The Bristol Port Railway and Pier (also referred to as the Bristol Port and Pier Railway ) was a railway in Bristol , England.
99-445: mi - ch from Hotwells The Bristol Port Railway and Pier Company (BPRP) ran from a main terminus at Hotwells (originally called Clifton), northwards to west of Bristol city centre between the Clifton Suspension Bridge and Bridge Valley Road, to a terminus at Avonmouth . Upon leaving Hotwells, the line ran north alongside the River Avon through two tunnels, to a halt and passing point, then to Sneyd Park Junction, where
198-583: A docks railway. However, due to the position of Clifton station and the large amount of developed land in the Hotwells area, an extension towards the city's main station at Bristol Temple Meads , would have been prohibitively expensive. Instead, a link was proposed from the BPRP at Sneyd Park , running under Clifton Down and through the suburbs to connect to the main lines of the Midland Railway and
297-475: A mustard gas shell, which was disposed of by the 11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal Regiment RLC at Porton Down . The site was closed off for a year while experts from the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory conducted a series of tests. In late 2013 MoD clearance was given, allowing the site to be redeveloped as a 485,000 square feet (45,100 m ) supermarket distribution centre for Asda , and
396-584: A number of territories with less than a million inhabitants, most of which are UK or US territories, or have close historical ties with the UK or US: American Samoa, Bahamas, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Falkland Islands, Grenada, Guam, The N. Mariana Islands, Samoa, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & The Grenadines, St. Helena, St. Kitts & Nevis, the Turks & Caicos Islands, and
495-453: A partnership including Edwin Stride and his sons Jared and Jethro. The other partners were George Davis, with William and Jarman Peters. The brickworks are visible on the 1879 OS 25" map of the area. The company was dissolved in 1886. As built, the BPRP was isolated from the rest of the national railway network, having not been intended for anything more than local traffic distribution -
594-654: A portion of it into a firing range . However, this ended following the passage of the Firearms (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1997 which banned handguns in the United Kingdom, and the tunnel was once more abandoned. It is currently split in three parts – the firing range, a section of original tunnel, and the shelter. In the 2000s subsidence and movement in the Number Two tunnel affected the road above, Bridge Valley Road, which required major stabilization work and
693-664: A recycling plant for SITA UK. The docks were operated by the Port of Bristol Authority, part of Bristol City Council , until 1991, when the council granted a 150-year lease to the Bristol Port Company, who now operate the docks together with Royal Portbury Dock. The bulk coal terminal discharged imported coal from both the Royal Edward and Royal Portbury docks, via a rail-loading system managed by DB Cargo UK , located just south of St Andrews Road railway station on
792-524: A trailing period—as "mi", "M", "ml", and "m". The American National Institute of Standards and Technology now uses and recommends "mi" to avoid confusion with the SI metre (m) and millilitre (ml). However, derived units such as miles per hour or miles per gallon continue to be abbreviated as "mph" and "mpg" rather than "mi/h" and "mi/gal". In the United Kingdom, road signs use "m" as the abbreviation for mile though height and width restrictions also use "m" as
891-587: A width of 62 ft (18.9 m). Due to numerous geographic and tidal restrictions along the River Avon, the Avonmouth Docks Co. was formed to build the new docks at Avonmouth. The new docks, now called Avonmouth Old Dock, were opened in February 1877, the hope being that this would usher in a new era for the port of Bristol. Around the same time the supporting Bristol Port Railway and Pier
990-646: Is U+3344 ㍄ SQUARE MAIRU , after マイル mairu . The international mile is precisely equal to 1.609 344 km (or 25146 / 15625 km as a fraction). It was established as part of the 1959 international yard and pound agreement reached by the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the Union of South Africa , which resolved small but measurable differences that had arisen from separate physical standards each country had maintained for
1089-489: Is a British imperial unit and United States customary unit of length; both are based on the older English unit of length equal to 5,280 English feet , or 1,760 yards . The statute mile was standardised between the Commonwealth of Nations and the United States by an international agreement in 1959 , when it was formally redefined with respect to SI units as exactly 1,609.344 metres . With qualifiers, mile
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#17327732840541188-652: Is also used to describe or translate a wide range of units derived from or roughly equivalent to the Roman mile (roughly 1.48 km ), such as the nautical mile (now 1.852 km exactly), the Italian mile (roughly 1.852 km ), and the Chinese mile (now 500 m exactly). The Romans divided their mile into 5,000 pedēs ("feet") , but the greater importance of furlongs in the Elizabethan-era England meant that
