2017 England Highlights
Pictures of London (9 days) and Paris (1 day) captured with both my iPhone 6 Plus and Sony RX100M3.
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In the photo you can see that both on-boarding and off-boarding occur simultaneously...while the wheel is moving! Its a bit disarming.
![In the United Kingdom, the name hackney carriage today refers to a taxicab licensed by the Public Carriage Office, local authority (non-metropolitan district councils, unitary authorities) or the Department of the Environment depending on region of the country.<br><br>
Historically four-door saloon cars have been highly popular as hackney carriages, but with disability regulations growing in strength and some councils offering free licensing for disabled-friendly vehicles, many operators are now opting for wheelchair-adapted taxis such as the The London Taxi Company (LTI). Other models of specialist taxis include the Peugeot E7 and rivals from Fiat, Volkswagen, Metrocab and Mercedes-Benz. These vehicles normally allow six or seven passengers, although some models can accommodate eight.<br><br>
In London, hackney-carriage drivers have to pass a test called The Knowledge to demonstrate that they have an intimate knowledge of the geography of London streets, important buildings, etc. Learning The Knowledge allows the driver to become a member of the Worshipful Company of Hackney Carriage Drivers. There are two types of badge, a yellow one for the suburban areas and a green one for all of London. The latter is considered far more difficult. Drivers who own their cabs as opposed to renting from a garage are known as "mushers" and those who have just passed the "knowledge" are known as "butter boys".[19] There are currently around 21,000 black cabs in London, licensed by the Public Carriage Office.[20] (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hackney_carriage">Wikipedia</a>)](https://photos.smugmug.com/Travel/England2017RoughCut/i-LbfSsqq/0/b7e03fc1/Ti/20150704394-Ti.jpg)
![The original raising mechanism was powered by pressurised water stored in several hydraulic accumulators. The system was designed and installed by Hamilton Owen Rendel[26] while working for Sir W. G. Armstrong Mitchell & Company of Newcastle upon Tyne. Water, at a pressure of 750 psi (5.2 MPa), was pumped into the accumulators by two 360 hp (270 kW) horizontal twin-tandem compound stationary steam engines, fitted with Meyer expansion slide valves. Each engine drove a force pump from its piston tail rod. (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_Bridge">Wikipedia</a>)](https://photos.smugmug.com/Travel/England2017RoughCut/i-cMPnHk8/1/84ee1c7b/Ti/20150704231-Ti.jpg)
