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The Brill Tramway was a six-mile (10 km) rail line in the Aylesbury Vale, Buckinghamshire, England. It was privately built in 1871 by the 3rd Duke of Buckingham as a horse tram line to serve his estate around Wotton House and connect to the national rail network. In 1872 it was extended to Brill and converted to passenger use in early 1872. Two locomotives were bought but the line had been built for horses and trains travelled at average 4 miles per hour (6.4 km/h).
The line was upgraded in 1894 and rebuilt in 1910 by the Metropolitan Railway which introduced more advanced locomotives, allowing trains to run faster. The population of the area remained low, and the primary income remained goods to and from farms. Between 1899 and 1910 other lines were built in the area, providing more direct services to London and the north of England. The Brill Tramway went into financial decline.
In 1933 the Metropolitan Railway became part of London Transport. The Brill Tramway became part of the London Underground, despite being 40 miles (65 km) from London and not being underground. Seeing little possibility that the line could become a viable passenger route, London Transport closed the Brill Tramway in 1935. Little trace remains other than the former junction station at Quainton Road, now the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre. (Full article...)
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Selected biography
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Frank Pick (23 November 1878 – 7 November 1941) was managing director of the Underground Group (UERL) from 1928 to 1933 and was chief executive officer and vice-chairman of the London Passenger Transport Board from its creation in 1933 until 1940. Pick began his career with the UERL in 1906 as assistant to the managing director Sir George Gibb, by 1908 he had become publicity officer and became commercial manager in 1912. Pick steered the development of the London Underground's corporate identity by commissioning eye-catching commercial art, graphic design and modern architecture, establishing a highly recognisable brand. Elements of the brand commissioned by Pick included the Underground roundel, the Johnston typeface and Charles Holden's iconic stations of the 1920s and 1930s.
Pick was described by architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner as "the greatest patron of the arts whom this century has so far produced in England, and indeed the ideal patron of our age." Pick's interest in design extended beyond his own organisation and he was a founding member and later served as President of the Design and Industries Association. He was also the first chairman of the Council for Art and Industry. He is commemorated with a memorial at Piccadilly Circus station, a blue plaque at his home in Highgate and with Frank Pick House, a London Underground engineering facility near Acton Town station. (Full article...)
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Did you know...
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- ...that the original carriages on the City and South London Railway were nicknamed "padded cells" due to their high backed cushioned seats and very small windows?
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Image 1The original Hampton Court Bridge in 1753, the first of four on the site.
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Image 3Original stations on the Metropolitan Railway from The Illustrated London News, 27 December 1862.
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Image 4Southern approach to the Rotherhithe Tunnel that runs under the River Thames in east London between Rotherhithe and Limehouse.
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Image 5TX4 London Taxi at Heathrow Airport.
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Image 6Escalators at Westminster Underground station descend between beams and columns of the station box to reach the deep-level Jubilee line platforms.
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Image 8Early style tube roundel in mosaic at Maida Vale Underground station.
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Image 9Qantas Boeing 747-400 about to land at Heathrow Airport, seen beyond the roofs of Myrtle Avenue, Hounslow.
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Image 11Sailing ships at West India Docks on the Isle of Dogs in 1810. The docks opened in 1802 and closed in 1980 and have since been redeveloped as the Canary Wharf development.
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Image 12The New Routemaster built by Wrightbus has three entrances, two staircases and is designed to be reminiscent of the Routemaster.
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Image 15The multi-level junction between the M23 and M25 motorways near Merstham in Surrey. The M23 passes over the M25 with bridges carrying interchange slip roads for the two motorways in between.
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Image 16Clapham Common Underground station north and south-bound platforms on the Northern line.
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Image 17Preserved AEC Routemaster coaches in London Transport Green Line livery.
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Image 18The Circle routes of Victorian London, comprising the Inner Circle, Middle Circle, Outer Circle and Super Outer Circle.
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Image 19London Underground A60 Stock (left) and 1938 Stock (right) trains showing the difference in the sizes of the two types of rolling stock operated on the system. A60 stock trains operated on the surface and sub-surface sections of the Metropolitan line from 1961 to 2012 and 1938 Stock operated on various deep level tube lines from 1938 to 1988.
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Image 21View of Old London Bridge, circa 1632 by Claude de Jongh.
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Image 24London General Omnibus Company B-type bus B340 built in 1911 by AEC. One of a number of London buses purchased by the British military during World War I, this vehicle was operated on the Western Front.
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Image 25Central London Railway poster, published in 1905.
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Image 26Helicopter landing at London Heliport, a jetty constructed in the River Thames in Battersea.
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Image 27Albert Bridge, opened in 1873, crosses the River Thames between Chelsea and Battersea.
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Image 29Arguably the best-preserved disused station building in London, this is the former Alexandra Palace station on the GNR Highgate branch (closed in 1954). It is now in use as a community centre (CUFOS).
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Image 30Hornsey Lane Bridge, Archway, more commonly known as "Suicide Bridge".
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Image 3155 Broadway, headquarters of the UERL and its successors, is a Grade I listed building in Westminster designed by Charles Holden.
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Image 32The newly constructed junction of the Westway ( A40) and the West Cross Route ( A3220) at White City, circa 1970. Continuation of the West Cross Route northwards under the roundabout was cancelled leaving two short unused stubs for the slip roads that would have been provided for traffic joining or leaving the northern section.
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Image 33Woolwich Ferry boats "John Burns" and "James Newman" on the River Thames, 2012.
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Image 34Vauxhall Bridge across the River Thames opened in 1906 and features sculptures by F. W. Pomeroy.
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Image 35Ruislip Lido Railway's 12-inch (300 mm) gauge locomotive "Mad Bess" hauling a passenger train.
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Image 37Rail, road and river traffic, seen from the London Eye.
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Image 38"Boris Bikes" from the Santander Cycles hire scheme waiting for use at a docking station in Victoria.
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Image 39The south façade of King's Cross railway station London terminus of the East Coast Main Line.
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Image 40Tram 2548 calls at Arena tram stop. This is one of the trams on the Tramlink network centred on Croydon in south London.
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Image 41London Underground Battery-electric locomotive L16 designed to operate over tracks where the traction current is turned off for maintenance work.
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Image 42Hammersmith Bridge, opened in 1887, crosses the River Thames in west London.
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Image 43Day (left) and Night (right) sculptures by Sir Jacob Epstein on the London Underground's headquarters at 55 Broadway.
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Image 44The western departures concourse of King's Cross railway station.
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Image 45A tram of the London United Tramways at Boston Road, Hanwell, circa 1910.
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Image 48Planes waiting at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 4.
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Image 49Archer statue by Eric Aumonier at East Finchley Underground station.
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