A railroad switch (), turnout, or [set of] points () is a mechanical installation enabling railway trains to be guided from one track to another, such as at a railway junction or where a spur or siding branches off.

The most common type of switch consists of a pair of linked tapering rails, known as points (switch rails or point blades), lying between the diverging outer rails (the stock rails). These points can be moved laterally into one of two positions to direct a train coming from the point blades toward the straight path or the diverging path. A train moving from the narrow end toward the point blades (i.e. it will be directed to one of the two paths, depending on the position of the points) is said to be executing a facing-point movement.

For many types of switch, a train coming from either of the converging directions will pass through the switch regardless of the position of the points, as the vehicle's wheels will force the points to move. Passage through a switch in this direction is known as a trailing-point movement and switches that allow this type of movement are called trailable switches.

A switch generally has a straight "through" track (such as the main-line) and a diverging route. The handedness of the installation is described by the side that the diverging track leaves. Right-hand switches have a diverging path to the right of the straight track, when coming from the point blades, and a left-handed switch has the diverging track leaving to the opposite side. In many cases, such as rail yards, many switches can be found in a short section of track, sometimes with switches going both to the right and left (although it is better to keep these separated as much as feasible). Sometimes a switch merely divides one track into two; at others, it serves as a connection between two or more parallel tracks, allowing a train to switch between them. In many cases, where a switch is supplied to leave a track, a second is supplied to allow the train to reenter the track some distance down the line; this allows the track to serve as a siding, allowing a train to get off the track to allow traffic to pass (this siding can either be a dedicated short length of track, or formed from a section of a second, continuous, parallel line), and also allows trains coming from either direction to switch between lines; otherwise, the only way for a train coming from the opposite direction to use a switch would be to stop, and reverse through the switch onto the other line, and then continue forwards (or stop, if it is being used as a siding).

A straight track is not always present; for example, both tracks may curve, one to the left and one to the right (such as for a wye switch), or both tracks may curve, with differing radii, while still in the same direction. Switches consume a relatively high proportion of a railway maintenance budget.

History

Simple single-bladed switches were used on early wooden railways to move wagons between tracks. As iron-railed plateways became more common in the eighteenth century, cast iron components were made to build switches with check rails. In 1797, John Curr described the system that he developed which used a single iron blade, hinged on a vertical pin that was tapered to lie against the plateway. By 1808, Curr's basic design was in common use.

The use of a sprung rail, giving a smooth transition, was patented by Charles Fox in 1838.

Prior to the widespread availability of electricity, switches at heavily travelled junctions were operated from a signal box constructed near the tracks through an elaborate system of rods and levers. The levers were also used to control railway signals to control the movement of trains over the points. Eventually, mechanical systems known as interlockings were introduced to make sure that a signal could only be set to allow a train to proceed over points when it was safe to do so. Purely mechanical interlockings were eventually developed into integrated systems with electric control. On some low-traffic branch lines, in self-contained marshalling yards, or on heritage railways, switches may still have the earlier type of interlocking.

Operation

A railroad car's wheels are primarily guided along the tracks by coning of the wheels, rather than relying on the flanges on the insides of the wheels. When the wheels reach the switch, the wheels are guided along the route determined by which of the two points is connected to the track facing the switch. In the illustration, if the left point is connected, the left wheel will be guided along the rail of that point, and the train will diverge to the right. If the right point is connected, the right wheel's flange will be guided along the rail of that point, and the train will continue along the straight track. Only one of the points may be connected to the facing track at any time; the two points are mechanically locked together to ensure that this is always the case.

A mechanism is provided to move the points from one position to the other (change the points). Historically, this would require a lever to be moved by a human operator, and some switches are still controlled this way. However, most are now operated by a remotely controlled actuator called a point machine; this may employ an electric motor or a pneumatic or hydraulic actuator. This both allows for remote control and monitoring and for the use of stiffer, strong switches that would be too difficult to move by hand, yet allow for higher speeds.

In a trailing-point movement (running through the switch in the wrong direction while they are set to turn off the track), the flanges on the wheels will force the points to the proper position. This is sometimes known as running through the switch. Some switches are designed to be forced to the proper position without damage. Examples include variable switches, spring switches, and weighted switches.

If a switch becomes worn or the operating rods become damaged, it is possible for the flange to split the switch, and go through the switch in the direction other than what was expected. This happens when the flange strikes a small gap between the fixed rail and the set switch point (whichever is touching the main line); this forces the switch open, and the train is diverted down the incorrect track. This can either happen to the locomotive, in which case the whole train can be directed onto the wrong track, with potentially dangerous results, or it can occur at any point through the train, when a random truck is directed down a different track from the rest of the train; if this happens on the front truck of a car, the usual result is derailment, as the trailing truck of the preceding car attempts to go one way, while the leading truck of the following car tries to go another. If it happens to the trailing truck of a car, the front truck will follow one track, while the trailing truck follows a parallel line; this causes the whole car to "crab", or move sideways down the track (derailment often results eventually, due to the lateral forces applied when the train tries to brake or accelerate). This can have disastrous results if there is any obstacle between the lines, as the car will be propelled into it sideways, such as happened in the 1928 Times Square derailment. In some cases, the whole train behind the car will follow the errant car onto the other track; in others, only one or a few trucks are diverted, while the rest follow the correct track. In cases where it is a simple siding, rather than a continuous parallel track, the diverted truck(s) can travel the whole length of the siding until it turns back to the main track, where it performs a trailing point movement, forces the switch open, and ends up back on the same track again, with only damage to the switches. This is far less likely in cases of diversion to a parallel track, since switches on both lines will often be interconnected, so to set the switch on the main line to straight-through will set the other switch to straight-through as well (otherwise there is a risk of turning off the track only to find the joining switch is set the wrong way, and running the train through it). Because derailments are expensive and very dangerous to life and limb, maintenance of switch points and other trackwork is essential, especially with faster trains.

If the points are rigidly connected to the switch control mechanism, the control mechanism's linkages may be bent, requiring repair before the switch is again usable. For this reason, switches are normally set to the proper position before performing a trailing-point movement.

High-speed operation
Generally, switches are designed to be safely traversed at low speed. However, it is possible to modify the simpler types of switch to allow trains to pass at high speed. More complicated switch systems, such as double slips, are restricted to low-speed operation. On European high-speed lines, it is not uncommon to find switches where a speed of  or more is allowed on the diverging branch. Switches were passed over at a speed of  (straight) during the French world speed run of April 2007.

The US Federal Railroad Administration has published the speed limits for higher-speed turnouts with  26.5 turnout that has speed limit of  and  32.7 with speed limit of .

Operation in cold conditions

Under cold weather conditions, snow and ice can prevent the proper movement of switch or frog point rails, essentially inhibiting the proper operation of railroad switches. Historically, railway companies have employees keep their railroad switches clear of snow and ice by sweeping the snow away using switch brooms (Basically wire brooms with a chisel attached onto the opposite end of the broom – quite similar to ice scrapers used today), or gas torches for melting ice and snow. Such operation are still used in some countries, especially for branch routes with only limited traffic (e.g. seasonal lines). Modern switches for heavily trafficked lines are typically equipped with switch heaters installed in the vicinity of their point rails so that the point rails will not be frozen onto the stock rail and can no longer move. These heaters may take the form of electric heating elements or gas burners mounted on the rail, a lineside burner blowing hot air through ducts, or other innovative methods (e.g. geothermal heat sink, etc.) to keep the point & stock rails above freezing temperatures. Where gas or electric heaters cannot be used due to logistic or economic constraints, anti-icing chemicals can sometimes be applied to create a barrier between the metal surfaces to prevent ice from forming between them (i.e. having frozen together by ice). Such approaches however, may not always be effective for extreme climates since these chemicals will be washed away over time, especially for heavily thrown switches that experience hundreds of throws daily.

Heating alone may not always be enough to keep switches functioning under snowy conditions. Wet snow conditions, which generate particularly sticky snow and whiteout conditions, may occur at temperatures just below freezing, causing chunks of ice to accumulate on trains. When trains traverse over some switches, the shock, vibration, possibly in combination with slight heating caused by braking or a city microclimate, may cause the chunks of ice to fall off, jamming the switches. The heaters need time to melt the ice, so if service frequency is extremely high, there may not be enough time for the ice to melt before the next train arrives, which will then result in service disruptions. Possible solutions include installing higher capacity heaters, reducing the frequency of trains, or applying anti-icing chemicals like ethylene glycol to the trains.

Classification

The divergence and length of a switch is determined by the angle of the frog (the point in the switch where two rails cross, see below) and the angle or curvature of the switch blades. The length and placement of the other components are determined from this using established formulas and standards. This divergence is measured as the number of units of length for a single unit of separation.

In North America this is generally referred to as a switch's "number". For example, on a "number 12" switch, the rails are one unit apart at a distance of twelve units from the center of the frog.

In the United Kingdom points and crossings using chaired bullhead rail would be referred to using a letter and number combination. The letter would define the length (and hence the radius) of the switch blades and the number would define the angle of the crossing (frog). Thus an A7 turnout would be very short and likely only to be found in tight places like dockyards whereas an E12 would be found as a fairly high speed turnout on a mainline.

