Selected article
|
|
The 1910 London to Manchester air race took place between two aviators, each of whom attempted to win a heavier-than-air powered flight challenge between London and Manchester first proposed by the Daily Mail newspaper in 1906. The £10,000 prize was won in April 1910 by Frenchman Louis Paulhan.
The first to make the attempt was Claude Grahame-White, an Englishman from Hampshire. He took off from London on 23 April 1910, and made his first planned stop at Rugby. His biplane subsequently suffered engine problems, forcing him to land again, near Lichfield. High winds made it impossible for Grahame-White to continue his journey, and his aeroplane suffered further damage on the ground when it was blown over.
While Grahame-White's aeroplane was being repaired in London, late on 27 April Paulhan took off, heading for Lichfield. A few hours later Grahame-White was made aware of Paulhan's departure, and immediately set off in pursuit. The next morning, after an unprecedented night-time take-off, he almost caught up with Paulhan, but his aeroplane was overweight and he was forced to concede defeat. Paulhan reached Manchester early on 28 April, winning the challenge. Both aviators celebrated his victory at a special luncheon held at the Savoy Hotel in London.
The event marked the first long-distance aeroplane race in England, the first take-off of a heavier-than-air machine at night, and the first powered flight into Manchester from outside the city. Paulhan repeated the journey in April 1950, the fortieth anniversary of the original flight, this time as a passenger aboard a British jet fighter. (Full article...)
All selected articles
|
Selected biography
|
|
Albert Henry Stanley, 1st Baron Ashfield, PC, Kt, TD (8 August 1874 – 4 November 1948) was managing director, then chairman of the Underground Electric Railways Company of London and later chairman of the London Passenger Transport Board, during the London Underground's greatest period of expansion.
Stanley was born in, Derbyshire, England. In 1880, his family emigrated to Detroit in the United States. In 1888, at the age of 14, Stanley left school and went to work as an office boy at the Detroit Street Railways Company. His abilities were recognised early and Stanley became General Superintendent of the company in 1894. In January 1907 he became general manager of the Underground Electric Railways Company of London (UERL) and after improving the company's fortunes, he became managing director in 1910. In 1914, he was knighted in recognition of his services to transport. After a period as President of the Board of Trade during World War I, Stanley became chairman of the UERL in 1919 and, in 1920, was made Baron Ashfield, of Southwell in the County of Nottingham.
Throughout the 1920s, Stanley and Herbert Morrison worked on plans for a unified transport organisation for London. The London Passenger Transport Board was created in 1933 with Stanley as chairman, a role he performed until 1947, overseeing major expansions of London's Underground network and integration of bus, tram and trolleybus services. (Full article...)
All Selected biographies
|
Did you know...
|
- ...that at Euston Underground station, a passenger changing between the Victoria line and Northern line Bank branch will find that trains on adjacent platforms travel in opposite directions even though both are either northbound or southbound?
More Did you know...
|
Related portals
|
|
|
|
Selected pictures
|
-
Image 1The 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.
-
Image 2The New Routemaster built by Wrightbus has three entrances, two staircases and is designed to be reminiscent of the Routemaster.
-
-
-
Image 5The original Hampton Court Bridge in 1753, the first of four on the site.
-
Image 6Original stations on the Metropolitan Railway from The Illustrated London News, 27 December 1862.
-
-
Image 8Ruislip Lido Railway's 12-inch (300 mm) gauge locomotive "Mad Bess" hauling a passenger train.
-
-
-
Image 11The south façade of King's Cross railway station London terminus of the East Coast Main Line.
-
Image 12Arguably 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).
-
-
-
Image 15Planes waiting at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 4.
-
Image 16Clapham Common Underground station north and south-bound platforms on the Northern line.
-
Image 17Qantas Boeing 747-400 about to land at Heathrow Airport, seen beyond the roofs of Myrtle Avenue, Hounslow.
-
Image 18Day (left) and Night (right) sculptures by Sir Jacob Epstein on the London Underground's headquarters at 55 Broadway.
-
Image 19Rail, road and river traffic, seen from the London Eye.
-
-
-
Image 22Albert Bridge, opened in 1873, crosses the River Thames between Chelsea and Battersea.
-
Image 23Tram 2548 calls at Arena tram stop. This is one of the trams on the Tramlink network centred on Croydon in south London.
-
Image 2455 Broadway, headquarters of the UERL and its successors, is a Grade I listed building in Westminster designed by Charles Holden.
-
Image 25TX4 London Taxi at Heathrow Airport.
-
Image 26Escalators at Westminster Underground station descend between beams and columns of the station box to reach the deep-level Jubilee line platforms.
-
Image 27London 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.
-
Image 28London 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.
-
Image 29"Boris Bikes" from the Santander Cycles hire scheme waiting for use at a docking station in Victoria.
-
Image 30Hornsey Lane Bridge, Archway, more commonly known as "Suicide Bridge".
-
Image 31The 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.
-
Image 32Helicopter landing at London Heliport, a jetty constructed in the River Thames in Battersea.
-
-
Image 34Preserved AEC Routemaster coaches in London Transport Green Line livery.
-
Image 35Central London Railway poster, published in 1905.
-
Image 36The western departures concourse of King's Cross railway station.
-
Image 37Woolwich Ferry boats "John Burns" and "James Newman" on the River Thames, 2012.
-
Image 38View of Old London Bridge, circa 1632 by Claude de Jongh.
-
-
Image 40Sailing 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.
-
Image 41Archer statue by Eric Aumonier at East Finchley Underground station.
-
Image 42London Underground Battery-electric locomotive L16 designed to operate over tracks where the traction current is turned off for maintenance work.
-
Image 43Southern approach to the Rotherhithe Tunnel that runs under the River Thames in east London between Rotherhithe and Limehouse.
-
Image 44The Circle routes of Victorian London, comprising the Inner Circle, Middle Circle, Outer Circle and Super Outer Circle.
-
Image 45A tram of the London United Tramways at Boston Road, Hanwell, circa 1910.
-
-
Image 47Vauxhall Bridge across the River Thames opened in 1906 and features sculptures by F. W. Pomeroy.
-
Image 48Hammersmith Bridge, opened in 1887, crosses the River Thames in west London.
-
Image 49Early style tube roundel in mosaic at Maida Vale Underground station.
All Selected pictures
|
In the news
|
|
Archive
|
Anniversaries
|
|
|
|
_2011_New_Bus_for_London,_Victoria,_route_38,_27_February_2012.jpg)
_engraving.jpg)
.jpg)
_building.JPG)
.jpg)
_(geograph_4758436).jpg)
,_Showbus_2012_rally.jpg)
_Railway_Poster,_1905.png)
.jpg)
.jpg)
