they had transport laid on for us

SUBJECT AREA: Civil engineering, Land transport, Railways and locomotives, Telecommunications

[br]

[br]

[br]

Gooch gained experience as a pupil with several successive engineering firms, including Vulcan Foundry and Robert Stephenson \& Co. In 1837 he was engaged by I.K. Brunel, who was then building the Great Western Railway (GWR) to the broad gauge of 7 ft 1/4 in. (2.14 m), to take charge of the railway's locomotive department. He was just 21 years old. The initial locomotive stock comprised several locomotives built to such extreme specifications laid down by Brunel that they were virtually unworkable, and two 2–2–2 locomotives, North Star and Morning Star, which had been built by Robert Stephenson \& Co. but left on the builder's hands. These latter were reliable and were perpetuated. An enlarged version, the "Fire Fly" class, was designed by Gooch and built in quantity: Gooch was an early proponent of standardization. His highly successful 4–2–2 Iron Duke of 1847 became the prototype of GWR express locomotives for the next forty-five years, until the railway's last broad-gauge sections were narrowed. Meanwhile Gooch had been largely responsible for establishing Swindon Works, opened in 1843. In 1862 he designed 2–4–0 condensing tank locomotives to work the first urban underground railway, the Metropolitan Railway in London. Gooch retired in 1864 but was then instrumental in arranging for Brunel's immense steamship Great Eastern to be used to lay the first transatlantic electric telegraph cable: he was on board when the cable was successfully laid in 1866. He had been elected Member of Parliament for Cricklade (which constituency included Swindon) in 1865, and the same year he had accepted an invitation to become Chairman of the Great Western Railway Company, which was in financial difficulties; he rescued it from near bankruptcy and remained Chairman until shortly before his death. The greatest engineering work undertaken during his chairmanship was the boring of the Severn Tunnel.

[br]

SUBJECT AREA: Electricity, Land transport, Railways and locomotives

[br]

[br]

[br]

Werner von Siemens was the eldest of a large family and after the early death of his parents took his place at its head. He served in the Prussian artillery, being commissioned in 1839, after which he devoted himself to the study of chemistry and physics. In 1847 Siemens and J.G. Halske formed a company, Telegraphen-Bauanstalt von Siemens und Halske, to manufacture a dial telegraph which they had developed from an earlier instrument produced by Charles Wheatstone. In 1848 Siemens obtained his discharge from the army and he and Halske constructed the first long-distance telegraph line on the European continent, between Berlin and Frankfurt am Main.

Werner von Siemens's younger brother, William Siemens, had settled in Britain in 1844 and was appointed agent for the Siemens \& Halske company in 1851. Later, an English subsidiary company was formed, known from 1865 as Siemens Brothers. It specialized in manufacturing and laying submarine telegraph cables: the specialist cable-laying ship Faraday, launched for the purpose in 1874, was the prototype of later cable ships and in 1874–5 laid the first cable to run direct from the British Isles to the USA. In charge of Siemens Brothers was another brother, Carl, who had earlier established a telegraph network in Russia.

In 1866 Werner von Siemens demonstrated the principle of the dynamo in Germany, but it took until 1878 to develop dynamos and electric motors to the point at which they could be produced commercially. The following year, 1879, Werner von Siemens built the first electric railway, and operated it at the Berlin Trades Exhibition. It comprised an oval line, 300 m (985 it) long, with a track gauge of 1 m (3 ft 3 1/2 in.); upon this a small locomotive hauled three small passenger coaches. The locomotive drew current at 150 volts from a third rail between the running rails, through which it was returned. In four months, more than 80,000 passengers were carried. The railway was subsequently demonstrated in Brussels, and in London, in 1881. That same year Siemens built a permanent electric tramway, 1 1/2 miles (2 1/2 km) long, on the outskirts of Berlin. In 1882 in Berlin he tried out a railless electric vehicle which drew electricity from a two-wire overhead line: this was the ancestor of the trolleybus.

In the British Isles, an Act of Parliament was obtained in 1880 for the Giant's Causeway Railway in Ireland with powers to work it by "animal, mechanical or electrical power"; although Siemens Brothers were electrical engineers to the company, of which William Siemens was a director, delays in construction were to mean that the first railway in the British Isles to operate regular services by electricity was that of Magnus Volk.

[br]

SUBJECT AREA: Land transport, Mining and extraction technology, Railways and locomotives

[br]

[br]

[br]

The Wylam wagonway passed Newburn, and Hedley, who went to school at Wylam, must have been familiar with this wagonway from childhood. It had been built c.1748 to carry coal from Wylam Colliery to the navigable limit of the Tyne at Lemington. In 1805 Hedley was appointed viewer, or manager, of Wylam Colliery by Christopher Blackett, who had inherited the colliery and wagonway in 1800. Unlike most Tyneside wagonways, the gradient of the Wylam line was insufficient for loaded wagons to run down by gravity and they had to be hauled by horses. Blackett had a locomotive, of the type designed by Richard Trevithick, built at Gateshead as early as 1804 but did not take delivery, probably because his wooden track was not strong enough. In 1808 Blackett and Hedley relaid the wagonway with plate rails of the type promoted by Benjamin Outram, and in 1812, following successful introduction of locomotives at Middleton by John Blenkinsop, Blackett asked Hedley to investigate the feasibility of locomotives at Wylam. The expense of re-laying with rack rails was unwelcome, and Hedley experimented to find out the relationship between the weight of a locomotive and the load it could move relying on its adhesion weight alone. He used first a model test carriage, which survives at the Science Museum, London, and then used a full-sized test carriage laden with weights in varying quantities and propelled by men turning handles. Having apparently satisfied himself on this point, he had a locomotive incorporating the frames and wheels of the test carriage built. The work was done at Wylam by Thomas Waters, who was familiar with the 1804 locomotive, Timothy Hackworth, foreman smith, and Jonathan Forster, enginewright. This locomotive, with cast-iron boiler and single cylinder, was unsatisfactory: Hackworth and Forster then built another locomotive to Hedley's design, with a wrought-iron return-tube boiler, two vertical external cylinders and drive via overhead beams through pinions to the two axles. This locomotive probably came into use in the spring of 1814: it performed well and further examples of the type were built. Their axle loading, however, was too great for the track and from about 1815 each locomotive was mounted on two four-wheeled bogies, the bogie having recently been invented by William Chapman. Hedley eventually left Wylam in 1827 to devote himself to other colliery interests. He supported the construction of the Clarence Railway, opened in 1833, and sent his coal over it in trains hauled by his own locomotives. Two of his Wylam locomotives survive— Puffing Billy at the Science Museum, London, and Wylam Dilly at the Royal Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh—though how much of these is original and how much dates from the period 1827–32, when the Wylam line was re-laid with edge rails and the locomotives reverted to four wheels (with flanges), is a matter of mild controversy.