On the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, switch curvatures were specified from A (sharpest) to F (shallowest), with the following corresponding radii:
 B –  – simple crossover with a 1 in 8 crossing angle
 C –  – scissors or simple crossover with a 1 in 10 crossing angle
 D –  – double track junction switch with a 1 in 12 crossing angle

Safety
Switches are necessary for the operation of a railway, but they do pose a number of risks:
 Reversing the points under a moving train will almost always derail the train.
 Points might move due to the extreme forces exerted by a passing train. In an especially noteworthy and extreme case, a switch's setting was forcibly changed as a result of a disintegrated duo block wheel getting caught in a switch. This caused one of the world's worst rail disasters, the Eschede train disaster.
 A train might stand so close to the frog of a switch that a passing train would collide with its side (the first train is then said to have been fouling the switch).
 The necessary maintenance of the complex mechanical device might be neglected.
 Tampering with a manually operable switch or operation errors in an interlocking may result in two trains being on the same track, potentially causing a collision.

To minimize accidents caused by these risks, suitable technical remedies as well as certain practices are applied. The most important are:
 Locks to prevent reversing a switch without a proper key.
 Interlockings that allow signals only to be cleared when switches are set correctly.
 Track circuits to prevent reversing when a passing train is detected.
 Point locks or clamps that prevent movement of blades by locking them to the stock rails in a secure manner.
 Track circuits and fouling markers to point out fouling vehicles.
 Maintenance schedules, especially for measuring deviations of critical distances.

Accidents
Switch-related accidents caused by one or more of these risks have occurred, including:
 The 1980 Buttevant Rail Disaster at Buttevant, County Cork, in Ireland, when the Dublin–Cork express was derailed at high speed after being inadvertently switched into a siding via ground frame operated points, resulting in 18 deaths.
 Wrecks caused by switches being thrown open in front of the trains by saboteurs, as in the non-fatal derailments near Newport News, on , and in Stewiacke, on . To prevent these incidents, most unused switches are locked.
 The Eschede train disaster in 1998 in Germany was one of the world's deadliest high-speed train accidents, resulting in 101 deaths. It occurred when a wheel rim of an ICE train failed at , partially derailing the car. The wheel rim went through the floor of the carriage and was dragging on the ground. While passing through the station at Eschede it threw a switch, causing the rear wheels of the car to switch onto a track diverging from the track taken by the front wheels. The car was thereby thrown into and destroyed the piers supporting a 300-tonne roadway overpass.
 The May 2002 Potters Bar rail crash at Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, in the United Kingdom, occurred when a switch sprang to a different position as a coach crossed it, a type of mishap called splitting the switch. The front wheels of a coach progressed along the straight track as intended, but the rear wheels slewed along the diverging track. This caused the whole coach to detach from the train and slew sideways across the platform ahead. The movement of the switch occurred beneath the final coach, so that the preceding coaches remained on the track. Poor maintenance of the points was found to be the primary cause of the crash.
 The interim report into the Grayrigg derailment of  blamed an incorrectly maintained set of points.
 On July 31, 1991, several cars derailed, killing seven passengers, due to a missing locking pin on the switch mechanism.
 Twenty-seven years later, on August 4, 2018, the Silver Star crashed into a parked freight train on a siding due to a misaligned switch, killing two crewmen.

Components

Points (point blades)

The points (switch rails or point blades) are the movable rails which guide the wheels towards either the straight or the diverging track. They are tapered on most switches, but on stub switches they have square ends.

In the UK and Commonwealth countries, the term points refers to the entire mechanism, whereas in North America the term refers only to the movable rails.

In some cases, the switch blades can be heat treated for improvement of their service life. There are different kinds of heat treatment processes such as edge hardening or complete hardening.

The cross-section of the switch blades also influences performance. New tangential blades perform better than old-style blades.

Frog (common crossing)

The frog, also known as the common crossing (or V-rail in Australian terminology), is the crossing point of two rails. This can be assembled out of several appropriately cut and bent pieces of rail or can be a single casting of manganese steel. On lines with heavy use the casting may be treated with explosive shock hardening to increase service life.

This term frog is taken from the part of a horse's hoof it most closely resembles. Certain types of overhead electrification systems that make use of trolley poles have similar devices referred to as wire frogs.

On dual-gauge switches, a special frog is used where the third rail crosses the common rail. Denver and Rio Grande crews called this a "toad".

A recent development on North American freight railroads is the flange-bearing frog, in which the wheel flange supports the weight of the vehicle as opposed to the tread. This design reduces impact loading and extends the life of the frog.

Guard rail (check rail)

A guard rail (check rail) is a short piece of rail placed alongside the main (stock) rail opposite the frog. These ensure that the wheels follow the appropriate flangeway through the frog and that the train does not derail.

Check rails are often used on very sharp curves, even where there are no switches.

Switch motor
A switch motor (also known as a switch machine, point motor, point machine, or automater) is an electric, hydraulic or pneumatic mechanism that aligns the points with one of the possible routes. The motor is usually controlled remotely by the dispatcher (signaller in the UK). The switch motor also includes electrical contacts to detect that the switch has completely set and locked. If the switch fails to do this, the governing signal is kept at red (stop). There is also usually some kind of manual handle for operating the switch in emergencies, such as power failures, or for maintenance purposes.

A patent by W. B. Purvis dates from 1897.

Points lever
A points lever, ground throw, or switchstand is a lever and accompanying linkages that are used to align the points of a switch manually. This lever and its accompanying hardware is usually mounted to a pair of long sleepers that extend from the switch at the points. They are often used in a place of a switch motor on infrequently used switches. In some places, the lever may be some distance from the points, as part of a lever frame or ground frame. To prevent the tampering of switches by outside means, these switches are locked up when not in use.

Point machine conversion
A point machine conversion system consist in a remotely controlled device attached to an existing manually operated point that allows the shunter or driver to remotely operate hand points with a radio handset. Each converter can be used as a stand-alone or multiple units can be installed operating together with routing.

Facing point lock

A facing point lock (FPL), or point lock, is a device which, as the name implies, locks a set of points in position, as well as mechanically proving that they are in the correct position. The facing point part of the name refers to the fact that they prevent movement of the points during facing moves, where a train could potentially split the points (end up going down both tracks) if the points were to move underneath the train. During trailing moves, the wheels of a train will force the points into the correct position if they attempt to move, although this may cause considerable damage. This act is known as a "run through".

In the United Kingdom, FPLs were common from an early date, due to laws being passed which forced the provision of FPLs for any routes traveled by passenger trains – it was, and still is, illegal for a passenger train to make a facing move over points without them being locked, either by a point lock, or temporarily clamped in one position or another.

Joints
Joints are used where the moving points meet the fixed rails of the switch. They allow the points to hinge easily between their positions. Originally the movable switch blades were connected to the fixed closure rails with loose joints, but since steel is somewhat flexible it is possible to obviate this looseness by thinning a short section of the rail's bottom itself. This can be called a heelless switch.

Straight and curved switches
Turnouts were originally built with straight switch blades, which ended at the pointed end with a sharp angle. These switches cause a bump when the train traverses in the turnout direction. The switch blades could be made with a curved point which meets the stockrail at a tangent, causing less of a bump, but the disadvantage is that the metal at the point is thin and necessarily weak. A solution to these conflicting requirements was found in the 1920s on the German Reichsbahn. The first step was to have different rail profile for the stock rails and switch rails, with the switch rails being about  less high, and stockier in the middle.

Components gallery

Types
Apart from the standard right-hand and left-hand switches, switches commonly come in various combinations of configurations.

Slip switches

Double slip

A double slip switch (double slip) is a narrow-angled diagonal flat crossing of two lines combined with four pairs of points in such a way as to allow vehicles to change from one straight track to the other, alternatively to going straight across. A train approaching the arrangement may leave by either of the two tracks on the opposite side of the crossing. To reach the third possible exit, the train must change tracks on the slip and then reverse.

The arrangement gives the possibility of setting four routes, but because only one route can be traversed at a time, the four blades at each end of the crossing are often connected to move in unison, so the crossing can be worked by just two levers or point motors. This gives the same functionality of two points placed end to end. These compact (albeit complex) switches usually are found only in locations where space is limited, such as station throats (i.e. approaches) where a few main lines spread out to reach any of numerous platform tracks.

In North American English, the arrangement may also be called a double switch, or more colloquially, a puzzle switch. The Great Western Railway in the United Kingdom used the term double compound points, and the switch is also known as a double compound in Victoria (Australia). In Italian, the term for a double switch is , which means English switch. Likewise, it is called  in Dutch and, occasionally,  ("english one", literally "Englishman") in German.

Single slip
A single slip switch works on the same principle as a double slip, but provides for only one switching possibility. Trains approaching on one of the two crossing tracks can either continue over the crossing, or switch tracks to the other line. However, trains from the other track can only continue over the crossing, and cannot switch tracks. This is normally used to allow access to sidings and improve safety by avoiding having switch blades facing the usual direction of traffic. To reach the sidings from what would be a facing direction, trains must continue over the crossing, then reverse along the curved route (usually onto the other line of a double track) and can then move forward over the crossing into the siding.

Outside slip

An outside slip switch is similar to the double or single slip switches described above, except that the switch blades are outside of the diamond instead of inside. An advantage over an inside slip switch is that trains can pass the slips with higher speeds. A disadvantage over an inside slip switch is that they are longer and need more space.

An outside slip switch can be so long that its slips do not overlap at all, as in the example pictured. In such a case a single, outside slip switch is the same as two regular switches and a regular crossing. An outside, double slip switch is about the same as a scissors crossover (see below), but with the disadvantages:
 The two parallel tracks cannot be used at the same time.
 The slips are not straight and thus have a limited speed.
Advantage:
 The crossing can be passed at full speed.

