Wikipedia:Main Page history/2014 December 14

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From today's featured article

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 The Brill Tramway was closed in 1935, and Underground trains were withdrawn north of Aylesbury after 1936.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. (Full article...)

Part of the Brill Tramway series, one of Wikipedia's featured topics.

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From Wikipedia's new and recently improved content:

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In the news

The Alliance Lepep coalition, led by Anerood Jugnauth, wins the general election in Mauritius.
The U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee releases a report strongly criticizing the Central Intelligence Agency's use of torture.
Former Chinese domestic security chief Zhou Yongkang (pictured) is arrested and expelled from the Communist Party of China.
NASA successfully conducts the maiden flight of its Orion spacecraft.
Dozens of people are killed or injured in clashes between security forces and insurgents in Grozny, Chechen Republic, Russia.

Ongoing: Ebola outbreak – Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
Recent deaths: Ralph H. Baer – Queen Fabiola of Belgium – Jean Béliveau

On this day...

December 14: Day of the Martyred Intellectuals in Bangladesh (1971); Monkey Day

557 – A large earthquake severely damaged the city of Constantinople.
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".
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.
1994 – Construction on the Three Gorges Dam (pictured) began on the Yangtze River in China.
2004 – Cuba and Venezuela founded the Alliance for the Americas, an intergovernmental organization dedicated to the integration of Latin American and Caribbean nations.

More anniversaries: December 13 – December 14 – December 15

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It is now December 14, 2014 (UTC) – Reload this page

Today's featured picture

An aerial view of Masada, an ancient fortification in the Southern District of Israel. Found atop an isolated rock plateau, it overlooks the Dead Sea. The first fortifications on the mountain were built by Alexander Jannaeus, and significantly strengthened by the Roman client king Herod between 37 and 31 BCE. During the First Jewish–Roman War of 66–73 CE, the fortress was besieged, falling only after the 960 Sicarii defending it committed mass suicide.

Masada is among the more popular tourist attractions in Israel, and in 2001 it was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Photograph: Andrew Shiva

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