Wikipedia:Main Page history/2015 March 19

Brill railway station was the terminus of a small railway line in Buckinghamshire, England, known as the Brill Tramway. Built and owned by the 3rd Duke of Buckingham, it opened just north of Brill in 1872. As the line was cheaply built and used poor quality locomotives, services were slow, taking 1 hour 45 minutes to travel the six miles (10 km) from Brill to the junction station with mainline services at Quainton Road. Although little used by passengers, the station was important for freight traffic, particularly shipping milk from the area's farms to London. The Metropolitan Railway took over the line in 1899, and upgraded it. In 1933 it became part of the London Underground as one of the two north-western termini, despite being 45 miles (72 km) and over two hours travelling time from London. The management of London Transport aimed to reduce goods services, and it was felt that the line to Brill was unlikely to become a viable passenger route. The line was closed in 1935, and all buildings and infrastructure at Brill associated with the railway were sold at auction. Most of the station infrastructure was demolished, though three station cottages survive. (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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Ongoing:

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant

Recent deaths:

Xu Caihou – Valentin Rasputin – Terry Pratchett

March 19: St Joseph's Day (Western Christianity)

• 1279 – Emperor Bing, the last emperor of the Song dynasty, died during the Battle of Yamen, bringing the dynasty to an end after three centuries.
• 1808 – Charles IV of Spain abdicated in favour of his son, Ferdinand VII.
• 1915 – Pluto (pictured) was photographed for the first time, 15 years before it was officially discovered by Clyde Tombaugh at the Lowell Observatory.
• 1979 – The American cable television network C-SPAN, dedicated to airing non-stop coverage of government proceedings and public affairs programming, was launched.
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More anniversaries: March 18 – March 19 – March 20

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Tornado damage to a house in Oklahoma County from the Moore–Choctaw tornado, one of 91 confirmed tornadoes in the May 10–13, 2010 outbreak. The intensity of tornadoes can be measured using the Fujita, Enhanced Fujita, or TORRO scales, based on the amount of damage and estimated wind speeds.

The Moore–Choctaw tornado, which killed two people, was initially rated an EF3, indicating significant damage to well-built structures. It was upgraded to an EF4 – capable of leveling even the most robustly built homes – after leveled homes were found in subdivisions that were difficult to access due to damage.

Photograph: Win Henderson, FEMA