Due to the disadvantages over both the double inside slip switch and the scissors crossover, double outside slip switches are only used in rare, specific cases.

Crossover

A crossover is a pair of switches that connects two parallel rail tracks, allowing a train on one track to cross over to the other. Like the switches themselves, crossovers can be described as either facing or trailing.

When two crossovers are present in opposite directions, one after the other, the four-switch configuration is called a double crossover. If the crossovers in different directions overlap to form an ×, it is dubbed a scissors crossover, scissors crossing, or just scissors; or, due to the diamond in the center, a diamond crossover. This makes for a very compact track layout at the expense of using a level junction.

In a setup where each of the two tracks normally carries trains of only one direction, a crossover can be used either to detour "wrong-rail" around an obstruction or to reverse direction. A crossover can also join two tracks of the same direction, possibly a pair of local and express tracks, and allow trains to switch from one to the other.

On a crowded system, routine use of crossovers (or switches in general) will reduce throughput, as use of the switch blocks multiple tracks. For this reason, on some high-capacity rapid transit systems, crossovers between local and express tracks are not used during normal rush hour service, and service patterns are planned around use of the usually flying junctions at each end of the local-express line.

Stub switch

A stub switch lacks the tapered points (point blades) of a typical switch. Instead, both the movable rails and the ends of the rails of the diverging routes have their ends cut off square. The switch mechanism aligns the movable rails with the rails of one of the diverging routes. In 19th century US railroad use, the stub switch was typically used in conjunction with a harp switch stand.

The rails leading up to a stub switch are not secured to the sleepers for several feet, and rail alignment across the gap is not positively enforced. Stub switches also require some flexibility in the rails (meaning lighter rails), or an extra joint at which they hinge. Therefore, these switches cannot be traversed at high speed or by heavy traffic and so are not suitable for main line use. A further disadvantage is that a stub switch being approached from the diverging route that is not connected by the points would result in a derailment. Yet another disadvantage is that in very hot weather, expansion of the steel in the rails can cause the movable rails to stick to the stock rails, making switching impossible until the rails have cooled and contracted.

One advantage to stub switches is that they work better in the snow. The sideways action of the point rails pushes snow to the side, instead of packing the snow between the points and the rail in a more modern design.

Stub switches were more common in the very early days of railways and their tramway predecessors. Now, because of their disadvantages, stub switches are used primarily on narrow-gauge and branch lines.

Three-way switch

A three-way switch is used to split a railroad track into three divergent paths rather than the more usual two. There are two types of three-way switches. In a symmetrical three-way switch, the left and right branches diverge at the same place. In an asymmetrical three-way switch, the branches diverge in a staggered way. Both types of three-way switches require three frogs.

The complexity of symmetrical switches usually results in speed restrictions, therefore three-way switches are most often used in stations or depots where space is restricted and low speeds are normal. Symmetrical switches were used quite often on Swiss narrow-gauge railways. Asymmetrical three-way switches are more common, because they do not have speed restrictions compared to standard switches. However, because of their higher maintenance cost due to special parts as well as asymmetric wear, both types of three-way switches are replaced with two standard switches wherever possible.

In areas with very low speeds, like depots, and on railroads that had to be built very cheaply, like logging railroads, three-way switches were sometimes built as stub switches.

Plate switch

A plate switch incorporates the tapered points of a typical switch into a self-contained plate. Each point blade is moved separately by hand. Plate switches are only used for double-flanged wheels, with wheels running through the plates on their flanges, guided by the edges of the plate and the movable blade.

Off-railer
The off-railer is a system of installing a turnout over and above some plain track, without having to cut or replace that track. It is useful for installing temporary branches on agricultural railways, and sidings for track machines on mainline rails. Special ramps lift the wheels off the normal track, and then the off-railer curves away as required. Decauville has such a system. It is a bit like a drawbridge crossing.

Interlaced turnout

An interlaced turnout is a different method of splitting a track into three divergent paths. It is an arrangement of two standard turnouts, one left- and one right-handed, in an "interlaced" fashion. The points of the second turnout are positioned between the points and the frog of the first turnout. In common with other forms of three way turnouts an additional common-crossing is required. Due to the inherent complexity of the arrangement, interlaced turnouts are normally only used in locations where space is exceptionally tight, such as station throats or industrial areas within large cities. Interlaced turnouts can also be found in some yards, where a series of switches branching off to the same side are placed so close together that the points of one switch are placed before the frog of the preceding switch.

Wye switch

A wye switch (Y points) has trailing ends which diverge symmetrically and in opposite directions. The name originates from the similarity of their shape to that of the letter Y. Wye switches are usually used where space is at a premium. In North America this is also called an "equilateral switch" or "equilateral turnout". Common switches are more often associated with mainline speeds, whereas wye switches are generally low-speed yard switches.

One advantage of wye switches is that they can have a coarser frog angle using the same radius of curvature than a common switch. This means that they give rise to a less severe speed restriction than the diverging branch of a common switch, without having to resort to more expensive switches with a moving frog. For this reason they are sometimes used on a main line where it splits into two equally important branches or at the ends of a single track section in an otherwise double track line.

Run-off points

Run-off points are used to protect main lines from stray or runaway cars, or from trains passing signals set at danger. In these cases, vehicles would otherwise roll onto and foul (obstruct) the main line and cause a collision. Depending on the situation in which they are used, run-off points are referred to either as trap points or catch points. Derailers are another device used for the same purpose.

Catch points are installed on the running line itself, where the railway climbs at a steep gradient. They are used to prevent runaway vehicles colliding with another train further down the slope. In some cases, catch points lead into a sand drag to safely stop the runaway vehicle, which may be travelling at speed. Catch points are usually held in the 'derail' position by a spring. They can be set to allow a train to pass safely in the downhill direction using a lever or other mechanism to override the spring for a short time.

Catch points originate from the days of the 'unfitted' goods (freight) train. As these trains tended to consist of either completely unbraked wagons (relying entirely on the locomotive's own brakes), or ones with unlinked, manually applied brakes (necessitating a stop at the top of steep downgrades for the guard to walk along the train and set the brakes on each wagon in turn), they also lacked any mechanism to automatically brake runaway cars. Catch points were therefore required to stop the rear portion of a poorly coupled train that might break away whilst climbing a steep grade – although they would also stop vehicles that ran away for any other reason. Now that trains are all 'fitted' (and broken couplings are far less common), catch points are mostly obsolete.

Similar to catch points, trap points are provided at the exit from a siding or where a goods line joins a line that may be used by passenger trains. Unless they have been specifically set to allow traffic to pass onto the main line, the trap points will direct any approaching vehicle away from the main line. This may simply result in the vehicle being derailed, but in some cases a sand drag is used, especially where the vehicle is likely to be a runaway travelling at speed due to a slope.

Derailers

A derailer works by derailing any vehicle passing over it. There are different types of derailers, but in some cases they consist of a single switch point installed in a track. The point can be pulled into a position to derail any equipment that is not supposed to pass through.

Dual gauge switches

Dual gauge switches are used in dual gauge systems. There are various possible scenarios involving the routes that trains on each gauge may take, including the two gauges separating or one gauge being able to choose between diverging paths and the other not. Because of the extra track involved, dual gauge switches have more points and frogs than their single gauge counterparts. This limits speeds even more than usual.

A related formation is the 'swish' or rail exchange, where (usually) the common rail changes sides. These have no moving parts, the narrower gauge wheels being guided by guard rails as they transition from one rail to another. The wider gauge only encounters continuous rail so is unaffected by the exchange. At dual gauge turntables, a similar arrangement is used to move the narrow-gauge track from one side to a central position.

Rack-railway switches

Rack-railway switches are as varied as rack-railway technologies. Where use of the rack is optional, as on the Zentralbahn in Switzerland or the West Coast Wilderness Railway in Tasmania, it is common to place turnouts only in relatively flat areas where the rack is not needed. On systems where only the pinion is driven and the conventional rail wheels are idlers, such as the Dolderbahn in Zürich, Štrbské Pleso in Slovakia and the Schynige Platte rack railway, the rack must be continuous through the switch. The Dolderbahn switch works by bending all three rails, an operation that is performed every trip as the two trains pass in the middle. The Štrbské Pleso and Schynige Platte Strub rack system instead relies on a complex set of moving points which assemble the rack in the traversed direction and simultaneously clear the crossed direction conventional rails. In some rack systems, such as the Morgan system, where locomotives always have multiple driving pinions, it is possible to simplify turnouts by interrupting the rack rail, so long as the interruption is shorter than the spacing between the drive pinions on the locomotives.

Switch diamond

Although not strictly speaking a turnout, a switch diamond is an active trackwork assembly used where the crossing angle between two tracks is too shallow for totally passive trackwork: the unguided sections of each rail would overlap. These vaguely resemble two standard points assembled very closely toe-to-toe. These would also often utilise swingnose crossings at the outer ends to ensure complete wheel support in the same way as provided on shallow angle turnouts. In North America these are known as movable-point diamonds. In the UK, where the angle of divergence is shallower than 1 in 8 (center-line measure) a switched diamond will be found rather than a passive or fixed diamond.

Such switches are usually implemented on the basis of increasing the safe crossing speed. Open blades impose a speed restriction, due to the potential of the crossing impact fracturing the rail as both wheels on each axle hit the crossing gaps almost simultaneously. Switched blades, as shown in the photograph, allow a much higher speed across the gap by providing an essentially continuous piece of rail across the gap on both sides.

