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Orange Walk Town

Orange Walk Town is the fourth largest town in Belize, with a population of about 13,400 (Official Release of the Main Findings of the 2010 Population and Housing Census). It is the capital of the Orange Walk District. Orange Walk Town is located on the left bank of the New River, 53 mi north of Belize City and 30 mi south of Corozal Town. Despite the English name of the city, its residents are primarily Spanish-speaking mestizos.

History
In the days of the Maya civilization, the area was known as Holpatin. The district is home to the largest Maya temple of the pre-classic period. The Maya of the area came in contact with the Europeans in the 1530s, after which the two groups fought over land. In 1848, there was a massive influx of Maya and Mestizos from Mexico, fleeing the Caste War of Yucatán (1847–1901). This caused a rapid growth of population. In 1872, it was the site of the Battle of Orange Walk. Lamanai (meaning "submerged crocodile" in Mayan dialect) and Cuello ("neck" in Spanish) are two very early Mayan ruins located in Orange Walk. Cuello is in fact the oldest Mayan settlement in Belize, dating back to around 2000 BC.

In the nineteenth century, Orange Walk was a small township located mostly on the western banks of the New River, consisting mainly of thatched and wooden dwellings. The town had grown from a stop on the New River by logwood, mahogany and chicle workers who used the New River as a transport system and stopped on their way to the sea with their products at the logging camp known as Orange Walk. With time the settlement continued growing, especially after the Caste War in neighbouring Mexico brought many migrants escaping the war and who settled in town or in villages around the town. In 1963 a sugar mill was started that brought another influx of migrant workers from other districts and surrounding countries, looking for work and land. Population in Orange Walk Town grew as a result.

Economy

With the Maya and Mestizos came their many traditions that today abound in the region. One such thing that they brought was sugar cane, which in the years to come became the basis of one of Belize's leading industries. Today, this industry continues to thrive in the region, and Orange Walk Town is nicknamed "Sugar City". The local Tower Hill Sugar Factory (Belize Sugar Industries) handles all of the country's sugar cane output. Rum is also made from the local cane by refineries such as Cuello Refinery Ltd, Caribbean Refinery and Old Master Rum. It is then mostly consumed nationally and not customarily exported. The farming of other crops, and tourism, also play a role in the economy. Overall, Orange Walk has one of Belize's strongest and most productive economies. The poverty rate in Orange Walk is 24.9%, the second-lowest in the country. The quality of life is also comparatively high due to the strong economy. The median income adjusted for Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) is about US$12,000.

Tourism in Orange Walk is mostly ecotourism.

Orange Walk government
Orange Walk Town is in the Orange Walk District, and has a People's United Party (PUP) town council. The PUP is a left-center party and one of the two major parties in the country.

General
Healthcare - the Northern Regional Hospital is the public hospital of the Orange Walk area. It has a total of 57 beds and has 11 outlying health centers and 16 outlying health posts. There are also several private clinics that offer mostly primary and secondary health care.

Education - There are seven primary schools, four high schools and a junior college in Orange Walk Town.

The National Fire Service has a branch in Orange Walk.

Orange Walk is home to seven financial institutions, including Atlantic Bank, Belize Bank, and Heritage Bank.

There are six insurance agents in Orange Walk.

Internet
Belize Telemedia Limited and Smart, the two largest telephony and internet service providers in Belize, have offices in Orange Walk. So does Centaur Cable Network, a cable television and internet provider unique to Orange Walk.

Radio stations

 * Kairos Belize Radio 89.7
 * Sugar City Radio Station (Orange Walk) (103.1 FM) SCRS.bz
 * Home station of the UDP in Orange Walk.
 * Fiesta FM (Orange Walk) (106.7 FM)
 * See Centaur Cable Network.
 * Power FM 95.5
 * East Radio 104.9 FM
 * KREM Radio 91.1
 * Estereo Amor 95.9
 * Love FM Orange Walk Repeater 98.1
 * More FM 107.1
 * Estereo Tu y Yo 98.5
 * Universal Radio

Climate
The climate in Orange Walk is generally dry and relatively warm compared with other regions. Rainstorms are usually brief when they do occur.

Ethnic and Racial Demographics
The region is highly populated by Mestizo, Yucatec Maya, Kriols, Mennonites, Chinese, Taiwanese, Indians, and other people from Central America. Approximately 78% of the population identifies as Indigenous Latino (Indigenous), 11.1% identify as Mennonite, Maya make up 1.7% of the populace, Garifuna 0.8%, East Indian 0.7%, Creole 7.2%, White 0.3%, and Asian 0.8%. As a whole, Orange Walk is the least ethnically diverse city in Belize, with a mainly Hispanic population.

Religion
Religion is important to most in Orange Walk, to some more than others. There is a large Catholic presence, although many Evangelicals can also be found preaching in the streets and proselytizing. There are many churches and ministries in Orange Walk. About 65% of Orange Walk residents are Roman Catholic, Protestants make up 22%, Jehovah's Witnesses 2%, and Hindu, Buddhist, Islam, Mormons, and Salvation Army make up about 1% each.

There are about fifty registered churches in the Orange Walk region. The following are some of the ministries and churches located in the greater Orange Walk area:

 * Iglesia de Dios Pentecostes "Lirio de los Valles"
 * Harvest Bible Chapel
 * Orange Walk Church of the Nazarene
 * Lighthouse Mennonite Church
 * Immaculate Conception Catholic Church
 * Betel Evangelical Church
 * Iglesia Cristiana Josue AD
 * Full Gospel Church of God (IDEC)
 * La Inmaculada Roman Catholic Church
 * Koinonia Ministries
 * Jesus Deaf Church
 * Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses OW
 * Awakening Ministries
 * St Michael Catholic Church
 * Alfa y Omega Church
 * Maranatha Seventh Day Adventist Church
 * Carmelita Baptist Chapel
 * Mision Internacional Vida Abundante
 * Temple Missionary Baptist Church
 * United in Christ Evangelical Church
 * Shalom Mennonite Church
 * World Wide Missionary Movement Church
 * Rio Hondo Mennonite Church

Language
The most used language in Orange Walk Town is English, but Spanish is also very common and almost everyone speaks it to some extent. The official statistics as of 2010 report that 0.7% speak Chinese, 16.8% speak Kriol, 62.2% speak English, 0.5% speak Garifuna, 10% speak German (Low German or "Plattdeutsch"), 2.3% speak Maya/Indigenous tongues, 85.6% speak Spanish, and 0.6% speak other languages.

Population and housing
2010 Population and Housing Census lists Orange Walk Town's total population as 13,400 residents. Of this 6,642 are males and 6,758 are females. The total number of households is 3,361 and the average household size is 4.4. 88.1% of these Orange Walk residents live in a full private house, 5.9% in part of a private house, 1.3% in an apartment, and 4.5% in other. About 14% of Orange Walkeños rent a dwelling, whereas about 59.4% own houses mortgage free. Most of the buildings in the city were built from 1990 to 1999. Of these, over half are made of cement blocks, and a quarter of wood. About three-fourths of all roofs are made of sheet metal. Homes and buildings in Orange Walk are the best kept, with the lowest rate of necessary repair in the country.

According to some official town council sources, Orange Walk is becoming more congested and densely populated, and is moving toward apartment flats as an alternative to traditional houses. However, up to 1,200 plots of land are abandoned or have dilapidated, derelict housing.

Education
The quality of education in Orange Walk is among the highest in Belize. Students from Orange Walk frequently score well on standardized examinations within and without the country.

The literacy rate of Orange Walk is 72.6%, which is the second-lowest rate in the country after Punta Gorda. .

The school attendance figure is about 55% of males and 45% of females for primary school, 50%-50% for high schools, and 40% of males versus 60% of females attend college.

In Orange Walk about a quarter of all students surpass 70% on their standardized exams, compared with only 15% doing so in Stann Creek District. Orange Walk has the highest rate of trained teachers in the country, second only to Corozal.

Despite the high quality of education, Orange Walk has the second-highest rate of children aged 5–13 outside of school in the country, at 24.1%.

Orange Walk has one of the lowest student budgets in the country, less than half that of Belize City. Most Orange Walk residents pay for education out of their own pockets, spending 12% of their total budgets on it. This is almost double the 7.4% that Toledo residents spend on education.

Primary schools
Primary schools include:

 * Louisiana Government School
 * Chapel School
 * New Life Presbyterian Primary School
 * Solomon's SDA School
 * La Inmaculada Primary School
 * St Peter's Anglican School
 * Carmelita Government School

High schools
High schools in the Orange Walk metropolitan area include:

 * Orange Walk Technical High School
 * New Hope High School
 * Bishop Martin High School
 * Muffles High School
 * San Juan Bautista High School

Tertiary schools and colleges
The following are the tertiary institutions/universities located in Orange Walk:

 * Orange Walk ITVET
 * Muffles College
 * University of Belize Orange Walk Campus
 * Galen University

Parks and public spaces
Orange Walk has many parks, public spaces, and green areas. There are large, ancient, sprawling trees scattered throughout the city.