1287-538: Is based upon the length of a meridian of latitude . The German geographical mile ( geographische Meile ) was previously 1 ⁄ 15 ° of latitude (7.4127 km). The informal term "metric mile" is used in some countries, in sports such as track and field athletics and speed skating , to denote a distance of 1,500 metres (0.932 miles). The 1500 meters is the premier middle distance running event in Olympic sports . In United States high-school competition,
1386-635: Is defined by the First International Extraordinary Hydrographic Conference in Monaco as exactly 1,852 metres (which is 1.151 miles or 6,076.12 feet). In the United States, the nautical mile was defined in the 19th century as 6,080.2 feet (1,853.24 m), whereas in the United Kingdom, the Admiralty nautical mile was defined as 6,080 feet (1,853.18 m) and was about one minute of latitude in
1485-515: Is from Rome. The Italian mile ( miglio , pl. miglia ) was traditionally considered a direct continuation of the Roman mile, equal to 1000 paces, although its actual value over time or between regions could vary greatly. It was often used in international contexts from the Middle Ages into the 17th century and is thus also known as the "geographical mile", although
1584-398: Is used in radar -related subjects and is equal to 6,000 feet (1.8288 kilometres). The radar mile is a unit of time (in the same way that the light year is a unit of distance), equal to the time required for a radar pulse to travel a distance of two miles (one mile each way). Thus, the radar statute mile is 10.8 μs and the radar nautical mile is 12.4 μs. The geographical mile
1683-666: The Sjællandske miil , for instance, had been 11.13 km. The Germans also used a longer version of the geographical mile . The Breslau mile , used in Breslau , and from 1630 officially in all of Silesia , equal to 11,250 ells , or about 6,700 meters. The mile equaled the distance from the Piaskowa Gate all the way to Psie Pole ( Hundsfeld ). By rolling a circle with a radius of 5 ells through Piaskowa Island , Ostrów Tumski and suburban tracts, passing eight bridges on
1782-636: The Bristol and South Wales Union Railway . The connection was authorised in 1867, but the BPRP was in financial difficulties, and so unable to complete the line. It entered into negotiations with the MR and Great Western Railway , the latter now the owner of the Bristol and South Wales Union Railway. However, fierce competition between the GWR and the MR posed a threat to the Port of Bristol. The MR had no access over
1881-614: The Clifton Extension Railway joined it. Continuing north following the river is the station at Sea Mills , then a bridge over the River Trym . The line curved west around Horse-Shoe Bend, then went slightly inland to Shirehampton , then turned back north-west. At Avonmouth Dock Junction the Extension Railway diverged north, and another line diverged west for freight, while the BPRP line continued into
1980-461: The Exchequer , which thereafter verified local standards until its abolition in the 19th century. New brass standards are known to have been constructed under Henry VII and Elizabeth I . Arnold's c. 1500 Customs of London recorded a mile shorter than previous ones, coming to 0.947 international miles (5,000 feet) or 1.524 km. The English statute mile
2079-595: The Royal Edward Dock , although workers' trains continued into 1903. Traffic on the Hotwells branch peaked in 1910 at ten trains per day and six on Sundays, and in 1917 Hotwells Halt was built to handle the large number of wartime munitions workers travelling to Avonmouth. The branch was closed in 1922 to make way for construction of the A4 Portway . The line from Sneyd Park Junction to Dock Junction and
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#17327732840542178-720: The Severn Beach Line . Bristol Harbour had always been a major centre of trade within the wider UK economy, due to its strategic location to the west of the country, allowing access to both the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean . Coastal trade was also important, with the area called "Welsh Back" concentrating on trows with cargoes from the Slate industry in Wales , stone , timber and coal. However, by
2277-466: The decempeda and dioptra then spread its use. In modern times, Agrippa's Imperial Roman mile was empirically estimated to have been about 1,618 yards (1,479 m; 4,854 ft; 0.919 mi) in length, slightly less than the 1,760 yards (1,609 m; 5,280 ft) of the modern international mile. In Hellenic areas of the Empire, the Roman mile ( ‹See Tfd› Greek : μίλιον , mílion )
2376-409: The geographical mile is now a separate standard unit. The Arabic mile ( الميل , al-mīl ) was not the common Arabic unit of length ; instead, Arabs and Persians traditionally used the longer parasang or "Arabic league ". The Arabic mile was, however, used by medieval geographers and scientists and constituted a kind of precursor to the nautical or geographical mile . It extended
2475-446: The international mile and international foot . In the United States, the term statute mile formally refers to the survey mile, but for most purposes, the difference of less than 1 ⁄ 8 inch (3.2 mm) between the survey mile and the international mile (1609.344 metres exactly) is insignificant—one international mile is 0.999 998 US survey miles—so statute mile can be used for either. But in some cases, such as in