The frog end of the switched crossing, despite still having a gap in one rail, is less problematic in this regard. The outer rail is still continuous, the wing rail (the part that turns out, after the frog gap) provides a gradual transition, and the check rail avoids the possibility of points splitting. This can be seen in how, under examination, the wing rail has a wider polished section, showing how the wheel load is transferred across the gap.

Single-point switch

Single point switches, known as Tongue and Plain Mate switches, are sometimes used on freight railways in slow speed operation in paved areas such as in ports. In the United States, they are regulated by provision 213.135(i) of the Federal Railroad Administration Track Safety Standards.

On streetcar (tram) systems using grooved rails, if the wheels on both sides of the car are connected by a rigid solid axle, only one switchpoint is needed to steer it onto one or the other track. The switchpoint will be on inside rail of the switch's curve route. When a streetcar enters the curve route of the switch, the wheel on the inside of the curve (the right side of the car on a right turn) is pulled into the turn, and through the axle, directs the wheel on the outside to also follow the curve. The outside wheel is supported for a short distance by its flange running in the groove.

Some low floor streetcar designs use split axles (a separate half-axle for the wheel on each side of the car). Such streetcars are unsuitable for use with single-point switches as there would be no mechanism to transfer the force from the inner to outer wheels at switches.

A single-point switch is cheaper to build, especially in street trackage, as there is no need to link to a second switchpoint.

Rotary switch

Rotary switches are sometimes used on cog railways to maintain alignment of the cog with two different tracks. They are used on the Pilatus Cog Railway to allow up-bound and down-bound trains to pass each other on a grade while sharing the remainder of the single track.

A rotary switch rotates about its long axis to present a track connection to a chosen set of tracks. Physically, it flips over (rotates about its long axis 180 degrees) to connect to the chosen set of tracks. Once the rotary switch is secured the train can proceed. Cog alignment is maintained in both positions.

Temporary points

When a tram track is interrupted during repairs, a set of temporary points may be placed on top of existing track to allow trams to cross to the parallel track. These are known as  or  in German,  in French, and ,  or  in Dutch. They may be welded into place and allow trams to pass at walking pace.

Expansion joint
Expansion joints look like a part of a railroad switch, but have a completely different purpose, namely to compensate for the shrinkage or expansion of the road bed – e.g. typically, a larger steel bridge – due to changes in temperature, to avoid sun kink.

Turnout speeds

Turnout speeds are governed by a number of factors.

As a general rule, the smaller the crossing angle of a turnout, the higher the turnout speed.
In North America, turnouts are rated numerically, which represents the ratio of divergence per length as measured at the frog. A rule of thumb is that the rated speed of a switch (in miles per hour) is twice the numerical rating:
  15:
  20:

Higher speed turnouts have also been used in the United States:
  26.5:
  32.7:

In most other countries, switches are marked with tangent of crossing angle. For example, Russia and the rest of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) use the following designations:
 1/6: sorting yards only, whenever it is impossible to install a better switch
 1/9: , the most common switch, installed by default
 1/11: , used where passenger trains follow a diverging path. Swingnose crossing may be installed if required.
 1/18: , used where either non-interruptible movement is required or the mainline diverges from the branch line
 1/22: , rarely used, high-speed lines only

In Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Poland and other European countries, switches are described by the radius of the branching track (in meters) and the tangent of the frog angle. The crossing may be straight, as in a crossover, or curved for other uses. The following designations are typical examples:
 190-1:9, the most common switch, for 40 km/h on the branch track
 300-1:9, preferred over 190-1:9 since the 1990s, for 50 km/h
 500-1:12, for 60 km/h (signalled speed, capability: 65 km/h)
 760-1:14, for 80 km/h
 1200-1:18.5, for 100 km/h
 2500-1:26.5, for 130 km/h (in Czech Rep, signalled speed is 120 km/h) (swingnose only)

In New South Wales standard turnouts of tangential types include:
 1/7.5
 1/8.25
 see also NSW 1 in 8.25 crossing
 1/10.5
 1/12.0
 1/15

Uganda
 1 in 16, for 100 km/h

Assembly and transport

Turnouts are large pieces of rail infrastructure which may be too big, wide, or heavy to transport in one piece. Special wagons can carry the pieces at approximately 45° from vertical, so that they fit within the structure gauge. Once all the pieces have arrived, the turnout is assembled sleeper by sleeper on site. A set of turnouts may be trial assembled beforehand off site, to check that everything fits.

See also

 Centralized traffic control

 Gauntlet track
 Glossary of rail transport terms
 Minimum railway curve radius

 Railway turntable
 Transfer table

References

Further reading

External links

Articles containing video clips
Mechanisms (engineering)
Rail infrastructure
Rail junction types

Railroad switch


John Purvis (December 11, 1906 – March 30, 1962) was an American jazz musician.

Purvis was best known as a trumpet player and the composer of Dismal Dan and Down Georgia Way. He was one of the earliest trumpeters to incorporate the innovations pioneered by Louis Armstrong in the late 1920s. He also played trombone and on occasion a number of other instruments professionally (including harp).

Early years
John "Jack" Purvis was born in Kokomo, Indiana on December 11, 1906 to Sanford B. Purvis, a real estate agent and his wife Nettie (Jackson) Purvis.  Jack's behavior became uncontrollable after his mother's death in 1912, and, as a result of many acts of petty larceny, he was sent to a reform school. While there, he discovered that he had an uncanny musical ability, and soon became proficient enough to play both the trombone and trumpet professionally. This also enabled him to leave the reformatory and continue his high school education, while he was playing paying gigs on the side. One of the earliest jobs he had as a musician was with a band led by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Not long afterward, he worked with the dance band of Hal Denman.

After high school he worked in his home state for a time then went to Lexington, Kentucky where he played with the Original Kentucky Night Hawks. Around this time he learned to fly planes. In 1926 he was with Bud Rice and toured New England. He then worked the remainder of 1926 and the beginning of 1927 with Whitey Kaufman's Original Pennsylvanians. Purvis married in Pittsburgh, in 1927, and soon became a father. His daughter, Betty Lou, was, for a time, a disc jockey in Pittsburgh in the late 1940s, and a correspondent for Down Beat magazine. This was Purvis' only verified marriage, and rumors persist that he committed bigamy on several occasions.  For a short time he played trumpet with Arnold Johnson's orchestra, and by July 1928 he traveled to France with George Carhart's band. It is reported that he had an early brush with the law when he cheated a tourist out of his travelers checks and was forced to leave the band and flee France. Ship's passenger list information reports "Jacques F. Purvis" returning to New York, from Le Havre, France, on November 19. 1928.

In 1929 he joined Hal Kemp's band. From 1929 to 1930 Purvis recorded with Kemp, Smith Ballew, Ted Wallace (a pseudonym for agent Ed Kirkeby), Rube Bloom, the California Ramblers, and Roy Wilson's Georgia Crackers. On December 17, 1929 Purvis led his own recording groups using Hal Kemp's rhythm section to produce Copyin' Louis, and Mental Strain at Dawn.

The 1930s
In 1930, Purvis led a couple of racially mixed recording sessions including the likes of J.C. Higginbotham, and Adrian Rollini. One of these sessions was organized by Adrian Rollini and OKeh A & R man, Bob Stephens.

After leaving Hal Kemp in 1930, allegedly because legal issues precluded his going with the band to Florida, Purvis found work with the California Ramblers. He also worked with the Dorsey Brothers and played fourth trumpet with Fletcher Henderson, although only in a rehearsal capacity.

Purvis' mental stability was always in question, and he attempted suicide on several occasions. Although he was a brilliant musician, capable of either a hot jazz solo or a difficult passage through the hardest of arrangements, he could not be counted on to arrive anywhere on time. This lack of accountability plagued him throughout his life, and can be traced to his earliest years. In many instances, once Jack Purvis showed up to play an extended engagement, not so coincidentally, there was a spike in petty thefts and burglaries for the vicinity of that gig.

From 1931 to 1932 he played with a few radio orchestras and worked with Fred Waring. In 1933 he toured the South with Charlie Barnet. He even talked his way into a job with the New Orleans Symphony Orchestra playing The Carnival of Venice. During this time he also worked in Texas as a pilot perhaps smuggling illegal goods out of Mexico.

He moved to California and was successful with radio broadcasting work. In Los Angeles, Purvis worked for the George Stoll Orchestra as a writer and even worked for Warner Bros. Studios arranging. He composed Legends of Haiti for a one hundred and ten piece orchestra. Afterwards he found work in San Francisco as a chef.

At the end of 1935 he joined Frank Froeba's Swing Band in New York. These 1935 recordings with Froeba were the end of Purvis' recording career. He played a couple of weeks with Joe Haymes' orchestra and then disappeared for a couple of years. There was a confirmed sighting of him working in a diner in the midwest around this time. It is also speculated that he worked as a ship's cook on a freighter at the time.

He was arrested in Texas in June 1937, while working as a cook, for his involvement in a robbery in El Paso, Texas. He was tried and convicted and sentenced to jail time in Huntsville Prison. While in prison he directed the Rhythmic Swingsters, the prison band and also played piano with them. The band regularly broadcast on radio station WBAP in 1938.

Later life
In August 1940, Purvis was conditionally pardoned from prison, but he quickly broke his parole and was sent back to prison for six more years. Some sources claim he did this deliberately because he missed the prison band.