[br]

See also: Stephenson, George

1 to throw.

tirar algo a algo/alguien to throw something to something/somebody (para que lo agarre) to throw something at something/somebody (para hacer daño)

tírame una manzana throw me an apple

Ella tira bolas She throws balls.

2 to drop (dejar caer) (object).

3 to knock over (derribar) (botella, lámpara).

4 to throw away.

tirar algo a la basura to throw something away

eso es tirar el dinero that's a complete waste of money

5 to fire (disparar) (bala, misil).

tirar una foto to take a picture

6 to play (jugar) (carta).

7 to take (sport) (falta, penalti).

tirar a gol to shoot, to have a shot at goal

8 to print.

La imprenta tiró la primera edición The printer printed the first edition.

9 to fail (informal) (suspender).

10 to shoot.

tirar a matar to shoot to kill

11 to have a pull (informal) (atraer).

me tira la vida del campo I feel drawn toward life in the country

tirar de algo to attract something

12 to draw (cigarrillo, chimenea).

13 to go, to work (informal) (funcionar).

14 to go, to head.

tira por esa calle go up o take that street

15 to (have one's) go.

16 to kick (sport) (con el pie).

17 to last.

18 to knock down, to break down, to batter down.

La policía tiró la puerta The police broke down the door.

19 to pull.

El tractor tira fuerte The tractor pulls hard.

* * *

► verbo transitivo

1 (echar) to throw, fling

2 (dejar caer) to drop

3 (desechar) to throw away

4 (derribar) to knock down; (casa, árbol) to pull down

5 (derramar) to spill

6 (vaso, botella) to knock over

7 (estirar) to pull

8 (imprimir) to print

9 (hacer - foto) to take; (línea, plano) to draw

10 (un tiro) to fire; (una bomba) to drop; (cohete) to launch

11 (beso) to blow; (pellizco) to give; (patada, coz) to kick

12 DEPORTE to take

13 figurado (malgastar) to waste, squander

14 familiar figurado (suspender) to fail

► verbo intransitivo

1 (cuerda, puerta) to pull (de, -)

2 (carreta, carro) to draw (de, -)

3 (atraer) to draw, attract

4 (estufa, chimenea) to draw

5 (en juegos) to be a player's move, be a player's turn

■ tira él it's his turn

6 familiar (funcionar) to work, run

■ esto ya no tira this doesn't work any more

7 familiar (durar) to last

■ con esta reparación tirará un par de meses after these repairs it'll last for a couple of months

8 (quedar estrecho) to be tight on

■ esta camisa me tira de la espalda this shirt's tight on me

9 figurado (tender) to tend (a, towards); (ser un poco) to be a bit

■ tira a verde it's greenish in colour

■ tira a dulce it's a bit sweet

10 familiar figurado (atraer) to attract, appeal

■ no le tira la mecánica mechanics doesn't appeal to him

11 figurado (inclinarse) to be attracted (a/hacia, to), be drawn (a/hacia, to)

■ esta chica tira hacia las artes this girl is drawn to the arts

12 figurado (parecerse) to take after (a, -)

■ tira a su padre she takes after her father

13 figurado (ir) to go, turn

■ tira a la derecha turn right

14 figurado (mantenerse) to get by, get along

■ ella tira con poco dinero she gets by with little money

15 (disparar) to shoot, fire

16 DEPORTE (fútbol) to shoot; (ciclismo) to set the pace

► verbo pronominal tirarse

1 (lanzarse) to throw oneself, hurl oneself

2 (abalanzarse) to rush ( sobre, at), jump ( sobre, on)

3 (tumbarse) to lie down

4 familiar (tiempo) to spend

■ se tiró una hora en la ducha he spent an hour in the shower

5 argot (fornicar) to lay (a, -)

\

a todo tirar figurado at the most, at the latest

ir tirando (espabilarse) to manage, get by 2 (tener buena salud) to be okay

tira y afloja figurado give and take

tirando familiar so-so

tirar abajo (gen) to demolish, pull down 2 (puerta) to smash in

tirar al blanco to shoot at a target

tirar de familiar to use

■ cuando no tiene dinero tira de tarjeta when he hasn't got any money he uses his credit card

tirar a alguien de la lengua figurado to draw somebody out

tirar de cartera to dip into one's wallet

tirar la casa por la ventana figurado to spare no expense, push the boat out

tirar la primera piedra figurado to cast the first stone

tirar una moneda al aire to toss a coin

tirarse de cabeza al agua to dive into the water

* * *

1) to throw, hurl, toss

2) throw away

3) shoot, fire

4) pull, draw

5) attract

6) print

•

- ir tirando

* * *

1. VERBO TRANSITIVO

1) (=lanzar) to throw

2) (=derribar) [+ edificio] to pull down; [+ jarrón, silla, estatua] to knock over; [+ pared, verja] to knock down