2574-511: The statute mile was made equivalent to 8 furlongs or 5,280 feet in 1593. This form of the mile then spread across the British Empire , some successor states of which continue to employ the mile. The US Geological Survey now employs the metre for official purposes, but legacy data from its 1927 geodetic datum has meant that a separate US survey mile ( 6336 / 3937 km) continues to see some use, although it
2673-408: The tidal new cut and a feeder canal to Temple Meads . Entrance was via locks, which had a maximum width of 45 ft (13.7 m). The harbour was officially opened on 1 May 1809. However, the harbour improvements cost more than anticipated, requiring increased levies to pay back the required loans, and hence reducing the competitive advantage to Liverpool. By 1867, ships were getting larger and
2772-543: The " ban mile" ( banska milja ), had been the Austrian mile given above. The Ottoman mile was 1,894.35 m (1.17709 mi), which was equal to 5,000 Ottoman foot. After 1933, the Ottoman mile was replaced with the modern Turkish mile (1,853.181 m). The CJK Compatibility Unicode block contains square-format versions of Japanese names for measurement units as written in katakana script. Among them, there
2871-474: The 10th century, the nominal prototype physical standard of English length was an arm-length iron bar (a yardstick) held by the king at Winchester ; the foot was then one-third of its length. Henry I was said to have made a new standard in 1101 based on his own arm. Following the issuance of Magna Carta in 1215, the barons of Parliament directed John and his son to keep the king 's standard measure ( Mensura Domini Regis ) and weight at
2970-577: The 18th century the docks in Liverpool grew larger and so increased competition with Bristol for the tobacco trade. The limitations of Bristol's docks were causing problems to business, so in 1802 William Jessop proposed installing a dam and lock at Hotwells to create the floating harbour. Construction of the £530,000 scheme began in May 1804, including the construction of the Cumberland Basin ,
3069-592: The BPRP itself, but instead were operated under a lease agreement by the Bristol and Exeter Railway . This lease was taken over by the Great Western Railway in 1871, along with the rest of the Bristol and Exeter. The BPRP had two 0-4-2 side tank locomotives, possibly from the St Helens Railway . Coaching stock was four-wheeled; there were initially 14 carriages, rising to around 20 according to some reports, all of which were disposed of when
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3168-583: The GWR routes into either Bristol Harbour or Avonmouth docks, and so drew up options to either acquire the Avonmouth Docks Co., or build new docks on the opposite bank at Portbury. The result was that in 1884, the Bristol Corporation bought Avonmouth Docks and the BPRP to control port facilities in the area. The Clifton Extension Railway initially ran from Clifton Down to Narroways Hill Junction north through Bristol, then part of
3267-653: The GWR; and over a viaduct from Narroways Hill to the MR's Bristol to Gloucester Line near Fishponds . The line was managed by the Clifton Extension Railway Joint Committee, a triumvirate of the Port Authority, City Council plus the GWR and MR; but in 1894 responsibility was passed to the Great Western & Midland Railways Joint Committee. Services began to Clifton Down on 1 October 1874. The Royal Edward Dock
3366-686: The NAD27, is defined in metres. State Plane Coordinate Systems were then updated, but the National Geodetic Survey left individual states to decide which (if any) definition of the foot they would use. All State Plane Coordinate Systems are defined in metres, and 42 of the 50 states only use the metre-based State Plane Coordinate Systems. However, eight states also have State Plane Coordinate Systems defined in feet, seven of them in US survey feet and one in international feet. State legislation in
3465-409: The Roman computations of the mile as 5,000 feet, 1,000 paces , or 8 longer divisions, which they equated with their " furrow 's length" or furlong . The origins of English units are "extremely vague and uncertain", but seem to have been a combination of the Roman system with native British and Germanic systems both derived from multiples of the barleycorn . Probably by the reign of Edgar in
3564-538: The Roman mile is the milestone . All roads radiated out from the Roman Forum throughout the Empire – 50,000 (Roman) miles of stone-paved roads. At every mile was placed a shaped stone. Originally, these were obelisks made from granite, marble, or whatever local stone was available. On these was carved a Roman numeral , indicating the number of miles from the centre of Rome – the Forum. Hence, one can know how far one
3663-670: The Roman mile to fit an astronomical approximation of 1 arcminute of latitude measured directly north-and-south along a meridian . Although the precise value of the approximation remains disputed, it was somewhere between 1.8 and 2.0 km. The " old English mile " of the medieval and early modern periods varied but seems to have measured about 1.3 international miles (2.1 km). The old English mile varied over time and location within England. The old English mile has also been defined as 79,200 or 79,320 inches (1.25 or 1.2519 statute miles). The English long continued
