Wrought iron is a worked iron product that is seldom produced today as other cheaper. Historically, a modest amount of iron was refined into steel. The demand for wrought iron reached its peak in the 1860s with the adaptation of ironclad warships, however, as properties such as brittleness of mild steel improved, it became less costly and more widely available than wrought iron, whose usage then declined. Wrought iron is no longer produced on a commercial scale, many products described as wrought iron, such as guard rails, garden furniture and gates, are actually made of mild steel. They retain that description because they are made to resemble objects which in the past were wrought by hand by a blacksmith, the word wrought is an archaic past participle of the verb to work, and so wrought iron literally means worked iron. Wrought iron is a term for the commodity, but is also used more specifically for finished iron goods. It was used in that sense in British Customs records. Cast iron, unlike wrought iron, is brittle and cannot be worked either hot or cold, Cast iron can break if struck with a hammer. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, wrought iron went by a variety of terms according to its form, origin. While the bloomery process produced wrought iron directly from ore, cast iron or pig iron were the materials used in the finery forge. Pig iron and cast iron have higher content than wrought iron. Cast and especially pig iron have excess slag which must be at least partially removed to produce quality wrought iron, at foundries it was common to blend scrap wrought iron with cast iron to improve the physical properties of castings. Fusion eventually became accepted as relatively more important than composition below a given low carbon concentration. Another difference is that steel can be hardened by heat treating, historically, wrought iron was known as commercially pure iron, however, it no longer qualifies because current standards for commercially pure iron require a carbon content of less than 0.008 wt%
10.
William Baker (engineer)
–
William Baker was a railway engineer. Between 1834 and 1839 Baker was articled to George W. Buck and then worked on the London, from 1837 he worked with Buck on the Manchester and Birmingham Railway. He later became engineer of the Manchester, South Junction and Altrincham Railway while also working on the Shrewsbury and Birmingham and he became engineer of the Stour Valley Railway and was then appointed as engineer of the Southern Division of the London and North Western Railway. Following the death of Robert Stephenson he was appointed engineer of the London. He constructed a new harbour at Holyhead and was responsible for designing and overseeing the building of the Runcorn Railway Bridge, Baker was designer and engineer of the Battersea Railway Bridge. He also acted as consulting engineer to the West London Extension Railway and the North London Railway, and in Ireland he built the Dundalk, Newry and Greenore and he was elected MICE in 1848
11.
Widnes
–
Widnes is an industrial town in the unitary authority of Halton and the ceremonial county of Cheshire in Northwest England. In 2011 it had a population of 60,221, historically in Lancashire, it is on the northern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form the Runcorn Gap. Directly to the south across the Mersey is the town of Runcorn, upstream and 8 miles to the east is the town of Warrington, and downstream to the west is Speke, part of the city of Liverpool. Before the Industrial Revolution Widnes was made up of settlements on marsh. In 1847, the first chemical factory was established and the town became a major centre of the chemical industry. The demand for labour was met by large-scale immigration from Ireland, Poland, Lithuania, the town continues to be a major manufacturer of chemicals. Widnes and Hough Green railway stations are on the Liverpool to Manchester line, the main roads through the town are the A557 in a north–south direction and the A562 east–west. The disused Sankey Canal terminates in a known as Spike Island. Earlier spellings of the name have been Vidnes, Wydnes and Wydness, there is little evidence of any early human occupation of the area although a flint arrowhead was discovered at Pex Hill, suggesting there was some human presence in the Stone Age. Pex Hill is a quarry, located to the north of the town. Roman roads by-passed the area but some Roman coins were found where the Ditton railway station stands today, in the 9th century Vikings had invaded the country and Widnes was at the extreme south of the Danelaw. The River Mersey derives its name from the Anglo-Saxon maeres ea, which means boundary river, following the Norman conquest, William the Conqueror granted the Earldom of Lancaster to Roger de Poictou who in turn granted the barony of Widnes to Yorfrid. Yorfrid had no sons and his daughter married William FitzNigel. On Yorfrids death the barony of Widnes passed to that of Halton, the current St. Lukes, a Norman church, was built in Farnworth. Its date of origin is uncertain but it is likely to be around 1180, in 1500 the South Chapel was added to the church and in 1507 a grammar school was established in Farnworth, both were endowments from Bishop William Smyth. Until the middle of the 19th century the area consisted of the hamlets of Farnworth, Appleton, Ditton, Upton. Nearby were the villages of Cronton and Cuerdley, in the 1750s the Sankey Canal was constructed. This linked the area of St. Helens with the River Mersey at Sankey Bridges and it was extended to Fiddlers Ferry in 1762 and then in 1833 a further extension to Woodend was opened
12.
Silver Jubilee Bridge
–
The Silver Jubilee Bridge or Runcorn Bridge crosses the River Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal at Runcorn Gap between Runcorn and Widnes in Halton, England. It is an arch bridge with a main arch span of 361 yards. It was opened in 1961 as a replacement for the Widnes-Runcorn Transporter Bridge, in 1975–77 it was widened, after which it was given its official name in honour of the Queens Silver Jubilee. It carries the A533 road and a cantilevered footway, the bridge is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building. Until 1868, when Runcorn Railway Bridge was opened, the means of crossing the Mersey at or near Runcorn Gap were by fording or by ferry. Before that the lowest crossing of the river had been the road bridge at Warrington, the first bridge to carry vehicular traffic across Runcorn Gap was the Widnes-Runcorn Transporter Bridge which opened in 1905. This was an inefficient means of transport and it had become inadequate for the amount of traffic using it before the outbreak of the Second World War, in 1946 the Ministry of Transport agreed that the transporter bridge should be replaced when sufficient funds were available. Mott, Hay and Anderson were appointed as consultant engineers, the new bridge had to allow the passage of shipping along the Manchester Ship Canal. Many ideas were considered, including a new bridge or a swing bridge. These were considered to be impractical and it was decided that the best solution was a bridge upstream from the railway bridge. This would allow the least obstruction to shipping and would also be at the narrowest crossing point, the first plan for a high-level bridge was a truss bridge with three or five spans, giving an 8 yards dual carriageway with a cycle track and footpaths. This was abandoned because it was too expensive, and because one of the piers would be too close to the wall of the ship canal. The next idea was for a bridge with a span of 343 yards between the main towers with an 8 yards single carriageway and a 2-yard footpath. However aerodynamic tests on models of the bridge showed that, while the bridge itself would be stable, the finally accepted design was for a steel through arch bridge with a 10-yard single carriageway. The design of the bridge is similar to that of Sydney Harbour Bridge and this design feature was necessary to avoid the problem of oscillation due to the railway bridge. The main span measures 361 yards and each side span is 83 yards, construction began on 25 April 1956. The contractors for the first phase of work, Leonard Fairclough of Adlington, cleared the ground, building of the bridge itself began in March 1958 and the side spans were completed by November 1959. The main arch was built by cantilevering steelwork from the side spans until it met in the middle in November 1960, the carriageway was suspended from the arch by 48 lock-coil wire ropes
13.