3) (=dejar caer) to drop

4) (=desechar) to throw away

5) (=malgastar) [+ dinero] to waste; [+ fortuna] to squander

6) (=disparar) [+ tiro] to fire; [+ flecha] to shoot; [+ cohete] to launch, fire

7) [+ foto] to take

8) (=dar, pegar)

9) (Tip) (=imprimir) to print, run off

10) (=trazar) [+ línea] to draw, trace

11) * (=suspender)

12) And (=usar) to use

13) And, Caribe, Cono Sur (=acarrear) to cart, haul, transport

14)

2. VERBO INTRANSITIVO

1) [haciendo fuerza]

a) (=traer hacia sí) to pull

b) (=llevar tras sí)

2) * (=atraer)

3) (=estar tirante) [ropa] to be tight

4) (=usar)

5) (=disparar) to shoot

6) (Dep) [con balón] to shoot; [con fichas, cartas etc] to go, play

7) * (=arreglárselas) to get by

8) (=funcionar) [motor] to pull; [chimenea, puro] to draw, pull

9) (=ir) to go

10) * (=durar) to last

11) [seguido de preposición]

12)

- a todo tirar

13) LAm *** [sexualmente] to screw ***

tirarse

* * *

verbo transitivo

1)

a) ( arrojar) to throw

b) (desechar, deshacerse de) to throw out o away

c) ( desperdiciar) to waste

2)

a) ( hacer caer) to knock over

b) ( derribar) to knock down

3)

a) < bomba> to drop; < cohete> to fire, launch; < flecha> to shoot; < tiros> to fire

b) < foto> to take

4) (AmL) ( atrayendo hacia sí) to pull

5) (Impr) to print, run off

6) (Mat) < línea> to draw

7) (Chi) < lotería> to draw the winning number in; < rifa> to draw

1) ( atrayendo hacia sí) to pull

2) ( atraer)

3)

a) ( disparar) to shoot

b) (Dep) to shoot

c) (Jueg) ( descartarse) to throw away; ( en juegos de dados) to throw; ( en dardos) to throw; ( en bolos) to bowl

4)

a) chimenea/cigarro to draw

b) coche/motor to pull

5)

a) (fam) ( arreglárselas) to get by

b) tirando gerundio (fam)

6) (Esp fam) ( desplazarse)

7) (AmL vulg) ( en sentido sexual) to screw (vulg), to fuck (vulg)

8) tirar a ( tender a)

tirarse v pron

1)

a) (lanzarse, arrojarse) (+ compl) to throw oneself

b) (AmL) ( tumbarse) to lie down

2) (fam) <horas/días> to spend

3) (vulg) ( en sentido sexual)

4) (fam) ( expulsar)

5) (Col fam) ( echar a perder) to ruin

* * *

= dump, haul, run off, throw, throw out, throw away, tear down, toss out, fling, toss, pull down, knock down, jettison, pitch, turf out, toss away, hurl, chuck + Nombre + out.

Ex. The books may simply be laid before the librarian as they are found, ' dumped in his lap', as one writer puts it.

Ex. However, he would prefer a binding that will stand up to being stuffed into after-hours book drops and being hauled from one library to another.

Ex. Not only are they the same work, they were run off from the same plates.

Ex. The point to be made for the novice abstractor is that editors are not ghouls who must be thrown raw meat before a check is issued.

Ex. Well, I happened to inherit a full set of Trollope, and I had the guts to throw it out.

Ex. The person who never throws away a newspaper is regarded as an eccentric; the person who never throws away a book is more likely to be regarded as a bibliophile no matter what the resulting motley assortment of books may be.

Ex. A group opposing the incumbent alderman decided that the board's feasibility study amounted to a covert plan to tear down the house that served as the library and erect an ugly building.

Ex. In preparation for computerization, let us not toss out old standards that were good.

Ex. A gust of wind flung a powder of snow from the window-sill into the room.

Ex. Everything being online, the exquisite oaken cabinets housing the card files were tossed.

Ex. Evacuation of the building was followed by a recovery process which included covering stacks with plastic, locating damaged books, pulling down water-soaked ceiling tiles and removing computer terminals.

Ex. Your note attempts to knock down an assertion not made.

Ex. The whole usually has more meaning than the sum of its parts, but care must be taken not to jettison some of the more subtle parts.

Ex. They pitched him unceremoniously out of the window, laming him for life, on a brick pavement below.

Ex. You will be disliked and turfed out as a sacrificial goat once your job is done but there will be many others queuing up for your services.

Ex. It's a waste to toss them away, so I decided to make them into this pair of lovely bobby pins.

Ex. Palestinians hurled Molotov cocktails Friday at Israeli soldiers operating south of Nablus, the army said.

Ex. Now to start chucking out stuff that I don't need; being a bit of a magpie, that might be difficult!.

----

* cuchillo de usar y tirar = disposable knife.

* de tirar la piedra y esconder la mano = hit-and-run.

* de usar y tirar = disposable, throwaway, single-use.

* introducir tirando = haul in.

* ir tirando = shuffle along, tick over, muddle along, keep + the wolves from the door.

* persona que tira basura al suelo = litterbug, litter lout.

* plato de usar y tirar = disposable plate.

* sacar tirando = haul out.

* seguir tirando el dinero = throw + good money after bad.

* servilleta de usar y tirar = disposable napkin.

* tenedor de usar y tirar = disposable fork.

* tirando a bajo = shortish.

* tirando a corto = shortish.

* tirando a marrón = brownish.

* tirando a morado = purplish.

* tirar a Alguien al suelo = knock + Nombre + to the ground, knock + Nombre + to the floor.

* tirar a Alguien al suelo de un golpe = knock + Nombre + to the floor, knock + Nombre + to the ground.

* tirar a lo bajo = low-ball.

* tirar al suelo = upset.

* tirar a matar = go for + the jugular, deadly force, shoot to + kill.

* tirar bombas = bomb.