3762-404: The UK or US. The modern English word mile derives from Middle English myle and Old English mīl , which was cognate with all other Germanic terms for miles . These derived from the nominal ellipsis form of mīlle passus 'mile' or mīlia passuum 'miles', the Roman mile of one thousand paces . The present international mile is usually what is understood by
3861-506: The US State Plane Coordinate Systems (SPCSs), which can stretch over hundreds of miles, the accumulated difference can be significant, so it is important to note that the reference is to the US survey mile. The United States redefined its yard in 1893, and this resulted in US and Imperial measures of distance having very slightly different lengths. The North American Datum of 1983 (NAD83), which replaced
3960-562: The US Virgin Islands. The mile is even encountered in Canada, though this is predominantly in rail transport and horse racing, as the roadways have been metricated since 1977. Ireland gradually replaced miles with kilometres, including in speed measurements; the process was completed in 2005. The US survey mile is 5,280 US survey feet , or 1,609.347 metres and 0.30480061 metres respectively. Both are very slightly longer than
4059-451: The US is important for determining which conversion factor from the metric datum is to be used for land surveying and real estate transactions, even though the difference (2 ppm ) is hardly significant, given the precision of normal surveying measurements over short distances (usually much less than a mile). Twenty-four states have legislated that surveying measures be based on the US survey foot, eight have legislated that they be based on
Bristol Port Railway and Pier - Misplaced Pages Continue
4158-465: The US survey foot and US survey mile, as permitted by their 1959 decision, with effect on January 1, 2023. The nautical mile was originally defined as one minute of arc along a meridian of the Earth. Navigators use dividers to step off the distance between two points on the navigational chart, then place the open dividers against the minutes-of-latitude scale at the edge of the chart, and read off
4257-468: The US survey mile. Foreign and historical units translated into English as miles usually employ a qualifier to describe the kind of mile being used but this may be omitted if it is obvious from the context, such as a discussion of the 2nd-century Antonine Itinerary describing its distances in terms of miles rather than Roman miles . The mile has been variously abbreviated in English—with and without
4356-591: The chemical plant began at Avonmouth in 1917, but did not finish until 1923, costing £800,000. The plant came into operation from spring 1918, producing 20 tonnes (22 tons) of dichloroethyl sulphide using the Despretz–Niemann–Guthrie process ; the chemical agent was then placed into shells on site. Although the first product did not arrive in France until September 1918, two months before the Armistice , it
4455-430: The city's main station at Temple Meads would have required crossing a large amount of developed land, and so was prohibitively expensive. Instead, a link was proposed from the BPRP at Sneyd Park , running under Clifton Down to join the Midland Railway and Bristol and South Wales Union Railway . The connection was authorised in 1867, but the BPRP was in financial difficulties and unable to attract investors. Instead,
4554-614: The company joined forces with the Midland and Great Western Railways to build the Clifton Extension Railway , which opened in 1877 for freight to the newly built Avonmouth Docks . The double-track CER was not initially open to passengers, as although the Sneyd Park – Clifton Down section was certified for passenger use in 1878, the MR and GWR did not believe the BPRP line was in a suitable state to carry their passengers. The MR obtained parliamentary powers to install block signalling on
4653-627: The definition of the foot in the Mendenhall Order of 1893, with 1 foot = 1200 / 3937 (≈0.304800609601) metres and the definition was retained for data derived from NAD27, but renamed the US survey foot to distinguish it from the international foot. Thus a survey mile = 1200 / 3937 × 5280 (≈1609.347218694) metres. An international mile = 1609.344 / ( 1200 / 3937 × 5280) (=0.999998) survey miles. The exact length of
4752-515: The discrepancy with latitude measurement to less than 2%). The metric system was introduced in the Netherlands in 1816, and the metric mile became a synonym for the kilometre, being exactly 1,000 m. Since 1870, the term mijl was replaced by the equivalent kilometer . Today, the word mijl is no longer used, except as part of certain proverbs and compound terms like mijlenver ("miles away"). The German mile ( Meile )
4851-456: The distance in nautical miles. The Earth is not perfectly spherical but an oblate spheroid , so the length of a minute of latitude increases by 1% from the equator to the poles, as seen for example in the WGS84 ellipsoid , with 1,843 metres (6,046 ft) at the equator, 1,862 metres (6,108 ft) at the poles and average 1,852 metres (6,076 ft). Since 1929 the international nautical mile
4950-561: The docks were enlarged from 1941, adding more facilities for unloading oil and petrol, plus a new oil products supply pipeline to London via the Government Pipelines and Storage System . By the 1960s, the larger container ships could not navigate the River Avon to enter the Royal Edward, necessitating the need for the planning of the construction of the Royal Portbury Dock on the south bank. Whilst much of