Listed building
–
A listed building or listed structure, in the United Kingdom, is one that has been placed on the Statutory List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest. The statutory bodies maintaining the list are Historic England in England, Cadw in Wales, Historic Scotland in Scotland, however, the preferred term in Ireland is protected structure. In England and Wales, an amenity society must be notified of any work to a listed building which involves any element of demolition. Owners of listed buildings are, in circumstances, compelled to repair and maintain them. When alterations are permitted, or when listed buildings are repaired or maintained, slightly different systems operate in each area of the United Kingdom, though the basic principles of the listing remain the same. It was the damage to caused by German bombing during World War II that prompted the first listing of buildings that were deemed to be of particular architectural merit. The listings were used as a means of determining whether a building should be rebuilt if it was damaged by bombing. Listing was first introduced into Northern Ireland under the Planning Order 1972, the listing process has since developed slightly differently in each part of the UK. In the UK, the process of protecting the historic environment is called ‘designation’. A heritage asset is a part of the environment that is valued because of its historic. Only some of these are judged to be important enough to have legal protection through designation. However, buildings that are not formally listed but still judged as being of heritage interest are still regarded as being a consideration in the planning process. Almost anything can be listed – it does not have to be a building, Buildings and structures of special historic interest come in a wide variety of forms and types, ranging from telephone boxes and road signs, to castles. Historic England has created twenty broad categories of structures, and published selection guides for each one to aid with assessing buildings and these include historical overviews and describe the special considerations for listing each category. Both Historic Scotland and Cadw produce guidance for owners, in England, to have a building considered for listing or delisting, the process is to apply to the secretary of state, this can be done by submitting an application form online to Historic England. The applicant does not need to be the owner of the building to apply for it to be listed, full information including application form guidance notes are on the Historic England website. Historic England assesses buildings put forward for listing or delisting and provides advice to the Secretary of State on the architectural, the Secretary of State, who may seek additional advice from others, then decides whether or not to list or delist the building. In England and Wales the authority for listing is granted to the Secretary of State by the Planning Act 1990, Listed buildings in danger of decay are listed on the Historic England Heritage at Risk Register
14.
London and North Western Railway
–
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
15.
Liverpool Lime Street railway station
–
Liverpool Lime Street is a terminus railway station, and the main station serving the city centre of Liverpool. Opened in August 1836, it is the oldest grand terminus mainline station still in use in the world, a large building constructed in the Renaissance Revival style fronts the station. A branch of the West Coast Main Line from London Euston terminates at the station, as well as TransPennine Express trains, the underground Lime Street Wirral Line station on the Merseyrail network is accessed via the main terminus. Lime Street is the largest and oldest railway station in Liverpool, the original terminus of the 1830 Liverpool and Manchester Railway was located at Crown Street, in Edge Hill, to the east of and outside the city centre. A new station in the city centre was needed, construction of a purpose-built station at Lime Street in the city centre began in October 1833, the land was purchased from Liverpool Corporation for £9,000. A twin track tunnel was constructed between Edge Hill and the new station before the station was built in 1832, it was used to building materials for the station. The architects were Cunningham and Holme, and John Foster Jr, the station opened to the public in August 1836, although construction was not completed until the following year. This building was designed with four gateways, two of which were intentionally nonfunctional. Due to the steep incline uphill from Lime Street to Edge Hill, locomotives were removed from the trains and the passenger carriages were taken down by gravity, with the descent controlled by brakemen in a brake van. The return journey was achieved by using a steam engine, located at Edge Hill. This system, constructed by Mather, Dixon and Company under the direction of John Grantham, within six years of opening, the rapid growth of the railways required expansion of the original station. A plan was formed to erect an iron roof similar to found at Euston station in London. However, Richard Turner and William Fairburn submitted a design for a curved roof. The work cost £15,000 and was completed in 1849 with the involvement of William Tite. Meanwhile, in 1845, the L&MR had been absorbed by its business partner, the Grand Junction Railway. A group of four columns, adjoining platform 1 and attributed to Edward Woods, by 1857, two granite columns had been erected outside the station entrance, and had become known as the Candlesticks. In 1867 further expansion was needed and included the present northern arched train shed, designed by William Baker and Francis Stevenson and with a span of 200 feet, it was the largest in the world at the time. It was also the first train shed in which iron was used throughout, a second parallel southern train shed was completed in 1879, designed by Stevenson and E. W. Ives, notably, it was of dry construction and each bay took only three days to build
16.
25 kV AC railway electrification
–
25 kV alternating current electrification is commonly used in railway electrification systems worldwide, especially for high-speed rail. This electrification is ideal for railways that cover long distances or carry heavy traffic, after some experimentation before World War II in Hungary and in the Black Forest in Germany, it came into widespread use in the 1950s. Railways using older, lower-capacity direct current systems have introduced or are introducing 25 kV AC instead of 3 kV DC/1.5 kV DC for their new high-speed lines. The first successful operational and regular use of the 50 Hz system dates back to 1931 and it was developed by Kálmán Kandó in Hungary, who used 16 kV AC at 50 Hz, asynchronous traction, and an adjustable number of poles. The first electrified line for testing was Budapest–Dunakeszi–Alag, the first fully electrified line was Budapest–Győr–Hegyeshalom. Although Kandós solution showed a way for the future, railway operators outside of Hungary showed a lack of interest in the design. The first railway to use system was completed in 1951 by SNCF between Aix-les-Bains and La Roche-sur-Foron in southern France, initially at 20 kV but converted to 25 kV in 1953. The main reason why electrification at this voltage had not been used before was the lack of reliability of mercury-arc-type rectifiers that could fit on the train. This in turn related to the requirement to use DC series motors, until the early 1950s, mercury-arc rectifiers were difficult to operate even in ideal conditions and were therefore unsuitable for use in the railway industry. It was possible to use AC motors, but they did not have a characteristic for traction purposes. This was because control of speed is difficult without varying the frequency and this is why DC series motors were the best choice for traction purposes, as they can be controlled by voltage, and have an almost ideal torque vs speed characteristic. In the 1990s, high-speed trains began to use lighter, lower-maintenance three-phase AC induction motors. The N700 Shinkansen uses a converter to convert 25 kV single-phase AC to 1,520 V AC to 3,000 V DC to a maximum 2,300 V three-phase AC to run the motors. The system works in reverse for regenerative braking, the choice of 25 kV was related to the efficiency of power transmission as a function of voltage and cost, not based on a neat and tidy ratio of the supply voltage. For a given level, a higher voltage allows for a lower current. The Indian Traction Power uses a 25 kV autotransformer system to achieve greater than the 25 kV system. Supply, in terms, the supply for the electric trains run by the Indian Rail uses only two phases of the normal three-phase electric power supply. The usage of the two phases is a one, feeding a single phase transformer with the two phases instead of the conventional feeding of a phase and a neutral
17.
Overhead line
–
An overhead line or overhead wire is used to transmit electrical energy to trams, trolleybuses, or trains. Overhead line is designed on the principle of one or more overhead wires situated over rail tracks, the feeder stations are usually fed from a high-voltage electrical grid. Electric trains that collect their current from overhead lines use a device such as a pantograph and it presses against the underside of the lowest overhead wire, the contact wire. Current collectors are electrically conductive and allow current to flow through to the train or tram, non-electric locomotives may pass along these tracks without affecting the overhead line, although there may be difficulties with overhead clearance. Alternative electrical power transmission schemes for trains include third rail, ground-level power supply, batteries and this article does not cover regenerative braking, where the traction motors act as generators to retard movement and return power to the overhead. To achieve good high-speed current collection, it is necessary to keep the wire geometry within defined limits. This is usually achieved by supporting the wire from a second wire known as the messenger wire or catenary. This wire approximates the path of a wire strung between two points, a catenary curve, thus the use of catenary to describe this wire or sometimes the whole system. This wire is attached to the wire at regular intervals by vertical wires known as droppers or drop wires. It is supported regularly at structures, by a pulley, link, the whole system is then subjected to a mechanical tension. As the contact wire makes contact with the pantograph, the insert on top of the pantograph is worn down. The straight wire between supports will cause the wire to cross over the whole surface of the pantograph as the train travels around the curve, causing uniform wear. On straight track, the wire is zigzagged slightly to the left. The movement of the wire across the head of the pantograph is called the sweep. The zigzagging of the line is not required for trolley poles. Depot areas tend to have only a wire and are known as simple equipment or trolley wire. When overhead line systems were first conceived, good current collection was only at low speeds. Compound equipment - uses a second wire, known as the auxiliary
18.
