The Bombardier Double-deck Coach is a bilevel passenger car built by Bombardier Transportation (formerly by Adtranz) used by various European railways and Israel Railways. The current generation of double-deck coaches can be run at speeds up to 200 km/h (125 mph). Depending on their configuration, each coach can seat 100 to 150 passengers.

This blog was made by Simon Schofield

The Intercity Express (commonly known as ICE (German pronunciation: [iːtseːˈʔeː])) is a system of high-speed trains predominantly running in Germany. It also serves some destinations in Austria, Denmark, France, Belgium, Switzerland and the Netherlands mostly as part of cross border services. It is the highest service category of rail and the flagship train of the German state railway, Deutsche Bahn. There are currently 259 trainsets in use. ICE trains are the highest category (Class A) trains in the fare system of the Deutsche Bahn. Their fares are not calculated on a fixed per-kilometre table as with other trains, but instead have fixed prices for station-to-station connections, levied on the grounds that the ICE trains have a higher level of comfort. Travelling at speeds up to 320 km/h (200 mph), they are tailored for business travellers or long-distance commuters and are marketed by Deutsche Bahn as an alternative to flights.Intercity Express

Apart from domestic use, the trains can also be seen in countries neighbouring Germany. There are, for example, ICE 1 lines to Basel and Zurich. ICE 3 trains also run to Liège and Brussels and at lower speeds to Amsterdam. On 10 June 2007, a new line between Paris and Frankfurt/Stuttgart was opened, jointly operated by ICE and TGV trains. ICE trains to London via the Channel Tunnel were planned for 2018, however DB has stated it is awaiting new class 407 rolling stock before it can run the route. DB received its certificate to run trains through the tunnel in June 2013.^[3][4] While ICE 3M trains operate the Paris-Frankfurt service (with the exception of trains 9553/9552, which operate with TGV Duplex equipment and are cross-crewed with both SNCF and DB staff), SNCF’s TGV runs from Paris to Munich (via Stuttgart), with mixed crews on both trains.^[5][6] German and Austrian ICE T trains run to Vienna. On 9 December 2007, the ICE TD was introduced on the service from Berlin via Hamburg to the Danish cities of Aarhus and Copenhagen. The ICE service between Copenhagen and Berlin was replaced by Danish IC3 trains on 2 October 2017. The stated reason was a much higher cost of the ICE trains compared to the IC3 trains. ICE service will likely resume when the tunnel beneath the Fehmarn Belt between Denmark and Germany is complete around 2029.

The Spanish railway operator RENFE also employs trains based on the ICE 3 (Siemens Velaro) called AVE Class 103 which are certified to run at speeds up to 350 km/h (220 mph). Wider versions were ordered by China for the Beijing–Tianjin intercity railway link (CRH 3) and by Russia for the Moscow–Saint Petersburg and Moscow–Nizhny Novgorod routes (Velaro RUS).

This blog was made by Simon Schofield

It’s been confirmed that the Shakespeare £2 coins have been released into circulation, and this is your chance to find one… or all three!

After the exciting news last month that the Peter Rabbit 50ps had been released into circulation in certain parts of England,  it seems to be happening again.

Getting your hands on a brand new coin is an achievement, and we’re certain these Shakespeare £2 coins will be just as popular as the Beatrix Potter 50p’s, so it’s best to be quick.

To mark the 400^th anniversary of the most influential literary figure in British history, three £2 coins have been released to honour the work of William Shakespeare.

The brand new Shakespeare £2 coins have been amongst the favourites of the coins due for release in 2016 and when the designs were revealed back in November, the Skull design received a lot of attention, not just from collectors.

The three different £2 coins honour Shakespeare’s tragedies, comedies and historical works and have been released into circulation just in time for the 400^th anniversary of his death on the 23^nd April 2016.

The coins have gone into the tills at the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon where Hamlet is currently being performed.

Stratford-upon-Avon was where William Shakespeare spent the beginning and end of his life. It is where he was born and bought up, and it also appears it is the place in which he spent the last three years in retirement, with his wife and three children before he died in 1616.

The coins pay tribute to each of Shakespeare’s major genres and the reverse designs take inspiration from his most famous plays, including Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Macbeth.

This blog was made by Simon Schofield

Great Britain was a leading Allied Power during the First World War of 1914–1918, fighting against the Central Powers, especially Germany. The armed forces were greatly expanded and reorganised—the war marked the founding of the Royal Air Force. The highly controversial introduction, in January 1916, of conscription for the first time in British history followed the raising of the largest all-volunteer army in history, known as Kitchener’s Army, of more than 2,000,000 men.  The outbreak of war was a socially unifying event. Enthusiasm was widespread in 1914, and was similar to that across Europe.