On September 30, 1946 Purvis was released from prison one last time. He had a wild reputation and is said to have set hotel rooms on fire. He seldom stuck with one band for very long and was known to hit the streets as a busker. From this time onward he worked at non-musical careers which included working as a chef, an aviator in Florida, a carpenter, a radio repairman in San Francisco. At sometime in his checkered life he was also a mercenary in South America.

According to researcher Paul Larsen, Purvis gassed himself to death in San Francisco on March 30, 1962. Yet Purvis' death certificate indicates the cause of death to be "fatty degeneration of the liver" rather than death by gas poisoning.
Cornetist Jim Goodwin claimed that a man who looked like (and introduced himself as) Jack Purvis showed up at a band date a couple of times in about 1968 and that they had a long talk about his life.

References

External links
 The Many Lives of Jack Purvis
 Find A Grave

1906 births
1962 suicides
1962 deaths
American jazz trumpeters
American male trumpeters
American jazz composers
American male jazz composers
Okeh Records artists
American jazz trombonists
Male trombonists
American street performers
American aviators
People from Kokomo, Indiana
Prison music
Suicides in California
20th-century American composers
20th-century trumpeters
20th-century trombonists
20th-century American male musicians
20th-century jazz composers
Suicides by gas

Jack Purvis


Nifty Gateway is a digital art online auction platform for non-fungible token (NFT) art founded by Duncan and Griffin Cock Foster, and has since been acquired by the Winklevoss twins. Nifty Gateway has sold NFTs by Beeple,  Pak, Refik Anadol and other widely followed NFT artists.

In March 2021, Nifty Gateway began a partnership with the auction house Sotheby's.

Account takeovers
In March 2021, some users of the platform were hacked. A common theme across all the users that were hacked was that they all did not have 2-factor authentication activated. It is speculated that the hack was a result of cracking or otherwise acquiring their individual passwords. Nifty Gateway released a statement saying its initial investigation had found "no evidence" the platform itself was breached. Nifty Gateway was able to reverse all transactions made via stolen credit card information, although it raised questions regarding new users understanding of cryptocurrency's decentralization.

One user planned to file a police report and contact their insurance company, but did not, stating "there's nothing I can do per the Nifty terms of service."

References

External links
Official site

Blockchain art
Non-fungible tokens

Nifty Gateway


Emmy Loose (22 January 1914 in Chabařovice – 14 October 1987 in Vienna) was an Austrian operatic soprano particularly associated with soubrette roles.

After vocal studies in Prague Conservatory, she made her stage debut in Hanover as Blonchen in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, in 1939. She first appeared at the Vienna State Opera in 1941, as Annchen in Der Freischütz, and remained with this theatre some 25 years, establishing herself in Mozart soubrette roles (Susanna, Zerlina, Despina).

She made guest appearances at the festivals of Salzburg, Aix-en-Provence, and Glyndebourne, at La Scala in Milan, the Royal Opera House in London, the Liceu in Barcelona, the San Carlo in Naples, the Munich State Opera, etc.

She took part in the creation of Gottfried von Einem's Der Besuch der alten Dame at the Vienna State Opera in 1971. She retired from the stage in 1979, and began teaching at the Vienna Music Academy and at the Sommerakademie in Salzburg.

Sources
 Operissimo.com

1914 births
1987 deaths
Austrian operatic sopranos
Soubrettes
20th-century Austrian women opera singers
People from Chabařovice
Singers from Vienna
German Bohemian people
Austrian people of German Bohemian descent
Prague Conservatory alumni
Academic staff of the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna

Emmy Loose


Hajiani Lanjo (Sindhi: ) is a liberal political and social activist from Tharparkar, a remote and underdeveloped desert area of Sindh, Pakistan. She belongs to the Awami Tehreek party and Sindhiani Tahreek. She reached prominence after challenged Arbab Ghulam Rahim, a powerful tribal leader from Tharparkar, in the constituency of NA-229 in election-2013.

An attorney by profession, Hajiani became a symbol of social change and a voice of women in Tharparkar area. Prior to her  political career, Lanjo had served in various social organisations around Tharparkar. She was also a compere for Radio Pakistan at Mithi.

Family & Education
Lanjo belongs to a landless peasant family from the Village in vicinity of Mithi, she was the first female in her family to obtain education up to a college. Hajiani Lanjo was born in small village of Alamsir in Mithi. Her father Mubarak Lanjo was a poor farmer. She attended a government primary school at Rokdyar. She overcame social and economic problems to continue her studies. She graduated while meeting her family's home expenditures by teaching at a private school run by a non-governmental organization. She then worked at different non-governmental organizations of Thar, including Thardeep, Banh-Beli, Sukaar Foundation and Marvi Rural Development organisation.

She graduated with a Masters in Sociology from University of Sindh and further pursued her career in Law.

Political career

During her study of law at Hyderabad, Sindh she developed associations with members of Sindhiani Tahreek, a sister organisation of Qaumi Awami Tehreek struggling to empowering women and thus entered politics. She founded the district chapter of Sindhiani Tahreek in Tharparker and became its president. She participated in general elections from Tharparkar.

References

External links
Official webpage

Sindhi politicians
Living people
Awami Tahreek politicians
1982 births
Sindhi women politicians
Sindhi lawyers

Hajiani Lanjo


The Ho people are an Austroasiatic Munda ethnic group of India. They call themselves the Ho, Hodoko and Horo, which mean 'human' in their own language. Officially, however, they are mentioned in different subgroups like Kolha, Mundari, Munda, Kol and Kolah in Odisha. They are mostly concentrated in the Kolhan region of Jharkhand and Odisha where they constitute around 10.7% and 7.3% of the total Scheduled Tribe population respectively, as of 2011 . With a population of approximately 700,000 in the state in 2001, the Ho are the fourth most numerous Scheduled tribe in Jharkhand after the Santals, Kurukhs, and Mundas. Ho also inhabit adjacent areas in the neighboring states of Odisha, West Bengal and Bihar bringing the total to 806,921 as of 2001. They also live in Bangladesh and Nepal.

The ethnonym "Ho" is derived from the Ho language word hō meaning "human". The name is also applied to their language which is an Austroasiatic language closely related to Mundari. According to Ethnologue, the total number of people speaking the Ho language was 1,040,000 as of 2001. Similar to other Austroasiatic groups in the area, the Ho report varying degrees of multilingualism, also using Hindi and English.

Over 90% of the Ho practice the indigenous religion Sarnaism. The majority of the Ho are involved in agriculture, either as land owners or labourers, while others are engaged in mining. Compared to the rest of India, the Ho have a low literacy rate and a low rate of school enrollment. The government of Jharkhand has recently approved measures to help increase enrollment and literacy among children.

History
Linguistic studies suggest that the Austroasiatic homeland was in Southeast Asia and Austroasiatic languages arrived on the coast of Odisha from Southeast Asia about 4000–3500 years ago. The Austroasiatic speaker spread from Southeast Asia and mixed extensively with local Indian populations.

According to historian Ram Sharan Sharma in his book India's Ancient Past mentioned that, many Austroasiatic, Dravidian, and non-Sanskrit terms occur in the Vedic texts ascribed to 1500-500 BC. They indicate ideas, institutions, products, and settlements associated with peninsular and non-Vedic India. The people of this area spoke the proto-Munda language. Several terms in the Indo-Aryan languages that signify the use of cotton, navigation, digging, stick, etc. have been traced to the Munda languages by linguists. There are many Munda pockets in Chota Nagpur Plateau, in which the remnants of Munda culture are strong. It is held that changes in the phonetics and vocabulary of the Vedic language can be explained as much on the basis of the Dravidian influence as that of the Munda.

Starting from the period between the 9th and 12th centuries, copper was smelted in many parts of old Singhbhum district. It is believed that many immigrants entered Singhbhum from Manbhum in the 14th century or earlier. When the Hos entered old Singhbhum, they overcame the Bhuiyas, who were then inhabitants of the forest country. In the latter half of the eighteenth century, the Hos fought several wars against the Rajas of the Chota Nagpur States and Mayurbhanj to retain their independence. As far as is known, the Muslims left them alone. Although the area was formally claimed to be a part of the Mughal Empire, neither the Mughals nor the Marathas, who were active in the surrounding areas during the decline of the Mughals, ventured into the area.

In 1765, Chota Nagpur was ceded to the British East India Company as part of Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa Provinces. The Raja of Singhbhum asked the British Resident at Midnapore for protection in 1767, but it was not until 1820 that he acknowledged himself as a feudatory of the British. The restless Hos broke the agreement soon and took part in a fierce rebellion of 1831–33, called the Kol uprising, along with the Mundas. The immediate cause of the Kol uprising was the disposition of Mankis and extraction of taxes by thikadars (literally meaning contractors) or farmers of rent. The Hos and Mundas were joined by the Kurukh and the houses of many thikedars, landlords were burnt and a number of people were killed. They also plundered, killed and destroyed villages Hindus. It compelled the British to recognise the need for a thorough subjugation of the Hos. The uprising was suppressed with a good deal of trouble by several hundred British troops. While local troops quelled the uprising, another group under Colonel Richards entered Singhbhum in November 1836. Within three months all the ringleaders surrendered. In 1857, the Raja of Porahat rose in rebellion and a sizeable section of the Hos joined in the revolt. Troops were sent who put an end to the disturbances by 1859.