Parks
The Town Council in Orange Walk has done well in creating many parks in the area. They are mostly clean and family-friendly. They include:

 * Queen Elizabeth Park and Market Area
 * Union Town Park
 * Louisiana Nature Park
 * San Lorenzo Site Park
 * Trial Farm Park
 * Orange Walk Central Park
 * Independence Park

Public spaces

 * Multipurpose Complex
 * East Sports Center
 * People's Stadium
 * Trial Farm Basketball and Sports Area

Monuments and historical sites

 * Marcos Canul Monument adjacent to the Town Barracks
 * La Inmaculada Church and Monolith
 * Unnamed Soldier World War 2 Statue in Independence Park
 * Trenches constructed to protect the colonial settlement in 1876
 * Fort Mundy
 * Colonial Anglican Church and many other British-style colonial edifices
 * Ancient standard colonial water tower downtown represents centuries of British influence
 * The police station sits atop a buried Mayan Pyramid - it was known as Dzuluinicob, or “land of foreigners." in the Pre-Columbian era.
 * Statue of Yucatec Maya woman breastfeeding in Queen Victoria Park

Transportation
The locality is served by the Orange Walk Airport. Local bus service to and from Belize City to the south and Corozal Town to the north operates approximately every half-hour. Taxis and minibuses are also available for transportation within the city and to surrounding villages and towns. The town is a mid-stop point between Belize City and Chetumal, Mexico, and for this reason many large tour buses pass through on a regular basis. The Orange Walk District in general, and Orange Walk Town in particular, are drug-trafficking centers due to their close proximity to Mexico.

The streets in Orange Walk town are very well paved in most areas, with almost no potholes. There are some speed bumps throughout the town, as well as traffic lights at main intersections (which are a rarity in Belize).

Statistics
In accordance with the Orange Walk Transport Authority, there are about twenty daily buses coming into Orange Walk from the surrounding areas. About fifty buses leave Orange Walk to surrounding towns, villages, and to Quintana Roo, Mexico.

Social issues
Orange Walk is generally a safe city. Only about 0.5 people per 1,000 are homeless. Orange Walk has a very low internet access rate at 22.3%, compared with 38.2% in Belize City.

Orange Walk has the second-highest marriage rate in the country at 43.7% of all persons.

A relatively low number of foreign-born persons live in the city (10.8%, as opposed to 14.5% national average).

Healthcare
The town is served by the Northern Regional Hospital, formerly called the Orange Walk Hospital, and a second major private hospital named Northern Medical Specialist Plaza. Orange Walk has a very good quality of healthcare. The infant mortality rate is 8.5 per 1,000 live births, and the crude death rate was 4.2 per 1,000 persons in 2010. Several clinics are available in Orange Walk, including, but not limited to:
 * La Asuncion Radio-Diagnostic Center & Medical Lab on Asuncion Street
 * Sonoscan Ultrasound Care on Baker's Street
 * Eve's Specialty Clinic on Ketz Lagoon Street
 * Davila's Ultrasound on Corozal Street
 * Sugar City Medical Center
 * Polaris Medical Clinic on Cinderella Street
 * Genesis Medical Clinic on San Antonio Road
 * Brigido's Medical and Dental Clinic
 * Osorio's Family Health Clinic on Queen Victoria Street
 * The Dental Clinic of Dr Silvia Rios on Otro Benque Street
 * Dialisis de Belice (Belize-Corozal Road)

There are also many pharmacies:

 * Alex Pharmacy (Alex Lopez) (157 Belize Corozal Rd)
 * De La Fuente Pharmacy (16 Main St)
 * Pharmacy Lucille (Beytias St)
 * De La Fuente Pharmacy - Holy Trinity Branch (Holy Trinity St)
 * Prisma's Pharmacy (San Antonio Rd)
 * MediGreen Pharmacy (28 Belize-Corozal Road)
 * DR's Pharmacy Ltd. (Santa Ana St.)
 * Selene's Pharmacy (Progress Street)
 * RAD's Pharmacy (San Antonio Road)
 * DKNN's Pharmacy (Main Street)
 * 123 Supermarket (Liberty Avenue)

title: Orange Walk Town


text:
Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death

Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death (stylized as Give me convenience OR give me death) is a compilation album by the American hardcore punk band Dead Kennedys. It was released in June 1987 through front man Jello Biafra's record label Alternative Tentacles.

The image on its album cover is a composite of a 1950s shaving cream ad and a 1946 famine in Calcutta.

Overview
The album consists of songs (or in some cases, different versions of songs) that were not released on the band's studio albums. The original vinyl version had tracks 16 and 17 on an extra flexi disc. The album was certified gold by both BPI and the RIAA in December 2007. The title is a play on the ultimatum by Patrick Henry, "Give me liberty, or give me death!", and is intended as a commentary on American consumerism. Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death was the last Dead Kennedys album that Biafra approved the production of, and the last album released through Alternative Tentacles.

The album includes "Pull My Strings", recorded live, which they played only once on March 25, 1980 at the Bay Area Music Awards ("BAMMIES") in front of music industry bigwigs to give the event some "new wave credibility". The band spent the day of the show practicing their increasingly popular "California Über Alles", the song they were asked to play. About 15 seconds into the song Jello Biafra said, "Hold it! We've gotta prove that we're adults now. We're not a punk rock band, we're a new wave band." The band, who all wore white shirts with a big, black S painted on the front, pulled black ties from around the backs of their necks to form a dollar sign, then started playing "Pull My Strings", a satirical attack on the ethics of the mainstream music industry. The song also referenced the Knack's biggest hit, "My Sharona". The song was never recorded in the studio but this performance, the only time the song was ever performed, was included on the album.

Also included is "Night of the Living Rednecks", which was recorded during a show in Portland, Oregon in 1979 when East Bay Ray snapped a guitar string as the band finished their song "Chemical Warfare". While the guitar string was being replaced, Biafra vamped for time by telling a story, backed by Ted and Flouride performing a jazz-style instrumental, about how on the last trip the band made to Portland, where he had a confrontation with some "dumb rich kids" in a "life-size Hot Wheels car" that involved him throwing a rock at their vehicle after they sprayed water on him and later trapping himself in a telephone booth when they retaliated.

Personnel

 * Jello Biafra – vocals, producer, artwork, compiler
 * East Bay Ray – guitar, echoplex, producer, mixer
 * Klaus Flouride – bass, backing vocals
 * Ted – drums (tracks 1-5, 8, 11-13, 16), artwork
 * D.H. Peligro – drums, backing vocals (tracks 6, 7, 9, 10, 14, 15, 17)
 * 6025 – rhythm guitar (tracks 12, 13)

Additional Performers

 * Ninotchka (Therese Soder) – backing vocals on "Insight"

Production
Smith]] – artwork
 * Thom Wilson – producer
 * Geza X – producer, backing vocals
 * Norm – producer
 * Elliot Mazer – producer
 * Jim Keylor – engineer
 * John Cuniberti – producer, engineer
 * Oliver Dicicco – mixer, engineer
 * Pippin Youth – mixer
 * Dee Dee Graves – artwork
 * [[Winston Smith (artist)|Winston
 * Jayed Scotti - artwork

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death


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A Farewell to Kings

A Farewell to Kings is the fifth studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released on Anthem Records on August 29, 1977. The album reached No. 11 in Canada and marked a growth in the band's international fanbase, becoming their first Top 40 album in the US and the UK.

After reaching a critical and commercial peak with 2112 and touring the album, Rush decided to record the follow-up outside Toronto for the first time and settled in Rockfield Studios in Wales after their debut European tour. A Farewell to Kings is noted for the band expanding their sound with greater use of synthesizers and each member playing more instruments than before, and having long and short tracks such as the 11-minute "Xanadu" and the under 3-minute "Closer to the Heart", both of which became live favourites. The closing science-fiction themed "Cygnus X-1 Book I: The Voyage" ends on a cliffhanger which concludes on the next album, Hemispheres.

A Farewell to Kings received a generally positive reception from critics. "Closer to the Heart" was released as the album's first single, which reached No. 36 in the UK. Rush supported the album with their most extensive tour at the time, headlining major venues across North America and Europe for over 140 dates. A 40th anniversary remastered edition with bonus tracks and a 5.1 surround sound mix was released in 2017.