* tirar de = pull (at/on/from), tug, pull back, lug, leverage.

* tirar de la cadena = flush + the toilet.

* tirar de la cisterna = flush + the toilet.

* tirar de la manta = let + the cat out of the bag, blow + the gaff, spill + the beans.

* tirar de las orejas = tell + Nombe + off.

* tirar del carro = pull + Posesivo + (own) weight, pull together, lend + a (helping) hand, put + Posesivo + shoulder to the wheel, set + Posesivo + shoulder to the wheel, muck in, pitch in.

* tirar de una manivela = pull + lever.

* tirar de una palanca = depress + lever.

* tirar dinero y esfuerzo por la borda = be money and effort down the drain.

* tirar el dinero = throw + Posesivo + money down the drain.

* tirar el dinero por la ventana = be money and effort down the drain, throw + Posesivo + money down the drain, be money down the drain.

* tirar la casa por la ventana = lash out (on), go to + town on.

* tirar la esponja = throw in/up + the sponge.

* tirar la toalla = throw in + the towel.

* tirar ligeramente de = tug on.

* tirar los tejos = flirt, throw + hints.

* tirar piedras contra tu propio tejado = cut + the branch + you sit on, cut + the branch + you sit on, cut off + Posesivo + nose to spite + Posesivo + face.

* tirar por el desagüe = pour down + the drain.

* tirarse a la calle = go out on + the road.

* tirarse a la jugular = go for + the jugular.

* tirarse a la piscina = take + a dive.

* tirarse a las calles = spill (out) into + the streets.

* tirarse con ala delta = hang-glide.

* tirarse de cabeza = jump in + head first, dive in, dive + head-first.

* tirarse de las barbas = tear + Posesivo + hair out.

* tirarse de los pelos = tear + Posesivo + hair out.

* tirarse en paracaídas = parachute.

* tirarse flores = blow + Posesivo + own trumpet.

* tirarse piedras contra el propio tejado = shoot + Reflexivo + in the foot.

* tirarse una plancha = put + Posesivo + foot in it, put + Posesivo + foot in + Posesivo + mouth, stick + Posesivo + foot in it, drop + a clanger, drop + a bollock, make + a blunder, make + a bloomer, blunder.

* tirarse un eructo = belch, burp.

* tirarse un farol = bullshit.

* tirarse un pedo = fart, trump, break + wind, trumpet.

* * *

verbo transitivo

1)

a) ( arrojar) to throw

b) (desechar, deshacerse de) to throw out o away

c) ( desperdiciar) to waste

2)

a) ( hacer caer) to knock over

b) ( derribar) to knock down

3)

a) < bomba> to drop; < cohete> to fire, launch; < flecha> to shoot; < tiros> to fire

b) < foto> to take

4) (AmL) ( atrayendo hacia sí) to pull

5) (Impr) to print, run off

6) (Mat) < línea> to draw

7) (Chi) < lotería> to draw the winning number in; < rifa> to draw

1) ( atrayendo hacia sí) to pull

2) ( atraer)

3)

a) ( disparar) to shoot

b) (Dep) to shoot

c) (Jueg) ( descartarse) to throw away; ( en juegos de dados) to throw; ( en dardos) to throw; ( en bolos) to bowl

4)

a) chimenea/cigarro to draw

b) coche/motor to pull

5)

a) (fam) ( arreglárselas) to get by

b) tirando gerundio (fam)

6) (Esp fam) ( desplazarse)

7) (AmL vulg) ( en sentido sexual) to screw (vulg), to fuck (vulg)

8) tirar a ( tender a)

tirarse v pron

1)

a) (lanzarse, arrojarse) (+ compl) to throw oneself

b) (AmL) ( tumbarse) to lie down

2) (fam) <horas/días> to spend

3) (vulg) ( en sentido sexual)

4) (fam) ( expulsar)

5) (Col fam) ( echar a perder) to ruin

* * *

tirar(de)

* * *

tirar [A1 ]

1 (lanzar, arrojar) to throw

¿quiénes estaban tirando piedras? who was throwing stones?

tiró la colilla por la ventanilla she threw the cigarette butt out of the window

tiró la pelota al aire he threw the ball up in the air

tiraban piedrecitas al río they were throwing stones into the river

no tires los papeles al suelo don't throw o drop the wrappers on the ground

tirarle algo A algn (para que lo agarre) to throw sth TO sb, to throw sb sth; (con agresividad) to throw sth AT sb

le tiró la pelota she threw him the ball, she threw the ball to him

tírame las llaves throw me the keys

me tiró una piedra she threw a stone at me

le tiraron un cubo de agua they threw a bucket of water over him

le tiró los brazos he put o stretched his arms out to her

tírale un beso blow him a kiss

2 (desechar, deshacerse de) to throw out o away

todo esto es para tirar all this can be thrown out o away, this is all going out ( colloq)

estos zapatos ya están para tirar(los) these shoes are about ready to be thrown away o out

¡que asco! tira eso inmediatemente a la basura ugh! throw that away right now!, ugh! put that in the garbage can ( AmE) o ( BrE) the bin right now!

3 (desperdiciar) to waste

¡qué manera de tirar el dinero! what a waste of money!