Language

Ho people speak the Ho language, an Austroasiatic language closely related to Mundari and more distantly related to languages of Southeast Asia such as Khmer and Mon. The Austroasiatic languages of India, including Ho, are inflected fusional languages unlike their distant relatives in Southeast Asia which are analytic languages. This difference in typology is due to extensive language contact with the unrelated Indo-Aryan and Dravidian languages. The phonology of Ho has also been influenced by the nearby unrelated languages. There are at least three dialects of Ho: Lohara, Chaibasa and Thakurmunda. All dialects are mutually intelligible with approximately 92% of all Ho speakers able to understand a narrative discourse in both Chaibasa and Thakurmunda dialects. The most divergent dialects are in the extreme south and east of Ho territory.

While fewer than five percent of Ho speakers are literate in the language, Ho is typically written in Devanagari, Latin, scripts. A native alphabet, called Warang Citi and invented by Lako Bodra in the 20th century, also exists.

Culture
Ho village life revolves around five main parab or festivals. The most important festival, Mage Parab, takes place in the late winter month of Magha and marks the completion of the agricultural cycle. It is a week-long celebration held to honor Singbonga, the creator god. Other lesser bonga (spirits) are also honored throughout the week. Baa Parab, the festival of flowers held in mid-spring, celebrates the yearly blossoming of the sacred Sal trees. Sohrai or Gaumara is the most important agricultural festival, the date of which usually coincides with the nationwide festivities in the fall. It is a village wide celebration with music and dancing held in honor of the cattle used in cultivation. During the ceremonies, the cows are painted with a flour and dye mix, anointed with oil and prayed over after a black chicken is sacrificed to an image of the cattle bonga. Baba Hermutu is the ceremonial first sowing. The date is set each year in the early spring by the deurior priest pahan who also officiates the three-day ceremony by praying and commencing his first sowing of the year. Jomnama Parab is held in late fall before the first harvest is eaten to thank the spirits for a trouble-free harvest.

Dance is important to Adivasi culture in general and for the Ho, it is more than simply a means of entertainment. Their songs are generally accompanied by dances which change with the seasons. Songs and distinctively choreographed dance are integral parts of Ho culture and art, as well as important parts of their traditional festivals, especially Mage Parab. Most villages have a dedicated dancing ground, called akhra, usually consisting of a cleared space of hard ground under a spreading tree. Dances are organised on a staggered basis in the villages so that other villagers can participate. Traditional Ho music incorporates native instruments including a dama (drum), dholak, dumeng (mandar), and the rutu (flute).

The Ho people brew handia, called by them diyeng.

Religion

In the 2001 national census, 91% of the Hos declared that they professed "other religions and persuations", meaning that they do not consider themselves to belong to any of the major religious groups and follow their indigenous religious systems called "Sarna" or Sarnaism. Also known as sarna dhorom ("religion of the holy woods"), this religion plays an important part in the life of adivasi. Their beliefs in gods, goddesses and spirits are ingrained in them from childhood. The religion of the Hos resembles, to a great extent that of Santhals, Oraons, Mundas, and other tribal people in the region. All religious rituals are performed by a village priest known as a deuri. However, he is not required to propitiate malevolent spirits or deities. The spirit doctor deowa takes care of this.

Position of women
Houlton writes, "I do not want to give the impression, by mentioning occasional divergences from the straight and narrow path, that aboriginals are immoral. On the contrary, their standards of post-marital morality and fidelity are probably a good deal higher than in some races that claim to be more civilised. The status of women is high. Wives are partners and companions to their husbands. It is even whispered that hen-pecked husbands are not uncommon among the tribesmen."

There is a system of payment of bride-price amongst the Hos. The bride-price is often a status symbol and in modern times it remains not more than 101-1001 rupees. As a result, many Ho girls remain unmarried till advanced age. Among the total Ho population, females outnumber the males.

Economy
Almost half the population is engaged in cultivation and another one third also work as land-less agricultural labourers. The Hos, along with Santals, Oraons and Mundas, are comparatively more advanced, and have taken to settled cultivation as their mode of life.

The discovery of iron ore in Ho territory opened the way for the first iron ore mine in India at Pansira Buru in 1901. Over the years iron ore mining spread out in the area. Many Hos are engaged in mining work but that does not add up to any sizeable percentage. However, small, well planned mining towns dotting the territory have brought the Ho people in close touch with the good and bad aspects of urbanization. Some of the prominent mining towns in the area are Chiria, Gua, Noamundi and Kiriburu.

Forests

Sal (Shorea robusta) is the most important tree in the area and it seems to have a preference for the rocky soil there. Although sal is a deciduous tree and sheds its leaves in early summer, the forest undergrowth is generally evergreen, which has such trees as mangoes, jamun, jackfruit, and piar. Other important trees are mahua, kusum, tilai, harin hara (Armossa rohitulea), gular (Fiscus glomerata), asan. The Singhbhum forests are best in the Kolhan area in the south-west of the district. The lives of Ho people have long been intertwined with sal forests and there is a strong resentment against the efforts of timber merchants to replace sal forests with teak plantations.

The reserved forests are the haunt of many animals. Wild elephants are common in Saranda (literally meaning seven hundred hills) and Porahat forests. Herds of sambar and chital roam about the forests. Bison is still found (locally extinct when a study was undertaken in 2005 by Kisor Chaudhuri FRGS). Tigers were never numerous but they are there (locally extinct when a study was undertaken in 2005 by Kisor Chaudhuri FRGS). Leopards are more common. The Hos are keen hunters and have practically exterminated game in Kolhan. They organise great battues, in which thousands of people join. They beat their drums in a huge circle, and gradually close in over hills and across forests, driving the wild animals on to a central point, on to which lines of hunters converge until the animals are surrounded and slaughtered.

Literacy
As per the 2011 census, the literacy rate for the Ho population was around 44.7% for all and 33.1% for women, much lower than the Jharkhand averages of 66.4% for all and 55.4% for women.

In order to help increase the literacy rates, the government announced in 2016 that it had designed text books to teach Hindi and mathematics in Ho. In 2017 those textbooks were made available on the central government's e-library platform. In a 2016 effort to help promote tribal languages Tata Steel, a private company, began teaching the Ho language on weekends to dropout schoolgirls at a "camp school" in Naomundi. As of November 2016, 100 girls were enrolled in the camp school. The company has also run private Ho language centres in East Singhbhum, West Singhbhum and Seraikela-Kharsawan districts since 2011. Approximately 6000 people have undergone Ho language and Warang Chiti script training in these centres. In 2017 the government of Jharkhand announced it would soon begin teaching five- and six-year-old primary school students in their local language in order to help reduce the high dropout rate. Among the Hos, 19.7% have completed schooling and 3.1% are graduates. The percentage of school-going children in the age group 5 –14 years was 37.6.

Notable people

Pradeep Kumar Balmuchu - Indian politician and a former member of the 14th Lok Sabha
Debendranath Champia - Indian politician and a former member of the Bihar constituency assembly
 Lipika Singh Darai - Indian filmmaker and film director
Laxman Giluwa - Indian politician and the president of the Jharkhand unit of Bhartiya Janta Party
Geeta Koda - Indian politician and member of Indian National Congress
Madhu Koda - former Chief Minister of Jharkhand
Chitrasen Sinku - Indian politician and a member of the Eleventh Lok Sabha.
Janum Singh Soy - Indian scholar and Padma Shri awardee
Bagun Sumbrai - Indian politician and a former member of the 14th Lok Sabha

See also

 Tribes of Jharkhand

References

External links

 Ho Language webpage, by K. David Harrison, Swarthmore College
 Sinlung Sinlung - Indian tribes
 RWAAI | Projekt RWAAI (Repository and Workspace for Austroasiatic Intangible Heritage)
 http://holanguageodishaedu.in/
 http://hdl.handle.net/10050/00-0000-0000-0003-A6AC-8@view Ho language in RWAAI Digital Archive

Tribes of Jharkhand
Tribes of Assam
Ethnic groups in India
Indigenous peoples of South Asia
Social groups of West Bengal
Social groups of Odisha
Scheduled Tribes of India
Scheduled Tribes of Odisha
Social groups of Bangladesh
Social groups of Nepal
Ethnic groups in Nepal
Ethnic groups in Bangladesh

Ho people


An agency of British India was an internally autonomous or semi-autonomous unit of British India whose external affairs were governed by an agent designated by the Viceroy of India.

Description

The agencies varied in character from fully autonomous self-governing dependencies such as princely states, where the agent functioned mainly as a representative of the Viceroy, to tribal tracts which were integral parts of the British Empire and where the agent was completely in charge of law and order. The agent of a protected tract or princely state usually lived outside the territory in his charge, as opposed to a Resident who usually lived within his confines and was frequently the District Collector of the adjoining British district.

Civil and criminal justice in agencies were usually administered through locally made laws, and the Indian Penal Code was not applicable by default in these agencies.