Background and recording
In June 1977, Rush ended their tour supporting their breakthrough album 2112 and subsequent live release, All the World's a Stage. The tour culminated in the band's first European dates with shows in England, two in Scotland at the Glasgow Apollo. At one of those nights at the Apollo, Geddy changed his lyrics on Working Man singing that when he got home at five O'clock he took out a McEwan's beer, which led to a large cheer from the crowd, and one in Sweden, which attracted widespread praise from fans and critics. It was around this time when Rush decided against their usual post-tour break to continue momentum and produce a follow-up album, but wanted to record somewhere other than Toronto, Canada. Following what drummer and lyricist Neil Peart described as an "extremely difficult" search for a studio that suited the band, their longtime producer and engineer Terry Brown discovered Rockfield Studios in Monmouthshire, Wales. His enthusiasm at the idea of recording at the facility convinced the band to work there. Rush were keen to work in England as they were fans of British pop music, and the seclusion eliminated the distractions they usually faced at home. Peart felt the seclusion and mellow atmosphere at the studio created a productive environment, with the album put down in three weeks. Apart from early ideas for "Closer to the Heart", the songs were put together at Rockfield.

A Farewell to Kings marked a development in the group's sound, with greater use of synthesizers and each member playing additional instruments. Peart said it was the result of the decision to put out All the World's a Stage, which caused an extended creative hiatus that gave the band time "to think about ourselves as musicians." In addition, Rush declared the release of the latter as "the close of chapter one" of their history, further suggesting a shift in the group's approach. The trio had looked back on 2112 and felt their sound was too confined, so they decided to feature new and different instruments that they were comfortable enough with on their new material without bringing in a fourth member, which Peart said would have been "the easy way out." Peart added orchestra and tubular bells, chimes, and other percussion to his drum kit; bassist and vocalist Geddy Lee added a Rickenbacker 4080 double neck bass and Minimoog; and guitarist Alex Lifeson plays new guitar models and a Moog Taurus bass pedal synthesizer, which Lee also used. Once recording finished, the album was mixed at Advision Studios in London. Lee was particularly excited at visiting the studio as it was where Yes and Emerson, Lake and Palmer had recorded hit albums.

In 2017, Lee considered the album as a particularly important one in regard to his musical development. "I learned a lot; I was learning a lot. I was always challenged and I was very stimulated and the result was A Farewell to Kings, so I guess it was a pivotal record in that regard."

Side one
"A Farewell to Kings" features an acoustic guitar introduction from Lifeson that was recorded outside the studio building as he walked around a stereo microphone, with Lee outside with him playing a Minimoog. Its title originated from an idea Peart had about a year prior to working on the album, until Lee and longtime Rush manager Ray Danniels pushed him to work the phrase into a complete lyric, and was subsequently used as the album's title. Although Lee considered the track difficult to reproduce on stage it became a group favourite, as Peart wrote in the album's tour book: "It seems to encapsulate everything that we want Rush to represent."

The 11-minute "Xanadu" opens with a five-minute instrumental section that includes birds chirping that was also recorded outside the studio. It is a fantasy-inspired song that Peart described at the time as "the most complex and multi-textured piece we have ever attempted". The opening line is taken from Kubla Khan by English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Initially Peart had an idea based on the 1941 drama film Citizen Kane before he found Coleridge's poem, the lines of which "etched like a burning image in my head", although Lee had the film's opening montage in mind when creating the soundscape in its introduction. Rush had performed the song during their debut UK tour. After playing an initial run-through of the track to gauge the balance and tone of the microphones in the recording room, the group performed it a second time once the equipment was set up, which was used on the album. On some later tours Lifeson and Lee played a double neck guitar and bass, respectively, when performing the song live in order to play the 6-string and 12-string parts, which became an iconic look for the band. The pair brought back the double necked guitars for their final R40 Live Tour.

Side two
"Closer to the Heart" was the first song that the band worked on for the album and for a time, was an early title for its name. Lifeson picked the song as an example of Lee devising melodic bass lines on an acoustic guitar, such as the song's opening riff, which caught his attention and asked Lee to teach it to him. It was the first Rush song in which Peart collaborated with someone on the lyrics; the title and first verse was written by Peter Talbot, a friend of the group who, in addition to being a writer, worked in the media. In regard to its meaning, Peart noted that as "A Farewell to Kings" deals with the idea of problems, "Closer to the Heart" addresses the solutions.

"Cinderella Man" is based one of Lee's favourite films, the 1936 romantic comedy drama Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, and the themes that it portrays. A self-described film buff, he had secret inspirations of being a film director and realised most of them "have to be part megalomaniac, I think I sort of went off that idea." After writing the lyrics, with some assistance from Lifeson, Lee handed them to Peart who subsequently helped him "clean it up a bit." "Madrigal" is a love ballad. The drums were recorded in an echo room.

The album closes with "Cygnus X-1 Book I: The Voyage", a science-fiction song that tells the story of an unnamed explorer who travels to the centre of Cygnus X-1, a real black hole, in a spaceship named the Rocinante, believing there may be something beyond it. Upon approaching the centre the protagonist loses control of the ship and is drawn into it by the pull of gravity, its body destroyed. Peart was inspired by an article he had read in Time magazine about black holes and their origins, after which he researched on the topic further and wrote the lyrics. The Rocinante is named after the horse in the novel Don Quixote. Lee thought the science-fiction genre presented limitless musical ideas which inspired the band to "use all your goofy, weird sounds because that's what's happening out in space." The words "To be continued" are written on the album liner notes, revealing the group's decision to conclude the story on their next record, which became the 18-minute opener "Cygnus X-1 Book II: Hemispheres" on 1978's Hemispheres.

Artwork
The cover artwork was produced by longtime Rush art director and graphic artist Hugh Syme, who started on the design before the band had left to tour England. He based it on an idea the group had described to him which covers the themes addressed on the title track. The front cover features a composite photograph of puppet-like king slumped on a throne in front of a demolished building, contrasted with the Toronto skyline in the background that depicts the city's Harbour Castle Hotel. Syme was inspired to make a composite design from looking at covers produced by Hipgnosis, of which he was a particularly big fan. A resident of the Niagara region, Syme had spotted a "beautiful, dilapidated" building in ruins in nearby Buffalo, New York, and visited it with guitarist Josh Anderson, his bandmate in the Ian Thomas Band. The setting was used for the cover and Syme had Anderson pose as the puppet as his thin figure was ideal for the character. In post-production Syme altered the mouth, jaw, and eyes, and added the sky, smokestack and strings, plus a prosthetic to make the character appear more mechanical.

Release
A Farewell to Kings was released on August 29, 1977 on Anthem Records, an independent label formed in May 1977 by Danniels and business partner Vic Wilson in order for Rush to have greater creative control over their product. The name was derived from the same-titled Ayn Rand novel and the track on the band's second album, Fly by Night. The albums were distributed across North America through Polydor Records. In the UK, Anthem distributor Phonogram prepared an extensive advertising campaign for the album to increase the band's profile there.

In November 1977, A Farewell to Kings was one of three Rush albums to be certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for selling 500,000 copies. The others were 2112 and All the World's a Stage, and were the band's first albums to reach the certification. A Farewell to Kings also reached gold in the UK, signifying 100,000 copies sold.

Reception and legacy
On release, Billboard wrote that "this trio has abated its heavy metal thunder somewhat for a lavishly orchestrated extravaganza that has a rock opera feel to it".

AllMusic's Greg Prato said that Rush "had improved their songwriting and strengthened their focus and musical approach". He took notice of the synthesizers that were creeping into the arrangements, "a direction the band would continue to pursue on future releases". He said "Xanadu" "remains an outstanding accomplishment all these years later".

Conversely, Village Voice critic Robert Christgau gave the record a D grade, panning Rush as "the most obnoxious band currently making a killing on the zonked teen circuit", comparing them to bands such as Angel, Kansas, and Uriah Heep, "with vocals revved up an octave. Or two."

In the Q & Mojo 2005 Classic Special Edition Pink Floyd & The Story of Prog Rock, the album came in sixth in a list of "40 Cosmic Rock Albums".

In 2021, American funk metal band Primus embarked on their "A Tribute to Kings" Tour. At each show, Primus played their original material in the first set before covering the entire "A Farewell to Kings" album in their second set. The first leg began August 10, 2021, in Boise, Idaho, and ended October 25 in Phoenix, Arizona. The second leg began April 15, 2022, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and was finished June 25, 2022, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Tour
A Farewell to Kings was supported with a tour of Canada, the US, and Europe between August 1977 and May 1978. The 140-date tour was particularly taxing on the group, who dubbed it the Drive 'til You Die Tour. It was their most extensive tour since their formation, and marked the group headlining major venues for the first time and a growth in their international fanbase. Early into the tour, Rush performed a sold-out show at Toronto's Exhibition Stadium that was attended by over 22,000 people. Tickets for a 16-date leg across the UK in February 1978, double the size of their first visit one year prior, quickly sold out. Excerpts from the 20 February 1978 concert was included in the Different Stages compilation, and released in full on the 40th anniversary box set of A Farewell to Kings.

