Quainton Road railway station was opened in 1868 near Quainton, Buckinghamshire, 44 miles (71 km) from London. It was built by the Aylesbury and Buckingham Railway after pressure from the 3rd Duke of Buckingham to route the railway near his home. It connected with the Brill Tramway, which carried goods from the duke's estates and passengers from Brill, and was heavily used despite its geographical isolation. Both lines were absorbed in 1891 by the Metropolitan Railway (MR), which operated from Aylesbury to London. When the Great Central Railway from the north of England opened in 1899, Quainton Road became a significant junction. The MR became part of the London Passenger Transport Board's London Underground in 1933. The Brill Tramway was closed in 1935, and Underground trains were withdrawn north of Aylesbury after 1936. Quainton Road closed to passengers in 1963 and to goods in 1966. In 1969 the Quainton Road Society was formed; it restored and reopened the station as the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre. Freight trains still use the line, and passenger trains call for special events.

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

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

557:

A large earthquake severely damaged the city of Constantinople. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/557_Constantinople_earthquake

1836:

The Toledo War, the mostly bloodless boundary dispute between Ohio and the adjoining Territory of Michigan, unofficially ended with a resolution passed by the controversial "Frostbitten Convention". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toledo_War

1913:

Haruna, the fourth and last ship of the Kongō-class, was launched, eventually becoming one of the Japanese workhorses during World War I and World War II. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_battleship_Haruna

1994:

Construction on the Three Gorges Dam began on the Yangtze River in China. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Gorges_Dam

2004:

Cuba and Venezuela founded the Alliance for the Americas, an intergovernmental organization dedicated to the integration of Latin American and Caribbean nations. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ALBA

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

instar: 1. Any one of the several stages of postembryonic development which an arthropod undergoes, between molts, before it reaches sexual maturity: the hopper was placed in a box in its first instar. 2. An arthropod at a specified one of these stages: first and second instars of this species are more susceptible to H. bacteriophora than later instars. 3. A stage in development: "photographs of the landlady’s children in all their instars" (Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita). https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/instar

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

At sea on a ship in a thunderstorm on the very night the Christ was born a sailor heard from overhead a mighty voice cry "Pan is Dead!" So follow Christ as best you can Pan is dead — Long live Pan!   --Mike Scott https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mike_Scott_(musician)