This blog was made by Simon Schofield

Tyne and wear metro system is the second largest system in the uk

This blog was made by Simon Schofield

I have driven the London underground and the ice train i really condent driven the London underground and it not easy to get use to the safety system on the Germany train that the ice train

This blog is made by Simon Schofield

Announcement: Bus Simulator 21 is coming in 2021!

True to the slogan “YOUR BUS. YOUR ROUTE. YOUR SCHEDULE.“ we are happy to announce the successor of our Bus Simulator franchise today: Bus Simulator 21 will be arriving on PC and consoles in 2021! You can be looking forward to a brand-new US-American setting inspired by the San Francisco Bay Area, numerous new licensed buses by world-famous brands such as Alexander Dennis, detailed timetables and a host of additional fresh features that will make your life as a bus driver even more comfortable – be it in the single player campaign or together with friends in the multiplayer game mode. Bus Simulator 21 will feature the most modern vehicle fleet of the series to date and introduce a double decker as well as electric buses, for the first time.

Bus lovers and simulation enthusiasts can therefore look forward to the most extensive bus driving experience in the history of our game series! 🙂

Bus Simulator 21 – Teaser Trailer on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/F4udi0ypUyQ

By Simon Schofield

Central Park is an urban park in New York City, located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city by area, covering 843 acres (3.41 km²). The park is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated 38 million visitors annually, and is the most filmed location in the world.

Following proposals for a large park in Manhattan during the 1840s, it was approved in 1853 to cover 778 acres (3.15 km²). In 1857, the landscape architects Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition for the park with their “Greensward Plan”. Construction began the same year, and the park’s first areas were opened to the public in late 1858. Additional land at the northern end of Central Park was purchased in 1859, and the park was completed in 1876. After a period of decline in the early 20th century, New York City parks commissioner Robert Moses started a program to clean up Central Park. The Central Park Conservancy, created in 1980 to combat further deterioration in the late 20th century, refurbished many parts of the park during the 1980s and 1990s.

Central Park’s main attractions include landscapes such as the Ramble and Lake, Hallett Nature Sanctuary, the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir, and Sheep Meadow; amusement attractions such as Wollman Rink, Central Park Carousel, and the Central Park Zoo; formal spaces such as the Central Park Mall and Bethesda Terrace; and the Delacorte Theater. Central Park has a biologically diverse ecosystem with several hundred species of flora and fauna. Though many visitors participate in passive recreational activities such as carriage-horse rides, the park contains sports facilities, as well as concerts and events such as Shakespeare in the Park. Central Park is traversed by a system of roads and walkways and is served by public transportation.

Central Park’s size and cultural position has served as a model for many urban parks. Because of its wide influence, the park was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1963 and as a New York City scenic landmark in 1974. Central Park is owned by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation but has been managed by the Central Park Conservancy since 1998, under a contract with the municipal government in a public–private partnership. The Conservancy, a non-profit organization, contributes 75% of Central Park’s $65 million annual budget and is responsible for all basic care of the park.

By Simon Schofield

The line was so named because it serves Baker Street and Waterloo. North of Queen’s Park (the section above ground), the line shares tracks with the London Overground Watford DC Line and runs parallel to the West Coast Main Line. There are, however, tunnels on either side of Kensal Green.

Opened between 1906 and 1915, many of its stations retain elements of their design to a common standard, the stations below ground using Art Nouveau decorative tiling by Leslie Green and the above-ground stations built in red brick with stone detailing in an Arts & Crafts style. It is the ninth busiest line on the network, carrying over 111 million passengers annually.

By Simon Schofield

The Leaning Tower of Pisa (Italian: Torre pendente di Pisa) or simply the Tower of Pisa (Torre di Pisa[ˈtorre di ˈpiːza, – ˈpiːsa]) is the campanile, or freestanding bell tower, of the cathedral of the Italian city of Pisa, known worldwide for its nearly four-degree lean, the result of an unstable foundation. The tower is situated behind the Pisa Cathedral and is the third-oldest structure in the city’s Cathedral Square (Piazza del Duomo), after the cathedral and the Pisa Baptistry.

The height of the tower is 55.86 metres (183.27 feet) from the ground on the low side and 56.67 metres (185.93 feet) on the high side. The width of the walls at the base is 2.44 m (8 ft 0.06 in). Its weight is estimated at 14,500 metric tons (16,000 short tons). The tower has 296 or 294 steps; the seventh floor has two fewer steps on the north-facing staircase.

The tower began to lean during construction in the 12th century, due to soft ground which could not properly support the structure’s weight, and it worsened through the completion of construction in the 14th century. By 1990 the tilt had reached 5.5 degrees. The structure was stabilized by remedial work between 1993 and 2001, which reduced the tilt to 3.97 degrees.