Personnel
Rush
 * Geddy Lee – vocals, bass and twelve-string guitar, Minimoog, bass pedal synthesizers
 * Alex Lifeson – electric and acoustic six- and twelve-string guitars, classical guitar, bass pedal synthesizers
 * Neil Peart – drums, orchestra bells, wind chimes, bell tree, vibraslap, triangle, tubular bells, temple blocks

Additional personnel
 * Terry Brown – spoken vocals on "Cygnus X-1 Book I: The Voyage"

Production
 * Rush – production, arrangement
 * Terry Brown – production, arrangement, recording engineer, mixing
 * Pat Moran – recording engineer
 * Declan O'Doherty – mixing assistant
 * Ken Thomas – mixing assistant
 * George Graves – mastering at JAMF, Toronto
 * Bob Ludwig – remastering
 * Brian Lee – remastering
 * Yosh Inouye – cover photography
 * Hugh Syme – cover artwork and graphic direction
 * Roger Stowell – sleeve photograph
 * Fin Costello – liner notes photograph

Notes and references

 * Notes

 * References

 * Sources

title: A Farewell to Kings


text:
Corris Railway

The Corris Railway (Rheilffordd Corris) is a narrow gauge preserved railway based in Corris on the border between Merionethshire (now Gwynedd) and Montgomeryshire (now Powys) in Mid-Wales.

The line opened in 1859 as a horse tramway, running originally from quays on the River Dyfi at Morben and Derwenlas, skirting the town of Machynlleth and then following the Dulas Valley north to Corris and on to Aberllefenni. Branches served the slate quarries at Corris Uchaf, Aberllefenni, the isolated quarries around Ratgoed and quarries along the length of the Dulas Valley.

The railway closed in 1948, but a preservation society was formed in 1966, initially opening a museum; a short section of line between Corris and Maespoeth was re-opened to passengers in 2002. The railway now operates as a tourist attraction. A new steam locomotive was built for the railway, which was delivered in 2005. The two surviving locomotives, plus some of the original rolling stock, are preserved on the nearby Talyllyn Railway.

The gauge of the railway is which is unusual, and was shared by only three other public railways in the United Kingdom: the Talyllyn Railway, the short-lived Plynlimon and Hafan Tramway and the Campbeltown and Machrihanish Light Railway.

Precursor schemes: 1850 to 1858

Before 1859, slate from the quarries at Corris, Corris Uchaf and Aberllefenni was hauled by horse-drawn carts and sledges to wharves on the banks of the River Dyfi. The first proposal to construct a railway connecting the quarries to the coast came in August 1850, when the owners of the Aberllefenni, Abercorris, Gaewern and Hengae quarries met with engineer Arthur Causton to propose the Abercorris and Aberdovery Railway. By November 1850, the name had changed to the Corris, Machynlleth & River Dovey Railway or Tramroad which was planned to run down the Dulas Valley and then along the north shore of the Dyfi past Pennal to Pant Eidal, near the later main-line Gogarth Halt. A bill was submitted in early 1851, withdrawn, then resubmitted in December. The bill specified the tramroad's gauge as 2 ft; due to the narrow gauge selected, the House of Lords committee imposed a restriction in the bill that forbade the use of locomotives.

This 1851 scheme was not constructed, and was followed by two further proposals in the early 1850s. Following the plans for a railway along the Dyfi valley, these early proposals were shelved.

In December 1857, a fourth bill was set before Parliament to create the Corris Machynlleth & River Dovey Tramroad (CM&RDT). This was similar to the 1851 scheme, except that it proposed to cross the Dyfi near Machynlleth and then follow the south bank of the river, and proposed a tramway from the "machine house" (i.e. the slate mill) at Aberllefenni, down to the wharf at "Cae Goch on the River Dovey" (Cae Goch was near to the later main line Glandyfi station). The gauge specified for the tramroad was increased to, and the same restriction forbidding locomotives was imposed. This bill was passed on 12 July 1858.

The Tramroad Era: 1858 to 1878
After more than eight years of proposals, the 1859 scheme was the one that was built. Construction proceeded quickly, and by April 1859 the tramroad opened between Machynlleth and Corris. The section from Aberllefenni to Corris was built later that year. The section from Machynlleth to Morben was opened later. It is thought that the tramroad never extended beyond Morben.

On 3 January 1863, the standard gauge Newtown and Machynlleth Railway had opened, followed on 1 July of the same year by the Aberystwith and Welsh Coast Railway's (A&WCR) line from Machynlleth to Borth. These two lines became part of the Cambrian Railways by August 1865. The opening of the standard gauge line to Borth made the section of the CM&RDT from Machynlleth to Morben obsolete. It was much easier to transship slates to the main line at Machynlleth, so the lower section of the tramway was abandoned.

In 1862, a new bill was deposited, seeking to extend the Upper Corris Tramway to iron ore mines at Tir Stent, near the pub at Cross Foxes. The bill also sought powers to raise further capital for the tramroad and allow the use of locomotives. But the directors of the A&WCR objected and the bill failed. Another similar bill was deposited in December 1863, and again the A&WCR opposed it. This time, however, they withdrew their objection; the CM&RDT company had been acquired by Thomas Savin, who was the principal contractor in the construction of the tramroad, and Savin had offered to sell the company to the A&WCR. The second bill passed on 25 July as the (27 & 28 Vict. c. ccxxv); it formally converted the tramroad to a railway changing the company's name to the Corris Railway Company, allowed the use of steam locomotives and allowed the abandonment of the section west of Machynlleth.

It took until the 1870s for work to begin to upgrade the Corris Railway to a standard where locomotives could be used. The original tramroad was laid with light bridge rail suitable for waggons to traverse as they were pulled by horses. These rails would not support the weight of much heavier steam locomotives. In 1878, control of the railway passed to the Imperial Tramways Company of London. The new owners saw the potential for passenger traffic on the Corris Railway and ordered the first passenger carriages for the railway, even though the Corris Railway Act 1864 did not permit passengers to be carried. They also appointed Joseph R. Dix, son of the main-line stationmaster at Machynlleth, as Manager in successor to David Owen.

The Dix Years: 1879 to 1906

In 1880 and 1883, two new acts were obtained which adjusted the tolls on the railway and permitted the carriage of passengers. The second of these acts was necessary because the owners of the quarries served by the railway objected that passenger trains would interfere with their mineral traffic. Initially the railway ran a test passenger service on the local roads; this proved to be so popular that they were able to pass the act of Parliament over the opposition of the quarry owners. It was also the first instance of a long history of the Corris Railway operating passenger road services in the area.

In December 1878 the first steam locomotive purchased from the Hughes Locomotive Company arrived. By February 1879 it had been joined by the other two that had been ordered and all three had begun work. Although the carriages arrived in 1878 it was not until 1883 that the act of Parliament was secured to allow the formal commencement of passenger services. A semi-official passenger service had been running since the early 1870s using adapted waggons to convey quarry workers and visitors.

The line was now in its settled form and began to operate a full service under Dix's energetic management. The railway was widely promoted to visitors as the best route to Tal-y-llyn Lake and Cader Idris (ignoring the claims of the rival Talyllyn Railway). The initial passenger service ran from Machynlleth to Corris, with new stations at Esgairgeiliog and Llwyngwern opening in 1884. The track was upgraded beyond Corris so that passenger services could reach the line's northern terminus at Aberllefenni, with services starting on 25 August 1887, and in the same year stations were also opened at Ffridd Gate and Garneddwen.

The railway developed a network of horse-hauled road services, including providing a link between Corris station and Abergynolwyn station on the Talyllyn Railway. This was promoted as part of a circular "Grand Tour" which took in the two narrow gauge railways and the Cambrian service between Tywyn and Machynlleth.

In 1892, control of Imperial Tramways moved to Bristol and George White of Bristol Tramways became chairman and Clifton Robinson became managing director. In the 1900s, Bristol motor buses were sent by the parent company to run the road services.

Decline: 1906 to 1930
Following a dispute with the directors, Dix was dismissed and replaced by John J O'Sullivan (formerly of the Cork, Blackrock and Passage Railway). The closure of Braichgoch Quarry in 1906 brought the railway its first loss, and although the line continued on through subsequent decades, serving the quarries around Corris and Aberllefenni, it never again showed a profit. As well as slate and passengers, the line hauled timber extracted from the Dyfi forest in the 1910s through 1930s. There was also a constant traffic in coal and general goods to the quarries and communities served by the railway.

After World War I, the decline in slate traffic continued as cheaper foreign slate and alternative roofing materials became popular. O'Sullivan had died in office in 1917; the parent company's Secretary, Frederick H Withers, acted as manager until a new manager, Daniel J McCourt (who had worked on Imperial's Middlesbrough system until that was taken over by the local municipality) took over in 1921 and was responsible for developing and extending the connecting bus services as partial compensation for the decline in rail traffic.