Grand Junction Railway
–
The line built by the company was the first trunk railway to be completed in England, and arguably the worlds first long-distance railway with steam traction. Presently, the lines which comprised the GJR form the section of the West Coast Main Line. The GJR established its chief engineering works at Crewe, relocating there from Edge Hill and it began operation with a temporary Birmingham terminus at Vauxhall, The travelling post office where mail was sorted on a moving train was instituted on the Grand Junction Railway in January 1838. Using a converted horse-box, it was carried out at the suggestion of Frederick Karstadt, karstadts son was one of two mail clerks who did the sorting. The route between Curzon Street railway station and Vauxhall primarily consisted of the Birmingham Viaduct and it consisted of 28 arches, each 31 feet wide and 28 feet tall and crossed the River Rea. This being accomplished, what further improvement could be desired between London and Lancashire, in 1840 the GJR absorbed the Chester and Crewe Railway soon before it began operation. In 1845 the GJR merged with the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, in 1841 the company appointed Captain Mark Huish as the Secretary of the railway. Huish was ruthless in the development of the business and contributed significantly to the Companys success, the GJR was very profitable, paying dividends of at least 10% from its beginning and having a final capital value of more than £5. One locomotive, Columbine, is preserved at the Science Museum and this was GJR No.49 and LNWR No. In the 2007 adaptation of the television series Cranford, a line owned by the Grand Junction Railway is the subject of gossip when the railway line bypasses the village of Cranford. Grand Junction Railroad Notes References Bibliography Webster, Norman W. Britains First Trunk Line – the Grand Junction Railway, the Railways of Great Britain and Ireland Practically Described and Illustrated
19.
Act of Parliament
–
Acts of Parliament, also called primary legislation, are statutes passed by a parliament. Act of the Oireachtas is an equivalent term used in the Republic of Ireland where the legislature is known by its Irish name. It is also comparable to an Act of Congress in the United States, a draft Act of Parliament is known as a bill. In territories with a Westminster system, most bills that have any possibility of becoming law are introduced into parliament by the government. This will usually happen following the publication of a paper, setting out the issues. A bill may also be introduced into parliament without formal government backing, in territories with a multicameral parliament, most bills may be first introduced in any chamber. However, certain types of legislation are required, either by convention or by law. For example, bills imposing a tax, or involving public expenditure, are introduced into the House of Commons in the United Kingdom, Canadas House of Commons, conversely, bills proposed by the Law Commission and consolidation bills traditionally start in the House of Lords. Once introduced, a bill must go through a number of stages before it can become law, in theory, this allows the bills provisions to be debated in detail, and for amendments to the original bill to also be introduced, debated, and agreed to. In bicameral parliaments, a bill that has been approved by the chamber into which it was introduced then sends the bill to the other chamber, broadly speaking, each chamber must separately agree to the same version of the bill. Finally, the bill receives assent, in most territories this is merely a formality. In some countries, such as in Spain and Portugal, the term for a bill differs depending on whether it is initiated by the government, again, the second reading of a Government bill is usually approved. A defeat for a Government bill on this reading signifies a major loss, if the bill is read a second time, it is then considered in detail Consideration in detail, This usually takes place on the floor of the House. Generally, committees sit on the floor of the House and consider the bill in detail, third reading, A debate on the final text of the bill, as amended. Very rarely do debates occur during this stage, passage, The bill is then sent to the other House, which may amend it. If the other House amends the bill, the bill and amendments are posted back to the original House for a further stage, the State of Queenslands Parliament is unicameral and skips this and the rest of the stages. Consideration of Senate/Representatives amendments, The House in which the bill originated considers the amendments made in the other House and it may agree to them, amend them, propose other amendments in lieu, or reject them. However, the Senate may not amend money bills, though it can request the House to make amendments, a bill may pass backwards and forwards several times at this stage, as each House amends or rejects changes proposed by the other
20.
Aston-by-Sutton
–
Aston is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 111, the village is just outside the Runcorn urban area. St Peters Church is a Grade I listed building, Aston was the seat of the Aston baronets of the County of Chester. Listed buildings in Aston-by-Sutton Media related to Aston-by-Sutton at Wikimedia Commons Aston in the Domesday Book
21.
Crewe
–
Crewe /kruː/ is a railway town and civil parish within the borough of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The area has a population of 72,863, from 1946 until 2002 it was also the home of Rolls-Royce motor car production. The Pyms Lane factory on the west of the town now produces Bentley motor cars exclusively, Crewe is 158 miles north of London and 35 miles south of Manchester. Crewe was thus named after the station, rather than the other way round. The name derives from an Old Welsh word criu, meaning weir, Crewe was founded in the township of Monks Coppenhall which, with the township of Church Coppenhall, formed the ancient parish of Coppenhall. The railway station was named after the township of Crewe in which it was located, eventually, the township of Crewe became a civil parish in its own right also named, rather confusingly, Crewe. This civil parish changed its name to Crewe Green in 1974 to avoid confusion with the adjacent town, the railway station remained part of the civil parish of Crewe, outside the boundary of the municipal borough until 1936. An old, local riddle describes the unusual states of affairs, The place which is Crewe is not Crewe. Until the Grand Junction Railway company chose Crewe as the site for its works and railway station in the late 1830s. Winsford,7 miles to the north, had rejected an earlier proposal, Crewe railway station was built in fields near to Crewe Hall and was completed in 1837. A new town grew up, in the parishes of Monks Coppenhall and Church Coppenhall, alongside the increasingly busy station, GJR chief engineer Joseph Locke helped lay out the town. The town has a park, Queens Park, the land for which was donated by the London and North Western Railway. It has been suggested that their motivation was to prevent the rival Great Western Railway building a station on the site, the railway provided an endowment towards the building and upkeep of Christ Church. Until 1897 its vicar, non-conformist ministers and schoolteachers received concessionary passes, the company provided a doctors surgery with a scheme of health insurance. A gasworks was built and the water supply was adapted to provide drinking water. The railway also opened a market in 1854 and a clothing factory for John Compton who provided the company uniforms. During World War II the strategic presence of the railways and Rolls-Royce engineering works made Crewe a target for air raids. The borough lost 35 civilians to these, the worst raid was on 29 August 1940 when some 50 houses were destroyed, Crewe crater on Mars is named after the town of Crewe
22.
Warrington
–
Warrington is a town and unitary authority area in Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey,20 miles east of Liverpool, and 20 miles west of Manchester. The population in 2015 was estimated at 207,700, more than double that of 1968 when it became a New Town, Warrington was founded by the Romans at an important crossing place on the River Mersey. A new settlement was established by the Saxons, by the Middle Ages, Warrington had emerged as a market town at the lowest bridging point of the river. A local tradition of textile and tool production dates from this time, historically in Lancashire, the expansion and urbanisation of Warrington coincided with the Industrial Revolution, particularly after the Mersey was made navigable in the 18th century. The West Coast Main Line runs north to south through the town, the Manchester Ship Canal cuts through the south of the borough. The M6, M56 and M62 motorways form a box around the town. Warrington has been a crossing point on the River Mersey since ancient times. Local archaeological evidence indicates there were Bronze Age settlements also. In medieval times Warringtons importance was as a town and bridging point of the River Mersey. The first reference to a bridge at Warrington is found in 1285, Warrington was a fulcrum in the English Civil War. The armies of Oliver Cromwell and the Earl of Derby both stayed near the old town centre, popular legend has it that Cromwell lodged near the building which survives on Church Street as the Cottage Restaurant. The Marquis of Granby public house bears a plaque stating that the Earl of Derby had his quarters near this site, dents in the walls of the parish church are rumoured to have been caused by the cannons from the time of the civil war. The expansion and urbanisation of Warrington largely coincided with the Industrial Revolution, as Britain became industrialised, Warrington embraced the Industrial Revolution becoming a manufacturing town and a centre of steel, textiles, brewing, tanning and chemical industries. The navigational properties of the River Mersey were improved, canals were built, when the age of steam came, Warrington naturally welcomed it, both as a means of transport and as a source of power for its mills. Many people, particularly Americans, remember Warrington best as the location of RAF Station Burtonwood Burtonwood RAF base, the RAF station continued in use by the USAAF and subsequently USAF as a staging post for men and material until its closure in 1993. Warrington was designated a new town in 1968 and consequently the town grew in size, heavy industry declined in the 1970s and 1980s but the growth of the new town led to a great increase in employment in light industry, distribution and technology. On 20 March 1993, the Provisional Irish Republican Army detonated two bombs in Warrington town centre, the blasts killed two children, three-year-old Jonathan Ball died instantly, and twelve-year-old Tim Parry, from the Great Sankey area died five days later in hospital. Around 56 other people were injured, four seriously and their deaths provoked widespread condemnation of the organisation responsible
23.