B (dejar en desorden) (+ compl):

no tiren los juguetes por todos lados don't leave o strew your toys all over the place

se quitó la camisa y la tiró en un rincón he took off his shirt and threw it into a corner

1 (hacer caer) to knock over

¡cuidado, que vas a tirar la leche! be careful, you're going to knock the milk over!

tiró el jarrón al suelo de un codazo he knocked the vase off the table ( o shelf etc) with his elbow

2 (derribar) to knock down

el perro se le echó encima y lo tiró al suelo the dog leaped up at him and knocked him to the ground o knocked him over

tiró todos los bolos de una vez he knocked all the pins down in one go

van a tirar (abajo) esta pared or van a tirar esta pared (abajo) they're going to knock this wall down

tiraron la puerta abajo they broke the door down

1 ‹bomba› to drop; ‹cohete› to fire, launch; ‹flecha› to shoot; ‹tiros› to fire

le tiraron tres tiros they shot at him three times, they fired three shots at him

2 ‹foto› to take

E (dar) ‹puñetazo› to throw

tiraba puñetazos a diestra y siniestra he was throwing punches o lashing out left and right ( AmE) o ( BrE) left, right and center

el perro me tiró un mordisco the dog snapped at me

no me tires más pellizcos stop pinching me

F ( AmL) (atrayendo hacia sí) to pull

tiró la cadena he pulled the chain

no le tires el pelo don't pull his hair

te voy a tirar las orejas I'm going to tweak your ears

le tiraba la manga she was tugging o pulling at his sleeve

G ( Impr) to print, run off

H ( Mat) ‹línea› to draw

I ( Chi)

1 ‹carrera› to start, give the starting signal for

2 ‹lotería› to draw the winning number in; ‹rifa› to draw

1 (atrayendo hacia sí) to pull

¡vamos, tiren todos a una! come on, everybody pull together!

[ S ] tirar pull

tirar DE algo to pull sth

no le tires del pelo don't pull her hair

dos caballos tiraban del carro the cart was drawn by two horses

tirar de la cadena to pull the chain

le tiró de la manga she tugged o pulled at his sleeve

le tiró de la oreja she tweaked his ear

2 «vestido/blusa» to be (too) tight

me tira it's too tight on me

(atraer): le sigue tirando México she still hankers after o misses Mexico

no parece que le tiren mucho los deportes he doesn't seem to be very interested in o keen on sport

la sangre tira blood is thicker than water

(disparar): le tiró a traición she shot him in the back

¡no tiren! don't shoot!

le tiró al corazón he shot him through the heart

tirar a dar to shoot to wound ( not to kill)

tirar a matar (literal) to shoot to kill

(para ofender, atacar): cuando empieza a criticar, tira a matar when she starts criticizing you, she really goes for the jugular o she really sticks the knife in ( colloq)

siempre que me dice algo, tira a matar whenever he says anything to me, he goes all out to hurt me

2 ( Dep) to shoot

tirar al arco ( AmL) or ( Esp) a puerta to shoot at goal

tirando por lo bajo/alto at the (very) least/most

3 ( Jueg) (descartarse) to throw away, discard; (en juegos de dados) to throw; (en dardos) to throw; (en bolos) to bowl

1 «chimenea/cigarro» to draw

2 «coche/motor» to pull

1 ( fam) (llegar, sobrevivir) to get by

con $100 podríamos tirar hasta fin de mes with $100 we could get by until the end of the month

con este uniforme podrás tirar hasta fin de año this uniform will last you o ( colloq) will do you till the end of the year

2 tirando

ger ( fam): ¿qué tal andas? — ya lo ves, tirando … how are things? — well, you know, not too bad o we're getting by

no ganamos mucho pero vamos tirando we don't earn much but we're managing

( Esp fam) (seguir adelante): tira, que creo que no nos ha visto go on, I don't think he's seen us

vamos, tira come on, get moving o get a move on

si tiras para atrás cabe otro coche if you back up o go back a bit we can get another car in

tira (p'alante), no te pares ahora keep going, don't stop now

hay mucho que hacer pero entre todos podemos tirar p'alante there's a lot to be done but if we all pull together we can get through it

tira por esta calle abajo go o turn down this street

en cuanto nos vieron, tiraron por otro lado as soon as they saw us they went off in a different direction/they turned off up a different street

G ( AmL vulg) (en sentido sexual) to screw ( vulg), to fuck ( vulg)

H tirar a

(tender a): un amarillo fuerte tirando a naranja a bright orangish o ( BrE) orangy yellow

no es verde, tira más bien a azul it's not green, it's more of a bluish color

los precios son más bien tirando a caros the prices are a bit on the expensive o ( colloq) steep side

el erotismo de la película tiraba a pornográfico the eroticism in the film tended toward(s) o verged on the pornographic

los niños tiran más a la madre the children take after their mother more

es de estatura normal, tirando a bajito he's average to short in height

1 (lanzarse, arrojarse) (+ compl) to throw oneself

se tiró por la ventana he threw himself o he leapt out of the window

tirarse en paracaídas to parachute

tirarse al agua to dive/jump into the water

tirarse del trampolín to dive off the springboard

tirarse de cabeza to dive in, to jump in headfirst

intentó tirarse del tren en marcha she tried to throw herself from o to jump off the train while it was moving

se le tiró a los brazos she threw herself into his arms

2 «coche/conductor» (+ compl) to pull over

se tiró bruscamente a un lado he swerved to one side

3 ( AmL) (tumbarse) to lie down

estoy agotada, me voy a tirar un rato I'm exhausted, I'm going to lie down for a while

tirárselas de algo (Col, RPl fam): se las tira de valiente he makes out he's so brave

B ( fam); ‹horas/días› to spend

nos hemos tirado media hora para encontrar la casa it's taken us half an hour to find the house

se tiró dos años escribiéndolo he spent two years writing it

se ha tirado una hora entera hablando por teléfono he's been on the phone for a whole hour, he's spent a whole hour on the phone

C ( vulg)

(joder): tirarse a algn to screw sb ( vulg), to fuck sb ( vulg), to lay sb (sl)

D ( fam)

(expulsar): tirarse un pedo to fart (sl), to pass wind

tirarse un eructo to belch, to burp ( colloq)

E ( Col fam) (echar a perder) to ruin

el aguacero se tiró el paseo the downpour washed out o ruined our walk

se tiró el examen he flunked the exam ( colloq)

* * *

a) ( lanzar) to throw;

◊ tiró la pelota al aire he threw the ball up in the air;

b) ( desechar) to throw out o away

c) ( desperdiciar) to waste;