5049-711: The famous Imperial Smelting Process was developed. From 1967, the Avonmouth Works was home to the largest and most efficient zinc blast furnace in the world. Consolidated Zinc, having failed to develop suitable new mining projects, merged from 1962 with the Rio Tinto Company, a mining company. The resulting company, known as the Rio Tinto - Zinc Corporation (RTZ), and its main subsidiary, Conzinc Riotinto of Australia (CRA), would eventually become today's Rio Tinto Group . With smelting cheaper elsewhere in
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#17327732840545148-472: The first two morning departures forsaking the Hotwells terminus for Hotwells Halt's longer platform. From September 1921, the Halt was the terminus of the BPRP line, as the Hotwells terminus was closed to allow construction of the A4 Portway . Hotwells Halt, and the line to Sneyd Park Junction, closed on 3 July 1922, with the final train running on 1 July. According to some sources, the trains were not operated by
5247-471: The former warehousing was redeveloped as residential housing, the residual quays were redeveloped for new cargos. Today these range from the export of scrap-metals, dredged aggregates, vegetable oil and domestic coal; with regional container services from and to Ireland , Europe and Scandinavia, all linked to the rail network via the Henbury Loop Line . During the later part of World War I , it
5346-555: The head of the river at Avonmouth instead. The Bristol Port Railway and Pier Company (BPRP) was founded in 1862 with the intent to build a single-track 4 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ( 1,435 mm ) standard gauge railway the 5.75 miles (9.25 km) from Avonmouth to the city centre, alongside the Avon. The railway's act of Parliament, the Bristol Port, Railway and Pier Act 1862 ( 25 & 26 Vict. c. clix),
5445-671: The international foot, and eighteen have not specified which conversion factor to use. SPCS 83 legislation refers to state legislation that has been passed or updated using the newer 1983 NAD data. Most states have done so. Two states, Alaska and Missouri , and two jurisdictions, Guam and Puerto Rico , do not specify which foot to use. Two states, Alabama and Hawaii , and four jurisdictions, Washington, DC , US Virgin Islands , American Samoa and Northern Mariana Islands , do not have SPCS 83 legislation. In October 2019, US National Geodetic Survey and National Institute of Standards and Technology announced their joint intent to retire
5544-429: The land mile varied slightly among English-speaking countries until the international yard and pound agreement in 1959 established the yard as exactly 0.9144 metres, giving a mile of exactly 1,609.344 metres. The US adopted this international mile for most purposes, but retained the pre-1959 mile for some land-survey data, terming it the U. S. survey mile . In the United States, statute mile normally refers to
5643-412: The latitudes of the south of the UK. Other nations had different definitions of the nautical mile. The nautical mile per hour is known as the knot . Nautical miles and knots are almost universally used for aeronautical and maritime navigation, because of their relationship with degrees and minutes of latitude and the convenience of using the latitude scale on a map for distance measuring. The data mile
5742-554: The length of an ell was not standardised, so that the length of a mile could range between 3,280 m and 4,280 m. In the sixteenth, the Dutch had three different miles: small ( kleine ), medium ( middelbaar/gemeen ), and large ( groote ). The Dutch kleine mile had the historical definition of one hour's walking ( uur gaans ), which was defined as 24 stadia, 3000 paces, or 15,000 Amsterdam or Rhineland feet (respectively 4,250 m or 4,710 m). The common Dutch mile
5841-517: The length of the rod by 1 ⁄ 11 would have amounted to a significant tax increase. Parliament instead opted to maintain the mile of 8 furlongs (which were derived from the rod) and to increase the number of feet per mile from the old Roman value. The applicable passage of the statute reads: "A Mile shall contain eight Furlongs, every Furlong forty Poles, and every Pole shall contain sixteen Foot and an half." The statute mile therefore contained 5,280 feet or 1,760 yards. The distance
5940-563: The line at the BPRP's expense, and through trains eventually started on 1 September 1885. On 25 July 1890, Parliament approved a bill allowing the Midland and Great Western to buy out the BPRP, the BPRP effectively merging with the Clifton Extension Railway from 1 September that year. Increased traffic led to the line being doubled from Avonmouth to Shirehampton in 1903, and to Sneyd Park in 1907. The Avonmouth terminus closed to passengers in 1902 to allow construction of
6039-425: The line was taken over. The BPRP also possessed two covered and two uncovered wagons, in a light grey livery. The coaching stock was painted yellow and white, with some later painted dark chocolate. 51°29′10″N 2°40′44″W / 51.4862°N 2.679°W / 51.4862; -2.679 Mile The mile , sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles,
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#17327732840546138-510: The local church, although this concession was reversed by May that year. The fare for a single between Hotwells and Avonmouth was 1s 0d, 9d and 6d for first, second and third class respectively, with returns 6d more. By January 1866 the service was reduced to three down and four up per day, with one Shirehampton-Avonmouth except on Sundays; this increased to five up and down in April that year, with one Hotwells-Shirehampton except on Sundays. By June
