Brill railway station was the terminus of a small railway line in Buckinghamshire, England, known as the Brill Tramway. Built and owned by the 3rd Duke of Buckingham, it opened just north of Brill in 1872. As the line was cheaply built and used poor quality locomotives, services were slow, taking 1 hour 45 minutes to travel the six miles (10 km) from Brill to the junction station with mainline services at Quainton Road. Although little used by passengers, the station was important for freight traffic, particularly shipping milk from the area's farms to London. The Metropolitan Railway took over the line in 1899, and upgraded it. In 1933 it became part of the London Underground as one of the two north-western termini, despite being 45 miles (72 km) and over two hours travelling time from London. The management of London Transport aimed to reduce goods services, and it was felt that the line to Brill was unlikely to become a viable passenger route. The line was closed in 1935, and all buildings and infrastructure at Brill associated with the railway were sold at auction. Most of the station infrastructure was demolished, though three station cottages survive.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brill_railway_station

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1279:

Emperor Bing, the last emperor of the Song dynasty, died during the Battle of Yamen, bringing the dynasty to an end after three centuries. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_emperors_of_the_Song_dynasty

1808:

Charles IV of Spain abdicated in favour of his son, Ferdinand VII. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_IV_of_Spain

1915:

Pluto was photographed for the first time, 15 years before it was officially discovered by Clyde Tombaugh at the Lowell Observatory. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pluto

1979:

The American cable television network C-SPAN, dedicated to airing non-stop coverage of government proceedings and public affairs programming, was launched. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C-SPAN

2011:

Libyan Civil War: The French Air Force launched Opération Harmattan, beginning foreign military intervention in Libya. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Op%C3%A9ration_Harmattan

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

vaguery: 1. (uncountable) Vagueness, the condition of being vague. 2. (countable) A vagueness, a thing which is vague, an example of vagueness. 3. (countable, in the plural) An eggcorn for vagaries. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/vaguery

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

I believe the preservation of our civil liberties to be the most fundamental and important of all our governmental problems, because it always has been with us and always will be with us and if we ever permit those liberties to be destroyed, there will be nothing left in our system worthy of preservation.   --Earl Warren https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Earl_Warren