List of agencies
Political agencies were created, merged or abolished at different times during the history of the British Raj. This list includes all agencies, regardless of the historical period.
Aden Agency (1839 – 1859)
Alwar Agency (belonging to Rajputana Agency)
Bagelkhand Agency March 1871 / 1933
Baluchistan Agency
Banas Kantha Agency
Baroda Agency
Baroda and Gujarat Agency
Baroda, Western States, and Gujarat Agency
Bengal States Agency
Bhopal Agency 1818 / 1947-08-15
Bhopawar Agency 1882 / 1925 (merged with Malwa to form Malwa and Bhopawar Agency)
Bikaner Agency (belonging to Rajputana Agency)
Bundelkhand Agency 1811
Central India Agency 1854
Chhattisgarh Agency
Cutch Agency
Deccan States Agency 1930s
Delhi Agency
Eastern Rajputana States Agency (belonging to Rajputana Agency)
Eastern States Agency 1930s
Ganjam Hill Tracts Agency (Madras Presidency)
Gilgit Agency 1889
 Kotah-Jhalawar Agency (belonging to Rajputana Agency)
Haraoti Agency
 Haraoti-Tonk Agency (belonging to Rajputana Agency)
Kaira Agency
Kathiawar Agency (Bombay Presidency)
Kolaba Agency
Kolhapur Agency
Madras States Agency 1930s
Mahi Kantha Agency (Bombay Presidency)
Malwa Agency
 1895 / 1925 (merged with Bhopawar Agency to form Malwa and Bhopawar Agency)
 1934 / 1947
Malwa and Bhopawar Agency 1925 / 1927 rename to Malwa and Southern States Agency
Malwa and Southern States Agency 1927 renamed from Malwa and Bhopawar Agency / 1934 renamed to Malwa
Nasik Agency
North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA)
North-West Frontier States Agency
Orissa Agency 1905
Palanpur Agency 1819 (belong to Bombay Presidency, merged 10 October 1924 in WISA)
Deccan States Agency
Punjab States Agency 1930s
Rajputana Agency (consisting of three residencies and six agencies)
Rewa Kantha Agency (Bombay Presidency)
Sabar Kantha Agency
Surat Agency
Thana Agency
Vizagapatam Hill Tracts Agency (Madras Presidency)
Western India States Agency (WISA)
 Western Rajputana States Agency (belonging to Rajputana Agency, part of Mewar Residency until 1906, when it was separated)

See also
Indian Political Service (IPS)
Subdivisions of British India

References

Sources and external links
 IPS Index, First Edition – Princely States Report

Subdivisions of British India

Agencies of British India


Nancy Telfer (born Lindsey) (born 8 May 1950) is a Canadian choral conductor, music educator and composer.

Biography
Nancy Ellen Telfer was born in Brampton, Ontario. She began piano lessons at age six and later played French horn in bands, orchestras and chamber ensembles. She graduated from the University of Western Ontario and worked as a music and drama teacher in the public schools. In 1977 she continued her studies at the University of Western Ontario under Jack Behrens, Kenneth Bray, Alan Heard, Deral Johnson, Peter Paul Koprowski, and Gerhard Wuensch. She graduated from the University of Western Ontario with a bachelor's in music in 1979 and began composing.

Works
Telfer has composed more than three hundred works for orchestra and solo instruments, with concentration in choral ensembles and solo voice. She is well known for her work for The Royal Conservatory of Music, contributing many songs to their graded piano repertoire. Selected works include:

Dinosaurus
The Sleeping Dragon
The Sea's Strong Voice
Canadian Kaleidoscope
When rivers flowed on Mars
Moved by the Spirit
Spell of Long Past
Psalm 57
The Ballad of Princess Caraboo
Triune
The Annunciation
Tai Chi Zoo
The Blue Eye of God
Fanfare
Requiem Aeternam
Matters of the Heart
Missa Brevis (1993)
De Profundis (2001)
"The Silent Moon"
"The dream"(Le Reve)
 lullaby

Texts
Telfer is the author of numerous articles on music and texts including:
Sightsinging: A Creative Step-by-Step Approach (San Diego, Cal 1991)
Successful Sight-Singing, Book 2 1993, Kjos
Successful Warmups, Book 1 1995, Kjos
Successful Warmups, Book 2 1996, Kjos
Singing in Tune 2000, Kjos
Singing High Pitches with Ease 2003, Kjos

References

1950 births
20th-century classical composers
Canadian classical composers
Canadian music educators
Canadian women music educators
Living people
University of Western Ontario alumni
Canadian women classical composers
20th-century Canadian composers
20th-century women composers
Canadian women composers

Nancy Telfer


Renfro Valley Gatherin'  (also formerly known as Renfro Valley Sunday Morning Gathering ) is a United States radio program based in Renfro Valley, Kentucky. The Gatherin' is the third oldest continually broadcast radio program in America, and (since the 2007 cancellation of the WWVA Jamboree) the second-longest continually-running such program featuring country music; only the Grand Ole Opry (1925) and Music & the Spoken Word (1929) have been continually broadcast longer. (The CBS World News Roundup, which debuted in 1938, predates the Gatherin' but has not continually aired.)The Renfro Valley Gatherin' as of 2016 is now exclusively aired on RFDTV'S siriusxm radio channel 147 Rural Radio, Sunday nights at 9:30 pm eastern, and hosted by Scotty Bussell.

Format

The Gatherin'  program lasts a half-hour. The program begins with an opening hymn (sung by a choir, which includes audience members during live performances, accompanied by a reed organ), followed by an advertisement for upcoming events at the Renfro Valley Entertainment Center; this is followed by a listing of listeners' birthdays and anniversaries (limited to those 75 years or older or married 50 years or longer). The remainder of the program is themed, with the host reading short stories and monologues between folk, gospel and old-time country music performed by the show's house band. Most songs are vocal; an instrumental will sometimes close out the show. Other than the ad for the entertainment center, there are no commercials, nor is there any space for local stations to insert their own advertisements.

Prior to 2011, the show was produced as a live stage performance. The current incarnation of the program is recorded entirely in a studio up to two months ahead of its air date and features studio recorded music, with almost all of it selected from a very limited playlist of approximately ten songs (most of which feature the host's wife, Pam Perry Combs, on lead vocals). The live version of the show is scheduled to return in May 2013.

History

The Gatherin' program was founded by John Lair, former producer of the National Barn Dance, who founded the Renfro Valley Barn Dance and what would become the Renfro Valley Entertainment Center around it in 1939.  The Gatherin''' was first broadcast via the CBS Radio Network in September 1943.  The Gatherin' was, and is, a thematic program.  The original concept of the show was to recreate the atmosphere of the pioneer "getherin's" which were held in Renfro Valley "in the days of long ago."  At the start, CBS wanted a Sunday morning companion program to the popular Saturday night Renfro Valley Barn Dance which would not be strictly a religious program, but would fit the Sunday morning format of the time.  The "Gatherin'" was John Lair's answer to this.  During this time, both shows were headquartered at WHAS in Louisville, Kentucky.

John Lair was the first permanent emcee of the "Gatherin'," and there have so far only been three others; Grant Turner, Jim Gaskin, and Wayne Combs. Gaskin died on Saturday, May 3, 2008, at the age of 70 following a long illness. From then until approximately 2013, the Gatherin' was emceed by Wayne Combs, who is also an entertainer on the Barn Dance and other Renfro Valley shows, and a DJ at WRVK. For 2014 and 2015 episodes, Billy Keith hosted the show. The 2016 host is Scotty Bussell.

After CBS Radio dropped the show at the end of the old-time radio era in 1957, a pre-recorded version of the Gatherin program went into syndication.  Meanwhile, a stage version of the show was, until approximately 2011, presented in the Old Barn Theater on Sunday mornings at 8:30.  The syndicated broadcast of the Gatherin''' is still heard on scores of stations across the United States and Canada, as well as on satellite radio and Internet broadcasts.  Following the departure of CBS, and former originating station WHAS of Louisville, from Renfro Valley in 1957, John Lair partnered with Tom Hargis to found WRVK in Renfro Valley, in part to serve as the Gatherin's and the Barn Dance's new flagship station, but mainly to serve the local listening audience in Rockcastle County, Kentucky.  The station first went on the air as a 500 watt daytime only AM station in April, 1957, utilizing the former WHAS/CBS studio in what was then the Pioneer Museum Building in Renfro Valley.

Renfro Valley Entertainment Center

Renfro Valley Entertainment Center, the home of the Gatherin' and Barn Dance, has been under separate ownership from WRVK since 1978.  At that time the radio station's then-owners, Cochran-Smith Broadcasting of Nashville, chose to move the studios, offices, and transmitter approximately one mile north of the entertainment center, to their present location on Red Foley Road.  (Cochran Smith's group of partners had leased the entire entertainment center from Lair in 1966, then exercised their option to buy it in 1968.  When they sold the facility back to Lair and his new partners, they kept ownership of WRVK, and moved it out of the Valley.).  WRVK is now a 1,200 watt station owned by Saylor Broadcasting, Inc. of Mt. Vernon, Kentucky.

WRVK airs the Gatherin' on Saturdays at 6:25am. The Renfro Valley Entertainment Center currently lists WCYO/Irvine, Kentucky and WLXO/Stamping Ground, Kentucky as official radio stations, but neither station carries the Gatherin'. The show remains in production and in syndication.

References

External links
www.renfrovalley.com: Official site of Renfro Valley Entertainment Center
www.renfrovalley.com: Audio of Gatherin' radio programs
www.wrvk1460.com: Official site of WRVK Radio Station

Rockcastle County, Kentucky
American country music radio programs
1943 radio programme debuts

Renfro Valley Gatherin'


Jan Schulz (May 1899 – May 1953) was a Czech chess master.

He took 2nd, behind Karel Opočenský, at Belun 1916; won at Prague 1920, tied for 6-8th at Prague 1921 (Karel Hromádka and František Treybal won), tied for 5-7th at Brno 1921 (Hromádka, Karel Treybal and Ladislav Prokeš won), and won at Prague 1924 (1st Kautsky Memorial).