6237-480: The meanders in the river Avon prevented boats over 300 ft (91 m) from reaching the harbour. A scheme was proposed to install a much larger lock at Avonmouth to make the entire river a floating harbour, and to straighten the sharper bends, was but was dropped after work began on the much cheaper docks at Avonmouth and Portishead . The present entrance lock was designed by Thomas Howard and opened in July 1873, with
6336-419: The mile was changed as with improved calculations of the circumference of the Earth. In 1617, Willebrord Snellius calculated a degree of the circumference of the Earth at 28,500 Rijnlantsche Roeden (within 3.5% of the actual value), which resulted in a Dutch mile of 1900 rods. By the mid-seventeenth century, map scales assigned 2000 rods to the common Dutch mile, which equalled around 7,535 m (reducing
6435-680: The most accepted equivalencies are 1,976 Imperial yards (1.123 statute miles or 1.81 km). It was legally abolished three times: first by a 1685 act of the Scottish Parliament , again by the 1707 Treaty of Union with England, and finally by the Weights and Measures Act 1824 . It had continued in use as a customary unit through the 18th century but had become obsolete by its final abolition. The Irish mile ( míle or míle Gaelach ) measured 2,240 yards: approximately 1.27 statute miles or 2.048 kilometres. It
6534-543: The new National Smelting Company (NSC). Before the outbreak of WW1, much of Britain's zinc had originated in Australia , but had been smelted in Germany . The NSC was therefore publicly commissioned to build a new zinc smelting works and sulphuric acid plant at Merebank, Avonmouth. With the nearby No.23 Filling Factory at Chittening , plus the main plant at Banbury and a third plant at Hereford , construction of
6633-445: The previous standards was 2 ppm , or about 3.2 millimetres ( 1 ⁄ 8 inch) per mile. The US standard was slightly longer and the old Imperial standards had been slightly shorter than the international mile. When the international mile was introduced in English-speaking countries, the basic geodetic datum in America was the North American Datum of 1927 (NAD27). This had been constructed by triangulation based on
6732-415: The river joins the Severn estuary , within Avonmouth . Accessible via a 210 metres (690 ft) long and 30 metres (98 ft) wide lock , today the docks are one of the UK's major ports for chilled foods, especially fruit and vegetables. Land-side freight access and distribution is via either the M5 motorway or the Henbury Loop Line , whilst rail-passenger access is via Avonmouth railway station on
6831-561: The service was five up and down on Sundays, and six on other days. Two extra trains per day were laid on when Avonmouth Docks was opened, and by summer 1887 there were ten up and down, with four each way and an Avonmouth-Shirehampton return on Sundays. By 1910 Avonmouth was no longer a resort, but instead a workplace, and so Sunday service was reduced to two trains each way, taking 19 minutes each. The Sunday service had been completely discontinued by 1920, with weekday service reduced to nine down and eight up, with journey times of 18 minutes, and
6930-405: The single locomotive could haul, and timetables were posted at Hotwells only minutes before the first departure. As built, the railway was isolated from the rest of the national network, having not been intended for anything more than local traffic. However, with very little goods traffic, a connection to the main line railways was needed to develop Avonmouth as a port. An extension from Hotwells to
7029-442: The station at Avonmouth Docks . Beyond there, the line diverged again, with one line going west to Avonmouth (Royal Edward) and another north to rejoin the Extension Railway. The main BPRP line continued on into its Avonmouth terminus. Bristol sits on the River Avon , with its docks several miles inland. By the 19th century, ships had grown to such a size that navigating the Avon was not possible any more, and they had to dock at
7128-618: The stations of Shirehampton and Sea Mills survive as part of the Severn Beach Line . Portnalls Number One Railway Tunnel, just north of Hotwells station, was used during the Second World War as an air-raid shelter by the people of Bristol. It became so popular that the City Council had to institute a pass system. The tunnel was once again used in the late twentieth century by the Bristol Gun Club , who converted
7227-413: The survey mile, about 3.219 mm ( 1 ⁄ 8 inch) longer than the international mile (the international mile is exactly 0.0002% less than the US survey mile). While most countries abandoned the mile when switching to the metric system , the international mile continues to be used in some countries, such as Liberia , Myanmar , the United Kingdom and the United States. It is also used in
7326-443: The symbol for the metre, which may be displayed alongside feet and inches. The BBC style holds that "there is no acceptable abbreviation for 'miles ' " and so it should be spelled out when used in describing areas. The Roman mile ( mille passus , lit. "thousand paces"; abbr. m.p. ; also milia passuum and mille ) consisted of a thousand paces as measured by every other step—as in
