Images Dated 1st December 2011

Pump Governor - Westinghouse Air Brake

Today, the air brake is the standard, fail-safe train brake used by railways worldwide. Early train brakes were hand operated and largely ineffective. To get higher and safe speeds, American inventor George Westinghouse brought out an air brake in 1869. Unfortunately, if a hose burst or the train broke in two the brakes on the entire train became useless. Also the brakes worked unevenly throughout the train and could cause the carriages to collide. Westinghouse introduced the automatic air brake for steam trains in 1873. Putting a quick-action triple valve and an auxiliary reservoir under each vehicle ensured independent braking power and the automatic application of the brakes on the whole train. The pump governor shown in this late 19th c illustration acts as an automatic throttle valve to maintain the desired system air pressure

© Sheila Terry

Sisters of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

Portraits of the four sisters of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, pictured in 1930. Top left is Princess Margaret or Margarita of Greece (1905 -1981), Princess of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, top right is Princess Sophia of Greece (1914 - 2001), Princess of Hesse-Cassel, bottom right, Princess Cecilie (Cecile) of Greece (1911 -1937), Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine and bottom left, Princess Theodora of Greece (1906 - 1969), Margravine of Baden. All married to German minor royals, none of the Duke's sisters were invited to the royal wedding of 1947. Princess Cecile died tragically in a plane crash, together with her husband, two children and unborn fourth child in 1937 on the way to a wedding. Date: 1930

© Mary Evans Picture Library 2015 - https://copyrighthub.org/s0/hub1/creation/maryevans/MaryEvansPictureID/10548342

The Shooting of General Braddock at Fort Duquesne, Pittsburgh, 1755 (oil on canvas)

XTD75445 The Shooting of General Braddock at Fort Duquesne, Pittsburgh, 1755 (oil on canvas) by Deming, Edwin Willard (1860-1942); State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Madison, USA; (add.info.: French and Indian troops ambush; two-thirds of 1200 strong British force killed or wounded; General Edward Braddock (1695-1755);); American, out of copyright

© Bridgeman Images