River Weaver
–
The River Weaver is a river, navigable in its lower reaches, running in a curving route anti-clockwise across west Cheshire, northern England. Improvements to the river to make it navigable were authorised in 1720 and the work, trade continued to rise, and by 1845, over £500,000 had been given to the county. Access to the river was improved in 1810 by the Weston Canal, which provided a link to Weston Point, the navigation was completely reconstructed between 1870 and 1900, with the original locks being replaced by five much larger locks, capable of handling 1000-tonne coasters. With the opening of the Manchester Ship Canal, a new lock was constructed at Weston Marsh, all water from the river entered the canal nearby, and any surplus was released into the Mersey through the Weaver sluices, which were located just upstream of the junction. A notable feature is the Anderton Boat Lift, which is near Northwich and it was opened in 1875, to allow canal boats to reach the Weaver, and although closed on safety grounds in 1983, it was refurbished and reopened in 2002. Many of the structures of the navigation are of historical importance and they include the Hayhurst swing bridge and Northwich Town bridge, which are believed to be the earliest swing bridges powered by electricity. Both have a pontoon, which is immersed in the river. Dutton Horse Bridge, which carries the towpath over the stream at Dutton, is one of the earliest surviving laminated timber structures. The River Weaver is more than 50 miles long, the first of three canal crossings occurs just before the village of Wrenbury, when the Llangollen Canal crosses its course. After flowing through the village, it passes to the west of the Cheshire village of Audlem, shortly afterwards, the Shropshire Union Canal is carried over it on Moss Hall aqueduct. Continuing northwards, it passes under the Middlewich Branch of the Shropshire Union Canal before the village of Church Minshull, the aqueduct carrying the canal was designed by Thomas Telford and was built of brick with stone bands between 1827 and 1833. The river flows through an arch, and there are flood relief arches on each side of the channel. The two waterways run roughly parallel for several miles and they diverge near Winsford, the current head of navigation, and at Northwich the river turns to flow north-west across north Cheshire. Below Winsford, the course of the river has altered several times, by the construction of cuts and locks. The tidal river section below Frodsham has been bypassed by the Weston Canal since 1810, the river runs through the Cheshire salt-producing area, but was not deep enough to allow boats to reach the salt mines. It was tidal for around 7 miles to Pickerings wharf, and salt from the mines was carried by horse to the wharf. These used the tide to carry them back down the river. In 1720 the first Act of Parliament to authorise improvements to the river was obtained by three gentlemen of Cheshire, the act was dated 23 March 1720 and authorised work between Frodsham bridge and Winsford bridge
24.
Boring (manufacturing)
–
In machining, boring is the process of enlarging a hole that has already been drilled, by means of a single-point cutting tool, for example as in boring a gun barrel or an engine cylinder. Boring is used to greater accuracy of the diameter of a hole. Boring can be viewed as the counterpart to turning, which cuts external diameters. There are various types of boring, the boring bar may be supported on both ends, or it may be supported at one end. Backboring is the process of reaching through a hole and then boring on the back side of the workpiece. The first boring machine tool was invented by John Wilkinson in 1775, boring and turning have abrasive counterparts in internal and external cylindrical grinding. Each process is based on the requirements and parameter values of a particular application. The dimensions between the piece and the bit can be changed about two axes to cut both vertically and horizontally into the internal surface. The cutting tool is usually single point, made of M2 and M3 high-speed steel or P10, a tapered hole can also be made by swiveling the head. Boring machines come in a variety of sizes and styles. Boring operations on small workpieces can be carried out on a lathe while larger workpieces are machined on boring mills, workpieces are commonly 1 to 4 metres in diameter, but can be as large as 20 m. Power requirements can be as much as 200 horsepower, cooling of the bores is done through a hollow passageway through the boring bar where coolant can flow freely. Tungsten-alloy disks are sealed in the bar to counteract vibration and chatter during boring, the control systems can be computer-based, allowing for automation and increased consistency. Because boring is meant to decrease the product tolerances on pre-existing holes, first, large length-to-bore-diameters are not preferred due to cutting tool deflection. Next, through holes are preferred over blind holes, interrupted internal working surfaces—where the cutting tool and surface have discontinuous contact—are preferably avoided. The boring bar is the arm of the machine that holds the cutting tool. Because of the factors just mentioned, deep-hole drilling and deep-hole boring are inherently challenging areas of practice that demand special tooling, nevertheless, technologies have been developed that produce deep holes with impressive accuracy. In most cases involve multiple cutting points, diametrically opposed
25.
Waterproof
–
Such items may be used in wet environments or under water to specified depths. Water resistant and waterproof often refer to penetration of water in its state and possibly under pressure. Permeation of water vapor through a material or structure is reported as a moisture vapor transmission rate, the hulls of boats and ships were once waterproofed by applying tar or pitch. Modern items may be waterproofed by applying water-repellent coatings or by sealing seams with gaskets or o-rings, waterproofing is used in reference to building structures, watercraft, canvas, clothing, electronic devices and paper packaging. In construction, a building or structure is waterproofed with the use of membranes and coatings to protect contents, in building construction, waterproofing is a fundamental aspect of creating a building envelope, which is a controlled environment. The roof covering materials, siding, foundations, and all of the various penetrations through these surfaces must be water-resistant and sometimes waterproof. Roofing materials are designed to be water-resistant and shed water from a sloping roof, but in some conditions, such as ice damming and on flat roofs. Walls are not subjected to standing water, and the water-resistant membranes used as housewraps are designed to be enough to let moisture escape. Walls also have barriers or air barriers. Damp proofing is another aspect of waterproofing and this causes hydrostatic pressure on both the membrane and structure, and requires full encapsulation of the basement structure in a tanking membrane, under slab and walls. Damp proofing, This is waterproofing used where the table is lower than the structure and there is good free-draining fill. The membrane deals with shedding of water and the ingress of water vapor only, generally, this incorporates a damp proof membrane to the walls with a polythene DPM under slab. In buildings using earth sheltering, a problem is too much humidity. Water seepage can lead to growth, causing significant damage. Properly waterproofing foundation walls is required to prevent deterioration and seepage, another specialized area of waterproofing is roof top decks and balconies. Waterproofing systems have become quite sophisticated and are a specialized area. Failed waterproof decks, polymer or tile, are one of the causes of water damage to building structures. Where major problems occur in the industry is when improper products are used for the wrong application
26.
Bearing (mechanical)
–
A bearing is a machine element that constrains relative motion to only the desired motion, and reduces friction between moving parts. Most bearings facilitate the desired motion by minimizing friction, Bearings are classified broadly according to the type of operation, the motions allowed, or to the directions of the loads applied to the parts. Rotary bearings hold rotating components such as shafts or axles within mechanical systems, the simplest form of bearing, the plain bearing, consists of a shaft rotating in a hole. Lubrication is often used to reduce friction, a wide variety of bearing designs exists to allow the demands of the application to be correctly met for maximum efficiency, reliability, durability and performance. The term bearing is derived from the verb to bear, a bearing being an element that allows one part to bear another. The simplest bearings are bearing surfaces, cut or formed into a part, with varying degrees of control over the form, size, roughness, other bearings are separate devices installed into a machine or machine part. The most sophisticated bearings for the most demanding applications are very precise devices, the invention of the rolling bearing, in the form of wooden rollers supporting, or bearing, an object being moved is of great antiquity, and may predate the invention of the wheel. Though it is claimed that the Egyptians used roller bearings in the form of tree trunks under sleds. They are depicted in their own drawings in the tomb of Djehutihotep as moving massive stone blocks on sledges with liquid-lubricated runners which would constitute a plain bearing, there are also Egyptian drawings of bearings used with hand drills. The earliest recovered example of a rolling element bearing is a ball bearing supporting a rotating table from the remains of the Roman Nemi ships in Lake Nemi. The wrecks were dated to 40 BC, leonardo da Vinci incorporated drawings of ball bearings in his design for a helicopter around the year 1500. This is the first recorded use of bearings in an aerospace design, however, Agostino Ramelli is the first to have published sketches of roller and thrust bearings. An issue with ball and roller bearings is that the balls or rollers rub against each other causing additional friction which can be reduced by enclosing the balls or rollers within a cage, the captured, or caged, ball bearing was originally described by Galileo in the 17th century. The first practical caged-roller bearing was invented in the mid-1740s by horologist John Harrison for his H3 marine timekeeper and this uses the bearing for a very limited oscillating motion but Harrison also used a similar bearing in a truly rotary application in a contemporaneous regulator clock. The first modern recorded patent on ball bearings was awarded to Philip Vaughan and his was the first modern ball-bearing design, with the ball running along a groove in the axle assembly. Bearings played a role in the nascent Industrial Revolution, allowing the new industrial machinery to operate efficiently. For example, they saw use for holding wheel and axle to greatly reduce friction over that of dragging an object by making the act over a shorter distance as the wheel turned. The first plain and rolling-element bearings were wood closely followed by bronze, over their history bearings have been made of many materials including ceramic, sapphire, glass, steel, bronze, other metals and plastic which are all used today
27.