Schulz played for Czechoslovakia in 1st unofficial Chess Olympiad at Paris 1924, and won team gold medal there. He also played in the 2nd Chess Olympiad at The Hague 1928.

He tied for 3rd-5th at Bratislava 1925 (Richard Réti won), took 6th at Bardejov 1926 (Hermanis Matisons and Savielly Tartakower won), took 5th at Trencianske Teplice (Karl Gilg and Boris Kostić won), shared 1st with Karel Skalička and Prokop at Prague 1926 (3rd Kautsky Memorial), tied for 5-8th at Prague 1927 (Hromádka won), took 2nd, behind Opočensky, at Brno 1929, and tied for 5-6th at Mnichovo Hradiště (Efim Bogoljubow won).

References

1899 births
1953 deaths
Czech chess players
20th-century chess players

Jan Schulz


Maria may refer to:

People
 Mary, mother of Jesus
 Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages

Place names

Extraterrestrial
170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877
Lunar maria (plural of mare), large, dark basaltic plains on Earth's Moon

Terrestrial
Maria, Maevatanana, Madagascar
Maria, Quebec, Canada
Maria, Siquijor, the Philippines
María, Spain, in Andalusia
Îles Maria, French Polynesia
María de Huerva, Aragon, Spain
Villa Maria (disambiguation)

Arts, entertainment, and media

Films
Maria (1947 film), Swedish film
Maria (1975 film), Swedish film
Maria (2003 film), Romanian film
Maria (2019 film), Filipino film
Maria (2021 film), Canadian film directed by Alec Pronovost
Maria (Sinhala film), Sri Lankan upcoming film

Literature
María (novel), an 1867 novel by Jorge Isaacs
 Maria (Ukrainian novel), a 1934 novel by the Ukrainian writer Ulas Samchuk
Maria (play), a 1935 play by Isaac Babel
, a poetic novel (1825) by Antoni Malczewski
Maria: or, The Wrongs of Woman, a 1798 unfinished novel by Mary Wollstonecraft
 Maria (Philippine fairy tale)

Music
Artists
Maria (band), a Japanese all-female band
Maria (Danish singer), born 1978
Maria (South African singer), 1945–1980
Maria (Bulgarian singer), born 1982
Maria (Bruneian singer), born 1989

Albums
Maria (Jane Siberry album), 1995
Maria (Carminho album), 2018
María (EP), a 2020 EP by Hwasa

Songs
"María" (Cátulo Castillo song), 1945
"Maria" (West Side Story song), from the musical West Side Story Sondheim, Bernstein, 1956 covered by Gene Pitney, The Delta Rhythm Boys, P. J. Proby and others
"Maria" (Rodgers and Hammerstein song), from the musical The Sound of Music 1959
"María" (Franco song), 1988
"María" (Ricky Martin song), by Ricky Martin, 1995
"Maria" (Blondie song), 1999
"María" (Östen med Resten song), 2003
"Maria" (US5 song), 2005
María (Hwasa song), 2020
"Maria (I Like It Loud)", by Scooter, a cover of "I Like It Loud" by Marc Acardipane
"Maria", by Animal Liberation Orchestra from Roses & Clover
"María", by Café Tacuba from Café Tacuba
"Maria", song by David Sylvian from the album Secrets of the Beehive
"Maria", by Gackt from Rebirth
"Maria", a song by Lorna Cordeiro with Mohammad Rafi
"Maria", by Green Day from International Superhits!
"Maria", by Guano Apes from Proud Like a God
"Maria", by The Jacksons from 2300 Jackson Street
"Maria", by Jean Ferrat
"Maria", by Joe Dassin
"Maria", by Justin Bieber from Believe
"Maria", by Kendji Girac
"Maria", by Kim Ah-joong from the Korean film 200 Pounds Beauty
"Maria", by Men at Work from Two Hearts
"María", by Pepe Aguilar from No Lo Había Dicho
"Maria", by Six Organs of Admittance from their self-titled album
"Maria", by Rage Against the Machine from The Battle of Los Angeles
"Maria", by Redgum from the album Virgin Ground
"Maria", by Robert Earl Keen from West Textures
"Maria", by Wu-Tang Clan from Wu-Tang Forever
"Oh Maria", by Louis Prima from The Wildest!
"O Marie", by Eduardo di Capua
"Maria (You Were the Only One)", by Michael Jackson from Got to Be There
"They Call the Wind Maria", a song from the musical Paint Your Wagon

Operas
Maria, a 1903-4 opera by Roman Statkowski (based on the poetic novel by Antoni Malczewski)

Television
Maria (TV series), Kenyan drama series

Computing and technology
Maria (reachability analyzer), a reachability analyzer, used in computer science for concurrent systems
Maria (storage engine), a storage engine for MySQL (renamed Aria in 2010)
Maria reactor, a nuclear research reactor in Poland
MARIA XML, a model-based XML language for User Interfaces
MariaDB, a community-developed branch of the MySQL database

Languages
Maria language (disambiguation)
Maria language (India) (also Madiya), Dravidian language of the Gondi group
Maria language (Papua New Guinea)

Ships
Maria (brigantine), Australian shipwreck of 1840, whose survivors were massacred
, a number of ships with this name
, a Danish cargo ship in service 1946-59

Other uses
Maria 2.0, movement of Roman Catholic women
Marie biscuit, a type of sweet biscuit similar to a Rich Tea biscuit
Tropical Storm Maria (disambiguation), one of several named storms
Most notably Hurricane Maria (2017)

See also

Santa Maria (disambiguation)
Black Maria (disambiguation)
Ave Maria (disambiguation)

Mario (disambiguation)
Marius (disambiguation)
Mariah (disambiguation)
Marie (disambiguation)
Muria (disambiguation)
Mariya
Mary (given name)
Marea (disambiguation)

Sammarinese given names

Maria


Czterdziestolatek or 40-latek (the English translation: a forty-year-old); broadcast in English by TVP Polonia. It was broadcasted under the title of "Being Forty". It is a Polish television comedy series which ran from 1974 to 1977.

It was very popular that it was continued and led to the release of a movie I'm a Butterfly, a 40-year-old's Love Affair and a New Year's Eve television program in 1975.

The series was written by Jerzy Gruza and Krzysztof Teodor Toeplitz and was broadcast on Telewizja Polska. In total, 21 episodes were made.

It starred Andrzej Kopiczyński, Roman Kłosowski, Anna Seniuk, Irena Kwiatkowska, Wojciech Pokora, Leonard Pietraszak, Katarzyna Łaniewska, Wiesław Gołas, Alina Janowska, Jan Kociniak, Tadeusz Pluciński, Lech Ordon, Jan Pietrzak, Jan Kobuszewski and Krzysztof Kowalewski.

The show was about a family in Warsaw who goes through midlife crisis, affairs, addiction, obsession with hair loss, efforts to maintain physical fitness, pride in achievements and professional life, society's role and health.

References

Other websites

1974 television series debuts
Comedy television series

Czterdziestolatek


Spacecraft propulsion is the method that a spacecraft uses to control its movement through outer space. A spacecraft with no means of propelling itself is typically considered derelict.

The problem of propelling a spacecraft has, predictably, existed since spacecraft themselves. Most spacecraft are propelled by rocket engines, which combust an explosive liquid fuel with liquid oxidizer (oxygen in a liquid state) to generate hot gas which expands and propels the spacecraft forward.

Methods
Many methods of spacecraft propulsion have been developed and practiced. Most work by accelerating a propellant to a very high speed and ejecting it from the spacecraft through a nozzle.

Chemical rocket
A chemical rocket works by mixing an explosive propellant with liquid oxygen and burning it under pressure. This releases a great amount of heat. It results in a rapidly expanding gas. This gas is then funneled out of the rocket's nozzle (usually a bell shape) and off into space.

Ion thruster
An ion thruster works by using static electricity or magnetism to accelerate ions (atoms with an electric charge) to very high speeds, and out of the thruster's nozzle. Ion thrusters make very little thrust but are very efficient.

Nuclear thermal rocket
A nuclear thermal rocket heats a propellant with heat from a nuclear reactor before expelling it through a nozzle. Nuclear thermal rockets are currently experimental, but will have decent thrust and high efficiency once put into practice.

Spacecraft

Spacecraft propulsion


Alex Vizorek (born Alexandre Wieczoreck; 21 September 1981) is a Belgian television host, comedian, writer, and radio personality.

Vizorek was born on 21 September 1981 in Brussels, Belgium and grew up in the Borinage. His paternal grandfather was a Polish immigrant to Belgium. He graduated from Lycée Dachsbeck and then attended Université libre de Bruxelles, studying both commercial engineering and journalism. After graduation, Vizorek enrolled at the Cours Florent, where he studied stand-up comedy.

In 2009, Vizorek joined the theatre group Kings of Comedy and was featured in the Made In Brussels Show. At the 2009 Montreux Comedy Festival, his show Alex Vizorek est une œuvre d'art received the François Silvant Award. Vizorek began working in the radio industry, hosting a radio show on Bel RTL covering football games.

He went on to host his own shows at VivaCité and La Première, was a guest host for France Inter from 2012 to 2014, and started writing for L'Echo and Le Soir. On 24 August 2018, it was announced that Vizorek would host the 9th Magritte Awards.

References

External links

1981 births
Living people
21st-century comedians
Belgian people of Polish descent
Belgian male comedians
Belgian television presenters
Belgian radio presenters
Université libre de Bruxelles alumni

Alex Vizorek