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The Dollis Brook Viaduct, is a railway viaduct in Finchley, North London. It currently carries the London Underground's Northern line between Mill Hill East and Finchley Central stations and is the highest point on the London Underground above ground level, reaching nearly 60 feet (18 m) in height and comprising thirteen 32 feet (9.8 m) wide segmental arches. The viaduct takes its name from the Dollis Brook which it crosses.
The viaduct was designed by Sir John Fowler and Walter Brydone, chief engineer of the Great Northern Railway (GNR) and was opened with the company's single track Edgware, Highgate and London Railway on 22 August 1867.
In the 1920s, the London and North Eastern Railway (successor to the GNR) planned to electrify the line, but work was not carried out until the 1930s when it was done as part of the London Transport's Northern Heights plan in preparation for a transfer of the line to the Northern line. The start of the Second World War prevented the plans being completed and only the section of the line to Mill Hill East was electrified and reopened by London Transport in 1941. British Rail freight services to Edgware continued on the line until 1964 when it was closed west of Mill Hill East. (Full article...)
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James Whitaker Wright (9 February 1846 - 26 January 1904) was an exceptionally wealthy English mining company owner. He became infamous when he committed suicide at the Royal Courts of Justice in London immediately following his conviction for fraud. Born in Stafford, Wright emigrated to Toronto, Canada in 1870, before moving to the United States. Wright began promoting silver-mining companies in Leadville, Colorado and Lake Valley, New Mexico. Although none of the companies made money for the shareholders, Wright made a fortune. After returning to Britain, he continued to promote mining companies in Australia and Canada on the London market and used his expanding fortune to develop a country estate at Witley Park in Surrey.
In the 1890s Wright established the London & Globe Finance Corporation (L&GFC) as a method of financing more mining issues. The L&GFC also took over the Baker Street & Waterloo Railway in 1897. In 1899, Wright manipulated the accounts of various L&GFC companies to conceal large losses by one of its mines. The fraud was discovered in December 1900 and the corporation collapsed. In 1904, Wright was sentence to seven years imprisonment at the Royal Courts of Justice, but committed suicide by swallowing cyanide immediately after the verdict was announced. (Full article...)
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- ...that sculptor Henry Moore's first public commission in 1928-29 was a relief sculpture West Wind for the Underground's headquarters at 55 Broadway?
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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.
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Image 2The western departures concourse of King's Cross railway station.
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Image 3Central London Railway poster, published in 1905.
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Image 4Qantas Boeing 747-400 about to land at Heathrow Airport, seen beyond the roofs of Myrtle Avenue, Hounslow.
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Image 5Vauxhall Bridge across the River Thames opened in 1906 and features sculptures by F. W. Pomeroy.
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Image 6Early style tube roundel in mosaic at Maida Vale Underground station.
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Image 7Sailing 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 10Hammersmith Bridge, opened in 1887, crosses the River Thames in west London.
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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).
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Image 13Clapham Common Underground station north and south-bound platforms on the Northern line.
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Image 15The original Hampton Court Bridge in 1753, the first of four on the site.
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Image 17The south façade of King's Cross railway station London terminus of the East Coast Main Line.
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Image 19Day (left) and Night (right) sculptures by Sir Jacob Epstein on the London Underground's headquarters at 55 Broadway.
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Image 20TX4 London Taxi at Heathrow Airport.
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Image 21Rail, road and river traffic, seen from the London Eye.
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Image 22The 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 23Hornsey Lane Bridge, Archway, more commonly known as "Suicide Bridge".
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Image 25Ruislip Lido Railway's 12-inch (300 mm) gauge locomotive "Mad Bess" hauling a passenger train.
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Image 26Woolwich Ferry boats "John Burns" and "James Newman" on the River Thames, 2012.
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Image 27Southern approach to the Rotherhithe Tunnel that runs under the River Thames in east London between Rotherhithe and Limehouse.
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Image 28Archer statue by Eric Aumonier at East Finchley Underground station.
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Image 2955 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 30London 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 31London 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 33View of Old London Bridge, circa 1632 by Claude de Jongh.
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Image 34Preserved AEC Routemaster coaches in London Transport Green Line livery.
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Image 36Original stations on the Metropolitan Railway from The Illustrated London News, 27 December 1862.
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Image 37The Circle routes of Victorian London, comprising the Inner Circle, Middle Circle, Outer Circle and Super Outer Circle.
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Image 38A tram of the London United Tramways at Boston Road, Hanwell, circa 1910.
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Image 39The New Routemaster built by Wrightbus has three entrances, two staircases and is designed to be reminiscent of the Routemaster.
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Image 42Helicopter landing at London Heliport, a jetty constructed in the River Thames in Battersea.
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Image 45Albert Bridge, opened in 1873, crosses the River Thames between Chelsea and Battersea.
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Image 46Escalators 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 47London 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 48Tram 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 49"Boris Bikes" from the Santander Cycles hire scheme waiting for use at a docking station in Victoria.
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