The Tunnel Railway was a narrow gauge underground railway in Ramsgate,
Kent, England. Following the restructuring of railway lines in Ramsgate
in 1926 a section of main line between Broadstairs and Ramsgate Harbour
including a tunnel was abandoned. In 1936 a narrow gauge railway was
opened in the disused tunnel to connect tourist attractions and shops
near Ramsgate Harbour with the new railway main line at Dumpton Park.
Except for its two stations—one at each end of the tunnel—the line
ran entirely underground. The line was built in less than three months,
and on its completion in 1936 was one of the shortest independent
railway lines in the country. It was open for only three years before
being converted to a major air-raid shelter during World War II. After
the war's end, it was not included in the 1948 nationalisation of
British railways but remained in private hands. Passenger numbers fell
during the 1960s, and the line became economically nonviable. Following
a train crash in 1965, the owners decided to close at the end of
September that year. The tunnel still exists, but no trace of the
stations remains.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunnel_Railway>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1624:
Cardinal Richelieu became the chief minister to King
Louis XIII, and under his supervision, France's feudal political
structure transformed into one with a powerful central government.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardinal_Richelieu>
1779:
American Revolutionary War: Off the coast of Maine, the United
States suffered its worst naval defeat until the attack on Pearl Harbor
during World War II.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penobscot_Expedition>
1868:
A major earthquake near Arica, Peru, caused an estimated 25,000
casualties, and the subsequent tsunami caused considerable damage as far
away as Hawaii and New Zealand.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1868_Arica_earthquake>
1954:
The complete version of "Qaumi Taranah", the national anthem of
Pakistan, was broadcast for the first time on Radio Pakistan.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qaumi_Taranah>
2004:
Hurricane Charley struck the U.S. state of Florida, just 22
hours after Tropical Storm Bonnie inflicted its own damage to the state.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Charley>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
erratic:
(geology) A rock moved from one location to another, usually by a
glacier.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/erratic>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Spiritual evolution is the progressive advance of mankind
toward a state of things in which the light of ethical perfection shall
be reflected from the face of human society; that is, in which all men
shall live and move and have their being in mutually promoting the
highest life of each and all. It means that the object of social
reformation shall not be a mere change in the conditions under which men
live, but a change in human nature itself. It means that we shall look
forward consciously to the breaking forth of new powers in ourselves, to
the release, through our own efforts, of capacities dimly latent in us.
--Felix Adler
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Felix_Adler>