Jack (device)
–
A jack, screwjack or jackscrew is a mechanical device used as a lifting device to lift heavy loads or to apply great forces. A mechanical jack employs a screw thread for lifting heavy equipment, a hydraulic jack uses hydraulic power. The most common form is a car jack, floor jack or garage jack, jacks are usually rated for a maximum lifting capacity. Industrial jacks can be rated for many tons of load, the personal name Jack, which came into English usage around the thirteenth century as a nickname form of John, came in the sixteenth century to be used as a colloquial word for a man. From here, the word was applied to things which in some way take the place of a lad or man, scissor car jacks usually use mechanical advantage to allow a human to lift a vehicle by manual force alone. The jack shown at the right is made for a modern vehicle, earlier versions have a platform to lift on a vehicles frame or axle. Electrically operated car scissor jacks are powered by 12 volt electricity supplied directly from the cigarette lighter receptacle. The electrical energy is used to power these car jacks to raise, electric jacks require less effort from the motorist for operation. A house jack, also called a jack, is a mechanical device primarily used to lift buildings from their foundations for repairs or relocation. A series of jacks is used and then wood cribbing temporarily supports the structure and this process is repeated until the desired height is reached. The house jack can be used for jacking carrying beams that have settled or for installing new structural beams, on the top of the jack is a cast iron circular pad that the jacking post rests on. This pad moves independently of the jack so that it does not turn as the acme-threaded rod is turned with a metal rod. This piece tilts very slightly, but not enough to render the post dangerously out of plumb. In 1851, inventor Richard Dudgeon was granted a patent for a hydraulic press - the hydraulic jack. Hydraulic jacks are used for shop work, rather than as an emergency jack to be carried with the vehicle. Use of jacks not designed for a vehicle requires more than the usual care in selecting ground conditions, the jacking point on a vehicle. Hydraulic jacks are used to lift elevators in low and medium rise buildings. A hydraulic jack uses a liquid, which is incompressible, that is forced into a cylinder by a pump plunger, oil is used since it is self lubricating and stable
28.
Rail tracks
–
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
29.
Ferry
–
A ferry is a merchant vessel used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate regular return services, a passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi. Ferries form a part of the transport systems of many waterside cities and islands. However, ship connections of much larger distances may also be called ferry services, the profession of the ferryman is embodied in Greek mythology in Charon, the boatman who transported souls across the River Styx to the Underworld. Speculation that a pair of oxen propelled a ship having a wheel can be found in 4th century Roman literature Anonymus De Rebus Bellicis. Though impractical, there is no reason why it could not work and such a ferry, see When Horses Walked on Water, Horse-Powered Ferries in Nineteenth-Century America. The Marine Services Company of Tanzania offers passenger and cargo services in three of the African Great Lakes viz, Lake Victoria, Lake Tanganyika and Lake Nyasa. It also operates one of the oldest ferries in the region, Ferries from Great Britain also sail to Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Ireland. Some ferries carry mainly tourist traffic, but most also carry freight, in Britain, car-carrying ferries are sometimes referred to as RORO for the ease by which vehicles can board and leave. The busiest single ferry route is across the part of Øresund. Before the Øresund bridge was opened in July 2000, car and car & train ferries departed up to seven times every hour, in 2013, this has been reduced, but a car ferry still departs from each harbor every 15 minutes during daytime. The route is around 2.2 nautical miles and the crossing takes 22 minutes, today, all ferries on this route are constructed so that they do not need to turn around in the harbors. This also means that the ferries lack natural stems and sterns, due to the same circumstances, starboard and port-side are dynamic and depending of in what direction the ferry sails. Despite the short crossing, the ferries are equipped with restaurants, cafeteria, kiosks, large cruiseferries sail in the Baltic Sea between Finland, Åland, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia and Saint Petersburg, Russia and from Italy to Sardinia, Corsica, Spain and Greece. In many ways, these ferries are like cruise ships, also many smaller ferries operate on domestic routes in Finland, Sweden and Estonia. The south-west and southern parts of the Baltic Sea has several routes mainly for heavy traffic, on the longer of these routes, simple cabins are available. In Istanbul, ferries connect the European and Asian shores of Bosphorus, as well as Princes Islands, in 2014 İDO transported 47 million passengers, the largest ferry system in the world. Due to the numbers of freshwater lakes and length of shoreline in Canada
30.
Sandstone
–
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earths crust, like sand, sandstone may be any color, but the most common colors are tan, brown, yellow, red, grey, pink, white, and black. Since sandstone beds often form highly visible cliffs and other topographic features, quartz-bearing sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure, usually related to tectonic compression within orogenic belts. They are formed from cemented grains that may either be fragments of a rock or be mono-minerallic crystals. The cements binding these grains together are typically calcite, clays, grain sizes in sands are defined within the range of 0.0625 mm to 2 mm. The formation of sandstone involves two principal stages, first, a layer or layers of sand accumulates as the result of sedimentation, either from water or from air. Typically, sedimentation occurs by the settling out from suspension. The most common cementing materials are silica and calcium carbonate, which are derived either from dissolution or from alteration of the sand after it was buried. Colours will usually be tan or yellow, a predominant additional colourant in the southwestern United States is iron oxide, which imparts reddish tints ranging from pink to dark red, with additional manganese imparting a purplish hue. Red sandstones are seen in the Southwest and West of Britain, as well as central Europe. The regularity of the latter favours use as a source for masonry, either as a building material or as a facing stone. These physical properties allow the grains to survive multiple recycling events. Quartz grains evolve from rock, which are felsic in origin. Feldspathic framework grains are commonly the second most abundant mineral in sandstones, Feldspar can be divided into two smaller subdivisions, alkali feldspars and plagioclase feldspars. The different types of feldspar can be distinguished under a petrographic microscope, below is a description of the different types of feldspar. Alkali feldspar is a group of minerals in which the composition of the mineral can range from KAlSi3O8 to NaAlSi3O8. Plagioclase feldspar is a group of solid solution minerals that range in composition from NaAlSi3O8 to CaAl2Si2O8. Lithic framework grains are pieces of ancient source rock that have yet to weather away to individual mineral grains, accessory minerals are all other mineral grains in a sandstone, commonly these minerals make up just a small percentage of the grains in a sandstone
31.