◊ ¡qué manera de tirar el dinero! what a waste of money!

a) ( hacer caer) ‹jarrón/silla› to knock over;

◊ el perro me tiró al suelo the dog knocked me over

b) ( derribar) ‹pared/puerta› to knock down

a) ‹ bomba› to drop;

b) ‹ foto› to take

◊ tiró la cadena he pulled the chain

◊ no le tires del pelo don't pull her hair

a) ( disparar) to shoot;

◊ tirar a matar to shoot to kill

b) (Dep) to shoot;

c) (Jueg) ( descartarse) to throw away;

a) [chimenea/cigarro] to draw

b) [coche/motor] to pull

◊ tirando ger (fam): gano poco pero vamos tirando I don't earn much but we're managing;

◊ tirar a ( tender a): tira más bien a azul it's more of a bluish color;

a) (lanzarse, arrojarse) to throw oneself;

◊ se tiró por la ventana he threw himself out of the window;

◊ tirarse al agua to jump into the water;

b) (AmL) ( tumbarse) to lie down

◊ se tiró dos años escribiéndolo he spent two years writing it

◊ tirarse un pedo to fart (sl)

* * *

♦ vt

1. [lanzar] to throw;

tiraron las gorras al aire they threw their caps (up) in the air;

tirar algo a alguien [para que lo agarre] to throw sth to sb;

tírame una manzana throw me an apple;

le tiró un beso she blew him a kiss;

le tiraban piedras a la policía they were throwing stones at the police

2. [dejar caer] [objeto] to drop;

no tiren los papeles al suelo don't throw o drop the wrappers on the ground;

tiró las maletas y se tumbó en la cama she dropped her suitcases and lay down on the bed;

me has tirado salsa en el traje you've spilt some sauce on my suit

3. [derribar] [botella, lámpara] to knock over;

tiró la lámpara con un codo al pasar she knocked over the lamp with her elbow as she went by;

la violencia del choque la tiró al suelo the force of the collision knocked o hurled her to the floor;

esta pared habrá que tirarla we're going to have to knock this wall down

4. [desechar] to throw away o out;

tirar algo a la basura to throw sth out;

tíralo a la papelera throw it in the wastepaper basket;

esto está para tirarlo you/we/ etc should throw this away o out;

eso es tirar el dinero that's a complete waste of money

5. [arrastrar]

6. [disparar] [balas, misiles, disparos] to fire;

tirar una foto to take a picture

7. [jugar] [carta] to play;

8. [en deportes] [falta, penalti] to take;

9. [imprimir] to print

10. [trazar] [línea] to draw

11. Fam [suspender] to fail, US to flunk;

me han tirado en geografía I've failed o US flunked geography

♦ vi

1. [disparar] to shoot;

tirar al aire to fire shots into the air;

tirar a dar to shoot to wound, not to kill;

tirar a matar [con arma] to shoot to kill;

2. [estirar, arrastrar]

el ciclista colombiano tiraba del pelotón the Colombian cyclist was pulling the bunch along;

me tiró del pelo she pulled my hair;

me tiró del brazo/de la manga she tugged at my arm/sleeve;

tirar parejo: esto no es justo, o tiramos parejo o yo me retiro this is not fair, either we all pull together or I'm dropping out

3. [estar tirante] to be tight;

la chaqueta me tira de atrás the jacket's a bit tight at the back

4. [en deportes] [con el pie] to kick;

tirar a gol o Am [m5] al arco o Esp [m5] a puerta to shoot, to have a shot at goal

5. [dirigirse] to go ( hacia o para towards), to head ( hacia o para for o towards); Fam

¡tira que llegamos tarde! let's get a move on or we'll be late!;

tiramos hacia la izquierda we turned left;

tira para arriba, que ahora subo yo you go on up, I'll come up in a minute;

tira por esa calle go up o take that street

6. [jugar] to go, to have one's go;

te toca tirar a ti [en naipes, dados, billar] it's your go

7. [cigarrillo, chimenea] to draw;

este tabaco no tira these cigarettes aren't drawing properly

8. Fam [funcionar] to go, to work;

el motor no tira the engine isn't working properly;

el coche tira bien the car runs well

9. [durar] to last;

estos zapatos tirarán otro año these shoes will last another year

10. Fam [atraer]

la tierra siempre tira de uno your homeland never loses its pull on you;

tirarle a alguien: me tira la vida del campo country life appeals to me;

no le tira la profesión de su padre his father's profession doesn't appeal to him;

no le tira viajar she doesn't feel the urge to travel;

tirar de alguien to exert a pull on sb

11. Fam [apañárselas]

ir tirando to get by;

voy tirando I'm OK, I've been worse

12. [tener aspecto de o tendencia a]

tira a su abuela she takes after her grandmother;

este programa tira a (ser) hortera this programme is a bit on the tacky side;

el tiempo tira a mejorar the weather looks as if it's getting better;

es un reformista tirando a radical he's somewhere between a reformist and a radical;

es verde tirando a azul it's a bluey green;

es tirando a delgado if anything, he's rather thin;

tira para deportista he has the makings of a sportsman

13. Fam [hacer uso]

cuando no hay dinero hay que tirar del ingenio when you don't have any money, you have to rely on your wits;

hubo que tirar de los ahorros we had to draw on our savings

14. Ven Vulg [copular] to fuck

♦ See also the pronominal verb tirarse

* * *

I v/t

1 throw; edificio, persona knock down; ( volcar) knock over

2 basura throw away; dinero waste, throw away fam

3 TIP print

4 fam

en examen fail

5 foto take

6 tiro fire

II v/i

1 de coche pull;

tirar de algo pull sth

2 ( disparar) shoot

3 DEP en fútbol

tirar a puerta shoot at goal;

tirar fuera shoot wide

4 ( atraer) pull, attract;

no me tira la música music doesn’t turn me on

tirar a tend toward;

tirar a conservador/verde have conservative/Green tendencies

6 ( girar)

tirar a la derecha turn right, take a right

ir tirando fam get by, manage

* * *

tirar vt

1) : to throw, to hurl, to toss

2) botar: to throw away, to throw out, to waste

3) derribar: to knock down

4) : to shoot, to fire, to launch

5) : to take (a photo)