Takeover and nationalisation: 1931 to 1948
In late 1929, Imperial Tramways sold the Corris to the Great Western Railway (GWR), who by that time were the owners of the main line serving Machynlleth, whose primary interest was taking control of the railway's bus routes. After running a bus in direct competition with the railway in 1930, the railway's passenger service was withdrawn at the beginning of 1931. While the GWR did not relish owning another Welsh narrow gauge line, they did perform some track maintenance, and on at least two occasions the rolling stock was repainted.

On 1 January 1948, the line was nationalised along with its parent company, becoming part of British Railways (BR). While the GWR had tolerated the Corris, BR was looking for an excuse to close the loss making railway. In August 1948, that excuse came when the River Dyfi flooded. The waters began to undermine the Corris Railway embankment on the south side of the Dovey Bridge, and although the track was never breached, it was the excuse that BR needed to close the line. The last train ran on 20 August 1948 and the following day the railway was closed, without notice. The Aberllefenni to Corris section was lifted in November 1948, and 10 tons of the rail was purchased by Henry Haydn Jones for use on his Talyllyn Railway. By the end of 1950, track lifting had reached Machynlleth station.

In 1951, the Talyllyn Railway became the first railway in the world to be preserved. The Talyllyn purchased the two remaining locomotives, which had been stored out of use at Machynlleth, along with several goods waggons and the brake van – see List of Talyllyn Railway rolling stock. In 1958, the Talyllyn also purchased one of the Corris carriages, which had been in use as a summerhouse in a garden in Gobowen.

Early days: 1966 to 1980

In December 1966 a group of enthusiasts led by Alan Meaden, formed the Corris Society (which later became the Corris Railway Society) with the aim of preserving what was left of the railway, opening a dedicated museum, and to explore the possibility of reviving some or all of the line. Many of the founding members of the Society were volunteers on the nearby Talyllyn Railway.

Other than at Aberllefenni and Braichgoch quarries, no rails remained in situ along the Corris route. Initially the Society sought to purchase Machynlleth station for its museum, but when this proved impossible it turned its sights elsewhere. The main buildings of Corris station were demolished in 1968 leaving only the adjacent railway stable block standing, and these buildings – badly in need of maintenance – were acquired, along with a short section of trackbed leading southwards. In 1970 the first part of the building was opened as the Corris Railway Museum. A short length of "demonstration" track was laid in 1971.

During the 1970s, the Society undertook lengthy negotiations with the relevant authorities to establish the requirements for re-opening the line for passengers, while steadily building up funds and equipment. A new Corris Railway Company, reviving the original name, was incorporated to act as the Society's trading and operating arm, while the Society achieved charitable status. The Museum was extended as more of the building was returned to satisfactory condition.

Restoring from Maespoeth: 1981 to 2001

In 1981 the line's original locomotive shed at Maespoeth was acquired and became the railway's operational base. During the 1980s light track was laid between Maespoeth and Corris, a distance of just under a mile (1.6 km). The formal "first train" back to Corris ran in 1985. In the following years the track was upgraded to passenger standards while negotiations with the authorities continued.

Passenger services resume: 2002 to present
In the summer of 2002, passenger services resumed after a break of seventy-two years, initially diesel-hauled. The railway built a new steam locomotive, to a design based on the Kerr Stuart No. 4, which arrived on the railway on 17 May 2005 and runs as No. 7 (the Corris Railway never officially named its locomotives). No. 7 went into service on 20 August 2005, fifty-seven years to the day since the last train on the original railway, and now hauls the regular passenger service between Corris and Maespoeth.

The railway is also actively pursuing a southwards extension towards Machynlleth, with the initial aim of extending the line to Tan-y-Coed, midway between Esgairgeiliog and Llwyngwern and some 2$1/2$ miles south of Corris. As always, this is involving lengthy negotiations with the authorities, not least due to the line south of Maespoeth running immediately adjacent to the A487 trunk road. While these are continuing the railway has consolidated its facilities at Maespoeth with the construction of a new two-road carriage shed in the adjacent field (the original carriage sheds at Corris and Machynlleth having been demolished). In 2015 work began on building the new diversion embankment to enable the southerly extension.

During 2009, the railway marked the 150th anniversary of the first train on the Corris with a series of events, including demonstration horse-worked freight trains and gravity runs of rakes of waggons.

The revived Corris Railway has maintained friendly links with the Talyllyn Railway, which resulted in both of the original Corris locos and rolling stock returning to the railway. In 1996 ex-Corris loco No. 4 returned to celebrate its 75th anniversary. In 2003, ex-Corris loco No. 3 returned on the occasion of its 125th anniversary with a heritage train of carriage No. 17, brake van No. 6 and two trucks. Corris No. 5 visited the Talyllyn Railway in 1983 and 1990, and No. 7 in October 2011. It hauled a few charter trains and played a part in the TR's Corris Weekend, when it ran with the two surviving ex Corris engines; No. 4 (Edward Thomas) and No. 3 (Sir Haydn) and stock.

Both the surviving original locomotives have visited the Corris since its reopening. In 2012, No. 3 featured in a steam Gala over May Bank Holiday weekend along with the railway's resident steam loco No. 7. No. 3's boiler ticket expired on 17 May 2012 and the loco was on static display at Maespoeth until February 2013, when the loco left the Corris to tour heritage railways and museums in the UK to raise awareness of the Talyllyn and to raise funds for its overhaul.

About the railway

The Corris Railway had several unusual features:

 * The gauge is rare, shared by only three other public lines in the UK: the nearby Talyllyn Railway and Plynlimon and Hafan Tramway and the Campbeltown and Machrihanish Light Railway in Scotland. The Glyn Valley Tramway between Chirk and Pontfaen is being rebuilt to 2ft 3in to allow for stock transfer at gala events.
 * Its origins as a horse tramroad and ascent through the narrow and winding Dulas valley meant it had exceptionally tight curves. Its original passenger carriages were simple 4-wheelers derived from urban horse-drawn tramway designs with end balconies; they rode poorly and were quickly rebuilt into longer bogie carriages by placing two of the original bodies end-to-end on a longer underframe.
 * The stations were exceptionally narrow, again because of the geography of the line, and all were on the east side of the rails, so the carriages and locomotives had doors on that side only, as on the Talyllyn Railway.
 * The vertical trestle waggons for carrying large slabs of slate from the quarries were also rarely found on other railways, notable exceptions being the Ffestiniog Railway and the nearby Hendre-Ddu Tramway.
 * Corris Station and the original Machynlleth Station had overall roofs, features which were rare on a British narrow gauge railway. At Corris, the roof was over the main running line and trains for Aberllefenni passed under it; at Machynlleth the rear of the train rested under the station roof while the front was in the open air. The original Machynlleth station was demolished and replaced in 1905 with the building that still stands alongside the A487 trunk road north of the main-line railway overbridge. The track bed continued under the main-line railway overbridge alongside Heol Y Doll, through its own short tunnel that is closed with stone blocks. Beyond the overbridge, a Texaco petrol station is sited on the former route.

Stations and halts

 * Cei (or Quay) Ward, a wharf on the River Dyfi at Morben, the main transshipment point for the original tramroad. Closed in the 1860s. The line may never have extended beyond Morben.
 * Cei Tafarn Isa and Cei Ellis, wharves on the River Dyfi at Derwenlas where slates were off-loaded onto shipping. Closed in the 1860s when the bend of the river was cut off by the construction of the Aberystwith and Welsh Coast Railway.
 * Machynlleth, the southern passenger terminus serving the town of Machynlleth. This was the main slate transshipment point following the building of Cambrian Railways (later GWR and BR). The passenger station was an interchange station with the Cambrian Railways station, and was rebuilt in 1904. The station once housed a carriage shed and signal box. The trackbed here is now covered by an industrial estate, but the station building still survives. On the original tramroad, there were some stables to the north of the station.
 * Ffridd Gate for Llanwrin village and the small hamlet of Fridd. The station was situated beside the railway's Level crossing over the B4404 road.
 * Doldderwen Crossing, an unofficial stopping point, in the Ffridd Woods.
 * Lliwdy, another unofficial stopping point, slightly closer to Pantperthog village than Llwyngwern station.
 * Llwyngwern serving Pantperthog village and the Plas Llyn-gwern house, on the opposite side of the valley.
 * Tan y Coed, serving the Tan-y-Coed Natural Resources Wales picnic site. This station never existed on the original railway (neither did the picnic site), but is proposed as a major station and temporary terminus of the revived railway.
 * Esgairgeiliog serving Ceinws and Esgairgeiliog villages, on the opposite side of the Dulas River.
 * Maespoeth Junction locomotive and carriage shed, no passenger station. The site housed a signal box until the Second World War, which controlled the points for the junction with the Upper Corris Tramway and points in the yard. Maespoeth is the current southern terminus of the preserved railway.
 * Corris, the railway's primary northern station serving Corris village. As well as the station building, the site housed a stables, a parcel office, and a carriage shed. A signal box existed here until the Second World War, which controlled points in the yard. Corris station is the northern terminus of the preserved railway.
 * Garneddwen, serving the hamlet of Garneddwen – a row of Aberllefenni quarry workers' housing. The trackbed here is now an access road for the hamlet.
 * Aberllefenni, the northern passenger terminus serving the village of Aberllefenni. A narrow station, perched on a steep slope. The site is now covered by a housing estate.

