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The London Ringways were a series of four ring roads planned in the 1960s to circle London at various distances from the city centre. They were part of a comprehensive scheme developed by the Greater London Council to alleviate traffic congestion on the city's road system by providing high speed motorway-standard roads within the capital linking a series of radial roads taking traffic into and out of the city.
The plan was hugely ambitious and met, almost immediately, with opposition from a number of directions including residents associations, London Borough councils, the Treasury and the Department of Transport. Despite this opposition the GLC continued to develop its plans and began the construction of some of the earlier parts of the scheme. In 1972, in an attempt to placate the plan's vociferous opponents, the GLC dropped parts of the two innermost ringways, but the scheme was cancelled in 1973 at which point only three sections had been constructed – the East Cross Route, part of the West Cross Route and the Westway.
Significant sections of the report's proposals have also been built over the subsequent years including improvements to the North Circular Road and, most importantly, the M25 and M26 motorways which were formed from an amalgamation of parts of the two outermost rings. (Full article...)
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Selected biography
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John Rennie (the Elder) (7 June 1761 – 4 October 1821) was a Scottish civil engineer who designed many bridges, canals, and docks. Rennie, a farmer's younger son, was born at Phantassie, near East Linton, East Lothian, Scotland. He showed a taste for mechanics at a very early age. After studying at the University of Edinburgh he worked briefly for James Watt in Staffordshire before moving to London in 1784. In London, he worked first as a mechanical engineer before setting up his own business in 1791 at Holland Street, Blackfriars and expanding into the designing of civil engineering projects.
Rennie designed many canals, bridges and docks around the United Kingdom and Ireland as well as harbours and lighthouses.
Amongst the projects designed by Rennie in London were previous versions of Vauxhall Bridge, Waterloo Bridge, Southwark Bridge and London Bridge and the London, East India and West India Docks.
After his death, Rennie's sons George and John founded the engineering company J. and G. Rennie. (Full article...)
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Did you know...
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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 1Preserved AEC Routemaster coaches in London Transport Green Line livery.
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Image 3The south façade of King's Cross railway station London terminus of the East Coast Main Line.
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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 5Day (left) and Night (right) sculptures by Sir Jacob Epstein on the London Underground's headquarters at 55 Broadway.
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Image 6London 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 7Central London Railway poster, published in 1905.
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Image 9The New Routemaster built by Wrightbus has three entrances, two staircases and is designed to be reminiscent of the Routemaster.
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Image 12Albert Bridge, opened in 1873, crosses the River Thames between Chelsea and Battersea.
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Image 13Archer statue by Eric Aumonier at East Finchley Underground station.
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Image 14A tram of the London United Tramways at Boston Road, Hanwell, circa 1910.
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Image 15Helicopter landing at London Heliport, a jetty constructed in the River Thames in Battersea.
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Image 16London 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 19Rail, road and river traffic, seen from the London Eye.
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Image 20Planes waiting at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 4.
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Image 22London 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 23The 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 24Clapham Common Underground station north and south-bound platforms on the Northern line.
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Image 25The Circle routes of Victorian London, comprising the Inner Circle, Middle Circle, Outer Circle and Super Outer Circle.
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Image 27TX4 London Taxi at Heathrow Airport.
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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 30The original Hampton Court Bridge in 1753, the first of four on the site.
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Image 31Ruislip Lido Railway's 12-inch (300 mm) gauge locomotive "Mad Bess" hauling a passenger train.
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Image 32"Boris Bikes" from the Santander Cycles hire scheme waiting for use at a docking station in Victoria.
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Image 33Original stations on the Metropolitan Railway from The Illustrated London News, 27 December 1862.
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Image 34View of Old London Bridge, circa 1632 by Claude de Jongh.
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Image 35Southern approach to the Rotherhithe Tunnel that runs under the River Thames in east London between Rotherhithe and Limehouse.
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Image 3755 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 38Hornsey Lane Bridge, Archway, more commonly known as "Suicide Bridge".
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Image 39The western departures concourse of King's Cross railway station.
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Image 41Hammersmith Bridge, opened in 1887, crosses the River Thames in west London.
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Image 43Early style tube roundel in mosaic at Maida Vale Underground station.
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Image 44Escalators 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 45The 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 46Vauxhall Bridge across the River Thames opened in 1906 and features sculptures by F. W. Pomeroy.
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Image 47Woolwich Ferry boats "John Burns" and "James Newman" on the River Thames, 2012.
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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 49Sailing 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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