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High Speed 1, officially known as the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, is a 108-kilometre (67-mile) high-speed railway line running from London through Kent to the British end of the Channel Tunnel.
When the Channel Tunnel was opened, Eurostar trains ran on standard commuter tracks through Kent and south London to Waterloo International, running at speeds much below their maximum due to speed limits and competing rail traffic. High Speed 1 was constructed to provide a dedicated fast route between the tunnel and London and was constructed and opened in two sections.
The first section of the line was opened in September 2003 and ran from the tunnel to North Kent where trains transferred from the high speed tracks to the Kent and South London commuter network to run to Waterloo International. The second section of the line, travelling under the River Thames and into London St Pancras, opened on 14 November 2007. Built at a cost of £5.2bn, the link allows trains to travel at speeds of 300 kilometres per hour (186 mph), cutting pre-2003 Eurostar journey times by 40 minutes and increasing service frequency. It is now possible to travel from London St Pancras to Paris Gare du Nord in 2 hours 15 minutes, and to Brussels South in 1 hour 51 minutes. Domestic high speed commuter services from Kent to St Pancras started in December 2009 running at speeds of up to 225 kilometres per hour (140 mph). (Full article...)
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Sir John Fowler (15 July 1817 – 20 November 1898) was a British civil engineer specialising in the construction of railways and railway infrastructure. Fowler's was a long and eminent career, spanning most of the 19th century's railway expansion, and he was engineer, adviser or consultant to many British and foreign railway companies and governments.
Fowler had a busy practice, working on many railway schemes across the country. In 1853, he became chief engineer of the Metropolitan Railway in London, the world's first underground railway. Constructed in shallow "cut-and-cover" trenches beneath city streets, the line opened between Paddington and Farringdon in 1863. Fowler was also engineer for the associated District Railway and the Hammersmith and City Railway.
Later in his career, he was also a consultant with his partner Benjamin Baker and with James Henry Greathead on two of London's first tube railways, the City and South London Railway and the Central London Railway. As part of his railway projects, Fowler designed numerous bridges, including the Grosvenor Bridge, the first railway bridge over the River Thames, the 13-arch Dollis Brook Viaduct for the Edgware, Highgate and London Railway and, most famously, the Forth Railway Bridge for which he was made a baronet. (Full article...)
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Image 1Vauxhall Bridge across the River Thames opened in 1906 and features sculptures by F. W. Pomeroy.
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Image 3Ruislip Lido Railway's 12-inch (300 mm) gauge locomotive "Mad Bess" hauling a passenger train.
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Image 455 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 5Central London Railway poster, published in 1905.
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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 7Tram 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 9Arguably 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 11The western departures concourse of King's Cross railway station.
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Image 12Clapham Common Underground station north and south-bound platforms on the Northern line.
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Image 13Preserved AEC Routemaster coaches in London Transport Green Line livery.
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Image 14Woolwich Ferry boats "John Burns" and "James Newman" on the River Thames, 2012.
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Image 15Hornsey Lane Bridge, Archway, more commonly known as "Suicide Bridge".
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Image 17Albert Bridge, opened in 1873, crosses the River Thames between Chelsea and Battersea.
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Image 18Original stations on the Metropolitan Railway from The Illustrated London News, 27 December 1862.
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Image 19Archer statue by Eric Aumonier at East Finchley Underground station.
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Image 20London 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 22The New Routemaster built by Wrightbus has three entrances, two staircases and is designed to be reminiscent of the Routemaster.
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Image 23Planes waiting at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 4.
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Image 25Early style tube roundel in mosaic at Maida Vale Underground station.
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Image 26The 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 27The original Hampton Court Bridge in 1753, the first of four on the site.
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Image 29TX4 London Taxi at Heathrow Airport.
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Image 30View of Old London Bridge, circa 1632 by Claude de Jongh.
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Image 31"Boris Bikes" from the Santander Cycles hire scheme waiting for use at a docking station in Victoria.
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Image 32Day (left) and Night (right) sculptures by Sir Jacob Epstein on the London Underground's headquarters at 55 Broadway.
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Image 34A tram of the London United Tramways at Boston Road, Hanwell, circa 1910.
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Image 35London 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 36Southern approach to the Rotherhithe Tunnel that runs under the River Thames in east London between Rotherhithe and Limehouse.
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Image 37The 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 38Qantas Boeing 747-400 about to land at Heathrow Airport, seen beyond the roofs of Myrtle Avenue, Hounslow.
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Image 39Sailing 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 40The south façade of King's Cross railway station London terminus of the East Coast Main Line.
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Image 42Rail, road and river traffic, seen from the London Eye.
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Image 44The Circle routes of Victorian London, comprising the Inner Circle, Middle Circle, Outer Circle and Super Outer Circle.
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Image 46Helicopter landing at London Heliport, a jetty constructed in the River Thames in Battersea.
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Image 48Hammersmith Bridge, opened in 1887, crosses the River Thames in west London.
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Image 49London 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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