6) : to print, to run off

tirar vi

1) : to pull, to draw

2) : to shoot

3) : to attract

4) : to get by, to manage

va tirando: he's getting along, he's managing

tirar a : to tend towards, to be rather

tira a picante: it's a bit spicy

♦ See also the reflexive verb tirarse

* * *

tirar vb

1. (lanzar) to throw [pt. threw; pp. thrown]

2. (desechar) to throw away [pt. threw; pp. thrown]

3. (derribar) to knock over / to knock down

4. (malgastar) to waste

5. (arrastrar, estirar) to pull

6. (disparar) to shoot [pt. & pp. shot]

7. (atraer, gustar) to like

SUBJECT AREA: Land transport, Railways and locomotives

[br]

[br]

[br]

George Stephenson was the son of the fireman of the pumping engine at Wylam colliery, and horses drew wagons of coal along the wooden rails of the Wylam wagonway past the house in which he was born and spent his earliest childhood. While still a child he worked as a cowherd, but soon moved to working at coal pits. At 17 years of age he showed sufficient mechanical talent to be placed in charge of a new pumping engine, and had already achieved a job more responsible than that of his father. Despite his position he was still illiterate, although he subsequently learned to read and write. He was largely self-educated.

In 1801 he was appointed Brakesman of the winding engine at Black Callerton pit, with responsibility for lowering the miners safely to their work. Then, about two years later, he became Brakesman of a new winding engine erected by Robert Hawthorn at Willington Quay on the Tyne. Returning collier brigs discharged ballast into wagons and the engine drew the wagons up an inclined plane to the top of "Ballast Hill" for their contents to be tipped; this was one of the earliest applications of steam power to transport, other than experimentally.

In 1804 Stephenson moved to West Moor pit, Killingworth, again as Brakesman. In 1811 he demonstrated his mechanical skill by successfully modifying a new and unsatisfactory atmospheric engine, a task that had defeated the efforts of others, to enable it to pump a drowned pit clear of water. The following year he was appointed Enginewright at Killingworth, in charge of the machinery in all the collieries of the "Grand Allies", the prominent coal-owning families of Wortley, Liddell and Bowes, with authorization also to work for others. He built many stationary engines and he closely examined locomotives of John Blenkinsop's type on the Kenton \& Coxlodge wagonway, as well as those of William Hedley at Wylam.

It was in 1813 that Sir Thomas Liddell requested George Stephenson to build a steam locomotive for the Killingworth wagonway: Blucher made its first trial run on 25 July 1814 and was based on Blenkinsop's locomotives, although it lacked their rack-and-pinion drive. George Stephenson is credited with building the first locomotive both to run on edge rails and be driven by adhesion, an arrangement that has been the conventional one ever since. Yet Blucher was far from perfect and over the next few years, while other engineers ignored the steam locomotive, Stephenson built a succession of them, each an improvement on the last.

During this period many lives were lost in coalmines from explosions of gas ignited by miners' lamps. By observation and experiment (sometimes at great personal risk) Stephenson invented a satisfactory safety lamp, working independently of the noted scientist Sir Humphry Davy who also invented such a lamp around the same time.

In 1817 George Stephenson designed his first locomotive for an outside customer, the Kilmarnock \& Troon Railway, and in 1819 he laid out the Hetton Colliery Railway in County Durham, for which his brother Robert was Resident Engineer. This was the first railway to be worked entirely without animal traction: it used inclined planes with stationary engines, self-acting inclined planes powered by gravity, and locomotives.

On 19 April 1821 Stephenson was introduced to Edward Pease, one of the main promoters of the Stockton \& Darlington Railway (S \& DR), which by coincidence received its Act of Parliament the same day. George Stephenson carried out a further survey, to improve the proposed line, and in this he was assisted by his 18-year-old son, Robert Stephenson, whom he had ensured received the theoretical education which he himself lacked. It is doubtful whether either could have succeeded without the other; together they were to make the steam railway practicable.

At George Stephenson's instance, much of the S \& DR was laid with wrought-iron rails recently developed by John Birkinshaw at Bedlington Ironworks, Morpeth. These were longer than cast-iron rails and were not brittle: they made a track well suited for locomotives. In June 1823 George and Robert Stephenson, with other partners, founded a firm in Newcastle upon Tyne to build locomotives and rolling stock and to do general engineering work: after its Managing Partner, the firm was called Robert Stephenson \& Co.

In 1824 the promoters of the Liverpool \& Manchester Railway (L \& MR) invited George Stephenson to resurvey their proposed line in order to reduce opposition to it. William James, a wealthy land agent who had become a visionary protagonist of a national railway network and had seen Stephenson's locomotives at Killingworth, had promoted the L \& MR with some merchants of Liverpool and had carried out the first survey; however, he overreached himself in business and, shortly after the invitation to Stephenson, became bankrupt. In his own survey, however, George Stephenson lacked the assistance of his son Robert, who had left for South America, and he delegated much of the detailed work to incompetent assistants. During a devastating Parliamentary examination in the spring of 1825, much of his survey was shown to be seriously inaccurate and the L \& MR's application for an Act of Parliament was refused. The railway's promoters discharged Stephenson and had their line surveyed yet again, by C.B. Vignoles.

The Stockton \& Darlington Railway was, however, triumphantly opened in the presence of vast crowds in September 1825, with Stephenson himself driving the locomotive Locomotion, which had been built at Robert Stephenson \& Co.'s Newcastle works. Once the railway was at work, horse-drawn and gravity-powered traffic shared the line with locomotives: in 1828 Stephenson invented the horse dandy, a wagon at the back of a train in which a horse could travel over the gravity-operated stretches, instead of trotting behind.