7425-491: The term is sometimes used for a race of 1,600 metres (0.994 miles). The Scandinavian mile ( mil ) remains in common use in Norway and Sweden, where it has meant precisely 10 km since metrication in 1889. It is used in informal situations and in measurements of fuel consumption, which are often given as litres per mil . In formal situations (such as official road signs) only kilometres are given. The Swedish mile
7524-425: The then Prince of Wales cut the first sod, which included the construction of a 267 metres (876 ft) dry dock . The complex was opened by the then King Edward VII in 1908. Throughout its life, the shore side dock facilities have been redeveloped to keep the docks operational. By 1911, 27 storage tanks for oil had been added on the north west quay, and new grain silos were built in 1928. During World War II
7623-458: The total distance of the left foot hitting the ground 1,000 times. When Roman legionaries were well-fed and harshly driven in good weather, they thus created longer miles. The distance was indirectly standardised by Agrippa 's establishment of a standard Roman foot (Agrippa's own) in 29 BC , and the definition of a pace as 5 feet. An Imperial Roman mile thus denoted 5,000 Roman feet . Surveyors and specialised equipment such as
7722-432: The unqualified term mile . When this distance needs to be distinguished from the nautical mile, the international mile may also be described as a land mile or statute mile. In British English , statute mile may refer to the present international mile or to any other form of English mile since the 1593 Act of Parliament , which set it as a distance of 1,760 yards . Under American law , however, statute mile refers to
7821-417: The waterproof tanking of the tunnel, to enable the road to be reopened. Initial service from March 1865 was six trains per day in each direction, with four down (Hotwells to Avonmouth) and five up (Avonmouth to Hotwells) on Sundays, taking around 30 minutes for the 5.75 miles (9.25 km) trip. On weekdays the quickest was 26 minutes, and 20 minutes on Sundays as Shirehampton was closed due to objections from
7920-608: The way, the standard Breslau mile was determined. The Saxon post mile ( kursächsische Postmeile or Polizeimeile , introduced on occasion of a survey of the Saxon roads in the 1700s, corresponded to 2,000 Dresden rods , equivalent to 9.062 kilometres. The Hungarian mile ( mérföld or magyar mérföld ) varied from 8.3790 km to 8.9374 km before being standardised as 8.3536 km. The Portuguese mile ( milha ) used in Portugal and Brazil
8019-456: The world, the site ceased production in the 1970s, but remained open as a stock-holding and distribution centre until 2003. In 2012 SITA UK started redevelopment of the site, but after construction workers were affected by mustard-gas type symptoms, the Ministry of Defence were called in to test and approve the site. However, after MoD approval, a few months later construction workers found
8118-683: The yard. As with the earlier statute mile , it continues to comprise 1,760 yards or 5,280 feet. The old Imperial value of the yard was used in converting measurements to metric values in India in a 1976 Act of the Indian Parliament. However, the current National Topographic Database of the Survey of India is based on the metric WGS-84 datum , which is also used by the Global Positioning System . The difference from
8217-494: Was 2.0873 km prior to metrication. The Russian mile ( миля or русская миля , russkaya milya ) was 7.468 km, divided into 7 versts . The Croatian mile ( hrvatska milja ), first devised by the Jesuit Stjepan Glavač on a 1673 map, is the length of an arc of the equator subtended by 1 / 10 ° or 11.13 km exactly. The previous Croatian mile, now known as
8316-687: Was 24,000 German feet. The standardised Austrian mile used in southern Germany and the Austrian Empire was 7.586 km; the Prussian mile used in northern Germany was 7.5325 km. Following its standardisation by Ole Rømer in the late 17th century, the Danish mile ( mil ) was precisely equal to the Prussian mile and likewise divided into 24,000 feet. These were sometimes treated as equivalent to 7.5 km. Earlier values had varied:
8415-410: Was 32 stadia, 4,000 paces, or 20,000 feet (5,660 m or 6,280 m). The large mile was defined as 5000 paces. The common Dutch mile was preferred by mariners, equating with 15 to one degree of latitude or one degree of longitude on the equator . This was originally based upon Ptolemy 's underestimate of the Earth's circumference. The ratio of 15 Dutch miles to a degree remained fixed while the length of
8514-616: Was constructed. The BPRP was built and held via a separate sister company, running north for 5.75 miles (9.25 km) from Hotwells (originally called Clifton), northwards to west of Bristol city centre between the Clifton Suspension Bridge and Bridge Valley Road along the Avon Gorge , to a pier terminus at Avonmouth. Bricks for the project were supplied by the Crown Brick Works, a venture set up by
8613-589: Was designed by consulting engineers Benjamin Baker and John Wolfe-Barry , who had worked together on several dock projects, together with Baker’s partner A.C. Hurtzig, and C.A. Brereton. The docks run south to north along the banks of the River Severn , closer to that river than the existing Avonmouth Docks, and is the northernmost and largest of the three docks that form the Port of Bristol . Work began in 1902, when