Abutment
–
In engineering, abutment refers to the substructure at the ends of a bridge span or dam whereon the structures superstructure rests or contacts. Multi-span bridges require piers to support ends of spans unsupported by abutments, Dam abutments are generally either side of a valley or gorge but may be artificial in order to support arch dams such as Kurobe Dam in Japan. The term may refer to the structure supporting one side of an arch. Also the impost or abacus of a column in classical architecture may serve as an abutment to an arch, the word derives from the verb abut, meaning to touch by means of a mutual border. An abutment may be used for the following, To transfer loads from a superstructure to its foundation elements, to resist and/or transfer self weight, lateral loads and wind loads. To support one end of an approach. Every time I drive down the road I wanna’ jerk the wheel into a Goddamn bridge abutment, in the film The Big Lebowski The Dudes car was stolen and later located by the police. The officer who found it told The Dude It was discovered last night in Van Nuys lodged against an abutment, to which The Dude responded Oh man, lodged where. Ohio Department of Transportation Fixed Bridge Abutments
32.
Foundation (engineering)
–
A foundation is the element of an architectural structure which connects it to the ground, and transfers loads from the structure to the ground. Foundations are generally considered either shallow or deep, foundation engineering is the application of soil mechanics and rock mechanics in the design of foundation elements of structures. Buildings and structures have a history of being built with wood in contact with the ground. Post in ground construction may technically have no foundation, timber pilings were used on soft or wet ground even below stone or masonry walls. In marine construction and bridge building a crisscross of timbers or steel beams in concrete is called grillage, perhaps the simplest foundation is the padstone, a single stone which both spreads the weight on the ground and raises the timber off the ground. Staddle stones are a type of padstone. Dry stone and stones laid in mortar to build foundations are common in parts of the world. Dry laid stone foundations may have painted with mortar after construction. Sometimes the top, visible course of stone is hewn, quarried stones, besides using mortar, stones can also be put in a gabion. One disadvantage is that if using regular steel rebars, the gabion would last much less long than when using mortar, using weathering steel rebars could reduce this disadvantage somewhat. Rubble trench foundations are a shallow trench filled with rubble or stones and these foundations extend below the frost line and may have a drain pipe which helps groundwater drain away. They are suitable for soils with a capacity of more than 10 tonnes/m², shallow foundations, often called footings, are usually embedded about a metre or so into soil. One common type is the spread footing which consists of strips or pads of concrete which extend below the frost line and transfer the weight from walls and columns to the soil or bedrock. Another common type of foundation is the slab-on-grade foundation where the weight of the building is transferred to the soil through a concrete slab placed at the surface. A deep foundation is used to transfer the load of a structure down through the upper layer of topsoil to the stronger layer of subsoil below. There are different types of deep footings including impact driven piles, drilled shafts, caissons, helical piles, geo-piers, the naming conventions for different types of footings vary between different engineers. Historically, piles were wood, later steel, reinforced concrete, a large number of monopile foundations have been utilized in recent years for economically constructing fixed-bottom offshore wind farms in shallow-water subsea locations. For example, a wind farm off the coast of England went online in 2008 with over 100 turbines
33.
Lattice truss bridge
–
A lattice bridge is a form of truss bridge that uses a large number of small and closely spaced diagonal elements that form a lattice. It was patented by architect Ithiel Town in 1820 and 1835 as Towns lattice truss, the individual elements are more easily handled by the construction workers, but the bridge also requires substantial support during construction. A simple lattice truss will transform the applied loads into a thrust, the Belfast truss is a cross between the Towns lattice truss and the bowstring truss. It was developed in Ireland as a wide-span shallow rise roof truss for industrial structures, mcTear & Co of Belfast, Ireland began fabricating these trusses in wood starting around 1866. By 1899, spans of 24 meters had been achieved, and in the 20th century, shipyards and this was built for the New York Central Railroad in 1859. org/WatsonMillBridge
34.
Lattice girder
–
A lattice girder is a truss girder where the flanges are connected by a lattice web. The lattice girder type of design has been supplanted in modern construction with welded or bolted plate girders, the lattice girder was used prior to the development of larger rolled steel plates. The term is sometimes used to refer to a structural member commonly made using a combination of structural sections connected with diagonal lacing. This member is more correctly referred to as a strut or laced tie, as it normally resists axial compression or axial tension. The component sections may typically include metal beams, channel and angle sections, with the lacing elements either metal plate strips, the lacing elements are typically attached using either hot rivets or threaded locator bolts. As with lattice girders, laced struts and ties have generally been supplanted by hollow box sections, in some case seismic retrofit modifications replace riveted lacing with plates bolted in place. Cayey Bridge, built 1891, in Puerto Rico The Eiffel Tower, the obsolescent eastern span of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge. The western span has been retrofitted with bolted plates replacing the lacing for added strength. The eastern span has been replaced, the internal structure of the Statue of Liberty. The sides of the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge, hares Hill Road Bridge Lattice truss bridge – an extension of the concept to form a deep truss
35.
Admiralty
–
The new Admiralty Board meets only twice a year, and the day-to-day running of the Royal Navy is controlled by a Navy Board. It is common for the authorities now in charge of the Royal Navy to be referred to as simply The Admiralty. The title of Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom was vested in the monarch from 1964 to 2011, the title was awarded to Philip, Duke of Edinburgh by Queen Elizabeth II on his 90th birthday. There also continues to be a Vice-Admiral of the United Kingdom, the office of Admiral of England was created around 1400 although there had already been Admirals of the Northern and Western Seas. In 1546, King Henry VIII established the Council of the Marine, later to become the Navy Board, operational control of the Royal Navy remained the responsibility of the Lord High Admiral, who was one of the nine Great Officers of State. In 1628, Charles I put the office of Lord High Admiral into commission, the office of Lord High Admiral passed a number of times in and out of commission until 1709 after which the office was almost permanently in commission. In 1831, the first Navy Board was abolished as a separate entity, in 1964, the Admiralty along with the War Office and the Air Ministry as separate departments of state were abolished, and re-emerged under one single new Ministry of Defence. Within the expanded Ministry of Defence are the new Admiralty Board which has a separate Navy Board responsible for the running of the Royal Navy. The Army Board and the Air Force Board, each headed by the Secretary of State for Defence, the Board of Admiralty consisted of a number of Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty. The Lords Commissioners were always a mixture of admirals, known as Naval Lords or Sea Lords and Civil Lords, the quorum of the Board was two commissioners and a secretary. The president of the Board was known as the First Lord of the Admiralty, after 1806, the First Lord of the Admiralty was always a civilian while the professional head of the navy came to be known as the First Sea Lord. The first real concerted effort to organise the Admiralty was started by Henry VIII. Between 1860 and 1908 there was no study of strategy and of staff work conducted within the naval service. All the navys talent flowed to the great technical universitys and it was perceived by officials within the Admiralty at this time that the running of war was quite a simple matter for any flag officer who required no formal training. The new War Staff had hardly found its feet and it struggled with the opposition to its existence by senior officers they were categorically opposed to a staff. The deficiencies of the system within this department of state could be seen in the conduct of the Dardanelles campaign, there was no mechanisms in place to answer the big strategic questions in 1914 a Trade Division was created. In 1916, Sir John Jellicoe came to the Admiralty, he organized the staff as following, Chief of War Staff, Operations, Intelligence, Signal Section, Mobilization, Trade. This for the first time gave the naval staff direct representation on the Board, the would direct all operations and movements of the fleet, while the would be responsible for mercantile movements and anti-submarine operations
36.
