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Wolverton Viaduct is a railway bridge carrying the West Coast Main Line over the River Great Ouse to the north of Wolverton, part of Milton Keynes, in south-eastern England. Built in 1838 for the London and Birmingham Railway (L&BR) to the design of Robert Stephenson, it was the largest viaduct on the L&BR's route. It is in the centre of Wolverton Embankment, itself the largest on the line. It has six brick arches and covers a distance of 660 feet (200 metres), reaching a maximum height of 57 feet (17 metres) above the river, and terminating in substantial abutments which contain decorative arches. Several contemporary commentators likened Stephenson's bridges to Roman aqueducts. The viaduct was widened to take four tracks in the 1880s with a blue-brick extension, in contrast to the red-brick original. Masts for overhead electrification were added in the 1950s but otherwise the bridge is little changed since it was built and it is now a Grade II listed building. (Full article...)

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In the news

Paralympics opening ceremony

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The Summer Paralympics open (ceremony pictured) in Paris, France.
More than four hundred people are killed in an Islamist militant attack in Barsalogho Department, Burkina Faso.
The Islamic State claims responsibility for a mass stabbing that killed three people at a festival in Solingen, Germany.

On this day

September 7

The last thylacine

1652 – Chinese peasants on Formosa (now Taiwan) began a rebellion against Dutch rule which was suppressed four days later.
1778 – Anglo-French War: Having established an alliance with the United States, France invaded the Caribbean island of Dominica and captured its British fort.
1936 – The last thylacine (pictured) died in captivity in Hobart Zoo, Australia.
1940 – Second World War: The Luftwaffe changed their strategy in the Battle of Britain and began bombing London and other cities and towns.
2010 – A Chinese fishing trawler operating in disputed waters collided with Japan Coast Guard patrol boats near the Senkaku Islands, sparking a major diplomatic dispute between the two countries.

Gregory Bicskei (d. 1303)
John Shakespeare (d. 1601)
Henry Sewell (b. 1807)
Grandma Moses (b. 1860)

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Today's featured picture

Sigmaringen Castle, located in Sigmaringen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, served as the princely castle and seat of government for the princes of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. First mentioned in 1077, it was rebuilt around 1200 and suffered various fires through the centuries, most recently around 1893 when the eastern wing was destroyed. It then underwent a full rebuild in eclectic style (a combination of Romanesque, Gothic, and mostly Renaissance). During the closing months of World War II, Sigmaringen Castle was briefly the seat of the Vichy French government after France was liberated by the Allies. The castle is still owned by the Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen family, and is open to visitors. This photograph was taken from the north west, across the Danube river.

Photograph credit: Jörg Braukmann

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