Meanwhile, in May 1826, the Liverpool \& Manchester Railway had successfully obtained its Act of Parliament. Stephenson was appointed Engineer in June, and since he and Vignoles proved incompatible the latter left early in 1827. The railway was built by Stephenson and his staff, using direct labour. A considerable controversy arose c. 1828 over the motive power to be used: the traffic anticipated was too great for horses, but the performance of the reciprocal system of cable haulage developed by Benjamin Thompson appeared in many respects superior to that of contemporary locomotives. The company instituted a prize competition for a better locomotive and the Rainhill Trials were held in October 1829.

Robert Stephenson had been working on improved locomotive designs since his return from America in 1827, but it was the L \& MR's Treasurer, Henry Booth, who suggested the multi-tubular boiler to George Stephenson. This was incorporated into a locomotive built by Robert Stephenson for the trials: Rocket was entered by the three men in partnership. The other principal entrants were Novelty, entered by John Braithwaite and John Ericsson, and Sans Pareil, entered by Timothy Hackworth, but only Rocket, driven by George Stephenson, met all the organizers' demands; indeed, it far surpassed them and demonstrated the practicability of the long-distance steam railway. With the opening of the Liverpool \& Manchester Railway in 1830, the age of railways began.

Stephenson was active in many aspects. He advised on the construction of the Belgian State Railway, of which the Brussels-Malines section, opened in 1835, was the first all-steam railway on the European continent. In England, proposals to link the L \& MR with the Midlands had culminated in an Act of Parliament for the Grand Junction Railway in 1833: this was to run from Warrington, which was already linked to the L \& MR, to Birmingham. George Stephenson had been in charge of the surveys, and for the railway's construction he and J.U. Rastrick were initially Principal Engineers, with Stephenson's former pupil Joseph Locke under them; by 1835 both Stephenson and Rastrick had withdrawn and Locke was Engineer-in-Chief. Stephenson remained much in demand elsewhere: he was particularly associated with the construction of the North Midland Railway (Derby to Leeds) and related lines. He was active in many other places and carried out, for instance, preliminary surveys for the Chester \& Holyhead and Newcastle \& Berwick Railways, which were important links in the lines of communication between London and, respectively, Dublin and Edinburgh.

He eventually retired to Tapton House, Chesterfield, overlooking the North Midland. A man who was self-made (with great success) against colossal odds, he was ever reluctant, regrettably, to give others their due credit, although in retirement, immensely wealthy and full of honour, he was still able to mingle with people of all ranks.

[br]

SUBJECT AREA: Land transport, Railways and locomotives, Telecommunications

[br]

[br]

[br]

After private education and an engineering apprenticeship, Crampton worked under Marc Brunel, Daniel Gooch and the Rennie brothers before setting up as a civil engineer in 1848. His developing ideas on locomotive design were expressed through a series of five patents taken out between 1842 and 1849, each making a multiplicity of claims. The most typical feature of the Crampton locomotive, however, was a single pair of driving wheels set to the rear of the firebox. This meant they could be of large diameter, while the centre of gravity of the locomotive remained low, for the boiler barrel, though large, had only small carrying-wheels beneath it. The cylinders were approximately midway along the boiler and were outside the frames, as was the valve gear. The result was a steady-riding locomotive which neither pitched about a central driving axle nor hunted from side to side, as did other contemporary locomotives, and its working parts were unusually accessible for maintenance. However, adhesive weight was limited and the long wheelbase tended to damage track. Locomotives of this type were soon superseded on British railways, although they lasted much longer in Germany and France. Locomotives built to the later patents incorporated a long, coupled wheelbase with drive through an intermediate crankshaft, but they mostly had only short lives. In 1851 Crampton, with associates, laid the first successful submarine electric telegraph cable. The previous year the brothers Jacob and John Brett had laid a cable, comprising a copper wire insulated with gutta-percha, beneath the English Channel from Dover to Cap Gris Nez: signals were passed but within a few hours the cable failed. Crampton joined the Bretts' company, put up half the capital needed for another attempt, and designed a much stronger cable. Four gutta-percha-insulated copper wires were twisted together, surrounded by tarred hemp and armoured by galvanized iron wires; this cable was successful.

Crampton was also active in railway civil engineering and in water and gas engineering, and c. 1882 he invented a hydraulic tunnel-boring machine intended for a Channel tunnel.

[br]

SUBJECT AREA: Mining and extraction technology

[br]

[br]

[br]

Huntingdon Beaumont was a younger son of a landed family whose estates included coal-mines at Coleorton and Bedworth. From these, no doubt, originated his great expertise in coal-mining and mine management. His subsequent story is a complex one of speculation in coal mines: agreements, partnerships, and debts, and, in trying to extricate himself from the last, attempts to improve profitability, and ever-greater enterprises. He leased mines in 1601 at Wollaton, near Nottingham, and in 1603 at Strelley, which adjoins Wollaton but is further from Nottingham, where lay the market for coal. To reduce the transport cost of Strelley coal, Beaumont laid a wooden wagonway for two miles or so to Wollaton Lane End, the point at which the coal was customarily sold. In earlier times wooden railways had probably been used in mines, following practice on the European continent, but Beaumont's was the first on the surface in Britain. The market for coal in Nottingham being limited, Beaumont, with partners, attempted to send coal to London by water, but the difficult navigation of the Trent at this period made the venture uneconomic. With a view still to supplying London, c.1605 they took leases of mines near Blyth, north of Newcastle upon Tyne. Here too Beaumont built wagonways, to convey coal to the coast, but despite considerable expenditure the mines could not be made economic and Beaumont returned to Strelley. Although he worked the mine night and day, he was unable to meet the demands of his creditors, who eventually had him imprisoned for debt. He died in gaol.

[br]