Scaffolding
–
Bamboo scaffolding is a type of scaffolding made from bamboo and widely used in construction work for centuries. Many famous landmarks, notably The Great Wall of China, were built using bamboo scaffolding and it was first introduced into the building industry in Hong Kong immediately after colonization in the 1800s. It was widely used in the building of houses and multi-story buildings prior to the development of metal scaffolding and it was also useful for short-term construction projects, such as framework for temporary sheds for Cantonese Opera performances. There is three types of scaffolding in Hong Kong,1, in 2013, there were 1,751 registered bamboo scaffolders and roughly 200 scaffolding companies in Hong Kong. The use of scaffolding is diminishing due to shortages in labor. Despite the lack of force and material, recently the safety problem has become another serious concern. The labor shortage may be due to the reluctance of younger generations to become scaffolders, “They even think that it’s a dirty and dangerous job. “They refuse to step in, although we give them high pay. Young generations do not like jobs that involve hard work. ”Another reason fewer people are becoming scaffolders is that new recruits need to undergo training with the Hong Kong Construction Industry Council in order to acquire a license. Older scaffolders generally learned in apprenticeships, and may have been able to gather more hands-on experience, material shortages are also a contributing factor to the decline. The bamboo scaffolding material was imported from mainland China, bamboo—which matures after three years to the wide diameter and thick skin perfect for scaffolding—came from the Shaoxing area in Guangdong. Over the past two decades, firms have had to look to Guangxi instead, the industrys fear is that one day supplies will be blocked due to export embargoes and environmental concerns. Attempts to import bamboo from Thailand, or switch to synthetic or plastic bamboo, have so far proved unsuccessful, in many African countries, notably Nigeria, bamboo scaffolding is still used in small scale construction in urban areas. In rural areas, the use of scaffolding for construction is common. Some of the structures in relaxation and recreation centres both in urban and rural areas of Nigeria are put in place using bamboo materials and this is not for reasons of poverty but to add more aesthetics to these centres. Bamboo materials are used in the construction of some bukas in rural areas. Content about specifications Double-row Scaffold Only double-row bamboo scaffold is allowed to use for working at height, nylon Mesh The perimeter of bamboo scaffold shall be covered by nylon mesh against falling objects. The lapping of nylon mesh should be at least 100mm wide, access and Egress Suitable means of access shall be provided from the building or ground level to the scaffold such as gangway, stairs and ladder etc
37.
Helicopter
–
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and these attributes allow helicopters to be used in congested or isolated areas where fixed-wing aircraft and many forms of VTOL aircraft cannot perform. English language nicknames for helicopter include chopper, copter, helo, heli, Helicopters were developed and built during the first half-century of flight, with the Focke-Wulf Fw 61 being the first operational helicopter in 1936. Some helicopters reached limited production, but it was not until 1942 that a helicopter designed by Igor Sikorsky reached full-scale production, with 131 aircraft built. Though most earlier designs used more than one rotor, it is the single main rotor with anti-torque tail rotor configuration that has become the most common helicopter configuration. Tandem rotor helicopters are also in use due to their greater payload capacity. Coaxial helicopters, tiltrotor aircraft, and compound helicopters are all flying today, quadcopter helicopters pioneered as early as 1907 in France, and other types of multicopter have been developed for specialized applications such as unmanned drones. The earliest references for vertical flight came from China, since around 400 BC, Chinese children have played with bamboo flying toys. This bamboo-copter is spun by rolling a stick attached to a rotor, the spinning creates lift, and the toy flies when released. The 4th-century AD Daoist book Baopuzi by Ge Hong reportedly describes some of the ideas inherent to rotary wing aircraft, designs similar to the Chinese helicopter toy appeared in Renaissance paintings and other works. In the 18th and early 19th centuries Western scientists developed flying machines based on the Chinese toy. It was not until the early 1480s, when Leonardo da Vinci created a design for a machine that could be described as an aerial screw, that any recorded advancement was made towards vertical flight. His notes suggested that he built flying models, but there were no indications for any provision to stop the rotor from making the craft rotate. As scientific knowledge increased and became accepted, people continued to pursue the idea of vertical flight. In July 1754, Russian Mikhail Lomonosov had developed a small coaxial modeled after the Chinese top but powered by a spring device. It was powered by a spring, and was suggested as a method to lift meteorological instruments. Sir George Cayley, influenced by a fascination with the Chinese flying top, developed a model of feathers, similar to that of Launoy and Bienvenu. By the end of the century, he had progressed to using sheets of tin for rotor blades and his writings on his experiments and models would become influential on future aviation pioneers
38.
Cantilever
–
A cantilever is a rigid structural element, such as a beam or a plate, anchored at only one end to a support from which it is protruding. Cantilevers can also be constructed with trusses or slabs, when subjected to a structural load, the cantilever carries the load to the support where it is forced against by a moment and shear stress. Cantilevers are widely found in construction, notably in cantilever bridges and balconies, in cantilever bridges the cantilevers are usually built as pairs, with each cantilever used to support one end of a central section. The Forth Bridge in Scotland is an example of a truss bridge. A cantilever in a timber framed building is called a jetty or forebay. In the southern United States a historic barn type is the barn of log construction. Temporary cantilevers are used in construction. The partially constructed structure creates a cantilever, but the structure does not act as a cantilever. This is very helpful when temporary supports, or falsework, cannot be used to support the structure while it is being built. So some truss arch bridges are built each side as cantilevers until the spans reach each other and are then jacked apart to stress them in compression before final joining. Nearly all cable-stayed bridges are built using cantilevers as this is one of their chief advantages, many box girder bridges are built segmentally, or in short pieces. This type of construction lends itself well to balanced cantilever construction where the bridge is built in both directions from a single support and these structures are highly based on torque and rotational equilibrium. In an architectural application, Frank Lloyd Wrights Fallingwater used cantilevers to project large balconies, the East Stand at Elland Road Stadium in Leeds was, when completed, the largest cantilever stand in the world holding 17,000 spectators. The roof built over the stands at Old Trafford Football Ground uses a cantilever so that no supports will block views of the field, the old, now demolished Miami Stadium had a similar roof over the spectator area. The largest cantilever in Europe is located at St James Park in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, less obvious examples of cantilevers are free-standing radio towers without guy-wires, and chimneys, which resist being blown over by the wind through cantilever action at their base. Another use of the cantilever is in fixed-wing aircraft design, pioneered by Hugo Junkers in 1915, early aircraft wings typically bore their loads by using two wings in a biplane configuration braced with wires and struts. They were similar to bridges, having been developed by Octave Chanute. The wings were braced with crossed wires so they would stay parallel, the cables and struts generated considerable drag, and there was constant experimentation for ways to eliminate them
39.
Epoxy
–
Epoxy is either any of the basic components or the cured end products of epoxy resins, as well as a colloquial name for the epoxide functional group. Epoxy resins, also known as polyepoxides, are a class of reactive prepolymers and polymers which contain epoxide groups, Epoxy resins may be reacted either with themselves through catalytic homopolymerisation, or with a wide range of co-reactants including polyfunctional amines, acids, phenols, alcohols and thiols. These co-reactants are often referred to as hardeners or curatives, reaction of polyepoxides with themselves or with polyfunctional hardeners forms a thermosetting polymer, often with high mechanical properties, temperature and chemical resistance. Epoxy resins are low molecular weight pre-polymers or higher molecular weight polymers which contain at least two epoxide groups. The epoxide group is sometimes referred to as a glycidyl or oxirane group. A wide range of epoxy resins are produced industrially, the raw materials for epoxy resin production are today largely petroleum derived, although some plant derived sources are now becoming commercially available. Epoxy resins are polymeric or semi-polymeric materials, and as such rarely exist as pure substances, high purity grades can be produced for certain applications, e. g. using a distillation purification process. One downside of high purity liquid grades is their tendency to form crystalline solids due to their highly regular structure, an important criterion for epoxy resins is the epoxide content. Epoxies are typically cured with stoichiometric or near-stoichiometric quantities of curative to achieve maximum physical properties, use of blending, additives and fillers is often referred to as formulating. Important epoxy resins are produced from combining epichlorohydrin and bisphenol A to give bisphenol A diglycidyl ethers, as the molecular weight of the resin increases, the epoxide content reduces and the material behaves more and more like a thermoplastic. Very high molecular weight polycondensates form a class known as phenoxy resins and these resins do however contain hydroxyl groups throughout the backbone, which may also undergo other cross-linking reactions, e. g. with aminoplasts, phenoplasts and isocyanates. Bisphenol F may also undergo epoxidation in a fashion to bisphenol A. Compared to DGEBA, bisphenol F epoxy resins have lower viscosity and a higher mean epoxy content per gramme, reaction of phenols with formaldehyde and subsequent glycidylation with epichlorohydrin produces epoxidised novolacs, such as epoxy phenol novolacs and epoxy cresol novolacs. These are highly viscous to solid resins with typical mean epoxide functionality of around 2 to 6, the high epoxide functionality of these resins forms a highly crosslinked polymer network displaying high temperature and chemical resistance, but low flexibility. Aliphatic epoxy resins are typically formed by glycidylation of aliphatic alcohols or polyols, the resulting resins may be monofunctional, difunctional, or higher functionality. These resins typically display low viscosity at room temperature and are referred to as reactive diluents. They are rarely used alone, but are employed to modify the viscosity of other epoxy resins. This has led to the term ‘modified epoxy resin’ to denote those containing viscosity-lowering reactive diluents, a related class is cycloaliphatic epoxy resin, which contains one or more cycloaliphatic rings in the molecule
40.