Branch lines and tramways
The Corris Railway had numerous branch lines, mainly built to serve the slate quarries along its route. The principal branches were:

 * The Llwyngwern quarry tramway, at Llwyngwern.
 * The Era quarry tramway at Esgairgeiliog.
 * The Upper Corris Tramway from Maespoeth Junction serving Braichgoch slate mine and quarries surrounding Corris Uchaf.
 * The Matthew's Mill Siding near Aberllefenni serving Y Magnus (Matthew's mill) slate enamelling works.
 * The Aberllefenni quarry tramway connecting the slate mill with three quarries.
 * The Ratgoed Tramway north of Aberllefenni serving Cymerau Quarry and Ratgoed Quarry.

Only the Aberllefenni Quarry tramway may have been locomotive worked, and in the 1960s and 1970s a tractor was used to haul waggons along it. The rest of these branches were operated by gravity and horses.

Other temporary branches were built to aid forestry works from the First World War until the 1930s.

Quarries served
The principal reason for the existence of the Corris Railway was to serve the slate quarries of this district. Although usually referred to as quarries, those on the Narrow Vein were usually underground mine workings, following the course of the vein, while those on the Broad Vein were more usually opencast quarries. The outliers in the south of the valley were also opencast. This list shows the main quarries that the railway served:

 * Llwyngwern quarry – connected to Llwyngwern by its own tramway
 * Rhiw'r Gwreiddyn quarry – not directly connected, but slate was carted to Esgairgeiliog and loaded onto Corris trains.
 * Era quarry – connected to Esgairgeiliog by its own tramway
 * Abercorris quarry – connected to Maespoeth Junction by the Upper Corris Tramway
 * Gaewern quarry – connected to the Upper Corris Tramway, subsequently worked together with Braichgoch.
 * Braichgoch quarry – connected to the Upper Corris Tramway
 * Abercwmeiddaw quarry – the main Broad Vein quarry in the Corris area. Connected to the Upper Corris Tramway.
 * Aberllefenni quarries – connected via internal tramway at Aberllefenni
 * Cambergi quarry – not directly connected, but output carried by cart to Aberllefenni
 * Cymerau quarry – connected to the Ratgoed Tramway
 * Ratgoed quarry – connected to the Ratgoed Tramway

The railway also served Y Magnus (Matthew's Mill), a slate enamelling works situated between Aberllefenni and Garneddwen with its own tramway.

Original railway
Three locomotives were supplied in 1878, and partially rebuilt between 1883 and 1900 from s to s. By the 1920s the locomotives were badly worn. A new locomotive, No. 4, was supplied in 1921. In 1923, parts from Nos. 1 and 3 were combined to produce one working locomotive, which carried the number 3. The remaining original locomotive, No 2, was held in reserve until 1928. A report dated 12 October 1929 stated that locomotives 1 and 2 had been "marked off for some time as scrap" and the remains of both engines were handed over to a local scrap merchant and excluded from the assets taken over by the GWR.

The locomotives that ran on the original Corris Railway between 1878 and 1948 (none carried names on the Corris) were:

Preserved railway
Locomotives brought to the restored Corris Railway since 1967 have been numbered in the original locomotive numbering series, from 5 onwards. They are:

Usage
, locomotives 7 and 10 are the only steam engines, and share passenger duties. Locomotive 11 is the main diesel motive power unit for both works trains and out of season passenger trains, supported by the lighter diesel locomotives 5 and 6, which are currently the main works and shunting units.

Historic
The CM&RDT carried passengers from as early as 1860, despite this being explicitly prohibited by its authorising Act. Until 1874, passengers travelled in open waggons attached to the quarry trains. From October 1874, the railway ran separate, timetabled passenger trains. Around 1875, at least two wagons were converted to crude, almost windowless closed carriages.

In November 1878, ten four-wheel, tramcar-like carriages were delivered from the Falcon Works, Loughborough. They were numbered 1 to 10, with a brake van from the same source taking the number 11. The first bogie carriage, also from Falcon, which looked like two four-wheel bodies mounted on a single chassis, received number 12, and the four-wheelers were rebuilt over a five-year period on new chassis to form five bogie vehicles. A renumbering had the rebuilds as 1 to 5 and the former 12 becoming 6.

Two all-new carriages to a similar design were built by the Metropolitan Railway Carriage and Wagon Company Ltd and numbered 7 & 8. Nos. 1 to 6 disappeared, presumed scrapped, after 1930; however Nos. 7 and 8 were used by a GWR employee at his home in Gobowen and subsequently preserved. No. 8 (used as a greenhouse-cum-garden shed) was recovered in 1958 and rebuilt for use on the Talyllyn Railway as their No.17 while No.7 (used as a chicken coop) was recovered ten years later and is on display in the Corris Railway Museum. The brake van was also preserved on the Talyllyn but has been substantially rebuilt after being damaged in a fire.

Current
As nineteen passenger vehicles (ten four-wheel carriages, eight bogie carriages and the brake van) ran on the original railway, the preservation Society has numbered its new build carriages from 20 onwards.

Carriage 7 is an original bogie carriage, but not available for service. It is on display in the railway museum at Corris.

Carriage 20 is similar in appearance to the bogie vehicles, but on a shorter, ex-National Coal Board four-wheel chassis. The southern compartment is fitted for the use of the train guard. It currently carries a plain un-lined livery but is due to be fully lined and lettered in due course.

Carriage 21 has been designed to appear as similar as possible to the original 19th Century bogie vehicles, but constructed to 21st Century safety standards with a steel chassis based on the Talyllyn Railway's standard bogie carriage design and a steel skeleton with timber cladding for the body. Completed in May 2003, it has a plain roof.

Carriage 22 has been constructed to the same standards as outlined above. Completed in July 2015, it has a clerestory roof, similar to those carried by two original carriages in the 1920s. From the completion of fitting-out in September 2015 the railway was again able to run an authentic-looking "1920s" train with the "Tattoo" locomotive and two bogie carriages.

Carriage 23 is another plain roof example. Assembly of the woodwork for the body commenced in autumn 2015, with the panelling and beading completed by the end of 2017; painting and fitting of seats continued during the Coronavirus lockdown, and the completed carriage was mounted on its bogies and test run in July 2020; it entered passenger service in 2021; the final stage was the addition of gold lining and lettering (to match coaches 21 and 22), which was completed by Easter 2022.

Carriage 24 is currently under construction at Maespoeth. It will be a first class carriage, with a clerestory roof. The main frame was constructed, and the metal body frame added, before the Coronavirus pandemic, during which construction slowed. Construction resumed apace in 2021, and body panels (with beading) have been fitted.

title: Corris Railway


text:
Benque Viejo del Carmen

Benque Viejo del Carmen ("Benque") is the westernmost town in Belize, 130 km by road west and south of Belize City, at the Guatemalan border. San Ignacio lies 13 km to the east and Melchor de Mencos just across the border. The Mopan River runs along the town's north and west edges.

Historical background
Benque was first settled by Maya from Flores, El Petén, Guatemala. It grew as a lumber camp on the Mopan River that flowed into the Belize River, to the coast at Belize Town. The Mayas had been catechized by Spanish Catholic missionaries, leading to the predominance of the Catholic church in Benque, which holds the earliest Baptismal records in Cayo District from Jesuit Fr. Bavastro in May 1865. In 1877 the town was served by Manuel Ignacio Santa Cruz Loidi, a Basque priest and military leader in the unsuccessful effort to defeat the liberals in Spain's Third Carlist War. During the 1880s Fr. Jose Maria Pinelo, a refugee from Petén during the presidency of Manuel Barillas, visited Benque, remaining from 1887 to 1889. In the 1890s the population was about 500. In 1904 a permanent Catholic residency was established by Jesuit Fr. William “Buck” Stanton. Then in 1913, at the persuasion of Jesuit Fr. Versavel, the Pallottine sisters came from Germany and served first in Benque. Mother (Saint) Katharine Drexel subsidized their convent from her inheritance. On the night of 16 November 1937 a fire destroyed the Church of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel and Fr. Kuenzel undertook to build the new church. In 1950, Kuenzel persuaded the Town Board to name the new football field after Corporal Marchalleck through whose "self-sacrificing interest and persevering efforts [the] football campus came as if by magic out of what was hitherto useless tropical bush.". St. Joseph Convent on the street of that name was completed in 1952. On 18 January 1961 Fr. Sontag, Jesuit pastor in Benque, was found murdered at his desk in the rectory, with a machete the likely weapon. The perpetrator and motive remain a mystery. In 1963 a Catholic primary school building of reinforced concrete was built. The next year the Jesuits handed the parish over to the diocesan clergy, with Fr. Herbert Panton its first native pastor. The Catholic community SOLT increased its presence in Belize from the early 1990s, beginning in Benque. Deacon Cal Cathers of SOLT founded BRC printing in Benque to improve the quality of elementary school textbooks in Belize, with his grandson Daryl Rene Calvin Cathers to implement and encourage further development for humble town.