8712-474: Was established by a Weights and Measures Act of Parliament in 1593 during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I . The act on the Composition of Yards and Perches had shortened the length of the foot and its associated measures, causing the two methods of determining the mile to diverge. Owing to the importance of the surveyor's rod in deeds and surveying undertaken under Henry VIII , decreasing
8811-439: Was not uniformly adopted. Robert Morden had multiple scales on his 17th-century maps which included continuing local values: his map of Hampshire , for example, bore two different "miles" with a ratio of 1 : 1.23 and his map of Dorset had three scales with a ratio of 1 : 1.23 : 1.41 . In both cases, the traditional local units remained longer than the statute mile. The English statute mile
8910-474: Was officially phased out in 2022. While most countries replaced the mile with the kilometre when switching to the International System of Units (SI), the international mile continues to be used in some countries, such as the United Kingdom, the United States, and a number of countries with fewer than one million inhabitants, most of which are UK or US territories or have close historical ties with
9009-523: Was passed on 17 July 1862, with Benjamin Burleigh appointed as engineer. It was the first standard gauge line in Bristol. The company's headquarters was at Shirehampton , where the first sod was turned by the Mayoress of Bristol, Mrs S. V. Hare, on 19 February 1863. The railway opened on 6 March 1865, although this was not announced in advance so that the line would not be overwhelmed by more people than
9108-575: Was proposed to make Avonmouth the UK centre of production of dichloroethyl sulphide , also known as mustard gas . However, its production was against the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 , which explicitly forbade the use of "poison or poisoned weapons" in warfare. Under the cover of the Official Secrets Act , the Ministry of Munitions under its then Minister Winston Churchill nationalised many small smelting works under
9207-673: Was said to have been codified under Dyfnwal the Bald and Silent and retained unchanged by Hywel the Good . Along with other Welsh units, it was discontinued following the conquest of Wales by Edward I of England in the 13th century. The Scots mile was longer than the English mile, as mentioned by Robert Burns in the first verse of his poem " Tam o' Shanter ". It comprised 8 (Scots) furlongs divided into 320 falls or faws (Scots rods ). It varied from place to place but
9306-521: Was standardised as 36,000 Swedish feet or 10.6884 kilometres (6.6415 miles) in 1649; before that it varied by province from about 6 to 14.485 km. Avonmouth Docks#Royal Edward Dock The Avonmouth Docks are part of the Port of Bristol , in England . They are situated on the northern side of the mouth of the River Avon , opposite the Royal Portbury Dock on the southern side, where
9405-443: Was superseded in 1959 by the international mile by international agreement. The Welsh mile ( milltir or milldir ) was 3 statute miles and 1,470 yards long (6.17 km). It comprised 9,000 paces ( cam ), each of 3 Welsh feet ( troedfedd ) of 9 inches ( modfeddi ). (The Welsh inch is usually reckoned as equivalent to the English inch.) Along with other Welsh units , it
9504-528: Was taken over by a group of British industrialists with interests in metals and chemicals, under whom it was revived. In 1929 the NSC was bought by Australia's Imperial Smelting Corporation, which in 1949 merged with Zinc Corporation to become Consolidated Zinc . After the consolidation, the smaller NSC plants were closed down to concentrate production on Avonmouth - now known as the Britannia smelting works - where
9603-593: Was used beside the native Greek units as equivalent to 8 stadia of 600 Greek feet . The mílion continued to be used as a Byzantine unit and was also used as the name of the zero mile marker for the Byzantine Empire , the Milion , located at the head of the Mese near Hagia Sophia . The Roman mile spread throughout Europe, with its local variations giving rise to the different units. Also arising from
9702-468: Was used in Ireland from the 16th century plantations until the 19th century, with residual use into the 20th century. The units were based on " English measure " but used a linear perch measuring 7 yards (6.4 m) as opposed to the English rod of 5.5 yards (5.0 m). The Dutch mile ( mijl ) has had different definitions throughout history. One of the older definitions was 5,600 ells . But
9801-972: Was used that same month during the breaking of the Hindenburg Line within the Hundred Days' Offensive . By November 1918, Chittening had produced 85,424 mustard gas shells. The human cost of producing mustard gas was high. In December 1918 the chemical plant's medical officer reported that in the six months it was operational, there were 1,400 illnesses reported by its 1,100 mostly female workers - all medically attributable to their work. Three people died because of accidents, four died from associated illnesses, and there were 160 accidents resulting in over 1,000 burns. At Chittening there were reported 1,213 cases of associated illness, including two deaths which were later attributed to influenza . After World War I, demand for zinc and for sulphuric acid greatly fell, and after running into commercial difficulties it
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