Polyurethane
–
Polyurethane is a polymer composed of organic units joined by carbamate links. While most polyurethanes are thermosetting polymers that do not melt when heated, polyurethane polymers are traditionally and most commonly formed by reacting a di- or polyisocyanate with a polyol. Both the isocyanates and polyols used to make polyurethanes contain, on average, some noteworthy recent efforts have been dedicated to minimizing the use of isocyanates to synthesize polyurethanes, because the isocyanates raise severe toxicity issues. Non-isocyanate based polyurethanes have recently developed as a new class of polyurethane polymers to mitigate health. Polyurethane products often are simply called “urethanes”, but should not be confused with ethyl carbamate, polyurethanes neither contain nor are produced from ethyl carbamate. Otto Bayer and his coworkers at IG Farben in Leverkusen, Germany, the new polymers had some advantages over existing plastics that were made by polymerizing olefins or by polycondensation, and were not covered by patents obtained by Wallace Carothers on polyesters. Early work focused on the production of fibres and flexible foams, polyisocyanates became commercially available in 1952, and production of flexible polyurethane foam began in 1954 using toluene diisocyanate and polyester polyols. These materials were used to produce rigid foams, gum rubber. Linear fibers were produced from hexamethylene diisocyanate and 1, 4-butanediol, in 1956 DuPont introduced polyether polyols, specifically poly glycol, and BASF and Dow Chemical started selling polyalkylene glycols in 1957. Polyether polyols were cheaper, easier to handle and more water-resistant than polyester polyols, union Carbide and Mobay, a U. S. Monsanto/Bayer joint venture, also began making polyurethane chemicals. In 1960 more than 45,000 metric tons of flexible polyurethane foams were produced, in 1967, urethane-modified polyisocyanurate rigid foams were introduced, offering even better thermal stability and flammability resistance. During the 1960s, automotive interior safety components, such as instrument, in 1969, Bayer exhibited an all-plastic car in Düsseldorf, Germany. Further increases in stiffness were obtained by incorporating pre-placed glass mats into the RIM mold cavity, also known broadly as resin injection molding, polyurethane foams are now used in high-temperature oil filter applications. Polyurethane foam is made using small amounts of blowing agents to give less dense foam. In the early 1990s, because of their impact on ozone depletion, polyurethanes are in the class of compounds called reaction polymers, which include epoxies, unsaturated polyesters, and phenolics. The properties of a polyurethane are greatly influenced by the types of isocyanates, long, flexible segments, contributed by the polyol, give soft, elastic polymer. High amounts of crosslinking give tough or rigid polymers, the crosslinking present in polyurethanes means that the polymer consists of a three-dimensional network and molecular weight is very high. In some respects a piece of polyurethane can be regarded as one giant molecule, one consequence of this is that typical polyurethanes do not soften or melt when they are heated, they are thermosetting polymers
41.
Battlement
–
These gaps are termed crenels, and the act of adding crenels to a previously unbroken parapet is termed crenellation. The solid widths between the crenels are called merlons, a wall with battlements is said to be crenelated or embattled. Battlements on walls have protected walkways behind them, on tower or building tops, the roof is used as the protected fighting platform. The term originated in about the 14th century from the Old French word batailler, the word crenel derives from the ancient French cren, Latin crena, meaning a notch, mortice or other gap cut out often to receive another element or fixing, see also crenation. In medieval England a licence to crenellate granted the permission to fortify their property. The castles in England vastly outnumber the licences to crenellate, royal pardons were obtainable, on the payment of an arbitrarily determined fine, by a person who had fortified without licence. The surviving records of such licences, generally issued by letters patent, there has been academic debate over the purpose of licensing. The view of military-focused historians is that licensing restricted the number of fortifications that could be used against a royal army and they indicated to the observer that the grantee had obtained royal recognition, acknowledgment and compliment. The crown usually did not charge for the granting of such licences, battlements have been used for thousands of years, the earliest known example is in the fortress at Buhen in Egypt. Battlements were used in the walls surrounding Assyrian towns, as shown on bas reliefs from Nimrud, traces of them remain at Mycenae in Greece, and some ancient Greek vases suggest the existence of battlements. The Great Wall of China has battlements, late merlons permitted fire from the first firearms. From the 13th century, the merlons could be connected with wooden shutters that provided added protection when closed, the shutters were designed to be opened to allow shooters to fire against the attackers, and closed during reloading. The Romans used low wooden pinnacles for their first aggeres, in the battlements of Pompeii, additional protection derived from small internal buttresses or spur walls, against which the defender might stand so as to gain complete protection on one side. Loop-holes were frequent in Italian battlements, where the merlon has much greater height, Italian military architects used the so-called Ghibelline or swallowtail battlement, with V-shaped notches in the tops of the merlon, giving a horn-like effect. This would allow the defender to be protected whilst shooting standing fully upright, the normal rectangular merlons were later nicknamed Guelph. In Muslim and African fortifications, the merlons often were rounded, the battlements of the Arabs had a more decorative and varied character, and were continued from the 13th century onwards not so much for defensive purposes as for a crowning feature to the walls. They serve a similar to the cresting found in the Spanish Renaissance. European architects persistently used battlements as a decorative feature throughout the Decorated
42.
Fender (boating)
–
In boating, a fender is a bumper used to absorb the kinetic energy of a boat or vessel berthing against a jetty, quay wall or other vessel. Fenders, used on all types of vessels, from ships to cruise ships, ferries and personal yachts, prevent damage to vessels. To do this, fenders have high energy absorption and low reaction force, fenders are typically manufactured out of rubber, foam elastomer or plastic. Rubber fenders are either extruded or made in a mold, the size of the fender unit is based on the berthing energy of the vessel which is related to the square of the berthing velocity. Historically, fenders were woven from rope in a variety of patterns, fenders of woven rope are still used today by historic boat owners. Yachts, small craft and support vessels typically have mobile fenders which are placed between the boat and the dock as the boat approaches the dock. Docks and other structures, such as canal entrances and bases of bridges, have permanent fenders placed to avoid damage from boats. Old tires are used as fenders in such places. Fendering is also used on ports and berths as well, the fendering systems act as elastic buffer devices that are used to slow ships down and prevent damage to the ship or dock structure in the mooring process. Marine fenders are used at ports and docks on quay walls and they absorb the kinetic energy of a berthing vessel and thus prevent damage to the vessel or the berthing structure. There are 2 major categories of fenders for port applications, Fixed, Fixed fenders are mounted to the berth structure and compose of buckling fenders such as cell fenders, V-type fenders, and non-buckling fenders such as cylindrical fenders. Floating fenders are placed between the structure and ship, and include pneumatic fenders and foam-filled fenders. Fender spacing should be determined by the smallest ship using the berth, to ensure all ships can be accommodated at the berth, fender spacing should be about 5%-10% of the ships length for vessels up to 20,000 dwt. Berths handling larger ships can should have a spacing of about 25%-50% of the ships length. Design life of port fenders will vary by type, berthing frequency, temperature, saltwater content. Fender manufacturers recommend a life of 5–15 years on berths accepting general cargo. Damaged fendering equipment is the responsibility of either the owner or ship owner. Port owner responsibility includes damages by ordinary wear and tear by ships, weathering, faulty mounting, incorrect fender type, ship owner responsibility includes any damages to the fendering system caused by the ship, such as crashing into the berth structure during berthing