Demographics
At the time of the 2010 census, Benque Viejo del Carmen had a population of 6,148. Of these, 93.4% were Mestizo, 2.4% Mixed, 1.5% Creole, 0.7% Asian, 0.5% Garifuna, 0.4% Mennonite, 0.3% Caucasian, 0.3% Mopan Maya, 0.2% Yucatec Maya, 0.1% Ketchi Maya and 0.1% African.

During the first years of the 21st century Benque experienced a rapid boom in population. In 2010 its population, mostly of Maya or Mestizo descent, was 5,824 (2,906 males and 2,918 females); households numbered 1,415 with average size 4.1.

In terms of languages spoken (multiple answers allowed), 97.0% spoke Spanish, 69.9% English, 7.4% Creole, 0.6% Mandarin or Cantonese, 0.5% Garifuna, 0.3% Yucatec Maya, 0.2% Ketchi Maya, 0.2% Mopan Maya, 0.1% German and 0.3% other languages; 0.1% could not speak.

Benque has long been the place where tourists and merchants cross to Melchor and purchase Maya textiles. Now Guatemalan youth cross the border each day to receive a secondary education in English. Benque offers primary and secondary education, supermarkets, an annual fiesta, and is home to a Belize Premier Football League team.

The ancient Maya ruins of Xunantunich are nearby. Film director Caleb Botton used the town as the backdrop for 7 Days in Carmel which featured Benque's Holy Week processions.

As of May 2015, the mayor is Heraldo "Rancha" Ramcharan Jr. of the United Democratic Party, which also controls the town council.

title: Benque Viejo del Carmen


text:
Tricycle

A tricycle, sometimes abbreviated to trike,   is a human-powered (or gasoline or electric motor powered or assisted, or gravity powered) three-wheeled vehicle.

Some tricycles, such as cycle rickshaws (for passenger transport) and freight trikes, are used for commercial purposes, especially in the developing world, particularly Africa and Asia.

In the West, adult-sized tricycles are used primarily for recreation, shopping, and exercise. Tricycles are favoured by children, the disabled, and senior adults for their apparent stability versus a bicycle; however a conventional trike has poor dynamic lateral stability, and the rider must take care when cornering to avoid tipping the trike over. Unconventional designs such as recumbents have a lower centre of gravity so require less care.

History
A three-wheeled wheelchair was built in 1655 or 1680 by a disabled German man, Stephan Farffler, who wanted to be able to maintain his mobility. A watch-maker, Farffler created a vehicle that was powered by hand cranks.

In 1789, two French inventors developed a three-wheeled vehicle, powered by pedals; they called it the tricycle.

In 1818, British inventor Denis Johnson patented his approach to designing tricycles. In 1876, James Starley developed the Coventry Lever Tricycle, which used two small wheels on the right side and a large drive wheel on the left side; power was supplied by hand levers. In 1877, Starley developed a new vehicle he called the Coventry Rotary, which was "one of the first rotary chain drive tricycles." Starley's inventions started a tricycling craze in Britain; by 1879, there were "twenty types of tricycles and multi-wheel cycles ... produced in Coventry, England, and by 1884, there were over 120 different models produced by 20 manufacturers." The first front steering tricycle was manufactured in 1881 by The Leicester Safety Tricycle Company of Leicester, England, which was brought to the market in 1882 costing £18. They also developed a folding tricycle at the same time.

Tricycles were used by riders who did not feel comfortable on the high wheelers, such as women who wore long, flowing dresses (see rational dress).

In September, 1903 Edmund Payne, the popular comedian, started an attempt to beat the twenty-four hours' unpaced Tricycle record. At 100 miles Payne was inside his schedule time, but shortly afterwards had to desist at Wisbech, having encountered five hours of incessant rain.

Associations
In the UK, upright tricycles are sometimes referred to as "barrows". Many trike enthusiasts in the UK belong to the Tricycle Association, formed in 1929. They participate in day rides, tours, time trials, and a criterium (massed start racing) series.

Delta
A delta tricycle has one front wheel and two rear wheels.

Tadpole
A tadpole tricycle has two front wheels and one rear wheel. Rear wheel steering is sometimes used, although this increases the turning circle and can affect handling (the geometry is similar to a regular tricycle operating in reverse, but with a steering damper added).

Other
Some early pedal tricycles from the late 19th century used two wheels in tandem on one side and a larger driving wheel on the other.

An in-line three-wheeled vehicle has two steered wheels, one at the front and the other in the middle or at the rear.

Upright
Upright trikes resemble a two-wheeled bicycle, traditionally diamond frame, or open frame, but with either two widely spaced wheels at the back (called delta) or two wheels at the front (called tadpole). The rider straddles the frame in both delta and tadpole configurations. Steering is through a handlebar directly connected to the front wheel via a conventional bicycle fork in delta, or via a form of Ackermann steering geometry in the case of the upright tadpole.

All non-tilting trikes have stability issues and great care must be used when riding a non-tilting upright trike. The center of gravity is quite high compared to recumbent trikes. Because of this, non-tilting trikes are more prone to tipping over in corners and on uneven or sloping terrain. Conversely, the rider enjoys better visibility than on a recumbent because their head is higher.

Recumbent
Recumbent trikes' advantages (over conventional trikes) include stability (through low centre of gravity) and low aerodynamic drag. Disadvantages (compared to bicycles) include greater cost, weight, and width. The very low seat may make entry difficult, and on the road they may be less visible to other traffic.

Delta
A recumbent delta is similar to an upright, with two wheels at the back and one at the front, but has a recumbent layout in which the rider is seated in a chair-like seat. One or both rear wheels can be driven, while the front is used for steering (the usual layout). Steering is either through a linkage, with the handlebars under the seat (under seat steering) or directly to the front wheel with a large handlebar (over seat steering). Some delta trikes can be stored upright by lifting the front wheel and resting the top of the seat on the ground.

Delta trikes generally have higher seats and a tighter turning radius than tadpole trikes. The tight turning radius is necessary if riding on trails with offset barriers, or navigating around closely placed obstacles. The higher seat makes mounting and dismounting easier. Even with the higher seat a delta trike can be quite stable provided most of the weight (including the rider) is shifted back towards the rear wheels. Many delta trikes place the seat too far forward and that takes weight off the two rear wheels and puts more weight onto the front wheel making the trike more unstable. The Hase Kettwiesel delta trike has an 18 in high seat that is placed to put most of the weight onto the cambered rear wheels making it more stable.

Delta trikes are suitable to be used as manual scooters for mobility, rehabilitation and/or exercise. The Hase Lepus Comfort is an example of a rehabilitation delta trike designed mainly for comfort and ease of use. It has a lowered front boom and the seat can be adjusted to a height of 20 to 28 in, which aids in mounting and dismounting. It also has rear wheel suspension for comfort. The 56 lb Lepus can be folded for easier storage and transportation.

The weight of a delta trike can be quite close to the weight of a tadpole trike if they are both of a similar quality and similar materials are used. The Hase Kettwiesel Allround delta trike has an aluminium frame and weighs 39.4 lbs (17.9 kg). The Catrike Road tadpole trike has an aluminium frame and weighs 37.5 lbs (17 kg).

Tadpole

The recumbent tadpole or reverse trike is a recumbent design with two steered wheels at the front and one driven wheel at the back, though one model has the front wheels driven while the rear wheel steers. Steering is either through a single handlebar linked with tie rods to the front wheels' stub axle assemblies (indirect) or with two handlebars (rather, two half-handlebars) each bolted to a steerer tube, usually through a bicycle-type headset and connected to a stub axle assembly (direct). A single tie rod connects the left and right axle assemblies.

The tadpole trike is often used by middle-aged or retiree-age former bicyclists who are tired of the associated pains from normal upright bikes. With its extremely low center of gravity, aerodynamic layout and light weight (for trikes), tadpoles are considered the highest performance trikes.

Most velomobiles are built in a tadpole trike configuration since a wide front and narrow rear offer superior aerodynamics to a delta trike configuration.

Hand-crank

Hand-crank trikes use a hand-operated crank, either as a sole source of power or a double drive with footpower from pedals and hand-power from the hand crank. The hand-power only trikes can be used by individuals who do not have the use of their legs due to a disability or an injury. They are made by companies including Greenspeed, Invacare, Quickie and Druzin.

In case of paralysis of the legs, more speed and range of distance can be obtained by adding functional electrical stimulation to the legs. The large leg muscles are activated by electrical impulses synchronized with the hand cranking movement.

Tandem
Recumbent tandem trikes allow two people to ride in a recumbent position with an extra-strong backbone frame to hold the extra weight. Some allow the "captain" (the rider who steers) and "stoker" (the rider who only pedals) to pedal at different speeds. They are often made with couplers so the frames can be broken down into pieces for easier transport. Manufacturers of recumbent trikes include Greenspeed, WhizWheelz and Inspired Cycle Engineering.

Rickshaw

Most cycle rickshaws, used for carrying passengers for hire, are tricycles with one steering wheel in the front and two wheels in the back supporting a seating area for one or two passengers. Cycle rickshaws often have a parasol or canopy to protect the passengers from sun and rain. These vehicles are widely used in South Asia and Southeast Asia, where rickshaw driving provides essential employment for recent immigrants from rural areas, generally impoverished men. In the 1990s and first decade of the 21st century, rickshaws became increasingly popular in big cities in Britain, Europe and the United States, where they provide urban transportation, novelty rides, and serve as advertising media.

Spidertrike is a recumbent cycle rickshaw that is used in central London and operated by Eco Chariots. The trike pictured is called the SUV (Sensible Utility Vehicle) and is produced by the company Organic Engines, which operates in Florida in the United States. It is a front wheel drive tricycle, articulated behind the driver seat, and has hydraulic double disc brakes and internal hub gears. The passenger is protected from rain and sun with a canopy.

Freight

Urban delivery trikes are designed and constructed for transporting large loads. These trikes include a cargo area consisting of a steel tube carrier, an open or enclosed box, a flat platform, or a large, heavy-duty wire basket. These are usually mounted over one or both wheels, low behind the front wheel, or between parallel wheels at either the front or rear of the vehicle, to keep the center of gravity low. The frame and drivetrain must be constructed to handle loads several times that of an ordinary bicycle; as such, extra low gears may be added. Other specific design considerations include operator visibility and load suspension. Many, but not all, cycles used for the purpose of vending goods such as ice cream cart trikes or hot dog vending trikes are cargo bicycles.

Many freight trikes are of the tadpole configuration, with the cargo box (platform, etc.) mounted between the front wheels. India and China are significant strongholds of the rear-loading "delta" carrier trike. Freight trikes are also designed for indoor use in large warehouses or industrial plants. The advantage of using freight trikes rather than a motor vehicle is that there is no exhaust, which means that the trike can be used inside warehouses. While another option is electric golf cart-style vehicles, freight trikes are human-powered, so they do not have the maintenance required to keep batteries on golf carts charged up.

Common uses include:
 * Delivery services in dense urban environments
 * Food vending in high foot traffic areas (including specialist ice cream bikes)
 * Transporting trade tools, including around large installations such as power stations and CERN
 * Airport cargo handling
 * Recycling collections
 * Warehouse inventory transportation
 * Mail
 * Food collection
 * Child transport (in Amsterdam, freight trikes are used primarily to carry children)

Children's
A tricycle is a typical toy for children between the ages of eighteen months and five years before a balance bike. Compared to adult models, children's trikes are simpler, without brakes or gears, and often with crude front-drive. Child trikes can be unstable, particularly if the wheelbase or track are insufficient. Some trikes have a push bar so adults can control the trike. Child trikes have frames made of metal, plastic, or wood.

Children's trikes can have pedals directly driving the front wheels, allowing braking with the pedals, or they can use chain drive the rear wheels, often without a differential, so one rear wheel spins free. Children's trikes do not always have pneumatic tires, having instead wheels of solid rubber or hollow plastic. While this may add to the weight of the tricycle and reduces the shock-absorbing qualities, it eliminates the possibility of punctures. Pull brakes are rarely fitted to front-drive trikes, but the child can slow the trike down by resisting the forward motion through the pedals.

Drift
Drift trikes are a variety of tricycle with slick rear wheels, enabling them to drift, being countersteered round corners. They are commonly used for gravity-powered descents of paved roads with steep gradients.

Hand and foot
With hand and foot trikes, the rider makes a pair of front wheels change directions by shifting the center of weight and moves forward by rotating the rear wheel. The hand and foot trike can be also converted into a manual tricycle designed to be driven with both hands and both feet. There are also new hybrids between a handcycle, a recumbent bike and a tricycle, these bikes make it even possible to cycle with legs despite a spinal cord injury.

Tilting
Tricycles have been constructed that tilt in the direction of a turn, as a bicycle does, to avoid rolling over without a wide axle track. Examples have included upright, recumbent, delta, and tadpole configurations.

Conversion sets
Tricycle conversion sets or kits convert a bicycle to an upright tricycle. Tricycle kit can remove the front wheel and mounts two wheels under the handlebars for a quick and easy conversion.

The advantages of a trike conversion set include lower cost compared with new hand built tricycles and the freedom to choose almost any donor bicycle frame. Tricycle conversion sets tend to be heavier than a high quality, hand built, sports, touring or racing tricycle. Conversion sets can give the would-be serious tricyclist a taste of triking before making the final decision to purchase a complete tricycle. Conversion sets can also supplied ready to be brazed onto a lightweight, steel bicycle frame to form a complete trike.

Some trike conversion sets can also be used with recumbent bicycles to form recumbent trikes.

Operation
Adults may find upright tricycles difficult to ride because of familiarity with the counter-steering required to balance a bicycle. The variation in the camber of the road is the principal difficulty to be overcome once basic tricycle handling is mastered. Recumbent trikes are less affected by camber and, depending on track width and riding position, capable of very fast cornering. Some trikes are tilting three-wheelers, which lean into corners much as bicycles do.

In the case of delta tricycles, the drive is often to just one of the rear wheels, though in some cases both wheels are driven through a differential. A double freewheel, preferably using no-backlash roller clutches, is considered superior. Trikes with a differential often use an internally geared hub as a gearbox in a 'mid drive' system. A jackshaft drive permits either single or two-wheel drive. Tadpoles generally use a bicycle's rear wheel drive and for that reason are usually lighter, cheaper and easier to replace and repair.

Braking
Some trikes use a geometry (also called center point steering) with the kingpin axis intersecting the ground directly ahead of the tire contact point, producing a normal amount of trail. This arrangement, elsewhere called "zero scrub radius" is used to mitigate the effects of one-sided braking on steering. While zero scrub can reduce steering feel and increase wandering it can also protect novices from spinning out and/or flipping. Tadpole trikes tend also to use Ackermann steering geometry, perhaps with both front brakes operated by the stronger hand. While the KMX Kart stunt trike with this setup allows the rear brake to be operated separately, letting the rider do "bootlegger turns", the standard setup for most trikes has the front brake for each side operated by each hand. The center-of-mass of most tadpole trikes is close to the front wheels, making the rear brake less useful. The rear brake may instead be connected to a latching brake lever for use as a parking brake when stopped on a hill.

Recumbent trikes often brake one wheel with each hand, allowing the rider to brake one side alone to pull the trike in that direction.

Records
On 1 July 2005, Sudhakar Yadav from India rode a tricycle in Hyderabad with a height of 12.67 m, a wheel diameter of 5.18 m and length of 11.37 m. This tricycle is exhibited at the Sudha Cars Museum and has been verified as the largest tricycle by the Guinness World Records.

title: Tricycle


text:
Nroff

nroff (short for "new roff") is a text-formatting program on Unix and Unix-like operating systems. It produces output suitable for simple fixed-width printers and terminal windows. It is an integral part of the Unix help system, being used to format man pages for display.

nroff and the related troff were both developed from the original roff. While nroff was intended to produce output on terminals and line printers, troff was intended to produce output on typesetting systems. Both used the same underlying markup and a single source file could normally be used by nroff or troff without change.

History
nroff was written by Joe Ossanna for Version 2 Unix, in Assembly language and then ported to C.

It was a descendant of the RUNOFF program from CTSS, the first computerized text-formatting program, and is a predecessor of the Unix troff document processing system.

There is also a free software version of nroff in the groff package.

Variants
The Minix operating system, among others, uses a clone of nroff called cawf by Vic Abell, based on awf, the Amazingly Workable Formatter designed in awk by Henry Spencer. These are not full replacements for the nroff/troff suite of tools, but are sufficient for display and printing of basic documents and manual pages.

In addition, a simplified version of nroff is available in Ratfor source code form as an example in the book Software Tools by Brian Kernighan and P. J. Plauger.

title: Nroff